1. Chapter 9
Psychology Applied to Work®
Teams and Teamwork

2. Learning Objectives Explain why the use of teams is increasing.
Explain what is meant by level of analysis.
Explain the concept of teamwork.
Describe the various types of teams.
Describe how teams and team members develop over time.
Describe the structure and processes of teams.
Explain how teams make decisions and share mental models.
Explain how personnel selection, training, and performance appraisal apply to teams.
Psychology Applied to Work®

3. Overview Change in traditional work structure
Role differentiation
Rapid change necessitates organizational flexibility
Move away from controlled structures
Issues about teams include:
Not universally superior across all performance indices
Not universally better at decisions than individuals
Team halo effect (credit vs. blame)
Psychology Applied to Work®

4. Level of Analysis
Shift in research emphasis is required; e.g., shift in level of analysis
Individual (micro level)
Team (meso level)
Organization (macro level)
Some constructs do not exist across all three levels
Disentangling sources of influence on work behavior
Multi-level research and theory
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5. Level of Analysis
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6. Defining Characteristics of Work Teams
Teams (vs. Groups)
Identifiable membership
Identifiable task(s)
Interdependence
Whole is greater than the sum of the parts
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7. Principles of Teamwork
Teamwork involves members who:
Principle 1: provide and accept feedback
Principle 2: are willing, prepared, and back each other up
Principle 3: collectively view themselves as a group whose success depends on their interaction
Principle 4: foster within-team interdependence
Principle 5: have leaders who serve as models for the others
Psychology Applied to Work®

8. Types of Teams Many types of teams/ways to categorize them Types:
Problem resolution: consistent, high-trust focus on solving problems
Creative: develop new product or service
Tactical: execute well-defined plan
Ad hoc: limited life-span problem-resolution/tactical team
Virtual: interact electronically
Multi-team Systems: Teams of teams
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9. Team Life Cycle Five-stage model of team development Forming Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
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10. Team Life Cycle (cont’d)
Socialization
Three psychological concepts of how the socialization process occurs:
Evaluation
Commitment
Role transition
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11. Team Life Cycle (cont’d)
Five phases of team membership
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12. Team Structure Prominent theme is diversity
Information diversity – what they know (can do)
Value diversity – purpose, preferences, interests (will do)
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13. Team Structure (cont’d)
Eight Roles in Teams
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14. Team Processes Transition Processes Mission analysis
Understand directive
Without this, risks misguided attention and effort
Goal specification
Set timelines and prioritize
Strategy formulation and planning
Contingency and "on the fly" planning
Psychology Applied to Work®

15. Team Processes (cont’d)
Action Processes
Coordination behaviors
Continuous, but not overabundant communication
Monitoring behaviors
Tracking and interpreting information
Backup behaviors
"Harmful help"
Learned helplessness
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16. Team Processes (cont’d)
Interpersonal Processes
Conflict management
Beneficial vs. competitive conflict
Task vs. process vs. relationship conflict
"Faultlines" (subgroups emerging within team)
Motivation and confidence building
"Safe harbor" for expression of ideas and opinions
Collective efficacy
Affect management
Cohesion
Trust vs. trust propensity vs. trustworthiness
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17. Team Cognition Shared Mental Models
Degrees of similarity in how they approach problems and solutions
Lead to effective team performance
Four categories of what is shared
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18. Team Cognition (cont’d)
Groupthink is the “dark side” of thinking alike
Consensus more important than rational, independent thinking
Symptoms
Defects in decisions
Fails to perceive outside threats accurately
False assumption of own morality
Stereotype opposing groups
Illusion of unanimity (suppresses dissenting opinions)
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19. Team Cognition (cont’d)
Decision-making in Teams
Multilevel theory of team decision making - based on three concepts:
Team informity
Staff validity
Dyadic sensitivity
Psychology Applied to Work®

20. Personnel Selection for Teams
Individual methods don’t transfer directly to team selection
KSAs are insensitive to social context
Taskwork skills
Teamwork skills
Successful selection must create the right mix
Individuals who complement others’ abilities
Assessment of “congruence” and “compatibility”
5 social skills critical for teamwork for each individual
Personality variables and team effectiveness
Psychology Applied to Work®

21. Training for Teams KSAs identify tasks that require interdependency
Salas and Cannon-Bowers describe these KSAs as Thinking, Doing, Feeling
Create shared mental models in training
Psychology Applied to Work®

22. Performance Appraisal in Teams
Major issue of that of weak links: slacking or “social loafing”
Three ways lack of individual incentives contribute to social loafing:
Free-riding (desire to benefit from others’ efforts)
Sucker effect (reduce effort to match low expectations of others)
Felt dispensability (reduce effort when able members available)
Psychology Applied to Work®

23. Concluding Comments
Teams viewed as a way to cope with growing complexity of the world
Work performed by teams requires insights into new psychological concepts
Some I/O knowledge/concepts may not be compatible with study of teams
Need new concepts or to examine validity of concepts we use about teams
Psychology Applied to Work®