Teams: Characteristics and Diversity 11

Learning Goals What are the five general team types and their defining characteristics? What are the three general types of team interdependence? What factors are involved in team composition? What are the types of team diversity and how do they influence team functioning? How do team characteristics influence team effectiveness? How can team compensation be used to manage team effectiveness?

Team Characteristics A team consists of two or more people who work interdependently over some time period to accomplish common goals related to some task-oriented purpose. A special type of “group.” The interactions among members within teams revolve around a deeper dependence on one another than the interactions within groups.

Team Types Work teams Management teams Parallel teams Project teams Action teams

Types of Teams Table 11-1

Types of Teams Figure 11-1

Variations within Team Types Virtual teams are teams in which the members are geographically dispersed, and interdependent activity occurs through electronic communications—primarily e-mail, instant messaging, and Web conferencing.

Stages of Team Development Forming Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning Storming Time Norming Performing Adjourning

Punctuated Equilibrium At the initial team meeting, members make assumptions and establish a pattern of behavior that lasts for the first half of its life. Adapted from Figure 11-2

Team Interdependence Task interdependence refers the degree to which team members interact with and rely on other team members for the information, materials, and resources needed to accomplish work for the team. Pooled interdependence

Team Interdependence, Cont’d Sequential interdependence

Team Interdependence, Cont’d Reciprocal interdependence

Team Interdependence, Cont’d Comprehensive interdependence

Goal Interdependence A high degree of goal interdependence exists when team members have a shared vision of the team’s goal and align their individual goals with that vision as a result.

The Mission Statement Development Process Table 11-2

Outcome Interdependence A high degree of outcome interdependence exists when team members share in the rewards that the team earns.

Team Composition Team composition Role Leader–staff teams Team task roles Team building roles Individualistic roles

Team and Individualistic Roles Table 11-3

Team and Individualistic Roles, Cont’d Table 11-3

Team Composition, Cont’d Member ability Disjunctive tasks Conjunctive tasks Additive tasks

Discussion Questions Do you think student teams function best in an additive, disjunctive, or conjunctive manner? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each structure?

Team Composition, Cont’d Member personality Agreeable people tend to be more cooperative and trusting, tendencies that promote positive attitudes about the team and smooth interpersonal interactions. Conscientious people tend to be dependable and work hard to achieve goals. Extraverted people tend to perform more effectively in interpersonal contexts and are more positive and optimistic in general.

Team Composition, Cont’d Team diversity Value in diversity problem-solving approach Similarity-attraction approach Surface-level diversity Deep-level diversity

Team Composition, Cont’d Team Size Having a greater number of members is beneficial for management and project teams but not for teams engaged in production tasks. Research concluded that team members tend to be most satisfied with their team when the number of members is between 4 and 5.

Five Aspects of Team Composition Figure 11-4

What Characteristics Can Be Used to Describe Teams? Figure 11-5

How Important Are Team Characteristics? One aspect of team effectiveness is team performance. A second aspect of team effectiveness is team viability. The relationship between task interdependence and team performance is moderately positive. The relationship between task interdependence and team commitment is weaker.

Effects of Task Interdependence on Performance and Commitment Figure 11-6

Application: Team Compensation Outcome interdependence has obvious connections to compensation practices in organizations. High outcome interdependence promotes higher levels of cooperation because members understand that they share the same fate — if the team wins, everyone wins, and if the team fails, everyone fails. Design team reward structures with hybrid outcome interdependence.

Takeaways Teams are comprised of two or more people who work interdependently over some time period to accomplish common goals related to some task-oriented purpose. Teams are more interdependent and task focused than groups. There are several different types of teams—work teams, management teams, parallel teams, project teams, and parallel teams—but many teams in organizations have characteristics that fit in multiple categories and differ from one another in other ways. Teams can be interdependent in terms of the team task, goals, and outcomes. Each type of interdependence has important implications for team functioning and effectiveness.

Takeaways, Cont’d Team composition refers to the characteristics of the members who work in the team. These characteristics include roles, ability, and personality, as well as the number of team members. Depending on the team’s task, it may be important to consider the average ability of the members, the ability of the most able, or the ability of the least able. The effect of diversity on the team depends on time and whether the diversity is surface-level or deep-level. The effects of surface-level diversity tend to diminish with time, whereas the effects of deep-level diversity tend to increase over time.

Takeaways, Cont’d Task interdependence has a moderate positive relationship with team performance and a weak relationship with team commitment. Outcome interdependence has important effects on teams, which can be managed with compensation practices that take team performance into account.