Chp13 GROUPS & TEAMS

Chapter Overview

  • Focus on groups and teams: increasing cooperation, reducing conflict.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify characteristics of groups and teams.

  • Describe the development of groups and teams.

  • Discuss ways managers can build effective teams.

  • Describe successful conflict management strategies.

  • Explain career readiness competency in teamwork/collaboration.

  • Analyze the causes of team dysfunction and solutions.

Managing Team Conflict

  • Acknowledge conflict exists and understand emotions.

  • Ask questions to clarify issues.

  • Frame conflict around behaviors, not personalities.

  • Remind members of group norms.

  • Choose language carefully.

  • Recognize that conflict can be productive.

Groups vs. Teams

Definition of Groups

  • Two or more individuals who:

    • Freely interact.

    • Share norms and goals.

    • Have a common identity.

  • Members contribute independently.

Definition of Teams

  • Small group working together with:

    • Common purpose.

    • Performance goals.

    • Mutual accountability.

  • Focused on combined efforts to achieve results.

Formal vs. Informal Groups

  • Formal Groups: Created to accomplish specific goals.

  • Informal Groups: Formed based on friendship or common interests.

Types of Teams

  • Work teams.

  • Project teams.

  • Cross-functional teams.

  • Self-managed teams.

  • Virtual teams.

Virtual Teams

Benefits

  • Diverse global candidate pool.

  • Reduced commuting and travel costs.

  • Increased employee productivity.

Drawbacks

  • Physical/social distance.

  • 24/7 accessibility issues.

Organizing Framework

  • Team management processes include:

    • Collaboration, trust, performance goals, mutual accountability.

    • Team composition, roles, norms, conflict management.

    • Stage development: effectiveness, performance, viability.

Stages of Group and Team Development

Tuckman’s Model

  • Stage 1: Forming – Clarifying purpose.

  • Stage 2: Storming – Conflicts over authority and roles.

  • Stage 3: Norming – Agreement on roles and teamwork.

  • Stage 4: Performing – Effective execution of tasks.

  • Stage 5: Adjourning – Transition out of the team.

Punctuated Equilibrium

  • Groups may experience periods of stable functioning followed by changes in norms, roles, or objectives, often triggered mid-project.

Building Effective Teams

Importance of Collaboration

  • Collaboration involves sharing information to achieve common goals.

Trust

  • Defined as reciprocal faith in others’ intentions and behaviors.

  • Core drivers: authenticity, logic, empathy.

Performance Goals and Feedback

  • Clear, measurable goals with ongoing feedback are essential for team success.

Mutual Accountability

  • Team members must depend on each other for common tasks and communication.

Team Composition

  • Reflects diversity in jobs, personalities, values, knowledge, and skills of team members.

Task and Maintenance Roles

Task Roles

  • Include roles like initiator, info seeker/giver, elaborator, and coordinator.

Maintenance Roles

  • Include encourager, harmonizer, and gatekeeper.

Managing Conflict

Nature of Conflict

  • Dysfunctional conflict hinders performance, while functional conflict is beneficial.

Conflict Effects on Performance

  • Too little conflict leads to inactivity; too much leads to chaos.

Types of Conflict

  1. Personality conflicts.

  2. Envy-based conflicts.

  3. Intergroup conflicts.

  4. Cross-cultural conflicts.

Stimulating Constructive Conflict

  • Use techniques like Devil's advocacy and the dialectic method.

Handling Disagreements

  • Five styles: avoiding, obliging, dominating, compromising, integrating.

Career Readiness Competencies

  • Emphasizes teamwork, social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and communication skills.

Managing Team Dysfunction

The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team

  • Recommendations to improve team dynamics include promoting trust, commitment, attention to results, conflict management, and accountability.