Top Performance through Empowerment, Teamwork, and Communication Chapter 9

LO 9.1 Describe why and how organizations empower employees. LO 9.2 Distinguish among the five types of teams in the workplace. LO 9.3 Identify the characteristics of an effective team and summarize the stages of team development. LO 9.4 Relate cohesiveness and norms to effective team performance. Learning Objectives LO 9.5 Describe the factors that cause conflict in teams and ways to manage conflict. LO 9.6 Explain the importance and process of effective communication. LO 9.7 Compare the different types of communication. LO 9.8 Explain external communication and methods of managing a public crisis.

Empowerment: Giving employees shared authority, responsibility and decision-making with their managers Sharing information and decision-making authority Keeping them informed about company’s financial performance Giving them broad authority to make workplace decisions Empowering Employees

Employee stock ownership plans Gives employees stock ownership, leading to potential profits as the value of the firm increases. Motivates employees to work smarter and harder so can share in firm’s financial success. Stock options Right to buy a specified amount of company stock at a given price within a given time period. Being offered more frequently to employees at all levels. Approximately one-third of all options go to the top five executives at a firm. Linking Rewards to Company Performance

Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Stock Options

Team: A group of people with certain skills who share a common purpose, approach, and performance goals Mutually responsible and accountable for accomplishing objectives. Ability to work on teams often emphasized during the hiring process. Work teams: Relatively permanent groups of employees with complementary skills who perform the day-to-day work of organizations Two-thirds of firms use work teams. Teams

Five Types of Teams

Team size Can range widely, but most have fewer than 12 members. Ideal size is usually six or seven members. Team level and team diversity Team level: The team’s average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor Team diversity: The team’s differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor Team Characteristics

Stages of Team Development

Consensus about the leader’s role develops during the ________ stage. a. forming b. storming c. norming d. adjourning Test Your Knowledge

Consensus about the leader’s role develops during the ________ stage. a. forming b. storming c. norming d. adjourning Answer: C Test Your Knowledge

Team cohesiveness: The extent to which team members feel attracted to the team and motivated to remain part of it Increases when members interact frequently, share common attitudes and goals, and enjoy being together. Cohesive teams quickly achieve high levels of performance and consistently perform better. Team-building retreats are sometimes used to encourage cohesiveness and improve member satisfaction and retention. Team norm: A standard of conduct shared by team members that guides their behaviour. Can be positive (contributing to accomplishment of goals) or negative (contributing to reduced work effort/quality, poor job attendance). Team Cohesiveness and Norms

Which situation is most likely to undermine team cohesiveness? a. Team members genuinely like each other. b. Team members share common goals. c. Team members are unsure of the team’s mission. d. Team members have similar attitudes toward work. Test Your Knowledge

Which situation is most likely to undermine team cohesiveness? a. Team members genuinely like each other. b. Team members share common goals. c. Team members are unsure of the team’s mission. d. Team members have similar attitudes toward work. Answer: C Test Your Knowledge

Conflict: The outcome when one person’s, or one group’s, needs do not match those of another, and one side may try to block the other side’s intentions or goals Cognitive conflict: A disagreement that focuses on problem- and issue-related differences of opinion Reconciling these differences strongly improves team performance Affective conflict: a disagreement that focuses on individuals or personal issues Team leaders should facilitate good communication so that teammates respect each other and work cooperatively. Team Conflict

Communication: A meaningful exchange of information through messages Managers spend 80 percent of their time in direct communication with others. Company recruiters rate effective communication as the most important skill they’re looking for in hiring new employees.effective communication The Importance of Effective Communication

The Process of Communication

Encoding a message includes a. providing a feedback loop. b. translating meaning into understandable terms. c. choosing a context. d. processing interference. Test Your Knowledge

Encoding a message includes a. providing a feedback loop. b. translating meaning into understandable terms. c. choosing a context d. processing interference. Answer: B Test Your Knowledge

Communication in low-context cultures tends to rely on explicit written and verbal messages. Canada, United States, Switzerland, Germany, Austria Communication in high-context cultures depends not only on the message itself but also on the conditions that surround it, including nonverbal cues, past and present experiences, and personal relationships between the parties. Japan, Latin America, India The Process of Communication

Basic Forms of Communication

An important part of oral communication is listening Cynical (defensive) listening: Receiver of a message feels that the sender is trying to gain some advantage from the communication. Offensive listening: Receiver tries to catch the speaker in a mistake or contradiction. Polite listening: Receiver listens mechanically to be polite rather than to communicate. Active listening: Requires involvement with the information and empathy with the speaker’s situation the basis for effective communication Oral Communication

Channels include reports, letters, memos, online discussion boards, social media, s, and text messages Effective written communication reflects its audience, the channel carrying the message, and a suitable degree of formality is a very effective communication channel Volume Security Retention Written Communication

Flows within the chain of command Downward communication Upward communication Open and honest communication is key Formal Communication

With open communication, employees feel free to express opinions, offer suggestions, and even voice complaints. Seven Characteristics of Open Communication: Employees are valued High level of trust exists Conflict is invited and resolved positively Creative dissent is welcomed Employee input is solicited Employees are well-informed Feedback is ongoing Formal Communication

Informal communication channels carry messages outside formally authorized channels Organizations becoming more decentralized/global; informal communication provides an important source of information Grapevine: is an internal information channel that passes information from unofficial sources Main drawback is gossip; spreads misinformation, weakens morale Informal Communication

Nonverbal communication transmits messages through actions and behaviours. Gestures, posture, eye contact, tone and volume of voice, and even clothing choices are all nonverbal actions that become communication cues. Have a far greater impact on communications than many people realize. Can show a person’s true feelings and thoughts; receivers tend to believe nonverbal cues when they conflict with verbal ones Nonverbal Communication

External communication: A meaningful exchange of information through messages sent between an organization and its major audiences Customers, suppliers, firms, general public, government officials Every communication with customers should create goodwill. Communication during crisis: Respond quickly. Put top company management in front of news media. Stick to the facts. When you don’t know, offer to find out. Recognize the existence of a problem. Speak briefly and clearly. External Communication