Chapter 14 Bateman and Snell Teamwork Chapter 14 Bateman and Snell

Learning Objectives After studying Chapter 14, you will know: how teams contribute to your organization’s effectiveness what makes the new team environment different from the old how groups become teams why groups sometimes fail how to build an effective team how to manage your team’s relationships with other teams how to manage conflict

The Contributions Of Teams Building block for organization structure Force for innovation Force for productivity Effects on organizations Force for change Force for quality Force for speed Force for cost reduction

Benefits Of Groups For the organization For the individual Accomplish tasks that could not be done by individuals alone Bring multiple skills and talents to bear on complex tasks Provide a vehicle for decision making that permits multiple views Provide a means for controlling individual behavior Facilitate changes in policies or procedures Increase organizational stability For the organization For the individual Aid in learning about the organization and its environment Aid in learning about oneself Provide help in gaining new skills Obtain valued rewards that are not accessible through individual initiative Directly satisfy important personal needs, especially social needs

The New Team Environment Definitions working group - collection of people who work in the same area or have been drawn together to undertake a task do not necessarily come together as a unit and achieve significant performance improvements team - small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable real teams are more fully integrated into the organizational structure authority of teams is increasing

The New Team Environment (cont.) Types of teams work teams - make or do things like manufacture, assemble, sell, or provide service are well defined and a clear part of the organization’s structure composed of a full-time, stable membership project and development teams - work on long-term projects disband when the work is completed parallel teams - operate separately from the regular work structure on a temporary basis do work that is not normally done by the standard structure recommend solutions to specific problems do not have the authority to act

The New Team Environment (cont.) Types of teams (cont.) management teams - coordinate and provide direction to subunits integrate work among subunits authority based on hierarchical rank responsible for the overall performance of the organization

The New Team Environment Managers determine and plan the work Jobs are narrowly defined Cross-training is viewed as inefficient Most information is “management property” Training for nonmanagers focuses on technical skills Risk taking is discouraged People work alone Rewards based on individual performance Managers determine “best methods” Traditional environment Team environment Managers and teams jointly determine and plan the work Jobs require broad skills and knowledge Cross-training is the norm Information is freely shared Continuous learning requires training for all Encourage and support measured risk taking People work together Rewards based on contributions to the team and individual performance Everyone works to improve methods and processes

The New Team Environment (cont.) Self-managed teams autonomous work groups in which workers are trained to do all or most of the jobs in a unit have no immediate supervisor make decisions previously made by first-line supervisors compared to traditionally managed teams, self managed teams appear to: be more productive have lower costs provide better customer service have better safety records be more satisfying for members

The New Team Environment (cont.) Self-managed teams (cont.) traditional work groups - have no managerial responsibilities supervised by first-line manager quality circles - voluntary groups of people drawn from various production teams who make suggestions about quality have no authority to make decisions or execute semiautonomous work groups - make decisions about managing and carrying out major production activities still get outside support for quality control and maintenance

The New Team Environment (cont.) Self-managed teams (cont.) autonomous work groups (self-managing teams) - control decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks fully responsible for an entire product or an entire part of a production process self-designing teams - control the design of the team responsibilities comparable to those of autonomous work groups

How Groups Become Teams Group activities forming - members lay the ground rules for what types of behavior are acceptable storming - hostilities and conflict arise people jockey for positions of power and status norming - members agree on shared goals norms and closer relationships develop performing - group channels its energies into performing its task declining - deterioration of a group adjourning - termination of a temporary group

How Groups Become Teams (cont.) Transnational teams work groups composed of multinational members whose activities span multiple countries often are geographically dispersed and psychologically distant work on highly complex projects of considerable importance teams require several skills advocacy skills - build team’s legitimacy catalytic skills - work with a variety constituents, build commitment, reward members for contributions integrative skills - emphasize excellence, coordinate problem solving, and measure progress and results

