OB Short Answer

Departmental Teams

consist of employees who have similar or complementary skills and are located in the same unit of a functional structure; usually minimal task intdependence.

Team Permanence: High

Skill Diversity: low to medium

Authority Dispersion: Low

Self-directed Teams

members are organized around work processes that complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks and have.

Team Permanence: High

Skill Diversity: Medium to High

Authority Dispersion: high

Task Forces/ Project Teams

Cross-functional teams whose members are usually drawn from several disciplines to solve a specific problem, realize an opportunity, or design a product or service.

Team Permanence: High

Skill Diversity: Medium to High

Authority Dispersion: Medium

Advantages of Teams

-Better Decisions and Products

-Better information sharing and coordination

-Higher motivation due to team membership

Challenges of Teams

• some tasks are better done individually

• process losses: resources expended toward team development and maintenance rather than the task

• social loafing

Social Loafing

The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually

When Social Loafing Occurs

• when individual performance is hidden, indistinguishable

• work has low motivation

• due to individual characteristics

• when employees lack motivation to help team goals

How to minimize social loafing

• forms smaller teams

• measure individual performance

• specialize tasks

• increase job enrichment

• increase mindfulness of team obligations

• select motivated, team-oriented employees

Team Development Stages

• Forming: Uncertainty and Anxiety

• Storming: Intra-group conflict

• Norming: close relationships and cohesiveness

• Performing: when the group is fully functional

• Adjourning: concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance for temporary groups

Synchronicity

channel requires/allows sender and receiver to transmit at the same time (synchronous) or at different times (asynchronous).

Depends on:

• Time urgency

• Complexity of the topic

• cost of synchronous communication

• whether receiver should have time to reflect

Media Richness

The channel’s data-carrying capacity- volume and variety of information that can be transmitted during a specific time .

Used when:

• Conveys multiple cues

• Allows timely feedback

• Allows customized message

• Permits complex symbols

Task- Oriented Behaviours

• Assign work, clarify

• Set goals and deadlines, provide feedback

• establish work procedures, plan future work

People-Oriented Behaviours

• concerns for employee needs

• make workplace pleasant

• recognize employee contributions

• listen to employees

Servant Leadership

leaders serve followers and help employees fulfill their needs and are coaches, stewards, and facilitators of employee performance.

Characteristics:

Natural calling to serve others

Humble and accepting relationships

Ethical Decisions and actions

Leadership Attributes Perspective Limitations

Assumes a universal approach with different attributes that may be equally good.

views leadership within person- whereas leadership is relational

link between attributes and effective leadership is muddied by implicit leadership

Attributes indicate only leadership potential, not performance.

Merging Organizational Cultures

Assimilation: acquired firm embraces acquiring culture

Deculturation: Acquiring firm imposes its culture and practices

Integration: Composite culture preserves best of past cultures

Separation: Merged firms keep their own corporate cultures and practices

Attraction-Selection-Attrition Theory

Organizations have a natural tendency to hire people who have similar values and characteristics to obtain a stronger culture.

Attraction: Applicants self-select based on compatibility

Selection: Firms select applicants based on compatible values

Attrition: Employees with incompatible values quit or are fired.

Horizontally-Oriented Structure

Contemporary structure, built for learning/adaptability, decentralized decision making

Horizontal Information Linkages

facilitate the exchange of information across departments (shared network drives, google docs)

Full-Time Integrator: Horizontal Information Linkages

does not belong to one of the functional groups they’re coordinating

coordinates several departments

often given title of “project manager”

have well-developed people skills, because they have the job of bringing departments together and resolve conflicts!

Teams: Horizontal Information Linkages

• strongest horizontal linkage mechanism

• permanent task forces, includes a full-time integrator

• Cross-Functional teams and virtual teams

Matrix Structure

• A mix between either product and function or product and geographical structures

• product and functional managers have equal authority (employees report to both)

• A strong form of horizontal linkage

Required Conditions for Matrix

1) Pressure exists to share scarce resources across product lines

2) environmental pressure exists for two or more critical outputs, such as in-depth technical knowledge and frequent new products

3) the environmental domain of the organization is both complex and unstable

Functional Matrix

functional managers have the power, product managers act as coordinators

Product Matrix

product/project/brand managers have the power, functional managers work on division of labour, provide expert advice

Symptoms of Structural Deficiency

• Decision making is delayed or lacking in quality

• the organization does not respond innovatively to a changing environment

• employee performance declines and goals are not being met

• Too much conflict is evident

Lewin’s Change Model

Unfreeze: understanding the current situation and breaking it down

Change: changes are implemented

Refreeze: once the changes have been implemented, solidify them

Sources of Personal Power

• legitimate: formal authority

• reward: ability to bestow rewards

• coercive: punish/reccomend punishment

• expert: special skills/knowledge

• referent: resources/personal traits

Organizational Power

Stems from structural elements that provide individuals with power

Horizontal Sources of Power

Harder to measure because they are not defined by a hierarchy

ex) VP’s being on the same level of the hierarchy but not having the same amount of power.

Sources of Conflict

• Incompatible goals

• differentiation

• Interdependence

• Scarce Resources

• Ambiguous Rules

• Poor Communication

Manifest Conflict

Conflict Handling Style

Decisions

Overt Behaviours

Conflict Outcomes

Positive:

• Better Decisions

• Responsive Organization

• Team Cohesion

Negative:

• Stress/low morale

• Turnover

• Politics

• Lower Performance

• Distorted Information

Types of Third Party Intervention

Inquisation, Mediation, Arbitration

Manage Concessions

Communicate priorities and motivation. Successful negotiators can:

• clearly label each concession as a concession

• state the other party should reciprocate

• make fewer and smaller concessions