Chapter 13 - Groups and Teams

13.1 Groups versus Teams

Why teamwork is important?o Increased productivity an speed, reduced costs, improved quality, reduced destructive internal

competition and improved workplace cohesiveness Groups and Teams, How do they differ?

Formal v informal groupso Formal group – group established to do something productive for the organization and is headed

by a leader May be permanent or temporary and in the form of division or department etc

o Informal group – formed by people seeking friendship and has no officially appointed leader, but a leader may form from the membership

Collection of friends or a bowling teamo Informal groups through gossip an chatter may sabotage the plans of formal groups

Work teams for four purposeso Various types of work teams

Continuous improvement team – volunteers of workers/supervisors that meet intermittently to discuss workplace problems

Cross-functional team – composed of people from different departments that pursue a common objective

Problem-solving team – workers who meet as a temporary team to solve a problem Self-managed team – workers are trained to do all their jobs in a unit and have no direct

supervisor Top-management team - members consist of the top head of offices Virtual team – members interact by computer networks Work team – members engage in collective work requiring coordinated effort

o Four Purposes Advice Teams – broaden the information base for managerial decision Production Teams – responsible for performing day to day operations Project teams – do creative problem solving Action Teams – tasks that require people with specialized training and a high degree of

coordination Self- Managed Teams

o Continuous Improvement Teams – consist of small groups of volunteers or workers and supervisors who meet intermittently to discuss workplace and quality related problems

o Self-managed team – workers are trained to do all their jobs in a unit and have no direct supervisor

New Technology – self-managed teams require special tech

Group – two or more freely interacting individuals who share collective norms, share collective goals, and have a common identity

GroupTeam – a small group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, goal and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Team

New organization – structural redesign of the organization must take place because self-managed teams are an integral part of the organization

13.2 Stages of Group and Team Development

Stage 1: Forming (why are we here?)o Forming – process of getting oriented and getting acquaintedo Ice breakers and figuring out goals and who is in chargeo What leader should do?

Take this period to assume permanent control Allow time for people to become acquainted

Stage 2: Storming (why are we fighting over who does what and who is in charge?)o Storming – emergence of individual personalities and roles and conflicts within the groupo Time of testing the leader’s policies and assumptionso What leader should do?

Encourage members to suggest ideas and voice conflicts and disagreements Stage 3: Norming (can we agree on roles and work together?)

o Norming – conflicts are resolved, close relationships develop and unity and harmony emergeo At this stage, group may evolve into a teamo Group cohesiveness – a “we” feeling binding group members togethero What leader should do?

Leader should emphasize unity and help identify team goals + values Stage 4: Performing (can we do the job properly?)

o Performing – members concentrate on solving problems and completing the assigned tasko What leader should do?

Allow members the empowerment they need to work on tasks Stage 5: Adjourning (can we help members transition out?)

o Adjourning – members prepare for disbandmento What leader should do?

Rituals to celebrate the end and new beginnings Parties, award and ceremonies

13.3 Building Effective Teams

Performance goals and feedbacko Teams like individuals need measurable goals and feedback of their performance

Motivation through mutual accountabilityo Key part in motivating members for team effort: being mutually accountable to other members of

the team rather than to a supervisor to foster trust and commitment Size: Small or large teams?

o Small Teams (with 9 or fewer members) for better interaction and morale Advantages

Better interaction – offer more opportunity for personal discussion and participation Better morale – better able to see the worth of their individual contribution + more

highly committed and satisfied Disadvantages

Fewer resources – less knowledge due to fewer hands Possibly less innovation – may be too small and show less creativity Unfair work distribution – uneven distribution of work among members

o Large teams (10-16 members) for more resources and division of labor Advantages

More resources – more knowledge and experience etc

Division of labor – work is divided to particular tasks that are assigned to particular workers

Disadvantages Less interaction – less sharing of personal information etc. May lead to cliques Lower morale – express more disagreements due to being less able to see the worth

of individual contributions Social loafing – tendency of people to exert less effort when working in groups

than working alone Roles: How team members are expected to behave

o Roles – socially determined expectations of how individuals should behave in specific situations Task Roles – consists of behavior that concentrates on getting the team’s tasks done Maintenance Roles – behavior that fosters constructive relationships among team

members Norms: Unwritten rules for team members

o Norms – general guidelines or rules of behavior that most group members followo 4 reasons why norms are enforced?

To help the group survive To clarify role expectations To help individuals avoid embarrassing situations To emphasize the group’s important values and identity

Cohesiveness: Importance of togethernesso Cohesiveness – tendency of a group or a team to stick togethero 8 factors that build collaborative teams

Investing in signature relationship practices Modeling collaborative behavior Creating a “gift culture” Ensuring the requisite skills Supporting a strong sense of community Assigning team leaders that are both task and relationship oriented Building on heritage relationship Understanding role clarity and task ambiguity

Groupthink: When peer pressure discourages “OTB thinking”o Groupthink – a cohesive group’s willingness to consider alternatives

Example – groupthink was a major factor in US invasion of Iraq as too many people in government tended to think alike and therefore failed to challenge basic assumption about Iraq’s weapons

o Symptoms of Groupthink Invulnerability, inherent morality and stereotyping of opposition

Members may be so reassured of their righteousness that they ignore ethical implications

Rationalization and self-censorship Illusion of unanimity, peer pressure and mind guards Groupthink versus the wisdom of crowds

o Results of Groupthink: Decision making defects Reduction in alternative ideas Limiting of other information

o Preventing Groupthink Allow criticism – someone should be told to be a critical evaluator, able to actively voice

objections and doubts Allow other perspectives – fresh perspectives should be introduced

13.4 Managing Conflict

Nature of Conflicto Conflict – process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively

affected by another party Negative conflict (bad for organizations) – conflict that hinders the organization’s

performance/threatens its interests Constructive conflict (good for organizations) – benefits the main purpose of the

organization and serves its interests Can too little/much conflict affect performance?

o Too little conflict – brings upon indolence as work groups and teams tend to be plagued by apathy, lack of creativity and missed deadlines

o Too much conflict – brings upon warfare because of political infighting and lack of teamworko MODERATE conflict to be sought after

Three Kinds of Conflictso Personality conflict – interpersonal opposition based on personal dislike, disagreement, or

differing styles Personality clashes – individual differences cannot be resolves Competition for scarce resources – when two individuals want the same things Time pressure – when people believe that there are not enough hours to do the work Communication failures – when people misperceive and misunderstand

o Intergroup Conflicts – clashes between work groups, teams and departments Inconsistent goals/reward systems – when people pursue different objectives Ambiguous jurisdictions – when job boundaries are unclear Status differences – when there are inconsistencies in power and influence

o Multicultural conflicts – clashes between cultures How to stimulate constructive conflict?

o If carefully monitored, conflicts can be productive and can stimulate performanceo 4 devices used to stimulate constructive conflict

Spur competition among employees Change the organization’s cultures and procedures Bring in outsiders for new perspectives Use programmed conflict

Programmed conflict – elicit different opinions without inciting people’s personal feelings

Devil’s Advocacy – process of assigning someone to play the role of critic Dialectic method – process of having two people or groups play opposing roles in a

debate in order to better understand a proposal