How Groups Become Teams (cont.) The passage of time groups are open to formative experiences at critical periods forming period - rules, norms, and roles are established that set long-lasting precedents midway period - occurs between initial meeting and a deadline realization that time is becoming a scarce resource group must “get on with it” sufficient time to change the approach if necessary Why groups sometimes fail not easy to build high-performance teams giving up control to teams is difficult for some managers not knowing and doing what makes teams successful

Building Effective Teams Criteria for team effectiveness productive output - standards of quantity and quality satisfaction of member needs commitment to work together - remain viable with good prospects for future successes

Building Effective Teams (cont.) Motivating teamwork social loafing - being less productive when in a group occurs when individuals believe that: their contributions are not important others will do the work for them their lack of effort will go undetected social facilitation - working harder when in a group than when working alone occurs when individuals: are concerned with what others think of them and when they want to maintain a positive self-image know each other and can observe each other have clear performance goals and culture supportive of teamwork

Building Effective Teams (cont.) Motivating teamwork (cont.) generated by designing the team’s task to be motivating the task is meaningful team members accountable to one another, not just the boss best motivation is tying rewards to team performance assumes that performance can be measured validly differential rewards for member’s contributions should be made by the team itself Member contributions members should be selected and trained to be effective teams require technical, problem-solving and decision-making, and interpersonal skills

Building Effective Teams (cont.) Norms shared beliefs about how people should think and behave from the organization’s standpoint, norms can be positive or negative generally apply to all team members

Building Effective Teams (cont.) Roles different sets of expectations for how different individuals should behave two important sets of roles must be performed task specialist - have more job-related skills and abilities have more decision-making responsibilities provide instructions and advice maintenance specialist - develop and maintain harmony team leaders - build commitment and confidence manage relationships with outsiders deal with obstacles in the way of team performance create opportunities for team members

Building Effective Teams (cont.) Roles (cont.) coach - management representative to whom the team reports not a true member of the team helps the team understand its role in the organization acts as a resource to the team Cohesiveness degree to which: the team is attractive to its members members are motivated to remain in the team members influence one another

Building Effective Teams (cont.) Cohesiveness (cont.) Importance of cohesiveness contributes to member satisfaction impacts performance depending upon the task and team norms The task in decision making tasks, cohesive team subject to groupthink to make a good decision, team should establish a norm of constructive disagreement if task involves producing tangible output, cohesiveness can enhance performance Performance norms - cohesive groups are more effective at norm enforcement

Cohesiveness, Performance Norms, And Group Performance Low High Performance Norms Poor goal attainment and task performance Moderate goal attainment and task performance High Low Cohesiveness High goal attainment (group’s perspective) and lowest task performance (management’s perspective) High goal attainment and task performance

Building Cohesiveness And High Performance Norms Recruit members with similar attributes Tie rewards to team performance High entrance and socialization standards Team Cohesiveness and Performance Present a challenge from outside the team Keep the team small Be a participative leader Help team succeed and publicize its successes

Managing Lateral Relationships Intergroup conflict some conflict may be constructive for the organization many things cause great potential for destructive conflict tensions and anxieties likely to arise in teams that are: demographically diverse from different parts of the organization composed of contrasting personalities teams must: accept differences and conflict learn to use differences to their advantage

Managing Lateral Relationships (cont.) Managing conflict aim is to make conflict productive people benefit from conflict when: a new solution is implemented, the problem is solved, and it is unlikely to emerge again work relationships have been strengthened and people believe they can work together in the future don’t allow dysfunctional conflict to build procedural justice is important

Managing Lateral Relationships (cont.) Conflict styles two dimensions used to distinguish among styles assertiveness - how much people strive to satisfy their own concerns cooperativeness - degree of focus on satisfying other party’s concerns different styles are necessary at different times collaboration is the ideal approach when both sets of concerns are valid, a creative solution is needed, and when commitment to the solution is vital for implementation superordinate goals - higher-level organizational goals toward which all teams should be striving

Conflict Management Strategies Uncooperative Cooperative Cooperativeness Unassertive Assertive Assertiveness Competing Collaborating Compromising Avoiding Accommodating