The HR department at Bailey Services is considering offering ...

[Diane]

The HR department at Bailey Services is considering offering telecommuting as an option to some experienced employees. At a meeting to formalize the move, the heads of the different departments met with Laura Watson, the HR manager.
 
  Laura, who thought this meeting would be a short one, was proven wrong when all the members, who had previously agreed that telecommuting would work in their company, began coming up with divergent views. By the end, two divisions claimed they had major concerns about allowing employees to telecommute, and those in favor of it were equally vocal. This scenario depicts the operation of ________.
  A) conformity
  B) groupshift
  C) role conflict
  D) groupthink
  E) social loafing

Question 2

What is the relationship between performance norms, cohesiveness, and group productivity?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[robbielu01]

Answer to Question 1

B
Explanation: B) Groupshift is a change 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, but it generally is toward a more extreme version of the group's original position.

Answer to Question 2

Cohesiveness increases group productivity, and this relationship between cohesiveness and productivity depends on the group's performance-related norms. If 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. However, 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 tends to fall into the low-to-moderate range.