TEAM DYNAMICS

Team Dynamics

• refers to the behavioral, psychological, and social interactions within a group of people working towards a shared goal

• It encompasses how team members communicate, collaborate, resolve conflicts, and interact with each other, ultimately influencing the group’s performance and cohesion

Group

• Two or more people who perceive themselves as a group and interact.

• Goals: usually work-related or social.

• Criteria to be a group:

  1. Members see themselves as a unit

  2. Membership is rewarding

  3. Events affecting one affect all (Corresponding Effects)

  4. Shared common goal

• Size types:

  • Dyad = 2

  • Triad = 3

  • Small Group = 4–20

Group Rewards

• membership must be rewarding for each individual in the group

Corresponding Effects

n event that affects one group should also affect all group members

Common Goal

an aim or purpose shared by members of a group

Formal Group

• put together by an organization to perform certain tasks and handle specific responsibilities

  • Workgroup

set up by the organization

• Example: Work group responsible for monthly reports

Work Group

• interdependent collection of individuals who share responsibility for specific outcomes for their organization

• Subunits that the organization has actually established

Informal Groups

develops naturally, independent of the org

• Example: After-work lunch group

Team

• Interdependent workers with complementary skills working toward a shared goal.

• Important Components:

  1. Purpose/Goal

  2. Interdependence & collaboration

  3. Mutual influence

  4. Perceived as a team

Team Permanence

• refers to the stability and longevity of a team’s membership

Skill Diversity

• describes the range of different skills, knowledge, and expertise present within a team

Authority Dispersion

• the distribution of decision-making power and control within a team

Identification

• the degree to which individual members feel a sense of belonging and connection to the team

Power Differentiation

• the extent to which there are clear distinctions in power and influence among team members

Social Distance –

• the perceived closeness or separation between team members

Departmental Teams

• the most traditional and common teams, organized around specific functions or departments within an organization

  ◆ Members typically have similar skills and expertise within their specialized area

  ◆ Usually permanent and ongoing

  ◆ Roles and responsibilities are often clearly defined and assigned by manager

• Can sometimes lead to “silos” where departments don’t communicate effectively with each other

Self-Directed Teams

• they have a high degree of autonomy and are responsible for a complete work process or segment that delivers a product or service.

• They operate without a traditional manager and share leadership and responsibility

Task Force (Project) Teams (Cross-Functional)

• Temporary, solve specific problems or projects

• They bring together individuals from different departments or functional areas

• Cross-Functional – members possess diverse skills, knowledge, and perspectives from various parts of the organization

• Temporary – disbanded once the specific goal or project is achieved

Production Teams

• Responsible for ongoing production of goods/services (manuf/service delivery)

• Focus on efficiency, quality, meeting targets

• Can range from highly supervised to self-managed, depending on the organizational structure

Management teams

• Consist of individuals at various levels of management (e.g., top executives, departmental heads) who are responsible for the overall direction, strategy, and operations of the organization or a specific unit

• Focus on strategic planning, decision-making, resource allocation, and problem-solving at an organizational level

• Can be formal or informal

Advisory Teams

• Experts giving guidance or recommendations

• Specialized insights

• Temporary

• Formed to provide input on a specific issue

• Examples: a legal advisory team, a scientific advisory board

Skunkworks

• Small, secretive, highly autonomous innovation team

• Focus on rapid prototyping, experimentation, and breakthrough innovation

• Operate outside traditional organizational constraints and bureaucracy

• High risk, high rewards

Communities of Practice

• groups of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis

Virtual Teams

• members are geographically dispersed and rely heavily on technology (e.g., video conferencing, collaboration software, email) to communicate and coordinate their work

Process Losses

• teams have additional costs and resources depending on the team development and maintenance, rather than performing the task

• Non-motivational element of a group situation that detracts from the group’s performance

Brooks’ Law

• Adding more people to a project team when the project is already ongoing, the project will more likely finish longer than in shorter span of time

• Boss adds 5 new programmers
  Old members need to teach them first
  ➡ mas lalong nadelay

Social Facilitation

• involves the positive effect of the presence of others on an individual’s behavior

Example:

• Mas mabilis ka mag-encode kapag may kasabay kang nagta-type

• Basketball player plays better kapag may nanonood

Social Inhibition

• involves the negative effects of others’ presence

Example:

• Kinakabahan ka kapag mag-rereport kasi marami nanonood

• Nalilito ko sa exam pag may nakatingin.

