Groups And Teams

Types of groups and teams

Workgroups


✅ Command Group

  • relatively permanent group, characterized by functional reporting relationships
  • E.g. quality-assurance department, the customer service dpt, cost-accounting dpt, HR dpt

✅ Affinity Groups

  • permanent collections of employees from the same level in the organisation who meet on a regular basis to share information, capture opportunities and solve problems
  • special type of formal group, not really part of formal organisation
  • communicating openly and honestly, listening actively, respectfully
  • however, can emphasizing the seperate or distinct characteristics

Teams


✏ Functional teams

  • people of same department or functional area
    ✏ Cross-functional teams
  • people from different departments or functional area
    ✏ Problems-solving teams
  • established to solve problems and make improvements at work
    ✏ Self-directed teams
  • set own goals and pursue them in ways described by the teams
    ✏ Venture teams
  • operate semi-autonomously to create and develop new products, process, or business
    ✏ Virtual teams
  • teams who communicate using the Internet and other information technologies
    ✏ Global teams
  • members from different countries

Informal Groups


✏ Friendship groups

  • arise out of cordial relationships among members and the enjoyment they get from being together

✏ Interest Groups

  • organized around a common activity or interest (eg. networking)

Group Performance Factors

Group Composition
(Homogeneity or heterogeneity of the members)


✅ Homogeneous group

  • similar in one or several ways that are critical to the work of the group
  • eg. Technical specialty
  • more productive when task is simple, cooperation is necessary

✅ Heterogeneous group

  • differ in one or more ways that are critical to the work of the group
  • related to turnover when differ in age or tenure
  • for tasks that require complex analysis of information/creativity
  • generates wide range of viewpoints
  • Stereotyping + communication problems
  • should allow for a longer-than-normal time before expecting it to carry out assigned task

Group Size

  • Larger
    -generate more ideas
    -more resources and perform more tasks independently
    -greater complexity of interactions
    -more difficult to achieve agreements
    -interactions more likely to be formalized
    -may inhibit participation, stop ppl from trying to make a meaningful contribution
    -more social interactions less task interactions
    -🚩 Social loafing (tendency to not put as much effort as they would working alone), feel like other people will cover up
    -thus, most effective size depends on ability to interact, determined by the maturity level as well

Group Norms


  • appropriateness of a behavior is judged
  • result from personality characteristics, situation, task, and historical traditions
  • tend to follow even if negative
  • serve 4 purposes:
  1. Reject deviant behavior that doesn't help meet group goals
  2. Simplify and make more predictable the behaviors expected of group members -> more productive
  3. Help to avoid embarrassing situations (subject that hurts others)
  4. Express cultural values of the group and identify the group to others

Group Cohesiveness
(extent to which group is committed to remaining together)

  • factors that affect: maturity, homogeneity, manageable size, frequency of interactions
  • can be increased by competition, success and EQ
  • may be affected by personal diff, egos, lure of more individual successes
  • highly cohesive: may not be more productive esp if group decides on a goal that has little to do with the business of org.
  • cohesiveness may cause problems (eg. Groupthink (group's overriding concern is a unanimous decision rather than critical analysis of alternatives)

Informal Leader
(engages in leadership activities but is not formally recognized)

  • may be the same or different person as the formal
  • usually, emerge to supplement the formal leader's functions
  • can be a huge asset, but if they fo counter to the goals of org, they can lower performance norms/disrupt org

