Unlocking Group and Team Performance

1. Effective Team Management Chapter 11

2. Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness Group • Two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs Team • A group whose members work intensely with each other to achieve a specific, common goal or objective

3. Groups vs. Teams All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams The two characteristics that distinguish teams from groups are the intensity with which team members work together and the presence of a specific, overriding team goal or objective. Because members of teams do work intensely together, teams can be difficult to form, and it may take time for team members to learn how to effectively work together.

4. Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers One of the main advantages of using groups is the opportunity to obtain synergy. Synergy: Performance gains that result when individuals and departments coordinate their actions Factors that contribute to synergy • Ability of group members to bounce ideas off one another • To correct one another’s mistakes • To solve problems immediately as they arise

5. Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers • To bring a diverse knowledge base to bear on a problem or goal • To accomplish work that is too vast or all-encompassing for any individual to achieve on his or her own

6. Groups’ and Teams’ Contributions to Organizational Effectiveness Groups and teams can help an organization gain a competitive advantage by:

7. Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers To promote synergy, managers need to • make sure that groups are composed of members who have complementary skills and knowledge. • empower their subordinates and be coaches, guides, and resources for groups, while refraining from playing a directive or supervisory role. When tasks are complex and involve highly sophisticated and rapidly changing technologies, achieving synergies in teams often hinges on having the appropriate mix of backgrounds and areas of expertise represented on the team.

8. Groups, Teams, and Responsiveness to Customers Being responsive to customers often requires the wide variety of skills found in different departments. • In a cross-functional team, the expertise and knowledge of different organizational departments are brought together into a team environment in order to enhance responsiveness to customers.

9. Teams and Innovation Innovation - Implementation of creative ideas for new products, new technologies, new services, or even new organizational structures essential for organizational effectiveness Using teams to innovate has advantages: • Team members can uncover one another’s errors or false assumptions • Team members can critique one another’s approaches and build on one another’s strengths while compensating for weaknesses

10. Teams and Innovation • Managers should empower teams by making their members fully responsible and accountable for the innovation process. • Managers must form teams in which each member brings a unique resource to the team. • Successful innovation sometimes requires that managers form teams with members from different countries and cultures.

11. Groups and Teams as Motivators Members of groups are likely to be more satisfied working together than working alone Experience of working alongside other highly charged and motivated people can be stimulating and motivating Team members can see how their efforts and expertise directly contribute to the achievement of team and organizational goals Teams provide needed social interaction and help employees cope with work-related stressors

12. Figure 11.2 Types of Groups and Teams in Organizations

13. Types of Groups and Teams Formal group: A group that managers establish to achieve organization goals • Cross-functional teams are formal groups composed of members from different departments • Cross-cultural teams are composed of members from different cultures or countries. Informal group: A group that managers or nonmanagerial employees form to help achieve their own goals or to meet their own needs

14. Types of Groups and Teams Top-management team: A group composed of the CEO, the president, and the heads of the most important departments • This team is responsible for developing the strategies that result in an organization’s competitive advantage. • Most top-management teams have between five and seven members and many are also cross-functional. • Diversity within the top management team helps guard against groupthink, faulty group decision making that results when group members strive for agreement at the expense of an accurate assessment of the situation.

15. Types of Groups and Teams Research and Development team: Managers in high-tech industries often create research and development teams to develop new products. • Managers select R&D team members on the basis of their expertise and experience in a certain area needed to develop new products • Sometimes R&D teams are cross-functional teams with members from many departments.

16. Types of Groups and Teams Command groups: A group composed of subordinates who report to the same supervisor, also called a department or unit • When top managers design an organization’s structure and establish reporting relationships and a chain of command, they are creating command groups.

17. Types of Groups and Teams Task forces: A committee of managers or non-managerial employees from various departments or divisions who meet to solve a specific, mutual problem • Task forces are also called ad hoc committees. • Once the task force accomplishes its goal or resolves its problem, it usually disbands.

18. Types of Groups and Teams • They can be a valuable tool for busy managers who do not have the time to explore an important issue in depth. • Task forces that are relatively permanent are often referred to as standing committees. • Membership in standing committees changes over time. • Managers often form and maintain standing committees to make sure that important issues continue to be addressed.

19. Types of Groups and Teams Self-managed work team: A group of employees who supervise their own activities and monitor the quality of the goods and services they provide • Team members decide what the team will do, how it will do it, and which team members will perform which specific tasks. • Managers provide teams with overall goals but let team members decide how to meet those goals. • Managers usually form self-managed work teams to improve quality, increase motivation and satisfaction, and lower costs.

