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Organizational Behavior, 14e (Robbins/Judge)
Chapter 9 Foundations of Group Behavior
1) Which one of the following characteristics is not necessarily true about groups?
A) Group members are interdependent.
B) Groups have two or more members.
C) Groups have assigned goals.
D) Groups interact.
E) Groups have particular objectives.
Answer: C
Explanation: Informal groups, such as friendship groups, are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined. They don't establish goals or purposes in general.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 276
Topic: Defining and Classifying Groups
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills
Objective: Groups
Quest. Category: Concept/Definitional
LO: 1
2) What sort of groups is defined by the organization's structure?

A) informal
B) task
C) friendship
D) interest
E) formal
Answer: E
Explanation: Formal groups are defined by the organization's structure, with designated work
assignments establishing tasks. In formal groups, the behaviors team members should engage in
are stipulated by and directed toward organizational goals.
Objective: Formal Groups
LO: 1
1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.
3) Julia, Bree, and David work in different departments but often eat lunch together. They are an
example of what type of group?
A) formal
B) informal
C) command
D) task
E) reactant
Answer: B
Explanation: Informal groups, such as friendship groups, are neither formally structured nor
organizationally determined. Three employees from different departments who regularly have
lunch or coffee together are an informal group.
Objective: Informal Groups
Quest. Category: Application
LO: 1
4) Which of the following statements is true?

A) All task groups are also command groups.
B) All command groups are also task groups.
C) All task groups are also friendship groups.
D) All command groups are also informal groups.
E) All informal groups are also command groups.
Answer: B
Explanation: All command groups are also task groups. But because task groups can cut across
the organization, they are not always command groups.
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 276-277
Objective: Command Groups
LO: 1
2
5) Employees who band together to seek improved working conditions form a(n) ________
group.
A) union
B) support
C) interest
D) work
E) emancipated
Answer: C
Explanation: People may affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each individual is
concerned. This creates an interest group. Employees who band together to seek improved
working conditions have formed a united body to further their common interest.
Objective: Interest Groups
LO: 1
6) Which of the following statements most accurately describes interest groups?

A) They are longer lasting than friendship groups.
B) They develop because individual members have one or more common characteristics.
C) They are formed because of some common objective.
D) They are governed by labor laws.
E) They are likely to involve great social conflict.
Answer: C
Explanation: People may affiliate to attain a specific objective with which each individual is
concerned. This creates an interest group. Employees who band together to seek improved
working conditions have formed a united body to further their common interest.
Objective: Interest Groups
LO: 1
3
7) Which of the following is not an important characteristic of social identity?
A) similarity
B) status
C) equity
D) distinctiveness
E) uncertainty reduction
Answer: C
Explanation: Several characteristics make a social identity important to a person. The main
characteristics are similarity, distinctiveness, status, and uncertainty reduction. Equity is not
usually an element of social identity and, in fact, social identity can lead to inequity through
stereotyping.
Objective: Reasons to Join Groups
LO: 1
8) Farid is a third generation Indian American. He has never been to India, but was very
saddened by the recent news of hundreds dead in a terrorist attack in India. This is an example of
________.
A) ingroup favoritism
B) an informal group
C) uncertainty reduction
D) a task group
E) social identity theory
Answer: E
Explanation: Social identity theory proposes that people have emotional reactions to the failure
or success of their group because their self-esteem gets tied into the performance of the group.
Farid feels associated with India and all Indians. The violence and terrorism in that country
saddens him as a reflection of the failure to maintain control and stability in the country, and for
the deaths of people in his identity group.
Objective: Command Groups
LO: 1
4
9) Paula is looking for a new HR person for her company. She is reviewing resumes to determine
which candidates to call for an interview. She sees one candidate that attended her same
university. Paula puts that resume in the "to call" pile. This is an example of ________.
A) uncertainty reduction
B) ingroup favoritism
C) an interest group
D) a friendship group
E) an informal group
Answer: B
Explanation: Ingroup favoritism refers to the perspective in which a person sees members of his
ingroup as better than other people, and people not in the group as all the same. Paula sees the
person from her university as part of her ingroup, although there may be other, more qualified
candidates to call.
Objective: Task Groups
LO: 1
10) What are the five stages of group development?

A) generation, implementation, construction, production, termination
B) introduction, development, production, deterioration, adjournment
C) initiation, evolution, maturation, degeneration, termination
D) forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
E) acting, reacting, enacting, impacting, acting
Answer: D
Explanation: The five-stage group-development model characterizes groups as proceeding
through the distinct stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
Topic: Stages of Group Development
Objective: The Five-Stage Model
LO: 2
5
11) Which stage in group development is most characterized by uncertainty?
A) introduction
B) storming
C) forming
D) evolution
E) norming
Answer: C
Explanation: The first stage, forming, is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the
group's purpose, structure, and leadership. Members "test the waters" to determine what types of
behaviors are acceptable.
Objective: Forming
LO: 2
12) In the second stage of group development ________.

