Ch 9 - Groups and Teams at Work

Group

A collection of individuals who interact with each other such that one person’s actions have an impact on the others

Informal work groups

Two or more individuals who are associated with one another in ways not prescribed by the formal organization.

Formal work groups

Is made up of managers subordinates, or both with close associations among group members that influence the behavior of individuals in the group.

Stages of the Group Development Model

• Forming

• Storming

• Norming

• Performing

• Adjourning

Forming

Stage when the group comes together for the first time

Storming

Stage when participants focus less on keeping their guard up as they shed social facades, becoming more authentic and more argumentative.

Norming

Stage when participants find it easy to esta

Performing

Stage when participants are not only getting the work done, but they also pay greater attention to how they are doing it

Adjourning

The fifth and final stage later added to the Tuckman model

after-action review

A meeting conducted at the end of a project or event, where team members discuss what went right, what went wrong, and what could have been done differently. Commonly used alternative names include retrospective meeting,” “debriefing meeting,” or post mortem.

Punctuated Equilibrium Model

The theory that change within groups occurs in rapid, radical spurts rather than gradually over time

Cohesion

The degree of camaraderie within the group

• Similarity

• Stability

• Size

• Support

• Satisfaction

Groupthink

A group pressure phenomenon that creates a tendency to avoid a critical evaluation of ideas the group favors

Social loafing

The tendency of individuals to put in less efort when working in a group context

Collective Efficacy

A group’s perception of its ability to successfully perform well

Process Loss

Any aspect of group interaction that inhibits group functioning

Team

A cohesive coalition of people working together to achieve mutual goals

Production Tasks

Tasks that include actually making something such as a building, product, or marketing plan

Idea-generation tasks

• Creative tasks such as brainstorming a new direction or creating a new process

Problem-solving tasks

Refers to coming up with plans for actions and making decisions

Task interdependence

The degree that team members are dependent upon one another to get information, support, or materials from other team members to be effective

Pooled interdependence

Team members work independently and combine their efforts to create the team’s output

Sequential interdependence

In a team, when one person’s output becomes another person’s input

Reciprocal Interdependence

Team members work together on each stage of a task

Outcome Interdependence

When the rewards that can individual receives depends on the performance of others

Team roles

• Task oriented roles

• Social oriented roles

• Boundary spanning roles

Task Oriented Roles

• Contractor:

  • Organizes and coordinates actions, allocates tasks

• Creator:

  • Creates new structures or visions for processes

• Contributor:

  • Provides necessary information or expertise

• Completer

  • Competes individual tasks, follows through

• Critic:

  • Critically evaluates team decision questions

Social-oriented roles

• Calibrater:

  • Creates new social norms for team process

• Communicator:

  • Creates a supportive social environment

• Cooperator:

  • Conforms to expectations, supports others’ decisions

Boundary-spanning roles

• Coordinator: manages outside interactions, coordinates w/ outside parties

• Consul: Represents the team and its goal favorably to outsiders, acquires info and resources for the team

Task force

• a type of temporary team that is asked to address specific issue or problem until it is resolved

product development teams

• a team in charge of designing a new product

cross-functional teams

teams that involve individuals from different parts of the org

virtual teams

Teams whre members are not located in the same physical place

Top management teams

Teams appointed by the chief executive officer (CEO) and ideally, reflect the skills and areas that the CEO considers vital for the company

Traditional manager-led teams

Teams where the manager serves as the team leader

Self-managed teams

Teams that manage themselves and do not report directly to a supervisor. Instead, team members select their own leader, and they may even take turn in the leadership role

Empowered Teams

Teams that have the responsibility as well as the authority to achieve their goals

Designing Effective Teams: Team Composition

• Who are the best individuals for the team?

  • Ensure they are all qualified for the roles they will fill for the team

  • This process often entails understanding the knowledge, skills and abilities of team members

• How large should my team be?

  • Most active team member speaks 43% of the time

  • Groups with more than 20 members have less cooperation

• How Diverse Should My Team Be?

  • Helps with coming up with more creative and effective solutions

Team Processes for Effective Teams

• Establish team norms

• Agree upon team contracts

• Establish psychological safety

Norms

Shared expectations about how things operate within a group or team

Team contract

Agreements on established ground rules goals, and roles

• Team values and goals

• Team roles and leadership

• Team decision making

• Team communication

• Team performance

Establish Psychological Safety

• Psychological safety refers to the perception that the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in workplace contexts

Engage in Team Performance After-Action Reviews

Teams that engage in debriefs are 25% more effective than those that do not

Manageing Effective Teams; Workplace Meeting

Before Meeting

• Is a meeting needed?

• Decide who should be at the meeting and only invite those. The more people who attend the less each person can participate

• Decide how long the meeting should be and keep it short

• Create and distribute an effective agenda

• Determine how all members can attend

• Send a reminder prior to the meeting

During The Meeting

• Get on the same page

• Follow the meting agenda

• Manage group dynamics for full participation

• Summarize the meeting with action items

• End the meeting on time

After the Meeting

• Follow up on action items

Common Problems Faced by Teams

• Knowing where to being

• Dominating team members

• Poor performance of some team members

• Lack of communication and coordination

• Poorly managed team conflict

Ethics and Teams

Technology and Teams

Teams around the globe