Chapter 5: Groups and Teamwork

1. Chapter 5:Groups and Teamwork Amanda Tumbach Gary McInenly Raynard Enriquez Adam Baker

2. Groups and Teams Groups vs. Teams 4 types of teams

3. Groups and Teams • used as a way to better utilize employee talents. • outperform individuals • potential for greater outputs without increasing inputs • more flexible & responsive

4. Groups vs. Teams • Group: 2 or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have a stable relationship, common goal and perceive themselves as a group • Team: groups that work close together to a common objective, and are accountable to one another • not all groups are teams, but all teams are groups

5. Problem-Solving (or Process-Improvement)Teams • groups of 5-12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work environment. • ideas and suggestions are shared • it is found that the use of teamwork varies by organizational size

6. Quality Circles • most problem-solving teams use quality circles • a work group of employees (about 8-10) who meet regularly to discuss their quality problems, investigate causes, recommend solutions, and take corrective actions • employees participating in quality circles are required to learn further skills and methods to analyze and solve quality problems

7. Self-Managed (or Self-Directed) Work Teams • a group of 10-15 employees who take on responsibilities of their former managers • These responsibilities include: • planning & scheduling of work • assigning tasks to members • collectively controlling the pace of work • making operating decisions • taking action on problems • teams select their own members and make evaluations on each other

8. Cross-Functional (or Project) Teams • a team made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas who come together to accomplish a task • an effective means of allowing individuals from diverse areas within an organization or between organizations to exchange info, develop new ideas and solve problems, and to coordinate complex projects • downfall occurs in developmental stages

9. Includes: • Task forces: temporary cross-functional teams • Committees: groups composed of members from across departmental lines • Skunkworks: cross-functional teams that develop spontaneously to create new products or work on complex problems • work in isolation

10. Virtual Teams • use of computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal • collaborate online using communication links • can do all things that other teams do, and can often be more efficient due to ease of sharing info • downfall in absence of paraverbal cues, nonverbal cues, and social contact

11. From Individual to Team Member Roles Norms Status

12. In order for a team to function, individuals have to achieve some balance between their own needs and the needs of the team. • Individuals bring: • Personality • Previous Experience

13. Possible pressures individual group members put on each other through expectations. • Roles • Norms • Status

14. Roles • A set of expected behaviour patterns attributed to someone occupying a given position in a social unit. • Role Identity • Role Perception • Role Expectation • Role Conflict

15. Psychological Contract • An unwritten agreement that sets out what management expects from the employee and vice versa.

16. Norms • acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the group’s members • means of influencing behaviour • differ among groups, communities and societies • but all entities have norms • formalized norms are written up in organizational manuals that set out rules and procedures • most norms in organizations are informal

17. Conformity • adjusting your behaviour to align with the norms of a group • Reference Groups

18. Status • a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others • motivation • acquired, ascribed • significance?

19. Stages Of Group and Team Development The Five-Stage Model The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model

20. Five-Stage Model 1. Forming • The first stage of development, Characterized form the saying “testing the waters” 2. Storming • The second stage of development, know as the power struggle or intragroup conflict stage

21. 3. Norming • The third stage of development, Characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness 4. Performing • The fourth stage of development, were the group of team is fully functional and accepted

22. 5. Adjourning • The final stage of development for temporary groups or teams, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance

23. The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model Phase 1 • The first meeting in which members of a team gather to set the direction of the group. These direction become “ written in stone ”, Known as the period of inertia Phase 2 • Team moves out of the inertia stage and recognizes that work needs to be completed

24. Transition • This stage is in between phase 1 and 2. The stage acts like a alarm clock, heightening members awareness to get thing done. This stage is characterized by a concentrated burst of changes. That revise the direction of the team for phase 2

25. Creating Effective Teams Model of Team Effectiveness - Work Design - Composition - Process - Context

26. Model of Team Effectiveness Work Design Autonomy Skill Variety Task Identity Task significance Composition Ability Personality Roles and Diversity Size Flexibility Preference for teamwork Team Effectiveness Process Common Purpose Specific goals Team efficacy Conflict Context Adequate Resources Leadership Performance Evaluation and Rewards

27. Work Design • Work together and collectively take responsibility for a goal or task. • This includes: • Autonomy: independence • Skill Variety: using different skills and talents • Task Identity: ability to complete a whole and identifiable task • Task Significance: participation that has a substantial impact

28. Composition • Select members with their strengths in mind and supply task that fit. • This includes: • Ability • Personality • Roles and Diversity • Size • Flexibility • Preference for teamwork

29. Ability • technical expertise • problem solving and decision making skills • interpersonal skills

30. Personality • Must be careful of team selection based on personality. • This includes: • Extroversion • Agreeableness • Conscientiousness • Emotional Stability • Groups with these characteristics are most likely to be successful.

31. Roles • There are two types of roles: 1. Task oriented roles: performed by group members to ensure that tasks are accomplished • Ex. initiators, Information seekers, information providers, elaborators, summarizers, consensus makers 2. Maintenance roles: carried out to ensure that group members maintain good relations • Ex. harmonizers, compromisers, gatekeepers, encouragers

32. Size • The smaller the group the faster the productivity. (groups consisting of 7 individuals) • The larger the group the slower the productivity, but better for gaining diverse input. (groups consisting of 12 or more individuals)

33. Flexibility • Individuals who can complete more then one task or another individual’s task.

34. Context • Three factors that are most significant: 1. Presence of adequate resources 2. Effective leadership 3. Performance evaluation/Reward system

35. Adequate Resources • support from management and the organization • This includes: • Technology • Staffing • Assistance • Encouragement • Information

36. Leadership • This includes looking after such things as: • Scheduling • Workload • Skill Development • Conflict resolve • How to make/modify decisions • higher expectation/positive mood = greater productivity, lower turnover, better performance

37. Performance Evaluation and Rewards • getting a member to be individually/jointly accountable • Some evaluations of performance: • Team results • Effectiveness/Team functioning • Personal effectiveness

38. Process • Variables of the group include: • Common purpose • Specific Goals • Efficacy • Accountability: Conflict and Social Loafing

39. Common Purpose • provides direction, momentum, and commitment for members • broader then a goal Specific Goals • facilitate clear communication • help maintain employees focus on achieving results • set milestones

40. Team Efficacy • Success breads success • Cohesiveness helps build team efficiency Cohesiveness Low High Performance Norms • What can be done to increase team efficiency? 1. helping the team to achieve small successes and skill training 2. provide training to improve workers technical and interpersonal skills

41. Conflict Levels • Relationship conflict can effect a teams performance both positively and negatively. • Task conflict can improve team effectiveness. Social Loafing and Accountability • Social loafing is related to the size of the group. • Social loafing: tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively then when working individually • Successful teams make members individually and jointly accountable.

42. Teams and Workforce Diversity Advantages & Disadvantages

43. Teams and Work Force Diversity Advantages Disadvantages • Multiple PerspectivesAmbiguity • Greater openness to new ideas Complexity • Multiple interpretations Confusion • Increase creativity Miscommunication • Increase Flexibility Difficulty reaching agreements • Increase problem-solving skills Difficulty agreeing on specific actions

44. Beware! Teams Aren’t Always the Answer How do you know if teams are for you ? Three tests can be applied 1. Can the work be done better by more then one person. 2. Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for the people in the group that is more than aggregate of individual goals. 3. Are members of the group interdependent.