20. Self-Managed Team Managers can take a number of steps to ensure that self-managed work teams are effective and help an organization gain a competitive advantage: • Give teams enough responsibility and autonomy to be truly self-managing. Refrain from telling team members what to do or solving problems for them, even if you as manager know what should be done. • Make sure that a team’s work is sufficiently complex so that it entails a number of different steps or procedures that must be performed and results in some kind of finished end product. • Carefully select members of self managed work teams. Team members should have the diversity of skills needed to complete the team’s work, have the ability to work with others and want to be part of a team.

21. Self-Managed Team • As a manager, realize that your role vis-à-vis self-managed work teams calls for guidance, coaching, and support, not supervision. You are a resource for teams to turn to when needed. • Analyze what type of training team members need and provide it. Working in a self-managed work team often requires that employees have more extensive technical and interpersonal skills • Self-managed teams can run into trouble if members are reluctant to discipline one another.

22. Types of Groups and Teams • Virtual team: A team whose members rarely meet face-to-face and interact by using various forms of information technology. • As organizations are becoming increasingly global, virtual teams allow employees to solve problems and explore opportunities without being limited by geographic location. • Virtual teams might even include members who are not part of the organization, but who are part of an organization used for outsourcing. • Virtual teams rely on two forms of information technology: synchronous and asynchronous technology.

23. Types of Groups and Teams • One of the challenges virtual team members face is building a sense of camaraderie and trust among each other. • To address this challenge, some organizations schedule opportunities for virtual team members to meet. • Research suggests that while some virtual teams can be as effective as traditional teams, virtual team members might be less satisfied with teamwork efforts and have fewer feelings of camaraderie or cohesion. • Research also suggests that it is important for managers to keep track of virtual teams and intervene when necessary.

24. Informal Teams Friendship groups: Informal group composed of employees who enjoy one another’s company and socialize with one another • Friendship groups help satisfy employees’ needs for interpersonal interaction and can provide social support in times of stress. • . The informal relationship that managers build in these groups can often help them solve work-related problems.

25. Informal Teams Interest groups: Informal group of employees seeking to achieve a common goal related to their membership in an organization • Interest groups can provide managers with insights into the issues and concerns that are important to employees. • These groups can also signal the need for change.

26. Group Dynamics The characteristics and processes that affect the functioning and efficiency of a group Five key elements of group dynamics • Group size and roles • Group leadership • Group development • Group norms • Group cohesiveness

27. Group Size and Roles Group Size: The number of members in a group can be an important determinant of members’ motivation and commitment, as well as overall group performance. Small groups—between two and nine members • Interact more with each other and find it easier to coordinate their efforts • More motivated, satisfied, and committed • Find it easier to share information • Better able to see the importance of their personal contributions for group success Disadvantage: Members of small groups have fewer resources available to accomplish their goals

28. Group Size and Roles Large groups—with 10 or more members • Have more resources at their disposal to achieve group goals than small groups do • Let managers obtain the advantages stemming from the division of labor • Division of labor: Splitting the work to be performed into particular tasks and assigning tasks to individual workers

29. Group Size and Roles Disadvantages of large groups: • Difficult to share information with, and coordinate the activities • Members of large groups sometimes experience lower levels of motivation, satisfaction, and commitment

30. Group Size When deciding upon the appropriate size for any group, managers should attempt to gain the advantages of small group size while also forming groups with sufficient resources to accomplish their goal. • As a general rule, groups should have no more members than necessary (5 to 7) to achieve the required division of labor. • In R&D teams, group size is too large when: 1) members spend more time communicating what they know to others than applying what they know to solve problems and create new products, 2) individual productivity decreases, and 3) group performance suffers.

31. Group Roles Group roles: Set of behaviors and tasks that a group member is expected to perform because of his position in the group • Managers need to clearly communicate to group members the expectations for their role in the group, what is expected of them, and how the different roles in the group fit together. Managers should encourage role making. • Taking the initiative to modify an assigned role by assuming additional responsibilities should be encouraged by managers. In self-managed work teams, group members themselves are responsible for creating roles.

32. Group Leadership Effective leadership is a key ingredient for high-performing groups, teams, and organizations • Sometimes managers assume the leadership role in groups and teams • Managers may appoint a member of a group who is not a manager to be group leader or chairperson • Group or team members may choose their own leaders • Leader may emerge naturally as group members work together

33. Five Stages of Group Development Researchers have identified five stages of group development that many groups seem to pass through.

