Ch 14 Outline The Contributions of Teams The New Team Environment How Groups Become Teams Building Effective Teams Managing Lateral Relationships

The Contributions of Teams Well-managed teams are powerful forces that can deliver all desired results Teams can increase productivity, improve quality, and reduce costs Teams can enhance speed and be powerful forces for innovation and change Teams can be useful learning mechanisms Team members can provide one another with feedback, identify opportunities for growth and development, train, coach, and mentor This slide offers some suggestions of the various contributions that teams make to an organization.

The New Team Environment A working group is a collection of people who work in the same area A team is formed of people with complementary skills who trust one another and are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and a common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

Types of Teams Functional Teams – a type of work team composed of a manager or team leader from a particular functional area (e.g. accounting, marketing, assembly etc.) Cross-Functional Teams – a type of work team made of of individuals with various types of expertise drawn from across functional areas (e.g. one accountant, one marketer, one legal expert, etc.)

Types of Teams Work teams make or do things such as manufacture, assemble, sell, or provide service Project and development teams work on long-term projects but disband once the work is completed Parallel teams operate separately from the regular work structure of the firm on a temporary basis Management teams coordinate and provide direction to the subunits under their jurisdiction and integrate work among subunits Transnational teams are work teams composed of multinational members whose activities span multiple countries

Self Managed Teams Self-managed teams are autonomous work groups in which workers ware trained to do all or most of the jobs in a unit, have no immediate supervisor, and make decisions previously made by first-line supervisors Today there exist many different types of work teams with many different labels. The terms can be confusing, and sometimes are used interchangeably out of a lack of awareness of actual differences. Self managed teams are most frequently found in manufacturing. People often resist self-managed work teams, in part because they don’t want so much responsibility and the change is difficult. In addition, people often don’t like to do performance evaluation of teammates, or to fire people. But compared to traditionally managed teams, self-managed teams appear to be more productive, have lower costs, provide better customer service, provide higher quality, have better safety records, and are more satisfying for members.

Self Managed Teams Self-designing teams – sometimes used to describe a type of self-managed team that also designs its task or job

Self Managed Teams Traditional Work Groups have no managerial responsibilities Quality circles are voluntary groups of people drawn from various production teams who make suggestions about quality Semiautonomous work groups make decisions about managing and carrying out major production activities Autonomous work groups control decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks This Figure shows the different types according to how much autonomy they have. To the left, teams are more traditional with little decision making authority, being under the control of direct supervision. To the right there is more autonomy, decision-making power, and self-direction.

How Groups Become Real Teams Groups become true teams via Basic group activities Passage of time Team development activities To ensure the safety of themselves and each other, Boots & Coots firefighters need to maintain trust and communicate under some of the toughest circumstances.

Five Stages of Group Development Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning (if appropriate)

Why Groups Sometimes Fail Failure lies in not knowing and doing what makes teams successful Team is often just a word used by management to describe merely putting people into groups Teams sometimes are launched with little or no training or support system Teams are not truly empowered

Building Effective Teams Team effectiveness is defined by three criteria Productive output of the team meets or exceeds the standards of quantity and quality Team members realize satisfaction of their personal needs Team members remain committed to working together again

Motivating Teamwork When working in a group individuals may display one of the following characteristics Social loafing occurs when individuals work less hard and are less productive in a group Social facilitation effect occurs when individuals work harder when in a group than when working alone Groupthink occurs when group members avoid disagreement as they strive for consensus

Motivating Teamwork To motivate individual members of the team it helps if: Group members are held accountable Rewards are tied to team performance The team’s task is motivating

Building Effective Teams: Cohesivness Text – The degree to which a group is attractive to its members, members are motivated to remain in the group and members influence one another Other Texts – The degree to which members value being a part of the group and are committed to achieving the groups goals (must be both)

Building Effective Teams: Norms and Roles Norms are shared beliefs about how people should think and behave Roles are different sets of expectations for how different individuals should behave Task specialist is an individual who has more advanced job-related skills and abilities than other group members Team maintenance specialist is an individual who develops and maintains team harmony From the organization’s standpoint, norms can be positive or negative. In some teams, everyone works hard; in other groups, employees are anti-management and do as little work as possible. Some groups develop norms of taking risks, others of being conservative. A norm could dictate that employees speak either favorably or critically of the company. Team members may show concern about poor safety practices, drug and alcohol abuse, and employee theft, or they may not care about these issues (or may even condone such practices). Two important sets of roles must be performed. Task specialist roles are filled by individuals who have particular job-related skills and abilities. These employees keep the team moving toward task accomplishment. Team maintenance specialists develop and maintain harmony within the team. They boost morale, give support, provide humor, soothe hurt feelings, and generally exhibit a concern with members’ well-being.