Transcript Chapter 6 Work Teams and Groups Groups and Teams Group – two or more people with common interests, objectives, and continuing interaction Work Team.

Chapter 6
Work Teams and Groups
Groups and Teams
Group – two or more people with common
interests, objectives, and continuing interaction
Work Team – a group 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 and accepted
Members listen well and participate
People express feeling and ideas
Characteristics of a
Well-Functioning,
Effective Group
Conflict and disagreement center around
ideas or methods
Group aware of its operation and function
Consensus decision making
Clear assignments made and accepted
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
Group Behavior
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
and its accompanying sense of accountability,
inhibition, and responsibility for individual
behavior
3 Issues Addressed
by Groups
v
Interpersonal issues
(Matters of trust, personal comfort, and security)
v
Task issues
(Mission or purpose, methods, expected
outcomes)
v
Authority issues
(Leadership, managing power and influence,
communication flow)
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
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Mutual
acceptance
Decision
making
Emphasis
on
interpersonal
concern and
awareness
Emphasis
on task
planning,
authority,
and
influence
Motivation
and
commitment
Control
and
sanctions
Emphasis
on task
accomplishment,
leadership, and
performance
Emphasis
on rewards
and
punishment
Tuckman’s Five-Stage
Model of Group Development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Little
agreement
Conflict
increased
clarity of
purpose
Agreement
and
consensus
Clear vision
and purpose
Task
completion
Focus on
goal
achievement
Good
feeling about
achievements
Delegation
Recognition
Unclear
purpose
Guidance
and
direction
Power
struggles
Coaching
Clear roles
and
responsibilities
Facilitation
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Adjourning
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
– Groups do not progress linearly
– Alternate between periods of inertia and
bursts of energy
Mature Group Characteristics
Purpose and Mission
v May be assigned or may emerge from the
group
v Group often questions, reexamines, and
modifies mission and purpose
v Mission converted into specific agenda,
clear goals, and a set of critical success
factors
Mature Group Characteristics
Behavioral Norms – well-understood standards of
behavior within a group
Formal and written
Ground
rules
for
meetings
Informal but
well understood
Intragroup
socializing
Dress codes
Productivity Norms – may be consistent or
inconsistent, supportive or unsupportive of
organization’s productivity standards
Mature Group Characteristics
Group Cohesion – interpersonal attraction
binding group members together
Enables groups to exercise effective control
over the members
Mature Group Characteristics
v
Groups with high cohesiveness
v demonstrate lower tension and anxiety
v demonstrate less variation in productivity
v demonstrate better member satisfaction,
commitment, and communication
Cohesiveness and
Work-Related Tension
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Low
1
Group Cohesiveness
2
3
4
5
6
High
7
Tension at work
High 3.2
Low
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
3.7
“Does your
work ever
make you
jumpy or
nervous?”
Low score =
high tension
3.8
Mean tension
3.9
4
7
16
52
65
57
Number of groups
19
12
“The measure at work is based on group mean response to
the question “Does your work ever make your feel ‘jumpy’
or nervous?” A low numerical score represents relatively
high tension.
SOURCE: 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
v Often team leadership is shared
v
Mature Group Characteristics
Members contribute in diverse ways
Diversity
Styles
Data/Info
Contributor
Mission
Collaborator
Facilitator
Communicator
Devil’s advocate
Challenger
Team Task Functions
Task Functions – those activities directly
related to the effective completion of the
team’s work
Team Task Functions
Initiate
Activities
Summarize
Ideas
Test
Ideas
Coordinate
Activities
Team
Tasks
Elaborate
Concepts
Seek
Information
Evaluate
Effectiveness
Diagnose
Problems
Give
Information
Team Task Functions
Maintenance Functions – those activities
essential to the effective, satisfying
interpersonal relationships within a team
or group
Team Maintenance Functions
Support
Others
Express
Member Ideas
Harmonize
Conflicts
Test Group
Decisions
Maintenance
Tasks
Test
Consensus
Set
Standards
Gatekeep
Communication
Reduce
Tension
Follow
Others’ Lead
Why Teams?
v
Good when performing complicated, complex,
interrelated and/or more voluminous work than
one person can handle
v
Good when knowledge, talent, skills, and
abilities are dispersed across organizational
members
v
Empowerment and collaboration; not power
and competition
v
Basis for total quality efforts
Teamwork
Teamwork – joint action by a team of
people in which individual interests are
subordinated to team unity
New vs. Old Team Environments
New Team Environment
Old Work Environment
Person generates initiatives
Person follows orders
Team charts its own steps
Manager charts course
Right to think for oneself. People
rock boat; work together
People conformed to manager’s
direction. No one rocked the boat.
