Chapter 9 Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Realities, & Challenges Nelson & Quick, 5th edition Work Teams and Groups

Groups and Teams Group – two or more people with common interests, objectives, and continuing interaction Work Team – a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable 2

Characteristics of a Well-Functioning, Effective Group Relaxed, comfortable, informal atmosphere Task well understood and accepted Members listen well and participate People express feeling and ideas 3

Characteristics of a Well-Functioning, Effective Group Conflict and disagreement center around ideas or methods Group aware of its operation and function Consensus decision making Clear assignments made and accepted 3

Group Behavior Norms of Behavior – the standards that a work group uses to evaluate the behavior of its members Group Cohesion – the “interpersonal glue” that makes members of a group stick together 4

Group Behavior Social Loafing – the failure of a group member to contribute personal time, effort, thoughts, or other resources to the group Loss of Individuality – a social process in which individual group members lose self-awareness and its accompanying sense of accountability, inhibition, and responsibility for individual behavior 4

3 Issues Addressed by Groups Interpersonal issues (Matters of trust, personal comfort, and security) Task issues (Mission or purpose, methods, expected outcomes) Authority issues (Leadership, managing power and influence, communication flow)

Group Formation Formal Groups – official or assigned groups gathered to perform various tasks need ethnic, gender, cultural, and interpersonal diversity need professional and geographical diversity Informal Groups – unofficial or emergent groups that evolve in the work setting to gratify a variety of member needs not met by formal groups 5

Tuckman’s Five-Stage Model of Group Development Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning Little agreement Unclear purpose Guidance and direction Conflict increased clarity of purpose Power struggles Coaching Agreement and consensus Clear roles and responsibili-ties Facilitation Clear vision and purpose Focus on goal achievement Delegation Task completion Good feeling about achievements Recognition Copyright ©2006 by South-Western, a division of Thomson Learning. All rights reserved

Punctuated Equilibrium Model – Groups do not progress linearly – Alternate between periods of inertia and bursts of energy

Leadership/Teams Often the first step toward leadership is when the manager begins to see his/her role as more of a coach then a boss. This is done by helping the employee to achieve their potential, rather than simply telling them what to do.

Leadership/Teams Logically, if we view ourselves as coaches, we should begin to view our subordinates as a team. This involves a fundamentally different approach to the workplace.

Why Teams? Good when performing complicated, complex, interrelated and/or more voluminous work than one person can handle Good when knowledge, talent, skills, and abilities are dispersed across organizational members Empowerment and collaboration; not power and competition Basis for total quality efforts 12

Teams Plus Minus Equals Steiner, 1972 Process Gains Potential Group Effectiveness Process Gains Plus Process Losses Actual Group Effectiveness Minus Equals Steiner, 1972

Teams Factors affecting group performance: Members External influences Roles Norms Status Group size Social loafing Group shift

Ambiguous responsibility Teams Group decision making Positives: More info More diversity Higher quality Acceptance of outcome Negatives: Time Conformance pressure Dominance by strong minority Ambiguous responsibility

Teams What is a work team? The goal of a work team is to function as a single entity with the express purpose of achieving the goals of the overall organization.

The challenge is that teams don't just happen: They require a great deal of hard work They require substantial training They require proper direction They require feedback on performance They require proper rewards

Teamwork Teamwork – joint action by a team of people in which individual interests are subordinated to team unity

New vs. Old Team Environments New Team Environment Old Work Environment Person generates initiatives Person follows orders Team charts its own steps Manager charts course Right to think for oneself. People rock boat; work together People conformed to manager’s direction. No one rocked the boat. People cooperate using thoughts and feelings; direct talk People cooperated by suppressing thoughts and feelings; wanted to get along SOURCE: Managing in the New Team Environment, by Hirschhorn, © 1991. Reprinted by permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc.,Upper Saddle River, N. J.

Diversity in Teams Diversity Focuses on effects of dissimilarity within the team May have positive or negative effects Value dissimilarity Positively relates to task and relationship conflict Negatively related to team involvement

Diversity in Teams Diversity Demographic dissimilarity influences Absenteeism Commitment Turnover intentions Beliefs Workgroup relationships Self-esteem Organizational citizenship behavior

Creativity in Teams Creativity Focuses on new and/or dissimilar ideas or ways of doing things in teams Can team creativity be enhanced by greater team diversity? Can social loafing, conformity, and downward norm setting be overcome?

? Self-Managed Teams Self-Managed Teams Self-Directed Teams Autonomous Work Groups – teams that make decisions that were once reserved for managers How does an organization capitalize on the advantages and avoid the risks of self managed teams? ? 21