MGT 310 Midterm

Principles of Attraction

- Proximity

- Similarity

- Complementarity

Principles of Selection

- Asset

- Complementarity

Principles of Attrition

- Noticing differences

- Nonconformity

Group

A collective of people that have goals, interdependent relationships, interactions, structured relations, and mutual influence.

- More inclusive term

- Range in size from 2 to thousands

- E.g., political parties, families

Team

- Members work interdependently to accomplish goals and have the power to control at least part of their organization.

- Structured groups of people working on defined common goals that require coordinated interaction to achieve certain tasks.

- 3-12 people

- Interact directly

- Sports or work settings

- Part of larger organizations

- Members with specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities

- Assigned roles

Goal Orientation

People joining together for some purpose and to achieve some goal

Interdependent

People who have some type of relationship, see connection among themselves, or believe they share a common fate

Interpersonal interaction

People who communicate and interact with one another

Perception of membership

Recognition that there is a collective to which one belongs

Structured relations

Roles, rules, and norms that control people's interactions

Mutual influence

Impact people have on one another because of their connections

Individual motivation

Satisfaction of personal needs through membership in the group

Foundations of Teamwork

- Industrial revolution

- Scientific management

- Hawthorne Studies

- Focus on quality launched current interest

Hawthorne Studies

Social factors impact performance

Important issues of changing teams

- Dynamic Composition

- Technology and Distance

- Empowerment and Delayering

Current movements in psychology affecting the study of teamwork

- Diversity and Multiculturalism

- Positive Psychology

Foundations of Group Dynamics

- Social facilitation (Triplett)

- Group dynamics (Kurt Lewin)

- Action research (Kurt Lewin)

- Social change (Kurt Lewin)

- Interdisciplinary; Equifinality

Triplett bicycle study

with a group you go faster because more accountable and push yourself

Equifinality

many paths to an end, team success

Kurt Lewin

study the effect of changes in groups

Production team

manufacture or assemble products

Service team

repeated transactions with customers

Project team

experts to perform task in defined period (engineers building a project)

Action Team

engage in repeated brief performances; require specialized skills (sports team)

Parallel Team

advisory committees

Types of Teams

- Production

- Service

- Management

- Project

- Action

- Parallel

Skill differentiation

Degree of specialized knowledge or functional capacities

Authority differentiation

Degree of decision-making responsibility

Temporal stability

Degree of working together in the past and in the future

Hackman's three primary definitions of success

- The task

- Social relations

- The Individual

Effective teams

- Organize themselves to perform tasks

- Develop social relations to support their operations

- Assign leaders to provide direction and facilitate team operations

Two types of activities for group processes

- Making decisions

- Performing tasks

McGrath Characteristics of the task

- Generate

- Choose

- Negotiate

- Execute

Additive tasks

adding together team members' efforts

Conjunctive tasks

each team member completes their parts

Compensatory

support given to the worst performer

Disjunctive

selecting a single solution

Steiner's ways efforts can be combined

- Added together

- Limited by last member

- Averaged

- Selected

- Combined

Tasks should be

Motivating, identifiable, meaningful

When are tasks appropriate

1. work contains some skilled activities

2. team can form a meaningful unit with the organization (w/ clearly defined input and output & boundaries)

3. turnover is minimal

4. performance evals exist

5. timely feedback is possible

6. capable of measuring & controlling variances in workflow

7. tasks are interdependent so members work together

8. cross-training is supported by management

9. jobs designed to balance team and individual tasks

Traditional models of team success

- Focus on task performance

- Social relations and individual development are support factors

Positive psychology

- starts with team member well-being

- Teamwork should fulfill members' emotional and social needs

- Successful performance follows when members are engaged and supported

Forming

Orientation: members getting to know one another

Storming

Conflict: disagreement about roles and procedures

Norming

Structure: establishment of rules and social relationships

Performing

Work: focus on completing the task

Adjourning

Dissolution: completion of task and end of the group

Project Development Perspective

- Based on characteristics of projects

- McGrath (1990): How project teams operate over time

- New product teams (Ancona & Caldwell,1990): Based on changing nature of the task

McGrath studies on How project teams operate over time

- Inception

- Problem solving

- Conflict resolution

- Execution

New product teams studies by Ancona & Caldwell

- Based on changing nature of the task

- Creation

- Development

- Diffusion

Cyclical Perspective

- Marks, Mathieu, and Zacarro studies on recurring phases

- Gersick studies on punctuated equilibrium

Punctuated equilibrium

teams may experience an extended period of low activity followed by bursts of energy and change