A) close relationships are developed
B) the group demonstrates cohesiveness
C) intragroup conflict often occurs
D) the job task is performed
E) groups disband
Answer: C
Explanation: The second stage, or the storming stage, is one of intragroup conflict. Members
accept the existence of the group but resist the constraints it imposes on individuality.
Furthermore, there is conflict over who will control the group.
Objective: Storming
LO: 2
6
13) After which stage of a group's development is there a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership
within the group?
A) norming
B) storming
C) development
D) evolution
E) forming
Answer: B
Explanation: The second stage, or the storming stage, is one of intragroup conflict. There is
conflict over who will control the group. When this stage is complete, there will be a relatively
clear hierarchy of leadership within the group.
Objective: Storming
LO: 2
14) Which is the stage of group development characterized by the development of close
relationships and cohesiveness?
A) bonding
B) norming
C) performing
D) initiating
E) forming
Answer: B
Explanation: In the norming stage close relationships develop and the group demonstrates
cohesiveness. There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie. This stage is
complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of
expectations of what defines correct member behavior.
Objective: Norming
LO: 2
7
15) After which stage of a group's development has the group formed a common set of
expectations of member behaviors?
A) norming
B) storming
C) maturation
D) development
E) forming
Answer: A
Explanation: In the norming stage the group demonstrates cohesiveness. This stage is complete
when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations
of what defines correct member behavior.
Objective: Norming
LO: 2
16) When the group energy is focused on the task at hand, the group has moved to the ________
stage.
A) storming
B) norming
C) production
D) maturation
E) performing
Answer: E
Explanation: The fourth stage is performing. The structure at this point is fully functional and
accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to
performing the task at hand.
Objective: Performing
LO: 2
8
17) Temporary groups with deadlines tend to follow the ________ model.
A) sociometry
B) five-stage group development
C) punctuated equilibrium
D) cluster variance
E) frantic action
Answer: C
Explanation: The punctuated-equilibrium model is essentially limited to temporary task groups
working under a time-constrained completion deadline.
Objective: Punctuated Equilibrium Model
LO: 2
18) A temporary task group working under a time-constrained deadline would be expected to
behave in which of the following manners?
A) forming, then storming, then norming, then performing, and finally adjourning
B) exhibit long periods of inertia interspersed with brief revolutionary changes triggered by its
members' awareness of looming deadlines
C) develop plans, assign roles, determine and allocate resources, resolve conflicts, and set norms
D) group energy will move rapidly from getting to know and understand each other to
performing the task at hand
E) a period of activity where tasks are set and the bulk of the project is completed, followed by a
period of inertia where what little work remains is performed
Answer: B
Explanation: The punctuated-equilibrium model is what temporary task groups seem to follow.
The model characterizes groups as exhibiting long periods of inertia interspersed with brief
revolutionary changes triggered primarily by members' awareness of time and deadlines.
LO: 3
9
19) According to the punctuated-equilibrium model, groups tend to experience ________ for the
first half of the project.
A) inertia
B) reorganization and redirection
C) mid-life crisis
D) markedly accelerated activity
E) discord
Answer: A
Explanation: Their first meeting sets the group's direction. Then this first phase of group activity
is one of inertia that lasts up to exactly half of the time allotted to the project.
LO: 2
20) What term is used for a set of expected behavior patterns associated with a particular position
in a social unit?
A) role
B) role perception
C) role identity
D) role expectation
E) identity
Answer: A
Explanation: All group members are actors, each playing a role. A role is defined as a set of
expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
Topic: Group Properties: Roles, Norms, Status, Size, and Cohesiveness
Objective: Role
LO: 3
10
21) When Judith became a doctor she modeled her manner on her observations of more
experienced doctors, and also on the behavior of doctors in medical dramas she had enjoyed
watching as a child on TV. What is Judith modeling her manner upon?
A) the role behaviors of doctors
B) her role perception of doctors
C) the role identity of doctors
D) her role expectation of doctors
E) the core role actions of doctors
Answer: B
Explanation: Judith is behaving how she believes she's supposed to act in her given situation as a
doctor. This is called role perception. People engage in certain types of behavior based on how
they believe they are supposed to behave. They get these perceptions from stimuli all around us,
for example, friends, books, films, and television.
Objective: Role
LO: 3
22) Most people assume that a police officer should behave in a lawful manner, not show any
favoritism to any particular group, and do their best to uphold the law. What term is used for this
kind of belief?
A) a norm
B) a norm identity
C) a role expectation
D) a role perception
E) a norm violation
Answer: C
Explanation: Role expectations are the way others believe you should act in a given context. This
example shows the role expectations that most people have of a police officer.
Objective: Role Expectation
LO: 3
11
23) What term is used for the mutual expectations of what management expects from workers
and what workers expect from management?
A) group norm
B) role expectation
C) role identity
D) psychological contract
E) reactive goals
Answer: D
Explanation: In the workplace role expectations are viewed through the perspective of the
psychological contract, which is an unwritten agreement that exists between employees and
employer. This agreement sets out mutual expectations of what management expects from
workers and vice versa.
Objective: Psychological Contract
LO: 3
24) Tim is Javier's manager at an engineering firm. Tim expects Javier to report to him daily
with the status of a very important project. Javier is bothered by the amount of time that the daily
report takes away from his actual work, but he complies to the expectation and everyday, for five
days, sends a one page report to Tim detailing what he has done. At the end of the fifth day, Tim
has not replied to Javier's e-mails confirming receipt, nor given any feedback. What can you
expect to happen due to the breakdown of the psychological contract?
A) Javier will abandon the project.
B) Javier will continue to send the long reports.
C) Tim will fire Javier for failing to comply.
D) Javier will report Tim to upper management.
E) Javier will send fewer or smaller reports.
Answer: E
Explanation: If management is derelict in keeping its part of the psychological contract, we can
expect negative repercussions on employee performance and satisfaction. In this case Javier will
probably write smaller reports and possibly even give less importance to the project. If it's not
worth Tim's time to comment, then it must not be that important.
Skill: AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Objective: Group Properties
LO: 3
12
25) Zach is devout and very active in his church. He is also a very dedicated employee. His
manager offers him a promotion but the new role will require him to work Sundays. Zach would
like the promotion, but realizes that it would force him to miss some church activities. It is likely
that Zach is experiencing which of the following?
A) role conflict
B) role expectation
C) role perception
D) psychological conflict
E) cognitive reactance
Answer: A
Explanation: When compliance with one role requirement may make it difficult to comply with
another, the result is role conflict. Zach is feeling conflict between his role as a church member
and his role as an employee.
Objective: Role Conflict
LO: 3
26) Which of the following was the major finding of Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment?
A) Status differences between groups will always result in conflict between those groups.
B) Group cohesiveness is so important that individuals will restrain their natural impulses in
order to remain part of the group.
C) Individuals can rapidly assimilate new roles very different from their inherent personalities.
D) An individual's emotions and the behavioral responses to those emotions are congruent.
E) When given the opportunity, people will tend to act in an oppressive manner to those around
them.
Answer: C
Explanation: The simulation proved, too successfully, how quickly individuals assimilate new
roles. The researchers had to stop it after only 6 days because of the participants' pathological
reactions, even though the participants were chosen for their normalcy and emotional stability.
Objective: Zimbardo's Prison Experiment
LO: 3
13
27) What can we assume from the difference in behavior by the participants in Zimbardo's prison
experiment and those in the BBC prison experiment?
A) All people have the same role expectations and behave accordingly.
B) Role abuse cannot be stopped as it is an inherent part of role expectation.
C) Role perceptions are viewed the same regardless of the situation.
D) Role abuse can be hindered and controlled by close monitoring.
E) Individuals with emotional stability are more easily controlled by roles.
Answer: D
Explanation: The guards and prisoners acted differently, more kindly, in the BBC study,
presumably because they were closely monitored by millions of viewers. These results suggest
abuse of roles can be limited when people are made conscious of their behavior.
LO: 3
28) What term is used for acceptable standards of behavior that are shared by a group's
members?
A) norms
B) rules
C) standards
D) codes of behavior
E) explicit contracts
Answer: A
Explanation: All groups have established norms, or acceptable standards of behavior shared by
their members that express what they ought and ought not to do under certain circumstances.
Objective: Norms
LO: 4
14
29) Which is not a common class of norms appearing in most work groups?
A) performance
B) appearance
C) status
D) social arrangement
E) allocation of resources
Answer: C
Explanation: Norms can cover virtually any aspect of group behavior; however, status is not a
behavior. Common group norms are performance, appearance, social arrangement, and resource
allocation.
Objective: Group Norms
LO: 4
30) Which of the following is not an example of a work group norm dealing with performance?
A) when an employee needs to look busy
B) how hard an employee should work
C) the appropriate levels of tardiness
D) the acceptable level of output
E) the importance of promptness
Answer: A
Explanation: Performance norm examples include: providing explicit cues about how hard
members should work, what the level of output should be, how to get the job done, what level of
tardiness is appropriate, and the like. When to look busy is an appearance norm.
LO: 4
15
31) Norms that dictate with whom group members eat lunch, friendships on and off the job, and
social games are ________ norms.
A) appearance
B) social arrangement
C) performance
D) leisure
E) confluence
Answer: B
Explanation: Social arrangement norm examples include: with whom to eat lunch, whether to
form friendships on and off the job, or who to invite to happy hour.
LO: 4
32) A local government work crew cleans up parks and other public spaces. In this crew the
dirtiest jobs are generally given to the newest members, while the more senior members of the
crew tend to do little except draw their pay. What is the class of norms that encompasses
arrangements like this?
A) performance.
B) appearance
C) resource allocation
D) financial rewards
E) confluence
Answer: C
Explanation: Resource allocation norm examples include: assignment of difficult jobs, and
distribution of resources like pay or equipment. The example demonstrates an application of
resource allocation.
LO: 4
16
33) Which of the following is not a finding of Elton Mayo's Hawthorne studies?
A) A worker's behavior and sentiments are closely related.
B) Group standards are highly effective in establishing individual worker output.
C) Money was less a factor in determining worker output than were group standards, sentiments,
and security.
D) Competition between groups will maximize group output.
E) Group influences are significant in affecting individual behavior.
Answer: D
Explanation: Hawthorne studies concluded that a worker's behavior and sentiments were closely
related, that group influences were significant in affecting individual behavior, that group
standards were highly effective in establishing individual worker output, and that money was less
a factor in determining worker output than were group standards, sentiments, and security.
Objective: The Hawthorne Studies
LO: 4
34) What term is used for the process by which an individual's desire for acceptance by the group
and the pressure by the group on individual members to match its standards results in a change in
individual attitudes and behaviors?
A) conformity
B) coercion
C) commitment
D) convergence
E) confluence
Answer: A
Explanation: Conformity is the adjustment of one's behavior to align with the norms of the
group. As a member of a group, you desire acceptance by the group. Thus you are susceptible to
conforming to the group's norms.
Objective: Conformity
LO: 4
17
35) Groups that a person is aware of or would like to be a member of, and feels members are
important are called ________ groups.
A) conformity
B) reference
C) status
D) power
E) appearance
Answer: B
Explanation: Reference groups are groups in which a person is aware of other members, defines
himself or herself as a member or would like to be a member, and feels group members are
significant to him or her.
LO: 4
36) The major contribution of the Asch study was to demonstrate the impact of ________.
A) group pressures
B) seating arrangements
C) convergence
D) status
E) cognitive dissonance
Answer: A
Explanation: The Asch study indicates that group norms press us toward conformity. We desire
to be one of the group and therefore avoid being visibly different.
Objective: Conformity
LO: 4
18
37) What term is used for antisocial actions by organizational members who voluntarily violate
established norms and that result in negative consequences for the organization, its members, or
both?
A) ethical dilemmas
B) deviant workplace behavior
C) abnormal behavior
D) discommitment behavior
E) reactive affirmation behavior
Answer: B
Explanation: Deviant workplace behavior (also called antisocial behavior or workplace
incivility) is voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and, in doing so,
threatens the well-being of the organization or its members.
Objective: Deviant Workplace Behavior
LO: 4
38) Sally works as a salesperson in a department store. Whenever a customer asks for an item
that is in stock but not on display, she usually tells them that the product is out of stock. "It's a
pain going into the stock-room to find an item," says Sally. "Nobody in my department ever tells
a customer the truth about what is in stock." This example illustrates which of the following facts
about deviant workplace behavior?
A) Deviant workplace behavior will arise when tasks that an employee is supposed to perform
are unpleasant or difficult.
B) Most workers do not consider lying to a customer to be deviant workplace behavior.
C) Workers will lie to customers as long as the customers do not complain about it.
D) Deviant workplace behavior flourishes where it's supported by group norms.
E) Groups will come to their own conclusions about what is and isn't appropriate.
Answer: D
Explanation: Evidence demonstrates that antisocial behavior exhibited by a work group is a
significant predictor of an individual's antisocial behavior at work.
Objective: Deviant Workplace Behavior
LO: 4
19
39) Kim and Eileen have both asked for an extended winter holiday in December. Since they are
the only two members of the same department, they can not both be gone at the same time. They
have both been with the company for five years and have the same skill level. However, the
department director is Eileen's brother-in-law and he chose to give the vacation to Eileen. Kim is
furious. This is an example of ________.
A) status tolerance
B) status characteristics
C) status inequity
D) conformity
E) an appearance norm
Answer: C
Explanation: People expect rewards to be proportionate to costs incurred. If Eileen was chosen
because she is the sister-in-law of the director, Kim will believe an injustice has been committed
and that there is status inequity.
Objective: Status
LO: 4
40) A group is most likely to tolerate deviation from a group's conformity norms by which of the
following individuals?
A) a high status individual who does not care about the social rewards the group provides
B) a high status individual who is tightly integrated into the group's social structure
C) a low status individual who has only recently entered the group
D) a low status individual who strongly wishes to integrate within the group
E) a low status individual who is not well regarded by the rest of the group
Answer: A
Explanation: High-status people are better able to resist conformity pressures than their lower-
status peers because they don't need or care about the group's social rewards. High-status
individuals are thus given a wider range of discretion as long as their activities aren't severely
detrimental to group goal achievement.
Objective: Status
LO: 4
20
41) According to status characteristics theory, which of the following does not determine status?
A) power
B) contribution to goals
C) conformity
D) personality
E) talent
Answer: C
Explanation: According to status characteristics theory, status tends to derive from one of three
sources: the power a person wields over others; a person's ability to contribute to a group's goals;
and an individual's personal characteristics (special talent, intelligence, money, or a friendly
personality).
Objective: Status
LO: 4
42) Your group is engaged in problem solving and your goal is fact-finding. Which of the
following group sizes should be most effective?
A) 2
B) 4
C) 8
D) 10
E) 15
Answer: E
Explanation: When it comes to problem solving, large groups consistently get better marks than
their smaller counterparts.
Objective: Group Size
LO: 5
21
43) If your group must take action, which size should be most effective?
A) 3
B) 7
C) 12
D) 24
E) 100
Answer: B
Explanation: Smaller groups are better at doing something productive with that input. Groups of
approximately seven members tend to be more effective for taking action.
LO: 5
44) What term is used for the tendency for individuals to spend less effort when working
collectively?
A) groupthink
B) the rule of diminishing returns
C) social loafing
D) groupshift
E) clustering
Answer: C
Explanation: Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working in
a group than when working individually. Group performance increases with group size, but the
addition of new members has diminishing returns on productivity.
Objective: Social Loafing
LO: 5
22
45) What did Ringelmann conclude after he compared the results of individual and group
performance?
A) The larger the group, the greater the individual productivity.
B) Individual productivity goes down as group size goes up.
C) Total productivity tends to decline in large groups.
D) Group size is not a determinant of individual productivity.
E) Groups served little purpose in organizations.
Answer: B
Explanation: Group performance increases with group size, but the addition of new members has
diminishing returns on productivity.
Objective: Group Size and Productivity
LO: 5
46) Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