Creating New Groups and Teams

Stages of Group and Team Development

  1. 🖊 Mutual Acceptance
  • get to know one another and share info about themselves
  • often test one another's opinions
  • formal discussions will not be very productive at this stage, dk how to evaluate other's comments
  • start talking about more sensitive issues
  • come to understand how similar their beliefs and values are and to what extent they can trust one another
  • can start to discuss serious topics
  1. 🖊 Communication and Decision Making
  • Begun to accept one another
  • discuss their feelings and opinions more openly, increasing potential for conflict
  • Behavioral norms start to develop here
  • Eventually, agree on group norms
  1. 🖊 Motivation and Productivity
  • emphasis shifts away from personal concerns to viepoints that benefit the group
  • performance of tasks and cooperation with each other
  • more motivated = more creativity
  1. 🖊 Control and Organisation
  • group works effectively to accomplish their goals
  • in a mature group, activities are spontaneous and flexible, not subjected to rigid structural contraints
  • they evaluate possible outcomes and take corrective actions if necessary
  • as conditions change/relationship changes, group has to re-experience the stages of dvlpment again

Understanding Team Performance Factors

  • Performance Factors:
    • Team efficacy (the shared belief that it can organize and execute behavior necessary to reach goals)
      ✅ can be improved by selecting people with strong self-efficacy/give appropriate support and training/express confidence in the team
    • Highly cohesive team (motivated to stay in the team)
      ✅ they're more committed to the team and its goals
    • Trust (confidence that people will honor their commitments)
      ✅ built through repeat positive experiences
      ✅ lack of it can undermine any team activity
    • Social loafing (tendency to not put as much effort as they would working alone)
      ✅ less common with important task
      ✅ increased social loafing reduces effectiveness
    • Social faciilitation (people motivated to look good to others and want to maintain a positive self-image)
      ✅ good for a team, they tend to perform better in a team than alone
    • Team size
      ✅ small can help make contributions identifiable and reduce social loafing and social facilitation
    • Roles (define tasks and behaviors that each member is expected to perform)
      ✅ should establish clear roles, can reduce process loss
    • Positive Norms
      ✅ help ensure high performance
    • Having shared team goals and feedback
      ✅ clear goals and milestones can help improve performance
      ✅ feedback helps adjust their behavior and process to reach their goals
    • Team rewards
      ✅ helps motivate the team to pursue team goals
      ✅ rather than individual goals help shift their emphasis on team goals
      ✅ remaining individual awards should be given to effective team players (should be decided by team)
    • Team member turnover
      ✅ can reduce team effectiveness, and new member needs to be proactively integrated
      ✅ Leaders are then important to their integration and sociallization process; if not successful, may affect the cohesiveness of team
  • Performance factors result in:
    • Process gain (performance improvements because people work together)
    • Process loss (performance decrements when team performs worse than if they were to do it alone)

Implementation process

  • Phase 1: Start-up
    • members are selected and prepared to work in teams
    • send message that firm is committed to teams
    • training to cover technical skills, admin skills, interpersonal skills
    • teams boundaries to be identified
    • performance will increase due to the enthusiasm for change
  • Phase 2: Reality and Unrest
    • frustration and confusion about ambiguities of the new situation arises
    • managers should be visible and continue to work to clarify the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved
    • reinforce positive behaviours
  • Phase 3: Leader-Centered Teams
    • usually start to focus on a single leader in the team
    • rotating system is good for professional growth of all teams
    • managers to push as many problem solving opportunities down to team level
  • Phase 4: Tightly formed teams
    • interteam rivalries may happen
  • teams should keep communication channels open with other teams (should be rewarded)
    • performance feedback should be given
    • teams need to follow previously developed plan to transfer authority and responsibility to teams + be sure that all members continue to get trainings
  • Phase 5: Self Management Teams
    • taking responsibilityfor team-related leadership functions
    • managers have withdrawn from daily operations
    • teams will be taking in new ideas to improve
    • need to continue trainings
    • support systems need to be improved to help team development & productivity
    • teams will need to improve internal customer and supplier relationships

Managing Teams

Understanding Benefits and Costs of Teams


Benefits:


