Chapter 9: Teams and Teamwork

PSYC 352

Terminology

Dyad: Two-person unit Group vs. Team

No real distinction Team: A social aggregation in which a limited number

of individuals interact on a regular basis to accomplish a set of shared objectives for which they have mutual responsibility.

Origins of Work Teams

Factors that led to the use of teams: Information age Educated and trained population Rate of change in work activities

Teams are not always better than individuals

Level of Analysis

Individual vs. Team vs. Organization

Micro vs. Meso vs. Macro

Organization

Work Groups

Individuals

Types of Teams (Larson & LaFasto, 1989)

Problem Solving Team: A type of team created for the purpose of focusing on the resolution of a particular problem or issue.

Creative Team: A type of team created for the purpose of developing innovative possibilities or solutions.

Types of Teams (Larson & LaFasto, 1989)

Tactical Team: A type of team created for the purpose of executing a well-defined plan or objective.

Ad Hoc Team: A type of team created for a limited duration that is designed to address itself to resolving one particular problem.

Types of Teams (Larson & LaFasto, 1989)

Broad Objective

Dominant Feature

Process Emphasis Example

Problem Resolution

Trust Focus on Issues CDC

Creative Autonomy Explore possibilities and alternatives

IBM PC Team

Tactical Clarity Directive, highly focused tasks, role clarity, well-defined operational standards, accuracy

Cardiac Surgery Team

Principles of Teamwork

1. Feedback provided and accepted

2. Backing up team members

3. Collective group

4. Within-team interdependence

5. Leadership makes a difference

Team Structure

Structure of a team includes: Number of members Demographic composition Experience of members

Diversity in teams: Information diversity Value diversity

Team Processes: Stages of Development

Forming Storming

Norming Performing Adjourning

Team Structure: Roles

Leader

Shaper

Worker

Completer-Finisher

Creator

Resource investigator

Team Facilitator

Monitor-evaluator

Leadership

Work Producer

Team

Mainten

ance

Liaison

Diversity within a team is reflected in the members filling different roles.

Effective teams are composed of members who serve different roles on the team and their roles are defined by possession of selected mental abilities and personality characteristics.

Belbin, 1981

Team Processes: Socialization

Socialization: process of mutual adjustment that produces changes over time in the relationship between a person and a team.

How socialization works (Moreland & Levine, 2001):

Evaluation Commitment Role transition and phases of membership

(investigation, socialization, maintenance, resocialization, remembrance)

Team Processes:Interpersonal Processes

Communication Conflict Cohesion Trust

Team Processes:Shared Mental Models

Shared Mental Model:the cognitive processes held in common by members of a team regarding how they acquire information, analyze it, and respond to it.

What is shared (Cannon-Bowers & Salas, 2001)? Task-specific knowledge Task-related knowledge Knowledge of teammates Shared attitudes and beliefs

Team Processes:Shared Mental Models

Groupthink:a phenomenon associated with team decision making in which members feel threatened by forces external to the team, resulting in a deterioration in the cognitive processing of information.

3 Causes: High level of cohesion Structural organizational flaw Proactive situational context

Groupthink Example

A board of directors of an international air freight service must decide whether the company should enter a cost-cutting war with their competitors. The board begins its decision-making meeting with the chairperson’s loaded questions: “Should we enter into this foolish price war or just keep rates the way they are?”

Team Processes:Decision Making

Multi-level theory of team decision making (Hollenbeck, LePine, & Ilgen, 1996): Team informity Staff validity Dyadic sensitivity

Improving Team Decision Making

Assign the devil’s advocate role Be open to dissenting points of view Seek outside opinions Break up into smaller groups Rethink issues before making final decision Use brainstorming

Virtual Teams

Virtual teams: Task-focused teams that meet without being physically present or working at the same time.

Defining Characteristics (Avolio et al., 2001): Communication takes place electronically Team members are dispersed geographically Members may interact synchronously or

asynchronously

Virtual Teams

Challenges: Development of shared mental models Evaluation of team results Achievement of team cohesion Problems with leadership

Intergroup Conflict

Causes: Lack of resources Goal incompatibility Time compatibility Influence tactics

Intergroup Conflict

Consequences: Conflict changes group members’ perceptions of

each other Group becomes more cohesive Strained interaction between the two groups Argumentative behavior Attitudes passed on to new members Goals focus inward, away from organization as a

whole

Overcoming Intergroup Conflict

Superordinate Goals: goals that both groups endorse and that often require cooperative intergroup behavior to be achieved Getting 2 conflicting groups together by itself

will not reduce conflict Conflict can be reduced if members cooperate to

achieve superordinate goals.

Overcoming Intergroup Conflict

One problem occurs in conflicting groups is that they do not communicate.

One strategy to overcome the conflict is to plan a negotiation between the 2 groups.

Negotiation:facilitates communication and is usually seen a a fair method of dispute resolution.

Overcoming Intergroup Conflict

Member exchanges: members of conflicting groups role play each other.

Intergroup team development: team activities to improve relationships between groups.

Overcoming Intergroup Conflict

Reducing need for intergroup interaction: Create conditions in which two groups have little

or no need to interact Reduce interdependence among groups

The resource allocation process: Ensure groups have similar resources Allocate resources fairly

Special Issues in Teams

Personnel Selection Training Performance Appraisal

Personnel Selection in Teams

Traditional individual personnel selection methods may not take the social context of teams into consideration.

Selection of team members requires best mix of personnel.

Establishing team requirements involves identifying and assessing the congruence among members with regard to personality and values.

Personnel Selection in Teams

Prieto (1993) asserts that 5 social skills are critical for an individual to enhance group performance:

1. Gain group’s acceptance

2.Increase group solidarity

3.Be aware of group consciousness

4.Share group identification

5.Manage others’ impressions

Team Training

Logic of team training is similar to individual training, although mechanism is somewhat different.

Team task analysis provides information about knowledge, skills, and attitudes the team members must possess to be successful.

Team Training

Team Performance

Cognition

Knowledge

Behaviors

Skills

Attitudes

Affect

Think Do Feel

Team Performance Appraisal

Major issue: extent to which individuals will slacken their performance within the team.

Social loafing: a phenomenon identified in groups or teams in which certain individuals withhold effort or contributions to the collective outcome.

Team Performance Appraisal:Social Loafing

Three types of social loafing:

Free riding

Sucker effect

Felt dispensability

Share the same characteristics:

• Concern with impact of individual contributions on team performance.

• Expectation of return on effort

• Teamwork can weaken individual effort-team success-individual outcome link

Team Activity