A) increase the rewards the group is given if it succeeds
B) increase the amount by which the group's progress is monitored
C) provide means by which individual efforts can be identified
D) increase the size of the group
E) increase the group's work load
Answer: C
Explanation: When managers use collective work situations to enhance morale and teamwork,
they must also be able to identify individual efforts.
LO: 5
23
47) Which of the following is not a means to prevent social loafing?
A) base group rewards on the whole group
B) set group goals
C) increase group competition
D) apply peer evaluation
E) select members who prefer to work in groups
Answer: A
Explanation: There are several ways to prevent social loafing. If possible, the manager should
base group rewards in part on each member's unique contributions, not on the group as a whole.
The other choices are also ways to prevent social loafing.
LO: 5
48) What term is used for the degree to which group members are attracted to one another and
are motivated to stay in the group?
A) cohesiveness
B) integration
C) sociability
D) reliability
E) interdependence
Answer: A
Explanation: Cohesiveness describes the degree to which group members are attracted to each
other and are motivated to stay in the group. Cohesiveness is important because it affects group
productivity.
Objective: Cohesiveness
LO: 6
24
49) Which of the following is not likely to increase group cohesiveness?
A) reward high-performing group individuals
B) decreasing the size of the group
C) agreement upon the established goals
D) increasing groups status in the organization
E) physically isolate the group
Answer: A
Explanation: To encourage group cohesiveness a manager should give rewards to the group
rather than to individual members.
Objective: Cohesiveness and Productivity
LO: 6
50) Which statement best describes the relationship of low performance norms such as quality,
output, and cooperation, with group cohesiveness?
A) When productivity norms are high, if cohesiveness is low productivity will be low.
B) Because of high group cohesiveness, if norms are low, productivity will still be high.
C) Because of high group cohesiveness, if norms are high, productivity will still be low.
D) When productivity norms are high, if cohesiveness is high productivity will be low.
E) Regardless of group cohesiveness, if norms are low, productivity will be low.
Answer: E
Explanation: Studies consistently show that the relationship between cohesiveness and
productivity depends on the group's performance-related norms. If performance-related norms
for quality, output, and cooperation with outsiders are high, a cohesive group will be more
productive than will a less cohesive group. But if cohesiveness is high and performance norms
are low, productivity will be low. Establishing high performance norms is more important than
group cohesiveness to productivity.
LO: 6
25
51) Ayesha is leading a group to develop a prototype for a new product. She has chosen three
people to work with her. Ben and Tom are good friends and socialize on the weekend. They are
both very creative. Julian is older than Ben and Tom, but they have worked together before and
been quite productive. Julian is organized. Ayesha has never worked with any of the men, but
knows the product well. She brings the highest level of expertise. Which of the following
statements best describes Ayesha's group?
A) high norms, low cohesiveness, high productivity
B) low norms, low cohesiveness, low productivity
C) high norms, high cohesiveness, high productivity
D) high norms, high cohesiveness, high productivity
E) low norms, low cohesiveness, low productivity
Answer: C
Explanation: Ayesha's group is small, all of the men have worked together in the past and had
high results, and two of them are friends resulting in a highly cohesive group. Ayesha has
established high norms for quality and creativity. The group will be highly productive.
LO: 6
52) Alberto is working with a group of fifteen people to coordinate the merger of two
corporations. Everyone in the group is highly qualified, offers relevant information, and has high
norms. Still, the group seems to be slow at outlining a definitive plan for the merger. With the
information provided, what would be the fastest and best way for Alberto to increase
cohesiveness and productivity.
A) hold longer meetings at a restaurant or social setting
B) stimulate competition with other groups
C) reward anyone who can devise a workable plan
D) immediately make the group smaller
E) invite more members into the group
Answer: D
Explanation: Alberto should immediately decrease the size of the group, as fifteen people is too
large, and a smaller group will immediately affect cohesiveness. Instead of a social setting, the
group should be isolated, and rewarded as a group, not individually. Competition with other
groups is a non-factor.
LO: 6
26
53) What will happen if group cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low?
A) Internal conflict will be high.
B) Internal conflict will be low.
C) Productivity will be high.
D) Productivity will be low.
E) It will have little effect on internal conflict or productivity.
Answer: D
Explanation: If cohesiveness is high and performance norms such as quality, output, and
cooperation with outsiders are low, productivity will be low.
LO: 6
54) Group decisions are generally preferable to individual decisions when which of the following
is sought?
A) acceptance of the solution
B) speed
C) efficiency
D) clear responsibility
E) a conjunctive solution
Answer: A
Explanation: Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution. Many decisions fail because
people don't accept the solution. Group members who participated in making a decision are more
likely to enthusiastically support the decision and encourage others to accept it.
Topic: Group Decision Making
Objective: Strengths of Group Decision Making
LO: 7
27
55) Which is not a weakness of group decision making?
A) It is time consuming.
B) There is less originality.
C) It suffers from ambiguous responsibility.
D) It can be dominated by one or a few members.
E) It's not clear who is accountable for bad decisions.
Answer: B
Explanation: If creativity is important, groups tend to be more effective. They offer increased
diversity of views. This opens up the opportunity to consider more approaches and alternatives.
Objective: Weaknesses of Group Decision Making
LO: 7
56) Individual decisions are generally preferable to group decisions when which of the following
is sought?
A) speed
B) creativity
C) acceptance
D) quality
E) broad unanimity
Answer: A
Explanation: Group decisions are time consuming because groups typically take more time to
reach a solution. With few exceptions, group decision making consumes more work hours than if
an individual were to tackle the same problem alone.
Objective: Groups versus Individuals
LO: 7
28
57) Which of the following is a phenomenon in which group pressures for conformity deter the
group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views?
A) group conformity
B) groupshift
C) groupthink
D) compromise
E) risk transfer
Answer: C
Explanation: Groupthink relates to norms and describes situations in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
Objective: Groupthink
LO: 7
58) What result can groupshift have on the decisions a group makes?
A) They are made by groups rather than individuals.
B) They are generally riskier.
C) They are made more quickly.
D) They are less effective.
E) They are objectively incorrect.
Answer: B
Explanation: Groupshift describes a change in decision risk between a group's decision and an
individual decision that a member within the group would make; the shift can be toward either
conservatism or greater risk.
Objective: Groupshift
LO: 7
29
59) Which of the following is not an explanation for the phenomenon of groupshift?
A) Discussion creates familiarization among members.
B) Most first-world societies value risk.
C) The group leader usually gets the credit or blame for the group action.
D) The group diffuses responsibility.
E) Group discussion motivates members to show their willingness to take risks.
Answer: C
Explanation: Groups diffuse responsibility. Group decisions free any single member from
accountability for the group's final choice, so greater risks can be taken. Therefore, a leader
would not get credit or blame for the group action.
Objective: Explanations for Groupshift
LO: 7
60) What is brainstorming?

A) a technique used to build group cohesiveness
B) a technique that tends to restrict independent thinking
C) a process for generating ideas
D) a process used mainly when group members cannot agree on a solution
E) the most effective means of generating answers
Answer: C
Explanation: Brainstorming is an idea-generation process that specifically encourages any and all
alternatives while withholding any criticism of those alternatives.
Topic: Group Decision-Making Techniques
Objective: Brainstorming
LO: 8
30
61) Which of the following is likely to generate the least innovative alternatives?
A) face-to-face interacting groups
B) brainstorming
C) Delphi technique
D) nominal group technique
E) electronic meeting
Answer: A
Explanation: In interacting groups members meet face to face and rely on both verbal and
nonverbal interaction to communicate. But because of groupthink, interacting groups often
censor themselves and pressure individual members toward conformity of opinion, generating
fewer ideas.
Objective: Interacting Groups
LO: 8
62) What sort of group should you avoid if you want to minimize interpersonal conflict?
A) interacting
B) brainstorming
C) nominal
D) electronic
E) social
Answer: A
Explanation: In an evaluation of group effectiveness, interacting groups rated the highest in
potential for interpersonal conflict.
LO: 8
31
63) Patricia needs as many creative ideas as she can get for the new advertising campaign, and
her small agency doesn't have a lot of money for high-tech meeting facilities. Given the
information provided, which meeting technique will provide the highest number of quality ideas?
A) interacting
B) brainstorming
C) nominal
D) electronic
E) social
Answer: C
Explanation: In an evaluation of group decision-making techniques, the nominal technique rated
highest in the number and quality of ideas generated. In the nominal group technique, individual
members meet face to face to pool their judgments in a systematic, independent, and affordable
fashion.
Topic: Application of Group Decision-Making Techniques
Objective: Nominal Group Technique
LO: 8
64) Maya just got out of a meeting. She is extremely frustrated because nothing got done and
now she has to deal with workplace drama. Sophia is threatening to quit because various people
publicly humiliated her by disparaging her ideas. The entire meeting turned into conflict
management for Maya. Which kind of meeting technique did Maya most likely use?
A) interacting
B) brainstorming
C) nominal
D) electronic
E) social
Answer: A
potential for interpersonal conflict. Maya's description of the meeting and the aftermath describes
what can happen in interacting groups.
Objective: Intentions
LO: 8
32
65) Which type of decision-making group is most committed to the group solution?
A) interacting
B) brainstorming
C) nominal
D) electronic
E) social
Answer: A
commitment to solution.
LO: 8
66) Which of the following is not considered an advantage of electronic meetings?