  1. Enhanced Performance
  • improved productivity, quality, customer service
  • avoid wasted effort, reduce errors, react better to customers, more output per employee input
  1. Reduce Costs
  • reduce scrap, make fewer errors, file fewer compensation claims, reduce absenteeism and turnover
  • members feel like they have stake in the outcomes, want to make contributions as they are valued
  1. Other Organisational Benefits
  • increased innovation, creativity and flexibility
  • eliminate redundant layers of bureaucracy and flatten the hierarchy
  • ee feel closer and more in touch with top management, more likely to make significant contributions
  1. Employee Benefits
  • provide a sense of self-control, human dignity, identification with work, a sense of self-worth, and self-fulfillment
  • freedom to grow and gain respect and dignity by managing themselves, making decisions about work
  • better work-life, face less stress at work, make less use of employee assistance programs

Costs


  1. Cost of Teams
  • managers may have frustration and confusion about their new roles as coaches
  • ees may feel like their jobs are in jeopardy
  • slowness of the process of full team development
  • if give up half way, the hardwork is all lost, confidence in mgt may also suffer for a long time, losses in productivity is difficult to recoup
  • Performing Effective Performance
    ✒ Top-Management Support
  • must decide to form team-based organisation for proper reasons
  • is instrumental in communicating reasons to change org.
  • has to support change during difficult periods
  • need to give verbal encouragement as well as org. support systems (eg. better hiring selection systems)
    ✒ Understanding Time Frames
  • planning takes around 8.5 months, the before-team performance level takes more than a year
  • cannot expect too much too soon
  • performance levels only reach back to normal arnd phase 3
    ✒ Changing Organisational Rewards
  • 3 types: Skill-based pay (additional pay needs a set of core skills), Gain-sharing systems (additional pay based on org. performance), Team Bonus Plans (additional pay for the team if they did well)

Teamwork Competencies

  • Abilities to look for:


    • Conflict Resolution Abilities
    • Collaborative problem-solving abilities
    • Communication Abilities
    • Goal setting and self-management Abilities
    • Planning and task coordination Abilities

  • Ethical Issues that are important:


    • Fair distribution of work
    • Fair distribution of blame and credit
    • The way they ensure participation, resolve conflict and make decisions
    • Avoiding deception and corruption

  • Team contract


    • written agreement to establish ground rules
    • help to reduce conflict and deter free ridership

Emerging Team
Opportunities and Challenges

Virtual Teams

  • Virtual Team Leadership Skills
    • communicate effectively, matching tech to situation
    • building a community based on mutual trust, respect, affiliation, and fairness
    • establishing a clear and motivating shared vision, team purpose, goals and expectations
    • leading by example and focusing on measurable results
    • coordinate and collaborate across organizational boundaries
  • Leader Behaviors
    • difficult for leaders to monitor team member performance
    • thus need to provide clear, engaging direction + specific individual goals
    • develop appropriate routines and procedures early on in team's lifecycle = to create consistency in behavior
    • define desired routines (standard operating procedure), provide motivational incentives, establish rules and guidelines (appropriate computer-mediated communication)
  • Groupware and Group Decision Support Systems
    • Synchronous tech helps communication/interaction
    • Asynchronous tech delay communication of the message
    • web-based collaboration tool increases synergy and gives more free time
    • meeting management software helps team members contribute ideas, view ideas anonymously and comment and vote on them = enhances team performance
    • right tech is impt, software for virtual teams to work as if they are in the same location
    • team can share files,, show ppt, mark up docs etc...
    • meeting wizard to create meetings and invite all members

Diversity and Multicultural Teams
❌ Demographic diversity (diversity in demographic)
✅ Informational diversity (diversity in knowledge and experience)
❓Multicultural teams:

  • Direct vs Indirect Communication
    • Western: more direct and explicit
    • Non-westerner: meaning embedded in the way info is presented
  • Differing Attitudes towards hierarchy and authority
    • members from cultures where people are treated differently according to status in organisations, they are uncomfortable on flat teams
  • Conflicting Decision-Making Norms
    • Western: make decisions quickly with analysis
    • Eastern/Asians: more analysis required