chapter 6 groups and teams. copyright © 2006 by thomson delmar learning. all rights reserved. 2...

Chapter 6

Groups and Teams

Copyright © 2006 by Thomson Delmar Learning. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 2

Purpose and Overview

• Purpose– To understand effective management through

motivation, leadership, and conflict management



• Overview– The Importance of Groups and Teams in

Health Services Organizations – Understanding and Improving Team

Performance



• Overview– Team Processes – Team Characteristics – Nature of the Task – The Environmental Context


The Importance of Groups and Teams

• Types of Groups • Two or more persons interacting to

influence each other



• Types of Groups– Informal – Formal



• Types of Teams– Interdependent – Share responsibility for outcomes– Intact social entity embedded in larger social

systems – Manage relationships across organizational

boundaries– Formal group



• Types of Teams– Work Teams– Parallel Teams– Project Teams – Management Teams


Understanding and Improving Team Performance

• Effective Teams – Drive to improve – Mechanisms to facilitate improvement– Flexible and adaptive – Improves their performance


Understanding and Improving Team Performance

• A Model of Team Effectiveness


Team Processes

• Leadership – Ability to influence others toward achieving

team's goals


Team Processes

• Communication Network and Patterns: – A team cannot function effectively unless

members can share information • Ambassador activities • Task-coordinator activities • Scout activities


Team Processes

• Decision Making – Exchanging information and making decisions

is critical • Free-riding• Groupthink


Team Processes

• Decision Making– Groupthink Symptoms:

• Illusion of invulnerability• Collective rationalization• Belief in inherent morality of the team• Stereotyping others


Team Processes

• Decision Making– Groupthink Symptoms:

• Pressures to conform• Use of mind guards• Self-censorship• Illusion of unanimity


Team Processes

• Learning– Team's ability to learn is essential to

effectiveness – Process enabled by climate of psychological

safety


Team Processes

• Stages of Team Development – Forming– Storming– Norming– Performing– Adjourning


Team Processes

• Team Process as an Intermediary– Team processes can be improved by team

members and leaders


Team Characteristics

• Every team influences and determines members’ interaction with each other



• Team Composition and Size Dimensions– Age and gender– Occupation– Tenure– Abilities– Personality– Nationality, Race, Ethnicity or Culture

– Experience



• Team Composition and Size– Affects team process and effectiveness



• Status Differences– Worth conferred on individual by group– Motivates people– Provides means of identification– Stabilizing force



• Psychological Safety– Individuals’ perceptions about consequences

of risks – “If I make a mistake…won’t be penalized” – Confidence to experiment– Confidence to discuss mistakes and problems– Confidence to ask others for help



• Team Norms– Standard to regulate member behavior

• Behavior norms • Performance norms

– Powerful influence – Necessary for effective group functioning – Group members socialize other members



• Team Cohesiveness– Attraction to other members– Motivated to stay – Committed to group task



• Highly Cohesive – May have higher performance– Improved satisfaction– Lower levels of turnover

• Conflict – May be beneficial to group performance


Nature of the Task

• Group Behaviors Critical to Success – Individual effort– Collaboration – Interdependent effort


Nature of the Task

• Team Goals– Categorized according to goal clarity,

complexity, and diversity• Predictable, understandable • Ambiguous or ill-structured goals• Task Complexity


Nature of the Task

• Task Interdependence– Degree to which team members rely on one

another – Interdependence increases uncertainty


Nature of the Task

• Task Interdependence– Pooled – Sequential – Reciprocal – Team


Environmental Context

• Effects of External Pressures – Organizational factors– Factors in external environment



• Intergroup Relationships and Conflict– Team effectiveness depends on ability to

interact with other teams in a positive and productive manner



• Conflict– Inevitable– Often emerges from factors related to

interdependence among work groups



• Common Causes of Conflict– Competition for limited resources– Ambiguity about teams’ respective task

responsibilities and roles– Emerges from factors related to

interdependence among work groups



• Conflict– Strategies to reduce intergroup conflict

• Intergroup training using team-building techniques

• Structuring relationships between teams• Examining interfaces between teams• Establishing self-contained teams



• Organizational Culture

• Top management’s goal

• Organizational reward system



• External Environment – Areas of low resource availability vs. areas of

high resource availability– Local collaborative history– Rural and urban differences

chapter 6 groups and teams. copyright © 2006 by thomson delmar learning. all rights reserved. 2...

Documents

thomson delmar learning

team performance slide

team stereotyping

teams goals

conflict management

importance of groups

environmental context

overview purpose