Audience effect

• takes place when a group of people passively watches an individual\

• Others are just watching.

Example:

• Nanood ng Binibing Calaca nila Name

Coaction

• twor more people are performing the same task in the presence of one another

• Others are doing the same task.

  Example:

  • Two students taking the same exam side by side

  • Two sales agents competing in the same shift

Mere Presence

• the most basic level of social influence, suggesting that the simple, passive physical presence of other people is sufficient to elicit a change in an individual’s performance

• Example:

  • Mas seryoso ka mag-aral kapag may tao sa library

Comparison

• the idea that the presence of others can influence our performance because we compare ourselves to them

• Mas ginalingan mo kasi mas mabilis magsagot seatmate mo

Evaluation Apprehension

• the presence of others is influential not just because they are there, but because we apprehend or anticipate that they are evaluating us

Example:

• Kinabahan ka kasi alam mong graded ang performance mo

Distracting

• suggests that the presence of others can affect performance because they act as a distraction, drawing our attention away from the primary task

• Example:

  • Hindi ka makafocus kasi maingay mga tao sa paligid

Social Loafing

• People exert less effort in group work than when working alone.

Example:
Group reporting with 8 members
→ 2 lang gumawa
→ the rest: “may gagawa naman”

Social Enhancement

• working on a task that was high in attractiveness

Example:

• Barkada basketball game — todo effort kasi enjoy

Free-Rider Theory

• individuals may reduce their effort when working in a group because they believe their individual contribution is unnecessary for the group’s success, and they can still benefit from the group’s collective output without putting in their full effort

• Pabigat

• Example:

  • Group project, mataas grade kahit konti ambag mo
    ➡ next time, tinatamad ka na

Sucker Effect

• motivational loss that occurs when individuals reduce their effort in response to perceiving that others in the group are free-riding or not contributing their fair share

Example:

• Napansin mong walang ginagawa iba
  ➡ “Bakit ako lang?”
  ➡ bumaba effort mo

Social Compensation

• increases their effort when working in a group to compensate for the anticipated or perceived poor performance of other group members

• Example:

  • Alam mong mahina sa reporting groupmates mo
    ➡ ikaw na gumawa ng mas marami para pumasa

How to Minimize Social Loafing

✔ Smaller groups – mas halata kung sino di gumagawa
✔ Specialize tasks – may assigned role bawat isa
✔ Measure individual performance – may peer evaluation
✔ Job enrichment – meaningful ang task
✔ Team-oriented employees – mas responsible

Groupthink

• members become cohesive and like-minded that they make poor decision despite contrary information that might reasonably lead them to other options

• Too much cohesiveness → bad decisions.

  Example:
  Barkada plans road trip kahit bagyo
  Walang tumutol
  ➡ na-stranded

Illusion of Invulnerability

• excessive optimism and belief in their inherent rightness and good fortune, which encourages them to take extreme risks and ignore clear warnings of danger.

• The group is too special or powerful to fail

Illusion of morality

• believe unquestioningly in the inherent morality of their group and its actions, leading them to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.

• They assume their objectives are just and good

• “Okay lang ‘to, good intention naman”

Shared Negative Stereotypes

• constructs negative, simplistic, and often dehumanizing stereotypes of rivals or critics outside the group.

• This allows them to dismiss external warnings or alternative viewpoints without careful consideration

Collective Rationalizations

• collectively invent arguments and explanations to justify their decisions and courses of action, dismissing or ignoring any warnings, negative feedback, or contradictory information that might challenge their shared assumptions

Self-censorship

• individuals within the group suppress their own dissenting thoughts, doubts, or counterarguments, especially when they perceive that their views go against the apparent consensus of the group.

• They keep quiet to avoid disrupting group harmony or facing disapproval

Illusion of Unanimity

• group members falsely believe that there is unanimous agreement on a decision.

• Silence or lack of strong objection is interpreted as consent

• Silence means yes = agree

Direct Conformity Pressure

• directly exerts pressure on any individual who expresses doubts, questions the group’s shared illusions, or argues against the group’s consensus.

• This pressure often involves implying that dissent is disloyalty

• wag ka kontra

Mindguards

• actively protecting the group from information that might contradict the group’s shared beliefs or challenge their consensus.

