Effective Groups and Teams

1. Effective Groups and Teams chapter fifteen

2. Learning Objectives Explain why groups and teams are key contributors to organizational effectiveness. Identify the different types of groups and teams that help managers and organizations achieve their goals. Explain how different elements of group dynamics influence the functioning and effectiveness of groups and teams. Explain why it is important for groups and teams to have a balance of conformity and deviance and a moderate level of cohesiveness. Describe how managers can motivate group members to achieve organizational goals and reduce social loafing in groups and teams.

3. Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness • Group • Two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs.

4. Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness • Team • A group whose members work intensely with each other to achieve a specific, common goal or objective.

5. Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness Two characteristics distinguish teams from groups • Intensity with which team members work together • Presence of a specific, overriding team goal or objective

6. Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers • Advantage of synergy • People working in a group are able to produce more outputs than would have been produced if each person had worked separately

7. Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers • Factors that contribute to synergy • Ability of group members to bounce ideas off one another • To correct one another’s mistakes • To bring a diverse knowledge base to bear on a problem • To accomplish work that is too vast for any one individual to achieve

8. Groups’ and Teams’ Contributions to Organizational Effectiveness Figure 15.1

9. Groups and Teams andResponsiveness to Customers • Responsiveness to Customers • Difficult to achieve given the many constraints. • Safety issues, regulations, costs. • Cross-functional teams can provide the wide variety of skills needed to meet customer demands. • Teams consist of members of different departments.

10. Teams and Innovation • Innovation • The creative development of new products, new technologies, new services, or new organizational structures • Individuals rarely possess the wide variety of skills needed for successful innovation. • Team members can uncover each other’s flaws and balance each other’s strengths and weaknesses

11. Groups and Teams as Motivators Members of groups, and particularly teams, are often better motivated and satisfied than individuals. Team members are more motivated and satisfied than if they were working alone.

12. The Types of Groups and Teams in Organizations Figure 15.2

13. The Types of Groups and Teams • Formal Group • A group that managers establish to achieve organization goals. • Informal Group • A group that managers or nonmanagerial employees form to help achieve their own goals or to meet their own needs.

14. The Types of Groups and Teams

15. The Types of Groups and Teams

16. Keys to Effective Self Managed Teams Give the team enough responsibility and autonomy to be self-managing. The team’s task should be complex enough to include many different steps. Select members carefully for their diversity, skills, and enthusiasm. Managers should guide and coach, not supervise. Analyze training needs and be sure it is provided.

17. Group Size Advantages of small groups Interact more with each other and easier to coordinate their efforts More motivated, satisfied, and committed Easier to share information Better able to see the importance of their personal contributions

18. Group Size Disadvantage of small groups is that members of small groups have fewer resources available to accomplish their goals.

19. Group Size • Advantages of large groups • More resources at their disposal to achieve group goals • Enables managers to obtain division of labor advantages • Disadvantages of large groups • Problem of communication and coordination • Lower level of motivation • Members might not think their efforts are really needed

20. Group Tasks • Task interdependence • degree to which the work performed by one member of the group influences the work performed by other members

21. Group Tasks • Pooled task interdependence • Members make separate, independent contributions to group such that group performance is the sum of each member’s contributions

22. Group Tasks • Sequential task interdependence • Exists when group members must perform specific tasks in a predetermined order. • Reciprocal task interdependence • Exists when the work performed by each group member is fully dependent on the work performed by other group members.

23. Types of Task Interdependence Figure 15.3

24. Group Roles • Group Roles • The set of behaviors and tasks that a group member is expected to perform because of his or her position in the group.

25. Group Roles In cross-functional teams, members are expected to perform roles in their specialty. Managers should clearly describe expected roles to group members when they are assigned to the group. Role-making occurs as workers take on more responsibility in their roles as group members. Self-managed teams may assign the roles to members themselves.

26. Group Leadership Effective leadership is a key ingredient in high performing groups, teams, and organizations. Formal groups created by an organization have a leader appointed by the organization. Groups that evolve independently in an organization have an informal leader recognized by the group.

27. The Stages of Group Development Figure 15.4

28. Stages of Group Development • Forming • Group members get to know each other and reach common understanding • Storming • Group members experience conflict because some members do not wish to submit to demands of other group members • Norming • Close ties and consensus begin to develop between group members.

29. Stages of Group Development • Performing • The group begins to do its real work. • Adjourning • Only for task forces that are temporary • Group is dispersed

30. Example – Furman Orientation Like many universities, Furman engages freshman in orientation activities This includes many activities in the residential halls Many are forming and storming activities

31. Group Norms • Group Norms • Shared guidelines or rules for behavior that most group members follow • Managers should encourage members to develop norms that contribute to group performance and the attainment of group goals

32. Group Norms • Conformity and Deviance • Members conform to norms to obtain rewards, imitate respected members, and because they feel the behavior is right. • When a member deviates, other members will try to make them conform, expel the member, or change the group norms to accommodate them.

33. Balancing Conformity and Deviance in Groups Figure 15.5

34. Group Cohesiveness • Group cohesiveness • The degree to which members are attracted to their group • Three major consequences • Level of participation • Level of conformity to group norms • Emphasis on group goal accomplishment

35. Sources and Consequences of Group Cohesiveness Figure 15.6

36. Factors Leading to Group Cohesiveness

37. Motivating Group Members to Achieve Organizational Goals Members should benefit when the group performs well—rewards can be monetary or in other forms such as special recognition. Individual compensation is a combination of both individual and group performance.

38. Reducing Social Loafing in Groups • Social loafing • The tendency of individuals to put forth less effort in a group than individually. • Results in possibly lower group performance and failure to attain group goals

39. Three Ways to Reduce Social Loafing Figure 15.7

40. Video Case: The Power to Change Anything Is it easy to influence behavior? How can managers influence the behavior of individuals and teams? Why do individuals resist change? How can they be influenced to embrace change?