Strategic Management

Chapter 15

Understanding Groups and Teams

How do groups develop organisation?

Group: two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals

Formal group: defined by the organisationo Command: basic, traditional work groups determined by

formal authority and depicted on the organisational chart

o Task: temporary groups created to accomplish a specific task

o Cross-functional: brings together knowledge and skills of people from various work areas

o Self-managed: independent groups that take on traditional management responsibilities, in addition the normal operating jobs

Informal Groups: occur naturally because of friendships and common interests

Groups develop though five stageso Formingo Stormingo Normingo Performingo Adjourning (temporary groups)

What factors affect group behaviour?

External conditions: o Available resourceso Rules and regulationso Culture etc.

Group member resources: o Individual members’ knowledgeo Skillso Abilitieso Personalities

Group Structureo Role: expected behaviour patterns of a person

occupying some position in a social unit

Watch for role conflict Task-related roles: help to focus on task at hand Maintenance-related roles: maintain good

relationships Self-orientated roles: dysfunctional behaviour that

might hinder group successo Norms: acceptable standards or expectations shared by

group members Common norms focus on

Effort and performance Dress and loyalty

o Conformity pressures placed on individuals to adhere to group opinion’s and decisions

Asch’s Conformity Experiments ‘Groupthink’: extensive and excessive

pressure on group members to align their opinions

o Status: prestige grading Position or rank within a group Status system needs to be congruent

o Group Size: Large groups are better for getting diverse input

and more facts Smaller groups are better at doing something

productive with those facts Social Loafing:

o The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually

o Group Cohesiveness: Degree to which members are attracted to a

group and share its goals Highly cohesive groups are more effective A key moderating variable is how the

group’s attitude aligns with goalso Group Process

Decision-making: advantages and disadvantages of group decision making

Conflict Management Three views of conflict

o Traditional: conflict is bad and must be avoided

o Human Relations: natural and inevitable outcome of any group

o Interactionist views: necessary for a group to perform effectively

Functional vs. Dysfunctional conflicts Three types of conflict:

o Task

Low to moderate levels are functional

o Relationship Always dysfunctional

o Process Low levels are functional

o Group Tasks Complexity and interdependence of tasks

Groups Becoming Effective Teams

Work teams: members work intensely on a specific common goal using their positive synergy

o Individual and mutual accountability Types of Teams

o Problem-solving Teams from same department involved in efforts

to improve work activities or to solve specific problems

o Self-managed Teams that operate without a manager and are a

responsible for complete work process or segmento Cross-functional

Team composed of individuals from various specialities

o Virtual team Teams that use technology to link physically

dispersed members to achieve a common goal Creating effective teams:

o Clear goalso Relevant skillso Mutual trusto Unified commitmento Good communicationo Negotiating skillso Appropriate leadershipo Internal and External support

Managing a team means handling a number of the following issues

o Planning o Organisingo Leadingo Controlling

What current challenges do managers face in managing teams?

Managing global teams Understanding social networks

o Social network structure: patters of informal connections among individuals within groups