chapter 8 work team & groups nelson & quick strategies for successful teams
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter 8 Work Team & Groups
Nelson & QuickStrategies for
Successful Teams
Groups & Teams
Group - two or more people with common interests or objectives
Team - a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable
Characteristics of a Well-Functioning, Effective Group
Relaxed, comfortable, informal atmosphere
Task well understood & accepted
Consensus decision making
People express feelings & ideas
Conflict & disagreement center around ideas or methods
Clear assignments made & accepted
Members listen well & participate
Group aware of its operation & function
Group Behavior
Norms of behavior - the standards that a work group uses to evaluate the behavior of its members
Group cohesion - the “interpersonal glue” that makes members of a group stick together
Social loafing - the failure of a group member to contribute personal time, effort, thoughts, or other resources to the group
Loss of individuality - a social process in which individual group members lose self-awareness & its accompanying sense of accountability, inhibition, and responsibility for individual behavior
Group Formation
Formal groups - official or assigned groups gathered to perform various tasks– need ethnic, gender,
cultural, and interpersonal diversity
– need professional and geographical diversity
Informal groups - unofficial or emergent groups that evolve in the work setting to gratify a variety of member needs not met by formal groups
Stages of Group Formation
• Mutual acceptance– Focus is on the interpersonal relations
among the members
• Decision making– Focus is on decision-making activities
related to tasks
• Motivation & commitment– Focus on self- and group-motivation,
execution, achievement
• Control & sanctions– Focus on effective, efficient unit
Mature Group Characteristics
Purpose and Mission• May be assigned or may emerge from the
group• Group often questions, reexamines, &
modifies mission & purpose• Mission converted into specific agenda, clear
goals, & a set of critical success factors
Mature Group Characteristics
Behavioral Norms - well-understood standards of behavior within a group
Formal & written
Ground rulesfor
meetings
Informal but understood
Intra-group socializing
Dress codes
Mature Group CharacteristicsGroup cohesion - interpersonal attraction binding group members together• Enables groups to exercise effective control over the members• Groups with high cohesiveness
– demonstrate lower tension & anxiety– demonstrate less variation in productivity– demonstrate better member satisfaction, commitment & communication
Cohesiveness & Work-Related Tension
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.8
3.9
4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Mean tension
Group Cohesiveness from low to high
7 16 52 65 57 19 12Number of groups
“Does your work ever make
you jumpy or nervous?”
From S. E. Seashore, Group Cohesiveness in the Industrial Work Force, 1954. Research conducted by Stanley E. Seashore at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Reprinted by permission.
Mature Group Characteristics
Status structure - the set of authority & task relations among a group’s members• Hierarchical or egalitarian• Often leadership is shared
Diversity styles
Contributor
Collaborator
Communicator
Challenger
Data/Info
Mission
Facilitator
Devil’s advocate
• Good when performing complicated, complex, interrelated and/or more voluminous work than one person can handle
• Good when knowledge, talent, skills, & abilities are dispersed across organizational members
• Empowerment & collaboration; not power & competition
Why Teams?
Quality Circles & Teams
Quality circles (QC) - a small group of employees who work voluntarily on company time, typically one hour per week, to address work-related problems
QCs deal with substantive issues– Do not require final decision authority– QCs need periodic reenergizing
Quality team - a team that is part of an organization’s structure & is empowered to act on its decisions regarding product & quality service
Social Benefits of Teams
Psychological intimacy - emotional &
psychological closeness to other team
or group members
Integrated involvement - closeness achieved
through tasks & activities
Team Task Functions
Task functions - those activities directly related to the effective completion of the team’s work
Initiate activities
Diagnose problems
Coordinate activities
Elaborate concepts
Summarize ideas
Evaluate effectiveness
Give information
Test ideas
Seek information
Team Maintenance Functions
Maintenance functions - those activities essential to the effective, satisfying interpersonal relationships within a team or group
Support othersHarmonize conflict
Test group decisions
Test consensus
Express member feelings
Reduce tension
Follow others’ lead
Set standards
Gatekeeper communication
Empowerment
An attribute of a person or of an
organization’s culture
Preparation & careful planning focuses
empowered employees
Encourages participation
Empowerment Skills
• Competence skills - mastery and experience in one’s chosen discipline & profession
• Process skills - including negotiating skills• Development of cooperative and helping
behaviors• Communication skills - skills in self-
expression & skills in reflective listening
Self-Managed Teams
Self managed teams - teams that make decisions that were once reserved for managers
How does an organization avoid the risks of self-managed teams?– morale reduction– increased conflict– groupthink
Upper Echelons: Teams at the Top
T op m anagem en t'sbackg round cha racte ris tics
p red ic t o rgan iza tiona lcha racte ris tics
O rgan iza tion re flec tstop m anagem en t's
va lues, com pe tence ,e th ics & un ique cha racte ris tics
M anagem en t team 'sleade rsh ip , com posiiton , &
dynam ics in fluences theo rgan iza tion 's pe rfo rm ance
U pper Echelons -A top-level executive team
in an organization
Multicultural Teams
Multicultural groups represent three or more ethnic backgrounds. Diversity may increase uncertainty, complexity, & inherent confusion in
group processes. Culturally diverse groups may generate more & better ideas & limit groupthink.
Executive Tenure & Organizational Performance
Org
an
izat
iona
l pe
rfo
rman
cere
lativ
e to
the
ind
ustr
y a
vera
ge
High
Low1 7 14
CEO tenure (years)Source: D. Hambrick, The Seasons of an Executive’s Tenure, keynote address, the Sixth Annual Texas Conference on Organizations, Lago Vista, Texas, April, 1991.
Triangle for Managing in the New Team Environment
ManagerManager
IndividualsIndividualsTeamTeam
L. Hirschhorn, Managing in the New Team Environment, (pages 13/14). Copyright© 1991 Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Addison Wesley Longman.