People cooperate using thoughts
and feelings; direct talk
People cooperated by
suppressing thoughts and
feelings; wanted to get along
SOURCE: Managing in the New Team Environment, by Hirschhorn, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc.,Upper Saddle River, N. J.
Work Team
Structural Issues
v
v
v
v
Goals and objectives
Operating guidelines
Performance measures
Role specification
Work Team
Structural Issues
v
v
v
v
Goals and objectives
Operating guidelines
Performance measures
Role specification
Managers who oversee the team
v Work team leaders
v Team members
v
Work Team
Process Issues
v
Managing cooperative behaviors
v
Managing competitive behaviors
Both of these can be positive
How are these managed in global teams?
In virtual teams?
Quality Circles and Teams
Quality Team – a team that is part of an
organization’s structure and is empowered to act
on its decisions regarding product and quality
service
Quality Circles (QC) – a small group of employees
who work voluntarily on company time, typically
one hour per week, to address work-related
problems
QC’s deal with substantive issues
v
Do not require final decision authority
v
QC’s need periodic reenergizing
Social Benefits of Teams
Psychological Intimacy –
emotional and
psychological closeness to
other team
or group members
Integrated Involvement
– closeness achieved
through tasks and
activities
Diversity in Teams
Diversity
v Focuses on effects of dissimilarity within
the team
v May have positive or negative effects
v Value dissimilarity
Positively relates to task and relationship
conflict
v Negatively related to team involvement
v
Diversity in Teams
Diversity
v Demographic dissimilarity influences
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
Absenteeism
Commitment
Turnover intentions
Beliefs
Workgroup relationships
Self-esteem
Organizational citizenship behavior
Creativity in Teams
Creativity
v Focuses on new and/or dissimilar ideas or
ways of doing things in teams
Can team creativity be enhanced by
greater team diversity?
Can social loafing, conformity, and
downward norm setting be overcome?
Foundations for Empowerment
Encourages
participation
An attribute of a
person or of an
organization’s culture
Preparation and
careful planning
focuses empowered
employees
Solve specific
and global
problems
Empowerment Skills
Competence
Skills
Process
Skills
SelfManagement
or
Team Skills
Cooperative
and Helping
Behaviors
Communication
Skills
Self-Managed Teams
Self-Managed Teams
Self-Directed Teams
Autonomous Work Groups – teams that make
decisions that were once reserved for managers
How does an organization capitalize
on the advantages and avoid the
risks of self managed teams?
Upper Echelons:
Teams at the Top
Upper Echelons – a top-level
executive team in an organization
Their background characteristics predict
organizational characteristics
Organization reflects their values, ethics,
competence, and unique characteristics
Leadership style, composition, and dynamics
influences the organizations performance
5 Seasons of CEO Tenure
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Response to a mandate
Experimentation
Selection of an enduring theme
Convergence
Dysfunction
Executive Tenure and
Organizational Performance
Organizational performance
relative to the industry average
High
Low
1
7
CEO tenure (years)
14
SOURCE: D. Hambrick. The Seasons of an Executive’s Tenure, keynote address, the Sixth Annual Texas Conference on Organizations, Lago Vista, Texas, April, 1991.
Diversity at the Top
v
Types of diversity needed
v
v
v
v
v
Functional diversity
Intellectual diversity
Demographic diversity
Temperamental diversity
And more and more and more
Diversity develops strength
Multicultural Top Teams
Multicultural groups represent three or
more ethnic backgrounds.
Diversity may increase uncertainty,
complexity, and inherent confusion in
group processes.
Culturally diverse groups may generate
more and better ideas, and limit
groupthink.
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by South-Western,
a division of
Thomson Learning.
All rights reserved
Triangle for Managing
in the New Team Environment
Manager
Team
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by South-Western,
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Thomson Learning.
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Individuals
SOURCE: Managing in the New Team Environment by Hirschhorn, © 1991 Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, N.J.