A) Members can be honest.
B) It is speedy.
C) Individuals receive credit for their ideas.
D) It is anonymous.
E) Chitchat is eliminated.
Answer: C
Explanation: In an electronic meeting, anonymous comments, as well as aggregate votes, are
displayed on a projection screen. This technique allows people to be brutally honest without
penalty because no one receives credit or blame for their ideas.
Skill: AACSB: Use of IT
Objective: Electronic Meetings
LO: 8
33
67) Which of the following is not true about electronic meetings?
A) Group effectiveness is decreased.
B) Problem solving time is reduced.
C) Money spent is increased.
D) Members speak anonymously.
E) Member satisfaction is increased
Answer: E
Explanation: Early evidence suggests electronic meetings don't achieve most of their proposed
benefits. They lead to decreased group effectiveness, require more time to complete tasks, and
result in reduced member satisfaction compared with other groups.
Skill: AACSB: Use of IT
LO: 8
68) Hubert needs an instruction manual for his new product. He needs a small team of technical
writers to work together closely to rapidly write the manual. He needs them to communicate
ideas quickly, creatively, and affordably. Which of the following group techniques should
Hubert consider?
A) nominal and electronic
B) nominal and interacting
C) brainstorming and electronic
D) electronic and interacting
E) interacting and brainstorming
Answer: E
Explanation: Hubert needs a group with high creativity, high cohesion, and low expense. He
should choose either interacting or brainstorming techniques to get his task completed. Nominal
techniques, although high in creativity and affordability, are slow and only moderately cohesive.
Electronic techniques are slow and expensive and have zero cohesion.
Objective: Decision-Making
LO: 8
34
69) A manager in France needs to be aware of the importance the French place on ________.
A) socializing
B) uncertainty reduction
C) distinctiveness
D) social loafing
E) status
Answer: E
Explanation: Cultural differences affect status. The French are highly status conscious.
Topic: Global Implications
Objective: Global Implications
LO: 9
70) Which of the following statements is not true about group diversity?
A) Culturally diverse groups perform better over time.
B) Diverse groups perform worse in a short time period.
C) Diverse groups deliberate and have more ideas.
D) Diversity increases group conflict.
E) Group diversity is always beneficial in financial terms.
Answer: E
Explanation: Studies identify both benefits and costs from group diversity. In terms of
demonstrable financial results the case for diversity is weaker, and proves more costly than
homogenous groups.
LO: 9
71) Command and task groups are dictated by the formal organization, whereas interest and
friendship groups are not.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: A command group is determined by the organization chart. It is composed of the
individuals who report directly to a given manager. A task group, also organizationally
determined, represents individuals working together to complete a job task. An interest group is
defined as people working together to attain a specific objective with which each is concerned.
Friendship groups are people brought together because they share one or more common
characteristics.
Objective: Formal and Informal Groups
LO: 1
35
72) Temporary groups with task-specific deadlines follow the five-stage model of group
development.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: The punctuated-equilibrium model is a set of phases that temporary groups go
through that involves transitions between inertia and activity. The five-stage group-development
model consists of five distinct stages groups go through: forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning.
LO: 2
73) In the punctuated-equilibrium model, the group's direction is reexamined frequently in the
first half of the group's life and is likely to be altered.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: In the punctuated-equilibrium model, once set, the group's direction is solidified
and is unlikely to be reexamined throughout the first half of its life.
LO: 2
74) Zimbardo's simulated prison experiment demonstrated that people with no prior personality
pathology or training in their roles could execute extreme forms of behavior consistent with the
roles they were playing.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Zimbardo's simulation actually proved too successful in demonstrating how
quickly individuals assume and learn new roles. The researchers had to stop it after only 6 days
because of the participants' pathological reactions. These were all individuals chosen precisely
for their normalcy and emotional stability.
LO: 3
36
75) One's view of how one is supposed to act in a given situation is a role perception.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Role perception is an individual's view of how he or she is supposed to act in a
given situation. Certain types of behavior are encouraged based on how we believe we are
supposed to behave. We get these perceptions from stimuli all around us, for example, friends,
books, films, television,
Objective: Role Perception
LO: 3
76) Performance norms include things like appropriate dress and when to look busy.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Performance norms provide explicit cues about how hard members should work,
what the level of output should be, how to get the job done, what level of tardiness is
appropriate, and the like. Examples of appearance norms are dress codes and unspoken rules
about when to look busy.
LO: 4
77) Evidence indicates that Asch's findings about group conformity are culture bound.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: Conformity to social norms is higher in collectivist cultures, but it is still a
powerful force in groups in individualistic countries.
Skill: AACSB: Multicultural and Diversity
Objective: Conformity and Culture
LO: 4
37
78) High-status members of groups are given less freedom to deviate from norms than other
group members.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: High-status individuals are often given more freedom to deviate from norms than
are other group members. People in high-status jobs (such as physicians, lawyers, or executives)
have especially negative reactions to social pressure exerted by people in low-status jobs.
Objective: Status
LO: 4
79) As group performance increases with group size, the addition of new members to the group
has positive returns on productivity.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: One of the most important findings about the size of a group concerns social
loafing, the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than alone.
It directly challenges the logic that the productivity of the group as a whole should at least equal
the sum of the productivity of the individuals in that group.
Objective: Group Size and Productivity
LO: 5
80) If a group is highly cohesive, meaning that the members in the group are attracted to each
other and desire to work together, they will be highly productive even with established low
performance norms.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Studies consistently show that the relationship between cohesiveness and
productivity depends on the group's performance-related norms. If performance related norms for
quality, output, and cooperation with outsiders, for instance, are high, a cohesive group will be
more productive than will a less cohesive group. But if cohesiveness is high and performance
norms are low, productivity will be low.
LO: 6
38
81) Individual decisions are more time consuming than group decisions.
Answer: FALSE
Explanation: Group decisions have their drawbacks. They're time consuming because groups
typically take more time to reach a solution.
Objective: Groups versus Individuals
LO: 7
82) The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits the group to meet
formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does the interacting group.
Answer: TRUE
Explanation: The chief advantage of the nominal group technique is that it permits a group to
meet formally but does not restrict independent thinking, as does an interacting group. Research
generally shows nominal groups outperform brainstorming groups.
LO: 8
Astro Inc. is reorganizing and your new work group begins working together on Monday
morning. Your college course in organizational behavior contained information about the stages
of group development and your supervisor has asked your advice about the predictable stages of
group development.
83) You should tell your supervisor that in the first stage of group development, the team
members will probably be ________.
A) uncertain
Topic: Application of Stages of Group Development
Objective: Forming
LO: 2
39
84) You should predict that the most productive stage will be ________.
A) producing
B) increasing
C) maturity
D) performing
E) omitting
Answer: D
Explanation: The fourth stage is performing. The structure at this point is fully functional and
accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to
performing the task at hand.
Topic: Application of Stages of Group Development
Objective: Performing
LO: 2
Several years ago you began a small retail store to sell computer parts. The store grew and the
business expanded to offer computer repair and custom programming. You have noticed that
people have definite expectations about what their appropriate roles within the expanding
company should be.
85) You can help the people in the company understand their roles and the roles of other people
by explaining some common facts about roles. Which of the following is not true?
A) Each person will be expected to play a number of diverse roles.
B) Most people have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize that the situation and
its demands require major changes.
C) Role perception is how people believe others are expected to act in their given roles.
D) It may be helpful for them to view role expectations through the perspective of a
psychological contract.
E) People can be flexible in the roles that they play.
Answer: C
Explanation: Role perception is when a person behaves how she believes she's supposed to act in
a given situation. People engage in certain types of behavior based on how they believe they are
supposed to behave. They get these perceptions from stimuli all around us, for example, friends,
books, films, and television.
Topic: Application of Roles
Objective: Roles
LO: 3
40
86) To clear up role confusion, you have decided that you must come to an unwritten agreement
with each employee about your mutual expectations. You are developing a(n) ________.
A) role playing document
B) role expectation contract
C) psychological contract
D) employment contract
E) implicit role adherence schedule
Answer: C
Explanation: In the workplace, role expectations are viewed through the perspective of the
psychological contract, which is an unwritten agreement that exists between employees and
employer. This agreement sets out mutual expectations of what management expects from
workers and vice versa.
Objective: Psychological Contract
LO: 3
87) John is expected to help customers in the retail store as well as perform computer repair
work. He feels that every time he gets started on a repair, he is interrupted and doesn't know
whether to finish his repair or wait on the customer. John suffers from role ________.
A) conflict
B) expectations
C) perception
D) identity
E) duality
Answer: A
Explanation: When compliance with one role requirement may make it difficult to comply with
another, the result is role conflict. John is feeling conflict between his role as a customer service
clerk and his role as a repairman.
Objective: Role Conflict
LO: 3
41
Joe is restructuring departments and is creating teams to increase the effectiveness of his
departments. He recognizes that the size of groups impacts their overall behavior.
88) Given what Joe knows about groups, what is a good size for a group that must take action?
A) 4
B) 7
C) 9
D) 12
E) over 12
Answer: B
Explanation: Smaller groups are better at doing something productive with that input. Groups of
approximately seven members tend to be more effective for taking action.
Topic: Application of Group Size
LO: 5
89) Joe is forming a fact-finding group. What would be the better group size to gain diverse
input?
A) 3
B) 7
C) 9
D) 10
E) over 12
Answer: E
Explanation: When it comes to problem solving or fact-finding, large groups consistently get
better marks than their smaller counterparts.
Topic: Application of Group Size
LO: 5
42
90) Joe has learned in an OB course that ________.
A) small groups are good for developing ideas
B) large groups are better at taking action
C) social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively
D) team spirit always spurs individual effort and enhances the group's overall productivity
E) groups composed of all men or all women are the most effective groups, in general
Answer: C
Explanation: Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working in
a group than when working individually. Group performance increases with group size, but the
addition of new members has diminishing returns on productivity.
LO: 5
Your organization is considering the use of team decision making. You have read the literature
on decision making and are trying to inform your manager about the advantages and
disadvantages of group decision making.
91) You should expect to find that ________.

A) group decision making will be faster
B) group discussions will be shared equally
C) there will be increased acceptance of the decision
D) group decision making will be very costly
E) groups will find reaching a decision to be less effortful than individuals
Answer: C
Explanation: Groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution. Many decisions fail because
people don't accept the solution. Group members who participated in making a decision are more
likely to enthusiastically support the decision and encourage others to accept it.
Topic: Application of Group Decision Making
Objective: Strengths of Group Decision Making
LO: 7
43
92) You should expect a weakness of group decision making to be ________.
A) less complete knowledge
B) more time will be used to make the decision
C) employees will be less accepting of the group decision
D) the decision will probably be a lower quality decision
E) decreased risky shift
Answer: B
Explanation: Group decisions are time consuming because groups typically take more time to
reach a solution. With few exceptions, group decision making consumes more work hours than if
an individual were to tackle the same problem alone.
Objective: Weaknesses of Group Decision Making
LO: 7
93) You have observed that the group tends to come to consensus very quickly and there appears
to be an illusion of unanimity. You conclude that they may be suffering from ________.
A) inefficiency syndrome
B) groupshift
C) disintegrating norms
D) groupthink
E) risky shift
Answer: D
Explanation: Groupthink relates to norms and describes situations in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views. A
quick decision could reflect pressure on dissenting opinions.
Objective: Groupthink
LO: 7
44
You decide that your company's choice of which new product to manufacture needs to have
widespread acceptance and that this decision needs to be of the highest quality possible. Having
read the literature on decision making, you believe that this choice needs to be made by a group
of your best managers.
94) You have decided to use the nominal group technique. Which is true about this method?
A) This method is good for building group cohesiveness.
B) This method is good for processing ideas rapidly.
C) This method is good for encouraging independent thinking.
D) This method is an inexpensive means for generating a large number of ideas.
E) This method requires a great deal of face-to-face interaction.
Answer: C
Explanation: Nominal group technique is a group decision-making method in which individual
members meet face to face to pool their judgments in a systematic but independent fashion. It
does not restrict independent thinking.
LO: 8
95) You have decided to use the electronic meeting technique. Which of the following is not true
about this type of meeting?
A) Participants type their responses onto a computer screen.
B) You can expect participants to be honest.
C) Participants will be anonymous.
D) Group cohesiveness will be high.
E) It can be highly effective under certain conditions.
Answer: D
Explanation: In an evaluation of group decision making techniques, electronic meetings ranked
lowest for creating group cohesiveness. Because everyone functions anonymously there is no
group cohesion.
Skill: AACSB: Analytic Skills; Use of IT
LO: 8
45
96) Differentiate between formal and informal groups.
Answer: Formal groups are those defined by the organization's structure, with designated work
assignments establishing tasks. In formal groups, the behaviors that one should engage in are
stipulated by and directed toward organizational goals. Informal groups are alliances that are
neither formally structured nor organizationally determined. These groups are natural formations
in the work environment that appear in response to the need for social contact.
Objective: Groups
Quest. Category: Critical Thinking
LO: 1
46
97) Apply the five stages of group development to the formation of the prison guard group in
Zimbardo's prison experiment. Discuss how the role perceptions and role expectations would or
would not be affected as the group moved from one stage to the next.
Answer: The first stage, forming, is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the
group's purpose, structure, and leadership. At this point the prison guards would be testing the
waters to determine what types of behavior are acceptable. They might have yelled or sworn
slightly at the prisoners. They would be looking for a leader that would set the limits to their
behavior. Participants are experimenting with role perceptions and expectations.
In the second storming stage, members accept the existence of the group, but there is resistance
to the constraints that the group imposes on individuality. Some guards might feel uncomfortable
with the abuses of other guards. There is conflict over who will control the group. Two leaders
might have emerged, one without inhibitions about how prisoners should be treated, and the
other with inhibitions. The leaders are setting the role expectations and some participants will
have to abandon their own role perceptions to assume the role expectations that are beginning to
become mandatory.
In the third stage close relationships begin to develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness.
One leader will have emerged and the group will follow his procedures. In the prison
experiment, the leader would have helped the group identify themselves as superior to the
prisoners and reinforced the need to treat them in such a way as to completely humiliate and
control them. There is now a strong sense of group identify and camaraderie and the group
structure is solid. All guards participated fiercely in subduing the prison rebellion with the same
purpose. Role perceptions and role expectations are in sync.
In the fourth stage the guards are consistently performing as they believe the role expectations of
a guard should be. The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted. Group energy has
moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand. They no
longer doubt what their roles are.
Zimbardo had to adjourn the group early, as the experiment proved to be too much, as the
participants had assumed their roles to a more intense level than Zimbardo had possibly
imagined.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 279-281, 284-285
Topic: Stages of Group Development and Group Properties: Roles
Objective: Group Development and Roles
Quest. Category: Synthesis
LO: 2, 3
47
98) Define conformity. Explain the relationship that conformity has with deviant work behavior,
groupthink, and groupshift.
Answer: Conformity is when a person changes his behavior to align with the norms of the group
because he desires acceptance by the group. Often people will go against their better judgment,
just to be a member of a group. For example, in the Asch experiment, people who knew that an
answer was clearly wrong, agreed with the group and chose a wrong answer, going against their
visual and logical senses, in order to be in agreement with the group.
Deviant workplace behavior can be a result of conformity pressure. Deviant workplace behavior
is voluntary behavior that violates significant organizational norms and as such, threatens the
well-being of the organization or its members. The frequency of deviant workplace behavior is
established by the norms of the workplace, and conformity pressure. For example, in an office
where women are treated unjustly by supervisors, they are more likely to be treated unjustly by
other work associates because the norm has been established, and the others wish to belong to
the 'boss' club.'
In group decision making, the pressure to conform has been termed groupthink. It refers to the
same phenomenon that was discovered in the Asch experiment, in which people go against their
true impulses or judgments to align with the group. This can harm decision making, as it
decreases the diversity of ideas that are advantageous for group decision making.
Groupshift is the polarization of a group's ideas by being able to hide behind the anonymity of
the group. This is also influenced by conformity because there are many in a group that might
not express the same radical views, but they go along to have membership in the group and
because they are not at risk.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 288-290, 296-298
Topic: Conformity and Decision Making
Objective: Conformity and Decision Making
LO: 4, 7
48
99) Explain why the psychological contract could be difficult to enforce when working with a
high-status individual. Define the psychological contract. Explain status and what makes an
individual high status. Provide a a workplace example of a high-status individual in conflict with
the psychological contract.
Answer: The psychological contract is the unwritten agreement that exists between employees
and their employer. This sets out mutual expectations about what management expects from
workers, and vice versa. Management is expected to treat employees justly, provide acceptable
working conditions, clearly communicate what is a fair day's work, and give feedback on how
well the employee is doing. Employees are expected to respond by demonstrating a good
attitude, following directions, and showing loyalty to the organization.
High-status individuals either wield power over others, have a disproportionate power of
contribution to an organization's goals, or possess personal qualities such as intelligence or
money that are highly valued by the group.
A psychological contract is difficult to enact when working with a high-status individual because
the lines of authority, decision making, and management become blurred. For example, a
basketball player that disproportionately contributes to his team's success, such as Kobe Bryant,
may feel entitled to challenge management, break team rules, behave inappropriately, and
disregard the general good of the organization. Management must then evaluate the true cost of
the individual to the team and whether his derelict behavior and breaking of the psychological
contract outweighs his contribution, which is often the case with professional athletes.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 284, 290-292
Objective: Psychological Contract and Status
LO: 3, 4
49
100) Compare and contrast the affects of group size and group cohesiveness. Describe the
problems of a large group in terms of social loafing and lack of cohesion. What steps could a
manager take to increase cohesion and productivity with a large group that can not be reduced in
size?
Answer: Evidence indicates that smaller groups are faster at completing tasks and that
individuals perform better in smaller groups than in larger ones. It is also true that if a manager
wishes to increase the cohesiveness of a group he should reduce the size immediately.
Larger groups are vulnerable to social loafing, or the tendency for individuals to expend less
effort when working collectively than alone. If a manager has to work with a large group that can
not be reduced in size he should isolate the group and increase the group's status within the
company, making them feel that their job is more important. He should create high-productivity
norms for quality and performance. Rewards are tricky, because an effective way to avoid social
loafing is to reward individual group members. However, this can backfire, as to increase
cohesiveness; the group should be rewarded as a whole. A combination of the two types of
rewards would be the best approach. Finally, if possible, stimulate the whole group to perform by
creating a competitive situation with another group or team, even if the other group is unaware of
the competition, the idea of beating someone is very motivating and creates cohesion.
Objective: Affects of Group Size and Cohesion
LO: 5, 6
50
101) Define status and discuss the global implications that status has for an international
manager in both Western and Eastern cultures.
Answer: Status is a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by
others. Status permeates every society. Status in determined by the power a person has over other
people, the ability a person has to affect other's goals, or special skills or traits that a person has
(such as intelligence, money, title or personality). A person from a royal family in Spain has
societal status because of traditional roles, but also because they usually have considerable
financial means and are needed to help with various social goals. They are viewed favorably by
the society and watched by the press, much like a movie star is watched in the United States.
The importance of status does vary among cultures. The French are highly status conscious.
Countries also differ on the criteria that create status. Latin Americans and Asians derive status
from family position and formal roles in organizations. In the United States and Australia, in
contrast, status is more often conferred for accomplishments than for titles or family trees. Thus,
it is important to understand who and what holds status when interacting with people from a
culture different from one's own. A U.S. manager who doesn't know that office size is not a
measure of a Japanese executive's position is likely to unintentionally offend his overseas
counterparts and lessen his interpersonal effectiveness, as is someone who fails to grasp the
importance the British place on family genealogy and social class.
Diff: 3 Page Ref: 290-292, 300
LO: 4, 9
102) describe the relationship between cohesiveness and productivity?

