Chapter 7 Work groups and teams

1. Chapter 7Work groups and teams

2. Overview • Defining work groups and teams • The benefits of teamwork • Creating and maintaining effective teams • Input-process-output models • Summary

3. Work teams are… • ‘composed of two or more individuals who exist to perform organisationally relevant tasks, share one or more common goals, interact socially, exhibit task interdependencies, maintain and manage boundaries, and are embedded in an organisational context that sets boundaries, constrains the team, and influences exchanges with other units in the broader entity.’ (Kozlowski & Bell, 2003, p.334)

4. Defining work groups and teams • Over the past 30 years, work groups and teams have become increasingly common in the organisations. • Traditional hierarchical structures have become inadequate. • Increasing task complexity and interdependence between job functions. • Organisations are downsizing and de-layering to more team-based designs.

5. Defining work groups and teams • Examples of teams in organisations? • Production teams, negotiation teams, service teams, performing teams. • Teams differ on various dimensions: • temporal duration • physical proximity • task routineness • autonomy over work practices • reliance on technology.

6. Real versus pseudo teams • Characteristics of real teams: clear shared objectives, interdependence, reflexivity, autonomy, boundedness, and clear roles for each team member. • Pseudo teams are teams by name only – they are missing crucial ‘real team’ characteristics. • Pseudo teams are potentially detrimental for individual and organisational outcomes. • Imperative to design tasks for real teams. • High levels of task interdependence.

7. The benefits of teamwork • Teams enable organisations to develop and deliver products and services in a speedy and cost effective manner. • Teams are the best way to endorse organisational strategy. • Teams enable organisations to learn more effectively and retain this learning for longer periods of time. • Teams promote creativity and innovation through the exchange of ideas and divergent perspectives between team members. Source: Cohen and Bailey (1997)

8. Origins of teamwork • Group working was crucial for survival in prehistoric times. • Humans have an innate need for belonging and acceptance (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). • Seminal Hawthorne studies of the 1930s found that work is typically viewed as a group activity. • ‘Hawthorne effect’ – providing support and attention, and allowing participation in decision-making can enhance employee motivation and performance.

9. Models of team effectiveness • Commonly follow the input-process-output (I-P-O) framework (McGrath, 1964). • Interactions between team members (team processes) will influence input-output relationships (Hackman, 1986). • Various limitations of I-P-O models have promoted recent additions/amendments.

10. Input-process-output model of team effectiveness

11. Summary • Strong trend towards team-based designs. • Teams can outperform individuals and accomplish highly complex tasks. • Organisations must ensure that they develop and support real and effective teams. • Work groups and teams are not suitable for all organisations.