organizational teams (chapter 11)
TRANSCRIPT
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Organizational Teams (Chapter 11)
Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason, COMS 404
Before you read…
• Consider what you know about teams, team work, organizational
teams, and the ways people interact on the job.
• Reflect on your personal experiences as a team member.
Face it, teams are a part of organizational life.
Teams are small groups (3-9 people) who are INTERDEPENDENT, committed to one another, and are mutually accountable
We study teams because they are so essential in the functioning of organizations
They impact individuals, too! Learning to effectively understand, and work
within, teams will help your career
Why study teams?
“But I hate group work…”~ Typical
student statement at
this point in
the semester
Characteristics of teams
Decision Making
NormsRelational
Communication
DiversityCohesiveness
Stress
Satisfaction
Stuckness
{ {Relationships can help! Relationships are formed that
help employees feel more connected to the team
Individuals receive support from others to face difficult challenges
The team provides opportunities for members to demonstrate leadership abilities
Teams allow us to test ideas before making them public
Teams can be hurt by relationships!
Poor relationships exist. Primary provoker Secondary provoker Avoiding or
accommodating those instigating the conflict
Dysfunctional relationships have many implications (page 212)
Relational Communication
Think about it…
Explore the information about
“dysfunction” on page 212.
Decision Making
The process the team goes through to make decisions is critical to its success.
The way in which team members talk about issues affects the way they think about these issues, which, in turn, determines the quality of the choices they make as a team.
Negative actions have a greater ability to disrupt the team’s performance than do positive actions to make the team successful.
cromwellhaus.com
Actual productivity = potential productivity – Losses due to faulty processes
{ {Norms
Norms are the informal rules that teams establish to govern their activities and behaviors.
The norms that become a part of the team’s culture are made up of shared values, beliefs, rituals, and stories about the team.
Cohesiveness
Cohesiveness is the degree to which members feel connected to the team.
The more these linkages are identified and reinforced, the greater the team cohesiveness.
Cohesiveness = positive outcomes
Norms & Cohesiveness
Think about it…
Consider your organization
this semester. What are some norms and how
were they developed?
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• Surface diversity (demographics)
• Direct task related/informational diversity (differences in education, technical, functional, applied backgrounds)
• Homogenous teams have advantages and disadvantages—be aware of these
• Cross-cultural teams have the potential to be the most successful, given the diversity of ideas and contributions they can generate.
Diversity
Satisfaction means the team feels it has accomplished its task and members have been recognized individually for their contributions.
Rewards Social needs Impact of teams on our behaviors and
attitudes Higher loyalty Higher productivity Team conflict and dysfunction
Satisfaction Think about it…
Consider your last team. Identify
satisfaction and potential impacts.
Working with others requires coordination and compromise resulting in conflict and consequently results in stress created by the desire to perform and the strain of negotiating with others.
Stress
www.pptbackgrounds.net
• Stress can be created by violating team norms
• Teams or individuals can experience stress
• Several types of team stressors exist:• Team training load • Team workload • Team size• Team cohesion• Goal structure
Stuckness occurs when the team is unable to break a pattern of behavior that keeps it from moving forward, it continues to make the same mistakes.
Sometimes the team tends to repeat old patterns of interaction and behavior instead of confronting the opposing forces or beliefs within the team and finding connections between them.
This is a situation where changing old norms might be helpful rather than harmful.
Stuckness
Think about it…
This can be a tricky concept. Examine
when stuckness has been harmful
and when it has been helpful in your own
experiences.
Such organizations experience a culture shift:
Team based organizations
From hierarchical to flat
From fragmentation to cohesion
From independence to interdependence From competition to
cooperation
From tried-and-true to risk taking
There are 4 major types of organizational teams (Cohen & Bailey, 1997)
Types of teams
Work teams are “continuing
work units responsible for
producing goods or providing
services” (p. 242).
Parallel teams “pull together people from
different work units or jobs to
perform functions that
the regular organization is not equipped to perform
well” (p. 242).
Project teams produce one-time outputs and are time-
limited.
Management teams
“coordinate and provide direction to sub-units
under their jurisdiction,
laterally integrating
interdependent sub-units
across key business
processes” (p. 243).
One important element of the survival and effectiveness of teams is their connection with the relevant environment, according to Gladstein Acona (1990), who set forth three basic leadership strategies for connecting the team to the environment.
Know these three basic leadership strategies for connecting the team to the larger environment…
Teams & the environment
Informing strategy
Parading
strategy
Probing strategy
SMWTs are gaining popularity They are sometimes called “self-
directed” Teams have responsibility for their own
work Set own tasks Monitor own behavior Can increase employee commitment,
competence, productivity, problem-solving, and satisfaction
Self-managed work teams (SMWT)
Think about it…
SMWTs are prime organizational contexts for double-loop (generative) learning (chapter 6)
Envisioning involved the creation of new and compelling visions, which involves generating ideas and defining goals.
Organizing includes the coordination of the many elements that are connected to the team’s tasks, which involves attention to deadlines, efficiency, and structure.
Spanning deals with the connection of the team’s activities with the important constituents in the relevant environment, which includes networking, securing resources, and being politically aware.
Social behaviors include concern for the social and psychological needs of the team members, which includes interpreting and paraphrasing, using humor, and mediating conflicts.
SMWT – types of leadership roles
Virtual teams
A virtual team is a group that “works across space, time, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technologies” (Lipnack & Stamps, 1997, p. 7).
You’re part of
an
organizational
team in this
class that is
virtual. R
eview
your final
project to learn
more!
What concerns a
nd
benefits are
connected to virt
ual
teams?
What role does
technology play?
{ {Superb teams
They have a clear and engaging direction.
The basic work is designed to be done by a team
Team rewards (not individual or mixed rewards) are strongly associated with team effort.
Physical resources are readily available.
The team, not the leader, has the authority to make decisions over basic work strategies.
The team can articulate clear goals The team establishes norms that
promote strategic thinking.
Ineffective teams
Fail to meet customer needs
Deteriorate over time
Alienated, dissatisfied members
Effective teams
Misunderstandings arise from Team size
As size increases, so does diversity of thought, values, backgrounds, personality that can lead to misunderstandings
Team interdependence Lack of commitment to interdependence can
lead to lack of understanding about team benefits
Common goals Some team members are more interested in
individual, not group, goals Misunderstandings also come about when team
members accept what they perceive to be common goals and processes in an effort to avoid conflict—this is known as GROUPTHINK
Dysfunction & Misunderstandings
Think about
it…
Have you
ever
experienced
groupthink?
Consider the positive and negative elements of team conflict.
How can you maximize the positive and minimize the negative?
Conflict: Positives and Negatives
Organizational Teams
What do you like and dislike about teams?
Use the concepts in this chapter to examine the organization you are following. Can you locate
information about teams and collaboration for that organization? What does this information tell you?
Consider the benefits and limitations of teamwork within organizations.