Answer: The relationship of cohesiveness and productivity depends on the performance-related
norms established by the group. If performance-related norms are high, a cohesive group will be
more productive than will a less cohesive group. But if cohesiveness is high and performance
norms are low, productivity will be low. If cohesiveness is low and performance norms are high,
productivity increases but less than in the high cohesiveness high norms situation. When
cohesiveness and performance-related norms are both low, productivity will tend to fall into the
low-to-moderate range.
LO: 6
51
103) Explain the difference between groupthink and groupshift.
Answer: Groupthink is related to norms. It describes situations in which group pressures for
conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority, or unpopular views.
Groupthink is a disease that attacks many groups and can dramatically hinder their performance.
Groupshift indicates that in discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, group
members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that they hold. In some situations, caution
dominates, and there is a conservative shift. More often, however, the evidence indicates that
groups tend toward a risky shift.
Objective: Groupthink and Groupshift
LO: 7
104) List and briefly describe the stages in the five-stage model of group development.
Answer: The five-stage group development model characterizes groups as proceeding through
five distinct stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
a) Forming is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group's purpose, structure,
and leadership. Members are testing the waters to determine what types of behavior are
acceptable.
b) In the storming stage, members accept the existence of the group, but there is resistance to the
constraints that the group imposes on individuality. There is conflict over who will control the
group.
c) The third stage is one in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates
cohesiveness. There is now a strong sense of group identify and camaraderie. This norming stage
is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of
expectations of what defines correct member behavior.
d) The fourth stage is performing. The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted.
Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task
at hand.
e) In the adjourning stage, the group prepares for its disbandment. High task performance is no
longer the group's top priority. Instead, attention is directed toward wrapping up activities.
Objective: The Five-Stage Model
LO: 2
52
105) Name and explain the alternative model for temporary groups with deadlines. How are
groups characterized in this model?
Answer: The punctuated equilibrium model is an alternative model for temporary groups with
deadlines. They don't follow the five-stage group development model. They have their own
unique sequencing of actions. Their first meeting sets the group's direction. This first phase of
group activity is one of inertia. A transition takes place at the end of this phase, which occurs
exactly when the group has used up half its allotted time. A transition initiates major changes. A
second phase of inertia follows the transition and the group's last meeting is characterized by
markedly accelerated activity.
The punctuated equilibrium model characterizes groups as exhibiting long periods of inertia
interspersed with brief revolutionary changes triggered primarily by their members' awareness of
time and deadlines. Keep in mind, however, that this model doesn't apply to all groups. It's
essentially limited to temporary task groups who are working under a time-constrained
completion deadline.
LO: 2
106) What are four common classes of norms?

Answer:
a) The most common class of norms is performance norms. Work groups typically provide their
members with explicit cues on how hard they should work, how to get the job done, their level of
output, appropriate levels of tardiness, and the like.
b) Appearance norms include things like dress codes and unspoken rules about when to look
busy.
c) Social arrangement norms are norms about with whom group members eat lunch and whether
to form friendships on and off the job.
d) Resource allocation norms cover things like assignment of difficult jobs, and distribution of
resources like pay or equipment.
LO: 4
53
107) How does group size affect a group's behavior?
Answer: The evidence indicates that smaller groups are faster at completing tasks than are larger
ones, and that individuals perform better in smaller groups. However, if the group is engaged in
problem solving, large groups consistently get better marks than their smaller counterparts.
Translating these results into specific numbers is a bit more hazardous, but we can offer some
parameters. Large groups–with a dozen or more members–are good for gaining diverse input. So
if the goal of the group is fact-finding, larger groups should be more effective. On the other hand,
smaller groups are better at doing something productive with that input. Groups of approximately
seven members, therefore, tend to be more effective for taking action.
LO: 5
108) Describe Zimbardo's prison experiment. What were its goals? What was learned through
this experiment? What were the ethical costs associated with this experiment? Relate Zimbardo's
findings to the concepts of roles, role perception, role expectations, and role conflict.
Answer: The Stanford prison experiment aimed at illustrating the power of the situation over the
power of the individual. In this study, unexceptional individuals were randomly assigned to play
the role of a prisoner or a guard in a mock prison set up in the basement of the Stanford
psychology department. Zimbardo himself played the role of prison superintendent. This
experiment showed how quickly people are capable of falling into roles and playing parts that
are contrary to their nature. Most modern social scientists believe that this study was highly
unethical due to the conditions that were forced onto the subjects of this study, which included
humiliation, abduction, and extensive verbal abuse. Roles, with their associated sets of expected
behaviors, were assigned as an experimental variable of this study. The role perceptions of the
subjects included attitudes that related to the treatment of the guards or the defiance of the
prisoners. Role perceptions developed for both guards and prisoners over the course of the 6 days
of the study as both groups grew into their parts. Role expectations were left intentionally vague
in this study since Zimbardo wanted to see how the prisoners and guards would manage
themselves with a minimum of guidance on his part. Finally, role conflicts resulted from the
divide between the roles that the subjects played coming into the study (normal college students)
and those they gained in their roles in the prison.
LO: 3
54
109) Identify the benefits and disadvantages of cohesive groups and ways that you can encourage
cohesiveness.
Answer: Studies consistently show that the relationship of cohesiveness and productivity
depends on the performance-related norms established by the group. If performance-related
norms are high (for example, high output, quality work, cooperation with individuals outside the
group), a cohesive group will be more productive than will a less cohesive group. But if
cohesiveness is high and performance norms are low, productivity will be low. If cohesiveness is
low and performance norms are high, productivity increases, but less than in the high-
cohesiveness/high-norms situation. When cohesiveness and performance-related norms are both
low, productivity will tend to fall into the low-to-moderate range.
To encourage group cohesiveness, you might try one or more of the following suggestions: (1)
Make the group smaller. (2) Encourage agreement with group goals. (3) Increase the time
members spend together. (4) Increase the status of the group and the perceived difficulty of
attaining membership in the group. (5) Stimulate competition with other groups. (6) Give
rewards to the group rather than to individual members. (7) Physically isolate the group.
Objective: Cohesiveness
LO: 6
55
110) Discuss strengths and weaknesses of group decision making.
Answer: The strengths of group decision making include:
a) Groups generate more complete information and knowledge.
b) Groups bring more input into the decision process.
c) They offer increased diversity of views. This opens up the opportunity for more approaches
and alternatives to be considered.
d) Groups will almost always outperform even the best individual.
e) Groups generate higher quality decisions.
f) Finally, groups lead to increased acceptance of a solution. Members who participated in
making a decision are likely to enthusiastically support the decision and encourage others to
accept it.
Group decision-making also has drawbacks.

