Teamwork: Emphasizing Powerful Meetings 3 Teamwork: Emphasizing Powerful Meetings Teamwork means focusing on the team’s success, realizing that ultimately the team’s success is your success. It also means that you succeed by helping other members of the team to succeed. —Intuit’s list of 10 core values

Reasons for Joining Groups 3-2 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Groups in the Workplace Functional groups Fulfill ongoing needs in the organization by carrying out a particular function Task groups Set up to carry out a specific activity and then disband when the activity is completed Formal groups Set up by management to meet organizational objectives Informal groups Formed when individuals in the organization develop relationships to meet personal needs 3-3 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Getting the Group to Work With You Make sure all members of a formal group know what they can and should be doing. Keep groups informed about what is happening in the organization and what changes are planned for the future. Support the group when it wants to bring legitimate concerns to higher management. Make good choices about whom to assign to the group. Encourage the group to participate in solving problems. 3-4 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Characteristics of Groups 3-5 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Roles Source of a person’s role Formal position in an organization Combination of the person’s beliefs about how he or she ought to behave and other people’s expectations about how a person will act The kind of roles people select serve different purposes Supervisors must be aware of the roles assigned in each group Roles Patterns of behavior related to employees’ positions in a group. Role conflicts Situations in which a person has two different roles that call for conflicting types of behavior. 3-6 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Norms Some work settings may have a norm of doing only what is expected of them and no more. Some norms may be stated rather than implied. When a member of the group violates a norm, the group responds by pressuring the person to perform. Formal groups have procedures for handling violations of norms. Norms Group standards for appropriate or acceptable behavior. 3-7 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Status Status depends on: The person’s role in the group Title Pay Education level Age Race Sex Group members with the highest status have the most effect on the development of group norms. Status A group member’s position in relation to others in the group. 3-8 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cohesiveness Groups that are cohesive work harder than others and are more likely to accomplish their objectives. Why groups stick together: Equal participation by all Shared goals or characteristics History of successes Comfortable group size Competition with other groups Cohesiveness The degree to which group members stick together. 3-9 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Size Beyond 20 members, informal subgroups tend to form. Big groups typically operate differently from small ones. Quiet group members are more likely to participate in a small group. Big groups make sense when a lot of work needs to get done and the individual members can work independently most of the time. 3-10 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Homogeneity and Effectiveness People feel most comfortable being around others who are like themselves; therefore, homogenous groups offer: Better cooperation among members Greater satisfaction Higher productivity For complex, creative tasks a heterogeneous group can perform better than a homogenous one. Formal groups should be as effective as possible. Informal groups should be effective only to the extent that this supports organizational goals. Homogeneity The degree to which the members of a group are the same. 3-11 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Development of Groups Orientation Dissatisfaction Resolution Production Termination 3-12 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Benefits of Teamwork Teamwork enables the organization to increase its usage of the insights and expertise of all its employees. Teams can serve as motivators. Employees who participate in planning and decision making are more likely to: Take responsibility for the quality of what they do Be enthusiastic about their work 3-13 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Leading the Team The goal of a team leader is to develop a productive team. To build an effective team: Set goals Build the team well Hold an initial meeting or two Hold frequent or regular status meetings Monitor the progress of individuals and the team as a whole Make yourself available Remember that communication is two-way Step in when you sense a conflict Update your manager Be a good team player yourself Give credit where credit is due 3-14 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Coaching the Team Enable team member to do their best Provide employees with the resources they need to do their job Remove obstacles that interfere with their work Express a vision for the team Be sure the team recognizes their boundaries Coaching enables the supervisor to build on the strengths and expertise of the whole group 3-15 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Selection of Team Members and Team Building When selecting team members, a supervisor should look for people who work well with others. Team building includes: Setting goals Analyzing what needs to be done Allocating work Examining how well the group is working Examining the relationships among team members 3-16 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Communication in Teams The way the team leader communicates with the other team members influences team success. Team leaders should create a climate of: Trust Openness Collaboration Team leaders should acknowledge disagreement Teamwork requires open and positive communication among team members 3-17 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rewards Members must be rewarded appropriately for teams to remain productive. The entire team should be rewarded for its accomplishments instead of emphasizing individual rewards. Rewards should be varied enough so that everyone will feel motivated. 3-18 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Labor Law and Teamwork The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 forbids employers to dominate or interfere with the formation of any “labor organization.” The National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling in 2001, concluding that teams are not considered labor organizations if they have the authority to plan and implement decisions (supervisory authority). The teams considered in the ruling were set up to solve problems, not for members to represent employees in bargaining with management. 3-19 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Reasons for Meetings To convey news to a group of people To allow a group to participate in decision making To prepare group members for a change and build support for the change To prevent misunderstandings Meetings should be scheduled at a time that is convenient for all participants. 3-20 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparing for a Meeting Decide who should attend Decide where to meet Draw up an agenda Distribute the agenda to all participants in time for participants to review it before the meeting Make sure participants have received any other documents they might need 3-21 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Conducting a Meeting Begin promptly at the scheduled starting time Facilitate the discussion Rephrase ideas that participants express Summarize key points often enough to make sure everyone is following the discussion Do not dominate the discussion Encourage everyone to contribute Do not allow one participant to monopolize a discussion End the meeting on time 3-22 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Overcoming Problems with Meetings Keep the discussion linked to agenda items Avoid ridiculing participants and respect their efforts to contribute Be prepared Be sure participants are prepared; if they are not, consider rescheduling the meeting 3-23 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Summary There are many reasons why people join groups. There are four basic types of groups that exist in the workgroup: functional, task, formal, and informal. Supervisors are responsible for getting groups to cooperate with them. Supervisors who understand what is happening in a group situation can decide whether the group is effectively supporting the achievement of organizational objectives or whether they need to step in and make changes. There are five stages of group development: orientation, dissatisfaction, resolution, production, termination. 3-24 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Summary (continued) Teams bring employees together to collaborate on solving problems and making decisions. The goal of a team leader is to develop a productive team. Planning is crucial for effective meetings. Supervisors should maintain control of the meeting without dominating the discussion or ridiculing participants. 3-25 McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.