34. Five Stages of Group Development In the first stage, forming, members try to get to know each other and reach a common understanding. In the second stage, storming, group members experience conflict and disagreements. During the third stage, norming, close ties between group members develop. In the fourth stage, performing, the real work of the group gets accomplished. The last stage, adjourning, applies only to groups that eventually are disbanded.

35. Group Norms Group norms: Shared guidelines or rules for behavior that most group members follow. • Groups develop norms concerning a wide variety of behaviors, including work hours, sharing information, how tasks are performed, and how members should dress. Managers should encourage members of a group to develop norms that contribute to group performance and the attainment of group goals

36. Conformity and Deviance Members conform to norms for three reasons • To obtain rewards and avoid punishment • They want to imitate group members whom they like and admire • They have internalized the norms and believe that they are the right and proper way to behave.

37. Conformity and Deviance Failure to conform, or deviance, occurs when a member of a group violates a group norm Deviance signals that the group is not controlling its members’ behaviors. Groups generally respond to members who behave defiantly in one of three ways: • Group might try to get the member to change his or her deviant ways • Group might expel the member • Group might change the norm to be consistent with the member’s behavior

38. Conformity and Deviance The last alternative suggests that some deviant behavior can be functional for a group. Deviance is functional when it causes group members to stop and evaluate norms that may be dysfunctional but taken for granted.

39. Balancing Conformity and Deviance in Groups

40. Balancing Conformity and Deviance in Groups Managers can take steps to ensure that there is some tolerance of deviance in groups. They can: i. be role models for the group ii. let employees know that there are always ways to improve group processes iii. encourage members of groups and teams to assess existing norms.

41. Group Cohesiveness Degree to which members are attracted to or loyal to their group • When group cohesiveness is high, individuals strongly value their group membership. • When group cohesiveness is low, group members have little desire to retain their group membership. • Research indicates that managers should strive to have a moderate level of cohesiveness in the groups.

42. Sources and Consequences of Group Cohesiveness

43. Factors Leading to Group Cohesiveness Group Size: • Members of small groups tend to be more motivated and committed. • To promote cohesiveness in groups, managers should form groups that are small to medium in size. Effectively Managed Diversity: • Although people tend to like and get along with others who are similar to them, diversity in groups, teams, and organizations can help an organization gain a competitive advantage. • Diverse groups often come up with more innovative and creative ideas.

44. Factors Leading to Group Cohesiveness Group Identity and Healthy Competition: • Managers can increase group cohesion by encouraging groups to develop their own identities and engage in healthy competition. • Healthy competition among groups is promoted by displaying measures of each team’s performance and the extent to which they have met their goals to others. • Conversely, managers can decrease cohesiveness by promoting organizational identity rather than group identity, reducing or eliminating competition between groups, and rewarding cooperation between groups.

45. Factors Leading to Group Cohesiveness . Success: • As groups become more successful, their cohesiveness tends to increase. • Managers can increase cohesiveness by making sure that a group can achieve some visible success.

46. Sources and Consequences of Group Cohesiveness Level of Participation Within a Group: • As group cohesiveness increases, the extent of group members’ participation within the group increases. • A moderate level of group cohesiveness helps to ensure that group members actively participate in the group. • Too much cohesiveness can reduce efficiency.

47. Sources and Consequences of Group Cohesiveness Level of Conformity to Group Norms • Increasing levels of group cohesiveness result in increasing levels of conformity to norms. • Too much conformity may result in conforming to norms even when they are dysfunctional. • Low cohesiveness can result in too much deviance and can undermine group control.

48. Sources and Consequences of Group Cohesiveness Emphasis on Group Goal: • Accomplishment: As group cohesiveness increases, emphasis on group goal accomplishment increases within the group. • For an organization to be effective, the different groups need to cooperate with each other and to be motivated to achieve organizational goals. • A moderate level of cohesiveness motivates group members to accomplish both group and organizational goals.

49. Managing Groups and Teams for High Performance Motivating group members to achieve organizational goals: • Members themselves should benefit when the group performs well—rewards can be monetary or in other forms such as special recognition Managers often rely on some combination of individual and group-based incentives to motivate members of groups. • Developing a fair pay system leading high individual motivation and high group or team performance is a major challenge to managers

50. Managing Groups and Teams for High Performance Social loafing: Human tendency to put forth less effort in a group than when they work alone • Can result in lower group performance • May even prevent a group from attaining its goals