a) They are time consuming. They take more time to reach a solution than would be the case if
an individual were making the decision alone.
b) There are conformity pressures in groups.
c) The desire by group members to be accepted and considered an asset to the group can result
in squashing any overt disagreement.
d) Group discussion can be dominated by one or a few members. If this dominant coalition is
composed of low- and moderate-ability members, the group's overall effectiveness will suffer.
e) Finally, group decisions suffer from ambiguous responsibility. In an individual decision, it's
clear who is accountable for the final outcome. In a group decision, the responsibility of any
single member is watered down.
Objective: Strengths and Weaknesses of Group Decision Making
LO: 7
56
Another random document with
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milder return of their adolescent warmth, a kind of fainter second
spring, since the first has not fulfilled its promise. Of course, I wasn’t
clearly conscious of this at the time: who is? But I had had my
youthful passion and my tragic disappointment, as you know: I had
looked far enough into what Thackeray used to call the cryptic
mysteries, to save me from the Scylla of dissipation, and yet
preserved enough of natural nature to keep me out of the Pharisaic
Charybdis. My devotion to my legal studies had already brought me
a mild distinction; the paternal legacy was a good nest-egg for the
incubation of wealth,—in short, I was a fair, respectable “party,”
desirable to the humbler mammas, and not to be despised by the
haughty exclusives.
The fashionable hotel at the Springs holds three hundred, and it
was packed. I had meant to lounge there for a fortnight and then
finish my holidays at Long Branch; but eighty, at least, out of the
three hundred, were young and moved lightly in muslin. With my
years and experience I felt so safe, that to walk, talk, or dance with
them became simply a luxury, such as I had never—at least so freely
—possessed before. My name and standing, known to some
families, were agreeably exaggerated to the others, and I enjoyed
that supreme satisfaction which a man always feels when he
discovers, or imagines, that he is popular in society. There is a kind
of premonitory apology implied in my saying this, I am aware. You
must remember that I am culprit, and culprit’s counsel, at the same
time.
You have never been at Wampsocket? Well, the hills sweep
around in a crescent, on the northern side, and four or five radiating
glens, descending from them, unite just above the village. The
central one, leading to a water-fall (called “Minne-hehe” by the
irreverent young people, because there is so little of it), is the
fashionable drive and promenade; but the second ravine on the left,
steep, crooked, and cumbered with bowlders which have tumbled
from somewhere and lodged in the most extraordinary groupings,
became my favorite walk of a morning. There was a footpath in it,
well-trodden at first, but gradually fading out as it became more like a
ladder than a path, and I soon discovered that no other city feet than
mine were likely to scale a certain rough slope which seemed the
end of the ravine. With the aid of the tough laurel-stems I climbed to
the top, passed through a cleft as narrow as a doorway, and
presently found myself in a little upper dell, as wild and sweet and
strange as one of the pictures that haunts us on the brink of sleep.
There was a pond—no, rather a bowl—of water in the centre;
hardly twenty yards across, yet the sky in it was so pure and far
down that the circle of rocks and summer foliage inclosing it seemed
like a little planetary ring, floating off alone through space. I can’t
explain the charm of the spot, nor the selfishness which instantly
suggested that I should keep the discovery to myself. Ten years
earlier, I should have looked around for some fair spirit to be my
“minister,” but now—
One forenoon—I think it was the third or fourth time I had visited
the place—I was startled to find the dint of a heel in the earth, half-
way up the slope. There had been rain during the night and the earth
was still moist and soft. It was the mark of a woman’s boot, only to
be distinguished from that of a walking-stick by its semicircular form.
A little higher, I found the outline of a foot, not so small as to awake
an ecstasy, but with a suggestion of lightness, elasticity, and grace. If
hands were thrust through holes in a board-fence, and nothing of the
attached bodies seen, I can easily imagine that some would attract
and others repel us: with footprints the impression is weaker, of
course, but we cannot escape it. I am not sure whether I wanted to
find the unknown wearer of the boot within my precious personal
solitude: I was afraid I should see her, while passing through the
rocky crevice, and yet was disappointed when I found no one.
But on the flat, warm rock overhanging the tarn—my special
throne—lay some withering wild-flowers, and a book! I looked up and
down, right and left: there was not the slightest sign of another
human life than mine. Then I lay down for a quarter of an hour, and
listened: there were only the noises of bird and squirrel, as before. At
last, I took up the book, the flat breadth of which suggested only
sketches. There were, indeed, some tolerable studies of rocks and
trees on the first pages; a few not very striking caricatures, which
seemed to have been commenced as portraits, but recalled no faces
I knew; then a number of fragmentary notes, written in pencil. I found
no name, from first to last; only, under the sketches, a monogram so
complicated and laborious that the initials could hardly be discovered
unless one already knew them.
The writing was a woman’s, but it had surely taken its character
from certain features of her own: it was clear, firm, individual. It had
nothing of that air of general debility which usually marks the
manuscript of young ladies, yet its firmness was far removed from
the stiff, conventional slope which all Englishwomen seem to acquire
in youth and retain through life. I don’t see how any man in my
situation could have helped reading a few lines—if only for the sake
of restoring lost property. But I was drawn on, and on, and finished
by reading all: thence, since no further harm could be done, I re-
read, pondering over certain passages until they stayed with me.
Here they are, as I set them down, that evening, on the back of a
legal blank.
“It makes a great deal of difference whether we wear social
forms as bracelets or handcuffs.”
“Can we not still be wholly our independent selves, even while
doing, in the main, as others do? I know two who are so; but they are
married.”
“The men who admire these bold, dashing young girls treat them
like weaker copies of themselves. And yet they boast of what they
call ‘experience!’”
“I wonder if any one felt the exquisite beauty of the noon as I did,
to-day? A faint appreciation of sunsets and storms is taught us in
youth, and kept alive by novels and flirtations; but the broad, imperial
splendor of this summer noon!—and myself standing alone in it,—
yes, utterly alone!”
“The men I seek must exist: where are they? How make an
acquaintance, when one obsequiously bows himself away, as I
advance? The fault is surely not all on my side.”
There was much more, intimate enough to inspire me with a
keen interest in the writer, yet not sufficiently so to make my perusal
a painful indiscretion. I yielded to the impulse of the moment, took
out my pencil, and wrote a dozen lines on one of the blank pages.
They ran something in this wise:—
“Ignotus Ignotæ!—You have bestowed without intending it,

and I have taken without your knowledge. Do not regret the
accident which has enriched another. This concealed idyl of the
hills was mine, as I supposed, but I acknowledge your equal
right to it. Shall we share the possession, or will you banish me?”
There was a frank advance, tempered by a proper caution, I

