TEAM DYNAMICS

TEAM DYNAMICS

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

TEAM DYNAMICS

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 with each other

Group

The goal is usually work-related: producing a product or service

Group

at work may form merely to develop and maintain social relationships

Group

• The members must see themselves as a unit

• Must provide rewards to its members

Group

Anything that happens to one member affects every other member

The members must share a common goal

Group

• Dyad – 2 people

• Triad – 3 people

• Small Group – 4 to 20 people

Group Rewards

membership must be rewarding for each individual in the group

Corresponding Effects

an 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

Work Group

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

Work Group

Subunits that the organization has actually established

Informal Groups

develop naturally, might include groups of workers who regularly get together after work to discuss their jobs

Informal Groups

Develop apart from the official structure of the organization and exist relatively independently of it

Teams

consists of interdependent workers with complementary skills working toward a shared goal or outcome

Important Components of a Team

• Exist to fulfill some purpose

• Members are held together by their interdependence and need for collaboration to achieve common goals

• Members influence each other

• Exists when its members perceive themselves to be 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

Departmental Teams

Members typically have similar skills and expertise within their specialized area

Departmental Teams

Usually permanent and ongoing

Departmental Teams

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

Departmental Teams

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

Self-Directed Teams

They operate without a traditional manager and share leadership and responsibility

Task Force (Project) Teams (Cross-Functional)

temporary teams formed to address a specific, often complex, problem, project, or challenge

Task Force (Project) Teams (Cross-Functional)

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

are responsible for the ongoing production of goods or services

Production Teams

They are often found in manufacturing or service delivery environments

Production Teams

Focus on efficiency, quality, and meeting production targets

Production Teams

Members work together to complete a specific process or set of tasks

Production Teams

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

Management Teams

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

Management Teams

Can be formal or informal

Advisory Teams

composed of experts who provide guidance, recommendations, and specialized knowledge to decision-makers or other teams

Advisory Teams

Offer specialized insights and perspectives

Advisory Teams

Often temporary, formed to provide input on a specific issue

Advisory Teams

Examples: a legal advisory team, a scientific advisory board

Skunkworks

often used to describe a small, typically independent, and often secretive team within a larger organization that is given a high degree of autonomy to work on innovative, often risky, projects

Skunkworks

Focus on rapid prototyping, experimentation, and breakthrough innovation

Skunkworks

Operate outside traditional organizational constraints and bureaucracy

Skunkworks

High risk, high reward

Communities of Practice

are 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

Process Losses

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

Brook’s 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

Social Facilitation

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

Social Inhibition

involves the negative effects of others’ presence

Audience Effect

takes place when a group of people passively watches an individual

Coaction

the effect on behavior when two or more people are performing the same task in the presence of one another

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

Comparison

the idea that the presence of others (especially coactors or peers) can influence our performance because we compare ourselves to them

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

Distracting

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

Social Loafing

considers the effect on individual performance when people work together on a task, exerting less effort in group work than in individual

Social Enhancement

occurred among group members who were working on a task that was high in attractiveness

Free-Rider Theory

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

Sucker Effect

a 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

Social Compensation

motivational gain in groups, where an individual increases their effort when working in a group to compensate for the anticipated or perceived poor performance of other group members

To minimize Social Loafing

• Form a smaller group

• Specialize tasks

• Measure individual performance

• Increase job enrichment

• Select motivated, team-oriented employees

Groupthink

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

Illusion of Invulnerability

develops an 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

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

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

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 Size

the number of members in a group

Types of Group Tasks - Additive Tasks

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

Types of Group Tasks - Conjunctive Tasks

determined by the weakest or least capable member

Types of Group Tasks - Disjunctive Tasks

determined by its best or most capable member

Social Impact Theory

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

Mental Model

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

Shared Mental Models

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

Group Roles

the extent to which its members assume different roles

Task-Oriented Roles

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

Social-Oriented Roles

involves encouraging cohesiveness and participation

Individual Roles

includes blocking group activities, calling attention to oneself, and avoiding group interaction

5C’s of Effective Team Members - Cooperating

willing and able to work together rather than alone

5C’s of Effective Team Members - Coordinating

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

5C’s of Effective Team Members - Communicating

transmit information freely, efficiently, and respectfully

5C’s of Effective Team Members - Comforting

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

5C’s of Effective Team Members - 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

Roles

a set of behaviors that people are expected to perform because they hold certain positions in a team and organization

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)