Chapter 11: Effective Team Management

What is a group?

two or more people who interact with each other accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs

What is a team?

a group whose members work intensely with each other to achieve a specific, common goal or objective

Why are teams and groups important to organizations?

Groups and teams can help an organization gain a
competitive advantage because they can:
1. Enhance its performance.
2. Increase its responsiveness to customers.
3. Increase innovation.
4. Increase employees’ motivation and satisfaction

What does synergy mean in an organization?

performance gains that result when individuals and departments coordinate their actions

What are the factors that contribute to synergy?

1. Ability to bounce ideas off one another.
2. Correct each other’s errors.
3. Bring diverse knowledge base to bear on problems.
4. Accomplish projects beyond the scope of individuals

What is innovation?

The creative development of new products, new technologies, new services, or even new organizational structures.

To speed innovation, managers need to form teams in which each member brings some unique resource to the team.

What are motivators in groups and teams?

• Team members are more motivated and satisfied than if they were working alone.

• Team members can see the effect of their contribution to achieving team and organizational goals.

• Teams provide needed social interaction and help employees cope with work-related stressors.

What is a formal group?

A group that managers establish to achieve organization goals.

What is an informal group?

A group that managers or nonmanagerial employees form
to help achieve their own goals or to meet their own needs

What are the types of groups and teams

formal, informal, top-management team, research and development team, command group, task force, self-managed work team, virtual team, friendship group, and interest group

What is a self-managed work team?

A group of employees who supervise their own activities and monitor the quality of the goods and services they provide.

What is a research and development team?

A team whose members have the expertise and experience needed to develop new products

What is a command group?

A group composed of subordinates who report to the same supervisor; also called a department or unit.

What is a task force?

A committee of managers or non-managerial employees from various departments or divisions who meet to solve a specific, mutual problem. (Also called an “ad hoc” committee)

What is a self-managed work team?

A group of employees who supervise their own activities and monitor the quality of the goods and services they provide

What is a virtual team?

A team whose members rarely or never meet in person but interact by using various forms of information technology, such as email, text messaging, collaborative software programs, video-conferences, and various meeting and management apps.

What is a friendship group?

An informal group composed of employees who enjoy one another’s company and socialize with one another

What is an interest group?

An informal group of employees seeking to achieve a common goal related to their membership in an organization

What is group dynamics?

The characteristics and processes that influence how a group or team functions. Affected by a group’s size and roles, group leadership, group
development, group norms, and group cohesiveness.

How does small groups tend to perform?

1. Interact more with each other and find it easier to coordinate their efforts.
2. Be more motivated, satisfied, and committed.
3. Find it easier to share information.
4. Be better able to see the importance of their personal
contributions for group success.

What is division of labor?

Splitting the work to be performed into particular tasks and assigning tasks to individual workers

What is a group role?

A set of behaviors and tasks that a group member is expected to perform because of his position in the group.

What is role making?

Taking the initiative to modify an assigned role by assuming additional responsibilities

What are the five stages of group development?

Forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning

What is forming is group development?

Group members get to know each other and reach common understanding

What is storming in group development?

Group members experience conflict and disagreements because some members do not wish to submit to the demands of other group members

What is norming is group development?

Close ties and consensus begin to develop between group members

What is performing in group development?

The real work of the group gets accomplished

What is adjourning in group development?

Group is dispersed. Takes place when a group completes a finished product.

What is group norms?

Shared guidelines or rules for behavior that most group members follow.

Why is balancing conformity and deviance important in groups?

Members conform to norms to obtain rewards, imitate respected members, and because they feel the behavior is right.

Conformity:Members follow group norms to gain acceptance or because they believe it’s right. Deviance: Challenging norms to foster innovation and prevent stagnation.

Optimal Performance: Achieved with a balance of conformity (stability) and deviance (change). To achieve high performance from the group.

What is group cohesiveness?

the degree to which members are attracted to or loyal to their group

What are the 3 major consequences in having group cohesiveness?

• Level of participation.

• Level of conformity to group norms.

• Emphasis on group goal accomplishment.

What are the factor leading to group cohesiveness?

• group size

• effectively managed diversity

• group identity and healthy competition

• success

How to motivate group members to achieve organizational goals?

• Members should benefit when the group performs well.

• Rewards can be monetary or in other forms such as special recognition.

• Individual compensation is a combination of both individual and group performance

What is social loafing?

The tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they work in groups than when they work alone

How to reduce social loafing in 3 ways?

1. Making individuals contributions to a group identifiable when possible

2. emphasizing the valuable contributions of individual members

3. keeping group size at an appropriate level