• They might filter information, discourage critical thinking, or keep dissenting information from reaching the group

Types of Group tasks

• Additive task

• Conjunctive task

• Disjunctive task

Additive Tasks

• group’s output is the sum of each member’s contributions

Output = sum of all efforts
Example:

• Fundraising

• Tug-of-war

Conjunctive Task

• determined by the weakest or least capable member

• Example:

  • Relay race

  • Group presentation (isang di handa = sablay lahat)

Disjunctive Task

• determined by its best or most capable member

• Depends on best member
  Example:

  • Quiz bee

  • Problem-solving exam

Social Impact Theory

provides a framework for understanding how the presence and actions of others influence an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior

Influence depends on:

• Strength

• Immediacy

• Number

Example:
Mas kabado ka kapag:

• Professor (high status)

• Malapit sa’yo

• Maraming nanonood

Mental Model

• organized knowledge structure that enhances the interaction of an individual with his/her environment

• Alam mo na agad paano sumagot ng exam dahil sanay ka na

Shared mental models

organized structures combining the knowledge, beliefs, and understandings of two or more individuals that help coordinate their efforts

Group Roles

• extent to which its members assume its roles

  • Task Oriented Roles

  • Social Oriented Roles

  • Individual roles

Task-oriented role

• involves behaviors such as offering new ideas, coordinating activities, and finding new information

• Example:

  • Leader na naga-assign ng tasks

Social-oriented roles

• involves encouraging cohesiveness and participation

Individual roles

• blocking group, calling attention to oneself, and avoiding group intercation

5C’s of effective team members

• Cooperating

• Coordinating

• Communicating

• Comfort

• Conflict handling

Cooperating

• willing and able to work together rather than alone

Simple explanation:
Willing kang makipagtrabaho sa iba, hindi “solo mode.”

Example
Sa marketing team, may deadline sa campaign. Kahit tapos na task mo, tumulong ka pa rin sa teammate na nahuhuli para sabay matapos ang project.

Coordinating

• actively manage the team’s work so that it is performed efficiently and harmoniously

• Example:
  Project lead gumawa ng task schedule at timeline para hindi sabay-sabay ang work at walang nadodoble na tasks.

Communicating

• transmit information freely, efficiently, and respectfully

Comforting

• help co-workers to maintain a positive and healthy psychological state

• Emotional support para di ma-burnout ang teammates.

  Org example:
  After a failed client presentation, supervisor kinausap ang team, in-acknowledge ang effort, at pinalakas ang morale

Conflict Handling

• skills and motivation to resolve dysfunctional disagreements among team members

Homogeneous Group

• contains members who are similar in some or most ways

Heterogeneous Group

• contains members who are more different than alike

Slightly Homogeneous Group

• between heterogeneous and homogenous groups

Consider the Context of Behavior

• an individual’s behavior is jointly determined by internal forces (e.g., values, attitudes, and needs) and external forces (e.g., social pressure and job requirements

• Behavior = personality + situation.

  Example:
  Tahimik na employee nagiging assertive kapag crisis dahil kailangan ng role niya.

Role Concept

• used to describe how people perceive the various situational forces acting on them

• Paano mo naiintindihan ang role mo.

  Example:
  New supervisor na akala niya “boss = strict,” kaya sobrang controlling sa simula.

Role differentiation

• the process by which a group or organization establishes distinct roles for various members of the group or organization

• Explanation:
  May malinaw na hati ng roles.

  Example:
  Sa project team: may planner, executor, quality checker—walang overlap.

Conflict

• is the psychological and behavioral reaction to a perception that another person is keeping you from reaching a goal, taking away your right to behave in a particular way, or violating the expectancies of a relationship

• Relationship Conflict, Task Conflict, Process Conflict

Team building

consists of formal activities to improve the development and functioning of a work team

● Team volunteering events

● Team scavenger hunt/treasure hunt

● Team sport/exercise competitions

● Team music ensemble events

Descriptive Norms

• define what most people tend to do, feel, or think in a particular situation

• Example:
  “Lahat nag-o-OT kapag deadline.”

Prescriptive

• suggest what people should do, feel, or think in a particular situation

• Example:
  “Dapat mag-inform kapag absent

Team Cohesion

• the degree of attraction people feel toward the team and their motivation to remain members

• Gaano kagusto ng members manatili sa team.

Example:
Team na proud sa outputs nila at ayaw magpalipat ng department.

Similarity Attraction effect

• occurs when people assume people are more trustworthy and more acceptable if they are similar to them

• Example:
  Team na proud sa outputs nila at ayaw magpalipat ng department.

