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Organizational Teams (Chapter 11)

Dr. Lora Helvie-Mason, COMS 404

Before you read…

• Consider what you know about teams, team work, organizational

teams, and the ways people interact on the job.

• Reflect on your personal experiences as a team member.

Face it, teams are a part of organizational life.

Teams are small groups (3-9 people) who are INTERDEPENDENT, committed to one another, and are mutually accountable

We study teams because they are so essential in the functioning of organizations

They impact individuals, too! Learning to effectively understand, and work

within, teams will help your career

Why study teams?

“But I hate group work…”~ Typical

student statement at

this point in

the semester

Characteristics of teams

Decision Making

NormsRelational

Communication

DiversityCohesiveness

Stress

Satisfaction

Stuckness

{ {Relationships can help! Relationships are formed that

help employees feel more connected to the team

Individuals receive support from others to face difficult challenges

The team provides opportunities for members to demonstrate leadership abilities

Teams allow us to test ideas before making them public

Teams can be hurt by relationships!

Poor relationships exist. Primary provoker Secondary provoker Avoiding or

accommodating those instigating the conflict

Dysfunctional relationships have many implications (page 212)

Relational Communication

Think about it…

Explore the information about

“dysfunction” on page 212.

Decision Making

The process the team goes through to make decisions is critical to its success.

The way in which team members talk about issues affects the way they think about these issues, which, in turn, determines the quality of the choices they make as a team.

Negative actions have a greater ability to disrupt the team’s performance than do positive actions to make the team successful.

cromwellhaus.com 

Actual productivity = potential productivity – Losses due to faulty processes

{ {Norms

Norms are the informal rules that teams establish to govern their activities and behaviors.

The norms that become a part of the team’s culture are made up of shared values, beliefs, rituals, and stories about the team.

Cohesiveness

Cohesiveness is the degree to which members feel connected to the team.

The more these linkages are identified and reinforced, the greater the team cohesiveness.

Cohesiveness = positive outcomes

Norms & Cohesiveness

Think about it…

Consider your organization

this semester. What are some norms and how

were they developed?

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• Surface diversity (demographics)

• Direct task related/informational diversity (differences in education, technical, functional, applied backgrounds)

• Homogenous teams have advantages and disadvantages—be aware of these

• Cross-cultural teams have the potential to be the most successful, given the diversity of ideas and contributions they can generate.

Diversity

Satisfaction means the team feels it has accomplished its task and members have been recognized individually for their contributions.

Rewards Social needs Impact of teams on our behaviors and

attitudes Higher loyalty Higher productivity Team conflict and dysfunction

Satisfaction Think about it…

Consider your last team. Identify

satisfaction and potential impacts.

Working with others requires coordination and compromise resulting in conflict and consequently results in stress created by the desire to perform and the strain of negotiating with others.

Stress

www.pptbackgrounds.net 

• Stress can be created by violating team norms

• Teams or individuals can experience stress

• Several types of team stressors exist:• Team training load • Team workload • Team size• Team cohesion• Goal structure

Stuckness occurs when the team is unable to break a pattern of behavior that keeps it from moving forward, it continues to make the same mistakes.

Sometimes the team tends to repeat old patterns of interaction and behavior instead of confronting the opposing forces or beliefs within the team and finding connections between them.

This is a situation where changing old norms might be helpful rather than harmful.

Stuckness

Think about it…

This can be a tricky concept. Examine

when stuckness has been harmful

and when it has been helpful in your own

experiences.

Such organizations experience a culture shift:

Team based organizations

From hierarchical to flat

From fragmentation to cohesion

From independence to interdependence From competition to

cooperation

From tried-and-true to risk taking

There are 4 major types of organizational teams (Cohen & Bailey, 1997)

Types of teams

Work teams are “continuing

work units responsible for

producing goods or providing

services” (p. 242).

Parallel teams “pull together people from

different work units or jobs to

perform functions that

the regular organization is not equipped to perform

well” (p. 242).

Project teams produce one-time outputs and are time-

limited.

Management teams

“coordinate and provide direction to sub-units

under their jurisdiction,

laterally integrating

interdependent sub-units

across key business

processes” (p. 243).

One important element of the survival and effectiveness of teams is their connection with the relevant environment, according to Gladstein Acona (1990), who set forth three basic leadership strategies for connecting the team to the environment.

Know these three basic leadership strategies for connecting the team to the larger environment…

Teams & the environment

Informing strategy

Parading

strategy

Probing strategy

SMWTs are gaining popularity They are sometimes called “self-

directed” Teams have responsibility for their own

work Set own tasks Monitor own behavior Can increase employee commitment,

competence, productivity, problem-solving, and satisfaction

Self-managed work teams (SMWT)

Think about it…

SMWTs are prime organizational contexts for double-loop (generative) learning (chapter 6)

Envisioning involved the creation of new and compelling visions, which involves generating ideas and defining goals.

Organizing includes the coordination of the many elements that are connected to the team’s tasks, which involves attention to deadlines, efficiency, and structure.

Spanning deals with the connection of the team’s activities with the important constituents in the relevant environment, which includes networking, securing resources, and being politically aware.

Social behaviors include concern for the social and psychological needs of the team members, which includes interpreting and paraphrasing, using humor, and mediating conflicts.

SMWT – types of leadership roles

Virtual teams

A virtual team is a group that “works across space, time, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technologies” (Lipnack & Stamps, 1997, p. 7).

You’re part of

an

organizational

team in this

class that is

virtual. R

eview

your final

project to learn

more!

What concerns a

nd

benefits are

connected to virt

ual

teams?

What role does

technology play?

{ {Superb teams

They have a clear and engaging direction.

The basic work is designed to be done by a team

Team rewards (not individual or mixed rewards) are strongly associated with team effort.

Physical resources are readily available.

The team, not the leader, has the authority to make decisions over basic work strategies.

The team can articulate clear goals The team establishes norms that

promote strategic thinking.

Ineffective teams

Fail to meet customer needs

Deteriorate over time

Alienated, dissatisfied members

Effective teams

Misunderstandings arise from Team size

As size increases, so does diversity of thought, values, backgrounds, personality that can lead to misunderstandings

Team interdependence Lack of commitment to interdependence can

lead to lack of understanding about team benefits

Common goals Some team members are more interested in

individual, not group, goals Misunderstandings also come about when team

members accept what they perceive to be common goals and processes in an effort to avoid conflict—this is known as GROUPTHINK

Dysfunction & Misunderstandings

Think about

it…

Have you

ever

experienced

groupthink?

Consider the positive and negative elements of team conflict.

How can you maximize the positive and minimize the negative?

Conflict: Positives and Negatives

Organizational Teams

What do you like and dislike about teams?

Use the concepts in this chapter to examine the organization you are following. Can you locate

information about teams and collaboration for that organization? What does this information tell you?

Consider the benefits and limitations of teamwork within organizations.