Final answer:
Lower-level managers known as team leaders are increasingly common due to organizational shifts towards employee work teams. These leaders facilitate teamwork and goal achievement, but this structure doesn't always ensure higher productivity, which is related to the team halo effect where teams seem more effective than they are.
Step-by-step explanation:
It is true that a special category of lower-level managers known as team leaders has become more common as organizations have transitioned towards utilizing employee work teams. In today's changing workplace, characterized by shifts in technology, globalization, and demographics, organizations are increasingly adopting flat organizational structures with a focus on teamwork. With this organizational structure, the traditional manager/employee hierarchy is replaced by collaborative teams, where team leaders play a critical role in guiding and supporting their members towards achieving specific goals and tasks. The creation of such teams has been driven by the recognition that diverse skill sets and experiences can contribute towards innovative solutions and rapid response to market demands, albeit this structure does not guarantee an increase in productivity and requires careful management and leadership.
Regarding the effects of the team halo effect, the correct response is that a. teams appear to work better than they do. The team halo effect can lead to the perception that the team's productivity and functionality are greater than they might actually be in reality. This psychological bias can affect evaluations and judgments about a team's performance.