Comm 356 Chapter 2 Test 2

T  F  1.   Members of a group who are actively participating in a discussion cannot observe how the group is functioning.
T  F  2.   Changing just one characteristic of a group, such as by adding a new member, will result in many other changes.
T  F  3.   Open systems are less common than are closed systems.
T  F  4.   There should be clear status distinctions among group members, in a hierarchy from highest to lowest.
T  F  5.   Members of an ideal group expect to compromise with each other.
T  F  6.   Although leadership services are shared, in an ideal group one member is recognized and accepted by all others as the PRIMARY leader.
T  F  7.   A long-tern group (such as a standing committee of a fraternity) should try to meet in a variety of different places.
T  F  8.   If a task force assigned to recommend laws to control violent crime is to be very productive, members should have similar VALUES on such issues as whether capital punishment is moral and whether persons should be held responsible for the consequences of their behavior.
T  F  9.   The qualities of a system can be determined by summing the qualities of its parts.
T  F  10.   A variable is a general characteristic or dimension of some thing or concept, such as a person, small group, or house, and which can take on two or more values.
T  F  11.   Attitudes and personality traits are system-level variables.
T  F  12.   An evaluation of a committee is usually made on the basis of its input components rather than on its outputs.
T  F  13.   A system is defined as an arrangement of components.
T  F  14.   Procedures followed by a small group in making major decisions are classified as throughput variables.
T  F  15.   A recommendation by a committee to an administrator is an example of a group output.

Matching
16.    1. dogmatism 2. cohesiveness 3. structure of problem-solving procedure 4. authoritarianism 5. synergy 6. norms
A.   individual-level variable
B.   system-level variable
C.   system-level variable
D.   individual-level variable
E.   system-level variable
F.   system-level variable

17.   General systems theory was developed from an analysis of
A.   small groups of humans and other animals.
B.   the functioning of complex machines such as engines.
C.   the ways in which human societies develop and function.
D.   historical trends that develop over long periods of time.
E.   living organisms that must maintain a balance with their environments.

18.   "A small human group is an open system." This statement means that ,
A.   members are open-minded toward new ideas.
B.   nonmembers, such as reporters, may attend meetings.
C.   the group influences and is influenced by its environment.
D.   the group tends to degenerate (second law of thermodynamics).
E.   some members are periodically replaced, such as in done in most standing committees.

19.   Throughput refers to or is a synonym for
A.   the ways members process information.
B.   whatever is accomplished by the group's activity.
C.   communication among members.
D.   process and procedures of a group.
E.   message sending and receiving by a group.

20.   Members who bring to the group information about the environment and who report group activities and recommendations to the parent organization (and other concerned groups) are called
A.   liaisons.
B.   boundary spanners.
C.   reporters.
D.   interfacers.
E.   marginal persons.

21.   In order to accomplish the objectives assigned to them, committees of an organization may need which of the following from the organization?
A.   program about how to work as a committee member.
B.   information about the budget and other physical resources available to the committee.
C.   expert consultants.
D.   all of the above.
E.   none of the above.

22.   In a county near where we live, the Planning and Zoning Commission has become demoralized, and is working poorly. This P&Z Commission is responsible to the elected Board of Commissioners, who are the legislative group for the county, with authority to change any recommendation by the Commission. Based on chapter 2, which do you think has probably produced much of the low morale in the Planning and Zoning Commission?
A.   The Commission has to make too many important decisions.
B.   The Commission has to meet several times each month.
C.   The Commission rarely gets a decision made.
D.   When affected citizens appeal, the Board often changes the decision made by the Commission.
E.   When affected citizens appeal, the Board usually backs the decision made by the Commission.

23.   When a group performs above its apparent potential (determined from member characteristics), that is an instance of positive _______________.

24.   Nominal members, who watch and listen but rarely contribute anything of substance to the group's efforts to achieve its goal, are called social _____________.

25.   Responses to a system's output are collectively referred to as _________________.

26.   The variables of a group were classified into three major categories: _______________, ______________, and ______________.

27.   For its smaller groups to function well, an organization needs _______________ to their accomplishments.

28.   An interacting complex of interdependent parts, perceived as a whole, is called a(n) ___________________.

29.   An observable (or measurable) characteristic that can change in magnitude or quality is called a(n) ___________________.
 

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