10: Chapter Understanding Work Teams Work group: a group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility No need or opportunity to engage in collective work Performance is merely the summation of each group member's individual contribution Work team: a group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs Teams typically outperform individuals when the task being done requires multiple skills, judgments, and experience Generate positive synergy (interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects) Use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate greater outputs with no increase in inputs Types of teams: o Problem-solving teams: groups of 5-12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment o Self-managed teams: groups of 10-15 people who take on responsibilities of their former supervisors Supervisory positions take on decreased importance and may even be eliminated Don't seem to work well during organizational down-sizing Effectiveness of self-managed teams is situationally dependent o Cross-functional teams: employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task Task force: temporary cross-functional team Committee: composed of members from across departmental lines o Virtual teams: use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal Can do all the things that other teams do 3 primary factors that differentiate virtual teams from face-to-face teams: Absence of paraverbal and nonverbal cues Limited social context Ability to overcome time and space constraints Often suffer from less social rapport and less direct interaction among members Tend to be more task oriented Less satisfaction with the group interaction process Allows people to work together who might otherwise never be able to collaborate Team Effectiveness Model: Teams differ in form and structure Be careful not to rigidly apply the model's predictions to all teams
Assumes that it's already been determined that teamwork is preferable over individual work Key components making up effective teams: o Context: Adequate resources: scarcity of resources directly reduces the ability of the team to perform its job effectively Teams must receive the necessary support from management Leadership and structure: specifics of work and how they fit together to integrate individual skills Agree on who is to do what All members contribute equally Leadership isn't always needed o Self-managed work teams often perform better than teams with formally appointed leaders On traditionally managed teams, two factors influence team performance: o Leader's expectations o Leader's mood Leaders who exhibit a positive mood get better team performance and lower turnover Climate of trust: members of effective teams trust each other Trust is the foundation of leadership Performance evaluation and reward system: system modifications that will reinforce team effort and commitment o Composition: how teams should be staffed Abilities of members: Teams require 3 different types of skills: o Technical expertise o Problem-solving and decision-making skills o Interpersonal skills The right mix is crucial When the task entails considerable thought, high-ability teams do better, especially when the work load is distributed evenly o More adaptable to changing situations o Can more effectively adapt prior knowledge to suit a set of new problems When tasks are simple, high-ability teams do not perform as well o They become bored o Should be "saved" to tackle the tough problems Matching team ability to the task is important A less intelligent leader can neutralize the effect of a high-ability team Personality: Variance in personality characteristics may be more important than the mean
Including just one person is who low on agreeableness, conscientiousness, or extraversion can result in strained internal processes and decreased overall performance o Conscientious people: good at "backing up" fellow team members o Extraverts: better at training and motivating o Emotionally stable people: better at adapting and helping other to adapt o Open people: Make better use of computer technology Better communicate with one another More creative and innovative Allocating Roles: ensure that all various roles are filled By matching individual preferences with team role demands, managers increase the likelihood that the team members will work well together Diversity: Heterogeneous teams perform more effectively than do those that are homogenous o Promotes conflict stimulates creativity improved decision making Group demography: degree to which members of a group share a common demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in an organization, and the impact of this attribute on turnover Cohorts: individuals who, as part of a group, hold a common attribute o Turnover will be greater among those with dissimilar experiences because communication is more difficult Size of teams Member flexibility Member preferences: Given the option, many employees will select themselves out of team participation When selecting team members, individual preferences should be considered o High-performing teams are likely to be composed of individuals who prefer working as part of a group o Work design: Increase members' sense of responsibility and ownership over the work Make the work more interesting to perform o Process: teams should create outputs greater than the sum of their inputs Process gains > process losses Aspects of group processes: Common purpose: provides direction and guidance under any and all conditions
o Purpose is a vision Specific goals: facilitate clear communication o Teams should maintain their focus on getting these results o Team goals should be challenging Team efficacy: confidence in themselves; believe they can succeed o Success breeds success o Increase team efficacy by: Helping the team to achieve small successes Providing skill training Conflict levels: o Relationship conflicts are almost always dysfunctional o Task conflicts are not detrimental Lessen the likelihood of groupthink o Effective teams will be characterized by an appropriate level of conflict Teams that are completely void of conflict become apathetic and stagnant Social loafing: individual contributions can't be identified o Individuals can hide inside a group Turning Individuals into Team Players: The challenge: to perform well as team members, individuals must be able to: o Communicate openly and honestly o To confront differences and resolve conflicts o To sublimate personal goals for the good of the team Shaping team players: o Selection: ensure that candidates can fulfill their team roles as well as technical requirements o Training: a large proportion of people raised on the importance of individual accomplishments can be trained to become team players o Rewards: promotions, pay raises, and other forms of recognition should be given to individuals for how effective they are as a collaborative team member Doesn't mean individual contributions are ignored Balanced with selfless contributions to the team Teams provide camaraderie Teams and Quality Management: The essence of QM is process improvement o Employee involvement is the linchpin of process improvement o Teams provide the natural vehicle for employees to share ideas and to implement improvements Teams aren't always the answer: Teamwork takes more time and often more resources than individual work Benefits of using teams have to exceed the costs 3 tests can be applied to see if a team fits the situation
o Can the work be done better by more than one person? Complexity of the work Need for different perspectives o Does the work create a common purpose? o Are the members of the group interdependent? Success of the whole depends on the success of each one Success of each one depends on the success of the others