fancied, in the words I wrote. It was evident that she was unmarried,
but outside of that certainty there lay a vast range of possibilities,
some of them alarming enough. However, if any nearer
acquaintance should arise out of the incident, the next step must be
taken by her. Was I one of the men she sought? I almost imagined
so—certainly hoped so.
I laid the book on the rock, as I had found it, bestowed another
keen scrutiny on the lonely landscape, and then descended the
ravine. That evening, I went early to the ladies’ parlor, chatted more
than usual with the various damsels whom I knew, and watched with
a new interest those whom I knew not. My mind, involuntarily, had
already created a picture of the unknown. She might be twenty-five, I
thought: a reflective habit of mind would hardly be developed before
that age. Tall and stately, of course; distinctly proud in her bearing,
and somewhat reserved in her manners. Why she should have large
dark eyes, with long dark lashes, I could not tell; but so I seemed to
see her. Quite forgetting that I was (or had meant to be) Ignotus, I
found myself staring rather significantly at one or the other of the
young ladies, in whom I discovered some slight general resemblance
to the imaginary character. My fancies, I must confess, played
strange pranks with me. They had been kept in a coop so many
years, that now, when I suddenly turned them loose, their rickety
attempts at flight quite bewildered me.
No! there was no use in expecting a sudden discovery. I went to
the glen betimes, next morning: the book was gone, and so were the
faded flowers, but some of the latter were scattered over the top of
another rock, a few yards from mine. Ha! this means that I am not to
withdraw, I said to myself: she makes room for me! But how to
surprise her?—for by this time I was fully resolved to make her
acquaintance, even though she might turn out to be forty, scraggy
and sandy-haired.
I knew no other way so likely as that of visiting the glen at all
times of the day. I even went so far as to write a line of greeting, with
a regret that our visits had not yet coincided, and laid it under a
stone on the top of her rock. The note disappeared, but there was no
answer in its place. Then I suddenly remembered her fondness for
the noon hours, at which time she was “utterly alone.” The hotel
table d’hôte was at one o’clock: her family, doubtless, dined later, in
their own rooms. Why, this gave me, at least, her place in society!
The question of age, to be sure, remained unsettled; but all else was
safe.
The next day I took a late and large breakfast, and sacrificed my
dinner. Before noon the guests had all straggled back to the hotel
from glen and grove and lane, so bright and hot was the sunshine.
Indeed, I could hardly have supported the reverberation of heat from
the sides of the ravine, but for a fixed belief that I should be
successful. While crossing the narrow meadow upon which it
opened, I caught a glimpse of something white among the thickets
higher up. A moment later, it had vanished, and I quickened my
pace, feeling the beginning of an absurd nervous excitement in my
limbs. At the next turn, there it was again! but only for another
moment. I paused, exulting, and wiped my drenched forehead. “She
cannot escape me!” I murmured between the deep draughts of
cooler air I inhaled in the shadow of a rock.
A few hundred steps more brought me to the foot of the steep
ascent, where I had counted on overtaking her. I was too late for
that, but the dry, baked soil had surely been crumbled and dislodged,
here and there, by a rapid foot. I followed, in reckless haste,
snatching at the laurel-branches right and left, and paying little heed
to my footing. About one third of the way up I slipped, fell, caught a
bush which snapped at the root, slid, whirled over, and before I fairly
knew what had happened, I was lying doubled up at the bottom of
the slope.
I rose, made two steps forward, and then sat down with a groan
of pain; my left ankle was badly sprained, in addition to various minor
scratches and bruises. There was a revulsion of feeling, of course,—
instant, complete, and hideous. I fairly hated the Unknown. “Fool that
I was!” I exclaimed, in the theatrical manner, dashing the palm of my
hand softly against my brow: “lured to this by the fair traitress! But,
no!—not fair: she shows the artfulness of faded, desperate
spinsterhood; she is all compact of enamel, ‘liquid bloom of youth’
and hair-dye!”
There was a fierce comfort in this thought, but it couldn’t help me
out of the scrape. I dared not sit still, lest a sunstroke should be
added, and there was no resource but to hop or crawl down the
rugged path, in the hope of finding a forked sapling from which I
could extemporize a crutch. With endless pain and trouble I reached
a thicket, and was feebly working on a branch with my pen-knife,
when the sound of a heavy footstep surprised me.
A brown harvest-hand, in straw hat and shirt-sleeves, presently
appeared. He grinned when he saw me, and the thick snub of his
nose would have seemed like a sneer at any other time.
“Are you the gentleman that got hurt?” he asked. “Is it pretty
tolerable bad?”
“Who said I was hurt?” I cried, in astonishment.
“One of your town-women from the hotel—I reckon she was. I
was binding oats, in the field over the ridge; but I haven’t lost no time
in comin’ here.”
While I was stupidly staring at this announcement, he whipped
out a big clasp knife, and in a few minutes fashioned me a
practicable crutch. Then, taking me by the other arm, he set me in
motion towards the village.
Grateful as I was for the man’s help, he aggravated me by his
ignorance. When I asked if he knew the lady, he answered: “It’s
more’n likely you know her better.” But where did she come from?
Down from the hill, he guessed, but it might ha’ been up the road.
How did she look? was she old or young? what was the color of her
eyes? of her hair? There, now, I was too much for him. When a
woman kept one o’ them speckled veils over her face, turned her
head away, and held her parasol between, how were you to know
her from Adam? I declare to you, I couldn’t arrive at one positive
particular. Even when he affirmed that she was tall, he added, the
next instant: “Now I come to think on it, she stepped mighty quick; so
I guess she must ha’ been short.”
By the time we reached the hotel, I was in a state of fever;
opiates and lotions had their will of me for the rest of the day. I was
glad to escape the worry of questions, and the conventional
sympathy expressed in inflections of the voice which are meant to
soothe, and only exasperate. The next morning, as I lay upon my
sofa, restful, patient, and properly cheerful, the waiter entered with a
bouquet of wild flowers.
“Who sent them?” I asked.
“I found them outside your door, sir. Maybe there’s a card; yes,
here’s a bit o’ paper.”
I opened the twisted slip he handed me, and read: “From your
dell—and mine.” I took the flowers; among them were two or three
rare and beautiful varieties, which I had only found in that one spot.
Fool, again! I noiselessly kissed, while pretending to smell them, had
them placed on a stand within reach, and fell into a state of quiet and
agreeable contemplation.
Tell me, yourself, whether any male human being is ever too old
for sentiment, provided that it strikes him at the right time and in the
right way! What did that bunch of wild flowers betoken? Knowledge,
first; then, sympathy; and finally, encouragement, at least. Of course
she had seen my accident, from above; of course she had sent the
harvest laborer to aid me home. It was quite natural she should
imagine some special, romantic interest in the lonely dell, on my
part, and the gift took additional value from her conjecture.
Four days afterwards, there was a hop in the large dining-room
of the hotel. Early in the morning, a fresh bouquet had been left at
my door. I was tired of my enforced idleness, eager to discover the
fair unknown, (she was again fair, to my fancy!) and I determined to
go down, believing that a cane and a crimson velvet slipper on the
left foot would provoke a glance of sympathy from certain eyes, and
thus enable me to detect them.
The fact was, the sympathy was much too general and effusive.
Everybody, it seemed, came to me with kindly greetings; seats were
vacated at my approach, even fat Mrs. Huxter insisting on my taking
her warm place, at the head of the room. But Bob Leroy,—you know
him,—as gallant a gentleman as ever lived, put me down at the right
point, and kept me there. He only meant to divert me, yet gave me
the only place where I could quietly inspect all the younger ladies, as
dance or supper brought them near.
One of the dances was an old-fashioned cotillon, and one of the
figures, the “coquette,” brought every one, in turn, before me. I
received a pleasant word or two from those whom I knew, and a
long, kind, silent glance from Miss May Danvers. Where had been
my eyes? She was tall, stately, twenty-five, had large dark eyes, and
long dark lashes! Again the changes of the dance brought her near
me; I threw (or strove to throw) unutterable meanings into my eyes,
and cast them upon hers. She seemed startled, looked suddenly
away, looked back to me, and—blushed. I knew her for what is
called “a nice girl”—that is, tolerably frank, gently feminine, and not
dangerously intelligent. Was it possible that I had overlooked so
much character and intellect?
As the cotillon closed, she was again in my neighborhood, and
her partner led her in my direction. I was rising painfully from my
chair, when Bob Leroy pushed me down again, whisked another seat
from somewhere, planted it at my side, and there she was!
She knew who was her neighbor, I plainly saw; but instead of
turning towards me, she began to fan herself in a nervous way and
to fidget with the buttons of her gloves. I grew impatient.
“Miss Danvers!” I said, at last.
“Oh!” was all her answer, as she looked at me for a moment.
“Where are your thoughts?” I asked.
Then she turned, with wide, astonished eyes, coloring softly up
to the roots of her hair. My heart gave a sudden leap.
“How can you tell, if I cannot?” she asked.
“May I guess?”
She made a slight inclination of the head, saying nothing. I was
then quite sure.
“The second ravine, to the left of the main drive?”
This time she actually started; her color became deeper, and a
leaf of the ivory fan snapped between her fingers.
“Let there be no more a secret!” I exclaimed. “Your flowers have
brought me your messages; I knew I should find you”—
Full of certainty, I was speaking in a low, impassioned voice. She
cut me short by rising from her seat; I felt that she was both angry
and alarmed. Fisher, of Philadelphia, jostling right and left in his
haste, made his way towards her. She fairly snatched his arm, clung
to it with a warmth I had never seen expressed in a ball-room, and
began to whisper in his ear. It was not five minutes before he came
to me, alone, with a very stern face, bent down, and said:—
“If you have discovered our secret, you will keep silent. You are
certainly a gentleman.”
I bowed, coldly and savagely. There was a draft from the open
window; my ankle became suddenly weary and painful, and I went to
bed. Can you believe that I didn’t guess, immediately, what it all
meant? In a vague way, I fancied that I had been premature in my
attempt to drop our mutual incognito, and that Fisher, a rival lover,
was jealous of me. This was rather flattering than otherwise; but
when I limped down to the ladies’ parlor, the next day, no Miss
Danvers was to be seen. I did not venture to ask for her; it might
seem importunate, and a woman of so much hidden capacity was
evidently not to be wooed in the ordinary way.
So another night passed by; and then, with the morning, came a
letter which made me feel, at the same instant, like a fool and a hero.
It had been dropped in the Wampsocket post-office, was legibly
addressed to me and delivered with some other letters which had
arrived by the night mail. Here it is; listen!
“Noto Ignota!—Haste is not a gift of the gods, and you

have been impatient, with the usual result. I was almost
prepared for this, and thus am not wholly disappointed. In a day
or two more you will discover your mistake, which, so far as I
can learn, has done no particular harm. If you wish to find me,
there is only one way to seek me; should I tell you what it is, I
should run the risk of losing you,—that is, I should preclude the
manifestation of a certain quality which I hope to find in the man
who may—or, rather, must—be my friend. This sounds
enigmatical, yet you have read enough of my nature, as written
in those random notes in my sketch-book, to guess, at least,
how much I require. Only this let me add: mere guessing is
useless.
“Being unknown, I can write freely. If you find me, I shall be
justified; if not, I shall hardly need to blush, even to myself, over
a futile experiment.
“It is possible for me to learn enough of your life, henceforth,
to direct my relation towards you. This may be the end; if so, I
shall know it soon. I shall also know whether you continue to
seek me. Trusting in your honor as a man, I must ask you to
trust in mine, as a woman.”
I did discover my mistake, as the Unknown promised. There had

been a secret betrothal between Fisher and Miss Danvers; and
singularly enough, the momentous question and answer had been
given in the very ravine leading to my upper dell! The two meant to
keep the matter to themselves, but therein, it seems, I thwarted
them; there was a little opposition on the part of their respective
families, but all was amicably settled before I left Wampsocket.
The letter made a very deep impression upon me. What was the
one way to find her? What could it be but the triumph that follows
ambitious toil,—the manifestation of all my best qualities, as a man?
Be she old or young, plain or beautiful, I reflected, hers is surely a
nature worth knowing, and its candid intelligence conceals no
hazards for me. I have sought her rashly, blundered, betrayed that I
set her lower, in my thoughts, than her actual self: let me now adopt
the opposite course, seek her openly no longer, go back to my tasks,
and, following my own aims vigorously and cheerfully, restore that
respect which she seemed to be on the point of losing. For,
consciously or not, she had communicated to me a doubt, implied in
the very expression of her own strength and pride. She had meant to
address me as an equal, yet, despite herself, took a stand a little
above that which she accorded to me.
I came back to New York earlier than usual, worked steadily at
my profession and with increasing success, and began to accept
opportunities (which I had previously declined) of making myself
personally known to the great, impressible, fickle, tyrannical public.
One or two of my speeches in the hall of the Cooper Institute, on
various occasions—as you may perhaps remember—gave me a
good headway with the party, and were the chief cause of my
nomination for the State office which I still hold. (There, on the table,
lies a resignation, written to-day, but not yet signed. We’ll talk of it,
afterwards.) Several months passed by, and no further letter reached
me. I gave up much of my time to society, moved familiarly in more
than one province of the kingdom here, and vastly extended my
acquaintance, especially among the women; but not one of them
betrayed the mysterious something or other—really I can’t explain
precisely what it was!—which I was looking for. In fact, the more I
endeavored quietly to study the sex, the more confused I became.
At last, I was subjected to the usual onslaught from the strong-
minded. A small but formidable committee entered my office one
morning and demanded a categorical declaration of my principles.
What my views on the subject were, I knew very well; they were
clear and decided; and yet, I hesitated to declare them! It wasn’t a
temptation of Saint Anthony—that is, turned the other way—and the
belligerent attitude of the dames did not alarm me in the least; but
she! What was her position? How could I best please her? It flashed
upon my mind, while Mrs. —— was making her formal speech, that I
had taken no step for months without a vague, secret reference to
her. So, I strove to be courteous, friendly, and agreeably
noncommittal; begged for further documents, and promised to reply
by letter, in a few days.
I was hardly surprised to find the well-known hand on the
envelope of a letter, shortly afterwards. I held it for a minute in my
palm, with an absurd hope that I might sympathetically feel its
character, before breaking the seal. Then I read it with a great sense
of relief.
“I have never assumed to guide a man, except towards the

