Chapter Thirteen Groups & Teams: From Conflict to Cooperation

McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Conflict  Conflict: is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party. The Relationship Between Level of Conflict and Level of Performance High Low Low High Performance Conflict Optimal level of conflict

Seven Causes of Conflict  Competition for scarce resources  Time pressure  Inconsistent goals  Ambiguous jurisdictions  Status differences  Personality clashes  Communication failures Stimulating Constructive Conflict  Spur competition among employees  Change the organization’s culture & procedures  Bring in outsiders for new perspectives  Use programmed conflict Why Teamwork Matters  Increased productivity  Increased speed  Reduced costs  Improved quality  Reduced destructive internal competition  Improved workplace cohesiveness

Groups & Teams: How Do They Differ?  Group: two or more freely interacting individuals who share collective norms, share collective goals, and have a common identity.  Team: small group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach, or which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Formal versus Informal Groups  Formal groups: is a group established to do something productive for the organization and is headed by a leader.  Informal groups: is a group formed by people seeking friendship and has no officially appointed leader, although a leader may emerge from membership. Various Types of Teams Cross-functional teams Members composed of people from different departments such as sales and production, pursuing a common objective Problem-solving teams Knowledgeable workers who meet as a temporary team to solve a specific problem, then disband Quality CircleVolunteers of workers and supervisors who meet intermittently to discuss workplace and quality-related problems Self-managed teamWorkers are trained to do all or part of the jobs in a work unit, have no direct supervisor, and do their own day- to-day supervision Top-management team Members consists of the CEO, president, and top department heads and work to help organization achieve its mission and goals Virtual teamMembers interact by computer network to collaborate on projects Work teamMembers engage in collective work requiring coordinated effort; purpose of team is advice, production, problem, or action

Four Purposes 1)Advice Teams 2)Production Teams 3)Project Teams Cross Functional Team which is staffed by specialists pursuing a common objective 4)Action Teams Quality Circles & Self-Managed Teams  Quality Circles: consists of small groups of volunteers of workers and supervisors who meet intermittently to discuss workplace and quality-related problems.  Self-managed teams: groups of workers who are given administrative oversight for their task domains. Five Stages of Group Development FormingStormingNormingAdjourningPerforming The Consideration in Building a Group into an Effective Team Performance goals & feedback Motivation through mutual accountability Size: small teams or large teams? Roles: how team members are expected to behave Norms: unwritten rules for team members Cohesiveness: the importance of togetherness Groupthink: when peer pressure discourages “thinking outside the box”