Team Trust

• positive expectations one person has toward another person in situations involving risk

  • Calculus-Based Trust

  • Knowledge-Based Trsut

  • Identification-Based trust

Calculus-Based Trust

• logical calculation that other team members will act appropriately because they face sanctions in their actions violate reasonable expectations

• Tiwala dahil may rules at consequences.

  Example:
  Trust mo teammate mag-submit on time kasi may penalty kapag hindi.

Knowledge-based trust

• based on the predictability of another team member’s behavior

• Tiwala dahil kilala mo na behavior niya.

  Example:
  Alam mong reliable siya kasi lagi siyang on time sa past projects.

Identification-based trust

• mutual understanding and an emotional bond among team members

• Tiwala dahil aligned kayo mag-isip at magtrabaho.

  Example:
  Matagal na kayong magka-team kaya alam mo agad paano siya mag-decide.

Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development

• Forming

• Storming

• Norming

• Performing

• Adjourning

Forming

• orienting with others, defining the task, establishing ground rules

• Example:
  Newly formed project team nagkikilala pa lang.

Storming

• addressing conflict, establishing norms, clarifying roles, and building trust

• Example:
  Nagkaka-clash sa ideas at leadership.

Norming

• building unity, developing shared understanding, establishing processes, and increasing collaboration

• Example:
  Nagkakaintindihan na sa roles at processes.

Performing

• achieving goals, continuous improvement, innovation, and high-level problem-solving

• Example:
  Smooth na ang trabaho, mataas productivity.

Adjourning

• applies to temporary teams or project teams that eventually disband

• Example:
  Project completed, team disbands.

Punctuated Equilibrium

• rather than forming in stages, teams develop direction and strategy in the first meeting, follow this direction for a period of time, then drastically revise their strategy about halfway through

• Big change sa gitna ng project.

Example:
Midway sa project, napansin mali ang strategy kaya biglang nag-shift ng approach.

3 Dimensions of Work Team-Effectiveness

• Team Performance - quality and quantity of the team’s output

• Attitudes - internal experience of team members and their feelings

• Withdrawal behaviors - behaviors that indicate a lack of engagement (absenteeism, lateness)

Diversity

➔ possess better resources for tackling complex or novel problems

➔ have a broader pool of technical competencies

➔ Provide better representation of the team’s constituents

➔ creates challenges to the internal functioning of the team

➔ employees take longer to become a high-performing team

Types of Diversity

• Demographic Diversity - age, gender, ethnicity, race

• Psychological/Cognitive Diversity - skills, knowledge, perspectives, problem-solving styles, and values

• Functional Diversity - departmental or functional backgrounds

Taskwork

• which involves the task-oriented aspects of work; entails specific individual behaviors required for success

• Explanation:
  Actual job tasks.

  Example:
  Coding, reporting, data analysis.

Teamwork

• wide range of activities aimed at maintaining and enhancing team performance

• Paano nagtatrabaho ang team.

Predictors of Work-Team Effectiveness

➔ Organizational Context – rewards, goals, feedback, training
📌 Example: May bonus ang team kapag na-hit ang sales target + may regular feedback meeting → mas ganado magtrabaho ang team.

➔ Group Composition & Size – ability, personality, demographics
📌 Example: Team na may halo ng creative, analytical, at organized members → mas balanced ang output.

➔ Group Work Design – task & goal interdependence
📌 Example: Sa restaurant, hindi makaka-serve ang waiter kung di pa tapos ang kusina → kailangan talaga magtulungan.

➔ Intragroup Processes – cohesion, efficacy, communication
📌 Example: Close ang team, open magbigay ng ideas → mas mabilis matapos ang project.

➔ External Group Process – communication outside the group
📌 Example: Marketing team laging nakikipag-coordinate sa sales team → mas aligned ang campaigns.

Constraints of Team Decision Making

• Production Blocking

• Evaluation Apprehension

• Team Efficacy

Production blocking

• teams take longer than individuals to decide because they require time to build rapport, agree on rules and norms, and understand each other’s ideas

• mas mabagal ang team kaysa individual
  📌 Example: Brainstorming meeting na paisa-isa lang nagsasalita → naghihintayan.

Evaluation Apprehension

takot ma-judge
📌 Example: May idea ka pero di mo sinabi kasi baka matawanan ka ng boss.

• based on an individual’s desire to create a favorable self-presentation and need to protect self-esteem

Team Efficacy

• collective confidence in how well they work together and the likely success of their team effort

• collective confidence in how well they work together and the likely success of their team effort