full exercise of his powers. It is not opinion in action, but opinion
in a state of idleness or indifference, which repels me. I am
deeply glad that you have gained so much since you left the
country. If, in shaping your course, you have thought of me, I will
frankly say that, to that extent, you have drawn nearer. Am I
mistaken in conjecturing that you wish to know my relation to the
movement concerning which you were recently interrogated? In
this, as in other instances which may come, I must beg you to
consider me only as a spectator. The more my own views may
seem likely to sway your action, the less I shall be inclined to
declare them. If you find this cold or unwomanly, remember that
it is not easy!”
Yes! I felt that I had certainly drawn much nearer to her. And
from this time on, her imaginary face and form became other than
they were. She was twenty-eight—three years older; a very little
above the middle height, but not tall; serene, rather than stately, in
her movements; with a calm, almost grave face, relieved by the
sweetness of the full, firm lips; and finally eyes of pure, limpid gray,
such as we fancy belonged to the Venus of Milo. I found her, thus,
much more attractive than with the dark eyes and lashes,—but she
did not make her appearance in the circles which I frequented.
Another year slipped away. As an official personage, my
importance increased, but I was careful not to exaggerate it to
myself. Many have wondered (perhaps you among the rest) at my
success, seeing that I possess no remarkable abilities. If I have any
secret, it is simply this—doing faithfully, with all my might, whatever I
undertake. Nine tenths of our politicians become inflated and
careless, after the first few years, and are easily forgotten when they
once lose place. I am a little surprised, now, that I had so much
patience with the Unknown. I was too important, at least, to be
played with; too mature to be subjected to a longer test; too earnest,
as I had proved, to be doubted, or thrown aside without a further
explanation.
Growing tired, at last, of silent waiting, I bethought me of
advertising. A carefully-written “Personal,” in which Ignotus informed
Ignota of the necessity of his communicating with her, appeared
simultaneously in the Tribune, Herald, World, and Times. I renewed
the advertisement as the time expired without an answer, and I think
it was about the end of the third week before one came, through the
post, as before.
Ah, yes! I had forgotten. See! my advertisement is pasted on the
note, as a heading or motto for the manuscript lines. I don’t know
why the printed slip should give me a particular feeling of humiliation
as I look at it, but such is the fact. What she wrote is all I need read
to you:—
“I could not, at first, be certain that this was meant for me. If I
were to explain to you why I have not written for so long a time, I
might give you one of the few clews which I insist on keeping in
my own hands. In your public capacity, you have been (so far as
a woman may judge) upright, independent, wholly manly: in your
relations with other men I learn nothing of you that is not
honorable: towards women you are kind, chivalrous, no doubt,
overflowing with the usual social refinements, but— Here, again,
I run hard upon the absolute necessity of silence. The way to
me, if you care to traverse it, is so simple, so very simple! Yet,
after what I have written, I cannot even wave my hand in the
direction of it, without certain self-contempt. When I feel free to
tell you, we shall draw apart and remain unknown forever.
“You desire to write? I do not prohibit it. I have heretofore
made no arrangement for hearing from you, in turn, because I
could not discover that any advantage would accrue from it. But
it seems only fair, I confess, and you dare not think me
capricious. So, three days hence, at six o’clock in the evening, a
trusty messenger of mine will call at your door. If you have
anything to give her for me, the act of giving it must be the sign
of a compact on your part, that you will allow her to leave
immediately, unquestioned and unfollowed.”
You look puzzled, I see: you don’t catch the real drift of her
words? Well,—that’s a melancholy encouragement. Neither did I, at
the time: it was plain that I had disappointed her in some way, and
my intercourse with, or manner towards, women, had something to
do with it. In vain I ran over as much of my later social life as I could
recall. There had been no special attention, nothing to mislead a
susceptible heart; on the other side, certainly no rudeness, no want
of “chivalrous” (she used the word!) respect and attention. What, in
the name of all the gods, was the matter?
In spite of all my efforts to grow clearer, I was obliged to write my
letter in a rather muddled state of mind. I had so much to say!
sixteen folio pages, I was sure, would only suffice for an introduction
to the case; yet, when the creamy vellum lay before me and the
moist pen drew my fingers towards it, I sat stock dumb for half an
hour. I wrote, finally, in a half-desperate mood, without regard to
coherency or logic. Here’s a rough draft of a part of the letter, and a
single passage from it will be enough:—
“I can conceive of no simpler way to you than the knowledge

of your name and address. I have drawn airy images of you, but
they do not become incarnate, and I am not sure that I should
recognize you in the brief moment of passing. Your nature is not
of those which are instantly legible. As an abstract power, it has
wrought in my life and it continually moves my heart with desires
which are unsatisfactory because so vague and ignorant. Let me
offer you, personally, my gratitude, my earnest friendship: you
would laugh if I were now to offer more.”
Stay! here is another fragment, more reckless in tone:—
“I want to find the woman whom I can love—who can love

me. But this is a masquerade where the features are hidden, the
voice disguised, even the hands grotesquely gloved. Come! I will
venture more than I ever thought was possible to me. You shall
know my deepest nature as I myself seem to know it. Then, give
me the commonest chance of learning yours, through an
intercourse which shall leave both free, should we not feel the
closing of the inevitable bond!”
After I had written that, the pages filled rapidly. When the
appointed hour arrived, a bulky epistle, in a strong linen envelope,
sealed with five wax seals, was waiting on my table. Precisely at six
there was an announcement: the door opened, and a little outside, in
the shadow, I saw an old woman, in a threadbare dress of rusty
black.
“Come in!” I said.
“The letter!” answered a husky voice. She stretched out a bony
hand, without moving a step.
“It is for a lady—very important business,” said I, taking up the
letter; “are you sure that there is no mistake?”
She drew her hand under the shawl, turned without a word, and
moved towards the hall door.
“Stop!” I cried: “I beg a thousand pardons! Take it—take it! You
are the right messenger!”
She clutched it, and was instantly gone.
Several days passed, and I gradually became so nervous and
uneasy that I was on the point of inserting another “Personal” in the
daily papers, when the answer arrived. It was brief and mysterious;
you shall hear the whole of it.
“I thank you. Your letter is a sacred confidence which I pray

you never to regret. You nature is sound and good. You ask no
more than is reasonable, and I have no real right to refuse. In
the one respect which I have hinted, I may have been unskillful
or too narrowly cautious: I must have the certainty of this.
Therefore, as a generous favor, give me six months more! At the
end of that time I will write to you again. Have patience with
these brief lines: another word might be a word too much.”
You notice the change in her tone? The letter gave me the
strongest impression of a new, warm, almost anxious interest on her
part. My fancies, as first at Wampsocket, began to play all sorts of
singular pranks: sometimes she was rich and of an old family,
sometimes moderately poor and obscure, but always the same calm,
reposeful face and clear gray eyes. I ceased looking for her in
society, quite sure that I should not find her, and nursed a wild
expectation of suddenly meeting her, face to face, in the most
unlikely places and under startling circumstances. However, the end
of it all was patience,—patience for six months.
There’s not much more to tell; but this last letter is hard for me to
read. It came punctually, to a day. I knew it would, and at the last I
began to dread the time, as if a heavy note were falling due, and I
had no funds to meet it. My head was in a whirl when I broke the
seal. The fact in it stared at me blankly, at once, but it was a long
time before the words and sentences became intelligible.
“The stipulated time has come, and our hidden romance is at

an end. Had I taken this resolution a year ago, it would have
saved me many vain hopes, and you, perhaps, a little
uncertainty. Forgive me, first, if you can, and then hear the
explanation!
“You wished for a personal interview: you have had, not one,
but many. We have met, in society, talked face to face,
discussed the weather, the opera, toilettes, Queechy, Aurora
Floyd, Long Branch and Newport, and exchanged a weary
amount of fashionable gossip; and you never guessed that I was
governed by any deeper interest! I have purposely uttered
ridiculous platitudes, and you were as smilingly courteous as if
you enjoyed them: I have let fall remarks whose hollowness and
selfishness could not have escaped you, and have waited in vain
for a word of sharp, honest, manly reproof. Your manner to me
was unexceptionable, as it was to all other women: but there lies
the source of my disappointment, of—yes,—of my sorrow!
“You appreciate, I cannot doubt, the qualities in woman
which men value in one another,—culture, independence of
thought, a high and earnest apprehension of life; but you know
not how to seek them. It is not true that a mature and
unperverted woman is flattered by receiving only the general
obsequiousness which most men give to the whole sex. In the
man who contradicts and strives with her, she discovers a truer
interest, a nobler respect. The empty-headed, spindle-shanked
youths who dance admirably, understand something of billiards,
much less of horses, and still less of navigation, soon grow
inexpressibly wearisome to us; but the men who adopt their
social courtesy, never seeking to arouse, uplift, instruct us, are a
bitter disappointment.
“What would have been the end, had you really found me?
Certainly a sincere, satisfying friendship. No mysterious
magnetic force has drawn you to me or held you near me, nor
has my experiment inspired me with an interest which cannot be
given up without a personal pang. I am grieved, for the sake of
all men and all women. Yet, understand me! I mean no slightest
reproach. I esteem and honor you for what you are. Farewell!”
There! Nothing could be kinder in tone, nothing more humiliating

in substance. I was sore and offended for a few days; but I soon
began to see, and ever more and more clearly, that she was wholly
right. I was sure, also, that any further attempt to correspond with her
would be vain. It all comes of taking society just as we find it, and
supposing that conventional courtesy is the only safe ground on
which men and women can meet.
The fact is—there’s no use in hiding it from myself (and I see, by
your face, that the letter cuts into your own conscience)—she is a
free, courageous, independent character, and—I am not.
But who was she?
HENRY CUYLER BUNNER
1855–1896
From early manhood until his death H. C. Bunner was the editor of “Puck.” Those
who appreciated the flavor of Airs from Arcady and Rowen, and who knew of
“Puck” only that it was our most popular comic weekly, felt here an incongruity. If
they had followed the editorial page, they would have found dignity no less than
pungency, and might have comprehended the man as more than a maker of
delicate verses and more than a humorist. In the ordinary sense he was hardly a
humorist. Humor was large in him, but all suffused with fancy. Loving New York as
Charles Lamb loved London, he was even more like Lamb in that his quip
habitually carried a sentiment springing from human sympathy. This ultimate
quality reconciled the others of a singularly original composition.
His fiction shows all these traits, and also a nice sense of form. He was a
student of Boccaccio; he experimented with various adaptations, as in The Third
Figure of the Cotillion with the method of Irving; and, though his preference was for
freer and more spontaneous structure, he was keenly aware, as in the story below,
of the value of the unities.
THE LOVE-LETTERS OF SMITH
[From “Short Sixes,” copyright, 1890, by Keppler and
Schwarzmann; reprinted here by their special permission]
WHEN the little seamstress had climbed to her room in the story over
the top story of the great brick tenement house in which she lived, she
was quite tired out. If you do not understand what a story over a top
story is, you must remember that there are no limits to human greed,
and hardly any to the height of tenement houses. When the man who
owned that seven-story tenement found that he could rent another
floor, he found no difficulty in persuading the guardians of our building
laws to let him clap another story on the roof, like a cabin on the deck
of a ship; and in the southeasterly of the four apartments on this floor
the little seamstress lived. You could just see the top of her window
from the street—the huge cornice that had capped the original front,
and that served as her window-sill now, quite hid all the lower part of
the story on top of the top-story.
The little seamstress was scarcely thirty years old, but she was
such an old-fashioned little body in so many of her looks and ways that
I had almost spelled her sempstress, after the fashion of our
grandmothers. She had been a comely body, too; and would have
been still, if she had not been thin and pale and anxious-eyed.
She was tired out to-night because she had been working hard all
day for a lady who lived far up in the “New Wards” beyond Harlem
River, and after the long journey home, she had to climb seven flights
of tenement-house stairs. She was too tired, both in body and in mind,
to cook the two little chops she had brought home. She would save
them for breakfast, she thought. So she made herself a cup of tea on
the miniature stove, and ate a slice of dry bread with it. It was too
much trouble to make toast.

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Organizational Behavior 14th Edition

Robbins Test Bank

Organizational Behavior 14th Edition Robbins Solutions

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Essentials of Organizational Behavior 14th Edition

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2) What sort of groups is defined by the organization's structure?

4) Which of the following statements is true?

6) Which of the following statements most accurately describes interest groups?

10) What are the five stages of group development?

12) In the second stage of group development ________.

46) Which of the following is an effective means of countering social loafing?

60) What is brainstorming?

66) Which of the following is not considered an advantage of electronic meetings?

91) You should expect to find that ________.

102) describe the relationship between cohesiveness and productivity?

106) What are four common classes of norms?

Group decision-making also has drawbacks.

“Ignotus Ignotæ!—You have bestowed without intending it,

There was a frank advance, tempered by a proper caution, I

“Noto Ignota!—Haste is not a gift of the gods, and you

I did discover my mistake, as the Unknown promised. There had

“I have never assumed to guide a man, except towards the

“I can conceive of no simpler way to you than the knowledge

Stay! here is another fragment, more reckless in tone:—

“I want to find the woman whom I can love—who can love

“I thank you. Your letter is a sacred confidence which I pray

“The stipulated time has come, and our hidden romance is at

There! Nothing could be kinder in tone, nothing more humiliating

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