16 th Module

1. 16th Module Teams and Teamwork

2. Organizational Workgroups • Trend toward using workgroups, teams, committees, etc. • What defines a group? • 2 or more people • Common goal or task • Recognized membership • Interdependence

3. Level of Analysis Organization (macro) Team Individual (micro)

4. Types of Teams • Problem Solving Teams – Members assemble to solve a particular problem • Must resolve problem to most people’s satisfaction, not own • Creative Teams – Assembled to come up with new ideas • Brainstorming for new products ideas, marketing, etc. • Tactical Teams – Assemble to execute a plan • Members have clearly defined roles (ex: SWAT teams) • Ad hoc Teams– Assembled for a limited time to solve a specific problem • Cross between a problem-resolution and a tactical team

5. Principles of Effective Teamwork • Members provide and accept feedback • Should be constructive and flow up as well as down • ex: catcher suggests to pitcher which pitch to throw • Members must be willing & prepared to back up others • Know when to jump in and help • ex: pitcher’s job doesn’t end with the pitch • Members view themselves as a group • Success of team more important than individual • ex: sacrifice bunt • Members are interdependent • Rely on one another to carry out mission • ex: everyone must make their plays • Team leadership is important • Leaders don’t just instruct, they serve as role models and influence team member behavior • ex: team captain leads by example and influence

6. Team Processes • Socialization – process of mutual adjustment between the team and its members • Based on evaluation, commitment & role transition • Socialization passes through 5 phases: 1. Investigation: team and individuals find a good match 2. Socialization: individuals and team assimilate to each other 3. Maintenance: both parties try to maximize their needs 4. Resocialization: team and individual try to influence each other in order to satisfy team needs 5. Remembrance (Advisory): occurs if resocialization is not successful

7. Interpersonal Processes in Teams 1.Communication • Ideal communication is frank, continuous, & regular 2. Conflict • unavoidable in teams; what is important is how teams deal with conflict • conflict can be seen as beneficial (different ideas but willing to listen) or competitive ( disagree with team members, not willing to listen to other’s opinion) 3. Cohesion • team members feel attracted to their team and want to stay in it 4. Trust • creates an environment where workers spend less time worrying about others and are more willing to allow other team members to help them

8. Personnel Selection for Teams • Successful selection of team members requires identifying the best mix of personnel for effective team performance • Prieto (1993) describes 5 critical social skills for an individual in a team to possess: 1. gain the group acceptance 2. increase group solidarity 3. be aware of the group consciousness 4. share the group identification 5. manage others’ impressions of him or her • Examining relationship between personality variables and team effectiveness • factors of conscientiousness & agreeableness have been found to predict various dimensions of work team performance • Stevens and Campion (1999) developed test to measure team related KSAs • e.g., conflict resolution, collaborative problem solving, communication, & planning

9. Training for Teams • A team task analysis is conducted to assess tasks that require coordination • Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are asked to provide info on each task that requires interdependency • Info obtained is used to specify team training objectives • Salas and Cannon-Bowers refer to team KSAs as: thinking, doing, & feeling • Much of our knowledge on team training comes from military applications • e.g., cross-training - exposure to and practice on other teammates’ tasks, results in increased knowledge regarding task responsibilities and coordination requirements

10. The Structure of team trainingSalas & Cannon-Bowers, 1997 Team Performance Cognition Behaviors Attitudes Knowledge Skills Affect “Think” “Do” “Feel”