Marks, Mathieu, and Zacarro on recurring phases

- Temporal cycles that create a rhythm for a team

- Action, interpersonal, and transition cycles

Implications of Team Development Stages

- Stage theories do not always apply

- Emotional highs/lows are normal

- Developing the team is important

- Times of lower task performance are normal

Socialization

Process by which a person becomes a member of the group

Stages of Socialzation

- Investigation

- Socialization

- Maintenance

Maintenance

on going role negotiation

Flash teams

teams that are temporarily together (emergency rescue crew, airline crew)

If teams are constantly changing:

Focus on team roles rather than team members

Team goals

"a desirable state of affairs members intend to bring about through combined efforts" (Zander, 1994)

Functions of Team goals

1. Serve as standard to evaluate performance

2. Motivate members by encouraging involvement in the task

3. Guide the team toward activities and encourage integration of team members' task

4. Provide a criterion for evaluating if actions and decision are appropriate

5. Serve as a way to inform outside groups about the team

6. Determine when members should be rewarded or punished

Types of Hidden agendas

- Motivation-based

- Direction-based

Motivation-based hidden agenda

social loafing, hidden agenda they would rather be doing something else

Direction-based hidden agenda

malice behind hidden agenda, vying for more power, or getting money to another. department

Team Norms

- Ground rules that define appropriate and inappropriate behavior in a team

Types of Norms

- Implicit

- Explicit

Implicit norms

known, pre-established norms

Explicit norms

norms established by the group

Functions of Team Norms

- Express central values

- Help coordinate activities

- Define appropriate behavior

- Create distinctive identity

How Norms are Formed

Usually unconscious and gradual over time

Norm forming is based on

- Past teams

- outside standards

- early team behavior

The Dark Side of Team Norms

- Enforce conformity

Social Loafing

- Free riders

- Sucker effect

Contributing Factors to Social Loafing

- No need for coordination of efforts

- Individual performance unaccounted for

- Unaware of others' efforts

Free rider

someone banking on others work

Sucker effect

high performers slaking off to make up for having to put in so much work

Tactics to Increase Team Motivation

- Assigning Tasks

- Implementing Evaluations and Rewards

- Team Efficacy

- Team potency

- Commitment and Cohesion

Job Characteristic Model

- Experienced meaningfulness

- Responsibility for outcomes

- Knowledge of results

Team Efficacy

performing well at a given task

Team potency

capability to perform well across various tasks

Group cohesion

interpersonal bonds that hold a team together

Role Problems

- Role ambiguity

- Role conflict

Role conflict leads to

- Stress

- Decreased satisfaction and morale

- Increased turnover

- Decreased participation

Solutions to Role Problems

- Make important roles explicit

- Prioritize tasks

Task Behaviors

Information sharing and behavioral assistance

Social Behaviors

Social recognition and encouragement

Balance of Task and Social Behaviors depends on

- Characteristics of team

- Maturity level of team

- Nature of task

Transactive memory

- Awareness of knowledge possessed by team members

- Benefits coordination and problem-solving

Shared mental models

- Related to the task and how team operates

- Be sure to consider accuracy and degree of agreement

Training the Team Together

- Develops mental model and transactive memory

- Creates a supportive team climate for new skills performance

Factors affecting transfer of training

- Training environment

- Time lag

- Cues

- Supervisor support

Strategies that encourage transfer of training

- Practice and feedback

- Supervisor support

- Supportive team climate

Cross-Training and Interpositional Training

- Pay for skills program

- On-the-job training

- Leads to shared mental models

Types of Cross-Training and Interpositional Training

- Positional clarification

- Positional modeling

- Positional rotation

Successful Team-Building programs should improve

- Communication

- Satisfaction

- Cohesion

Success of Team-Building programs depends on

- Support of top management

- Organizational rewards

- Time

Criteria and effectiveness of specific programs

- Cognitive (knowledge of teamwork)

- Affective (trust and team potency)

- Team process (coordination and communication)

- Performance

Cognitive

- knowledge of teamwork

- Goal-setting and role-clarification

Affective

- trust and team potency

Team process

- coordination and communication

- Goal-setting and role-clarification