1. Chapter 7 Groups and teams

2. Lecture outline Foundations of work groups Work-group inputs
Group size
Work-group processes
Communication (influences and skills)
Task forces and teams (promoting innovation)
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3. Foundations of work groups
What is a group?
Two or more interdependent individuals interacting and influencing each other in collective pursuit of a common goal.
Differentiated from a simple gathering of people.
Strangers leaving by the same door at a theatre are not a group–they are not interdependent, nor are they interacting and influencing each other collectively or trying to reach the same goal. Teamwork happens when groups work together efficiently and effectively to reach organisational goals. Although groups have always been central to organisations, they are seen increasingly as important assets.
Further discussion can be found on page 240.

4. Foundations of work groups
Types of work groups:
Formal
- Group officially created by an organisation for a specific purpose
Informal
- Group established by employees (not the organisation) to serve members’ interests or social needs
Pages 240-2

5. Foundations of work groups
Formal groups
Groups officially created by an organisation
for a specific purpose.
Command/functional group
- Manager and subordinates
Task groups
- Permanent
- Temporary
Each organisation work unit (manager and subordinates) is a command group that is linked to higher (in the hierarchy) command groups–in this way, supervisors link lower-level and higher-level groups. A task group is a formal group set up to supplement or replace work normally undertaken by a command group. Task groups can be permanent or temporary.
Further discussion can be found on pages

6. Foundations of work groups
Informal groups
Groups established by employees (not the
organisation) to serve members’ interests or
social needs.
Interest groups
Friendship groups
An interest group is an informal group set up to help employees with common concerns. Such concerns can have a wide base, for example sport or a desire to have the firm change its policy. A friendship group is an informal group existing because of employee social needs. The groups stem from mutual attraction based on common characteristics such as similar work, backgrounds and/or values.
Further discussion can be found on pages

7. Foundations of work groups
How informal groups develop:
Formal groups
Required activities
Required interactions
Required sentiments Organisational
Given sentiments outputs
(e.g. productivity, satisfaction)
Informal groups
Emergent activities
Emergent interactions
Emergent sentiments
See Figure 7.3 on page 243.

8. Foundations of work groups
How work groups operate:
Outcomes
Performance
Need satisfaction
Future work group
compatibility
Inputs
Group composition
Member roles
Group size
Processes
Group norms
Cohesiveness
Development
Several factors affect teamwork and formal work groups’ effectiveness. In analysing these, it helps to see groups as systems using inputs, engaging in many processes or transformations, and producing outcomes.
Note that important outcomes are not just group performance measures, such as quantity, quality and costs, but member satisfaction too.
Further discussion can be found on page 243.
Figure 7.4 A general model of work group behaviour

9. Work-group inputs Work group composition Member characteristics
Two crucial selection factors:
Member characteristics
Task-relevant skills
Appropriate interpersonal skills
Contribution to group diversity
Attraction to the group
Identification of reason for wanting to join group as being appropriate to group task
As work-group composition has a bearing on a group’s ultimate success, managers must consider carefully who will be part of a group. Two crucial selection factors are potential member characteristics and reasons for their attraction to the group.
Further discussion can be found on pages

10. Work-group inputs Member roles Group-task roles Initiator-contributor
Information seeker
Information giver
Coordinator
Orienter
Energiser
Roles that help a group develop and accomplish its goals.
Further discussion can be found on pages

11. Work-group inputs Member roles (contd) Group maintenance roles
Encourager
Harmoniser
Gatekeeper
Standard setter
Group observer
Follower
These are roles not directly addressing a task itself but, instead, helping foster group unity, positive interpersonal relations among group members and development of their ability to work effectively together.
Further discussion can be found on page 245.

12. Work-group inputs Member roles (contd) Self-oriented roles Aggressor
Blocker
Recognition seeker
Dominator
These are roles related to the personal needs of group members and often negatively influence group effectiveness.
Further discussion can be found on page 245.

13. Group size Size and group interaction Size and performance
- Group size affects interaction
Size and performance
- Social loafing
- Individualism
- Collectivism
Pages 245-7

14. Work-group processes
As group members work, some energy goes into group development and operations. This is diverted from the task, and is known as process loss, as it is lost energy which could have been devoted to the task.
Some groups accomplish more than others, despite the similarity in inputs. The reason for this lies, in part, in group processes, the dynamic inner workings of the group. As group members work, some energy goes into group development and operations. This is diverted from the task and is known as process loss, as it is energy which could have been devoted to the task. Process loss is inevitable, given group members’ normal interdependence.
Further discussion can be found on page 247.

15. Work-group processes Positive synergy Negative synergy
Force resulting when combined gains are greater than group-process losses
Negative synergy
Force resulting when group-process losses are greater than gains achieved from combining the forces of the group
Page 247

16. Work-group processes Group norms Explicit statements Critical events
Expected behaviours sanctioned by a group that regulate and foster uniform member behaviour
Explicit statements
Critical events
Primacy
Carryover behaviours
For a behaviour to be a norm, members must see it as expected for group membership. Work groups do not use norms to regulate all behaviour. Rather they develop and enforce norms relating to central matters. For example, group norms develop about production processes. These norms relate to quality and quantity as well as how the job is done.
Further discussion can be found on pages

17. Work-group processes Group cohesiveness
Degree to which members are attracted to a group, are motivated to remain in it, and are mutually influenced by one another
Page 249

18. Work-group processes Group cohesiveness Consequences of group cohesion
Organisational citizenship behaviours
Determinants of group cohesiveness
- Similar attitudes and values
- Mutual understandings
- External threats
- Size of group
Pages

19. Work-group processes Group development Forming Storming Norming
Assess task and interaction rules
Storming
Locate and resolve differences
Norming
Develop consensus re: norms, task, relationships
Performing
Norms support teamwork; energy applied to task
Adjourning
Preparation for disengagement
New groups, such as work units, committees and task forces form constantly. Even established groups change as members leave and new ones join. It is argued that groups pass through fairly predictable development stages. New groups may progress through these phases but, if membership changes, development may briefly regress to earlier stages.
Further discussion can be found on pages

20. Group development Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning
See Figure 7.7 on page 251.
Performing
Adjourning

21. Communication Non-verbal communication
Kinesic behaviour (body language)
Proxemics (proximity and space)
Paralanguage (vocal aspects)
Object language (use of objects to communicate)
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22. Communication Components of communication: Sender Encoding Message
Medium
Receiver
Decoding
Noise
Feedback
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23. Communication Sender/receiver Encoding message Medium Decoding message
Noise
Noise
Encoding message
Feedback
Medium
Feedback
As well as the normal communication difficulties of encoding, decoding, noise and subordinate reluctance to give negative information, situational stresses may cause communication breakdown.
Further discussion can be found on page 253.
Decoding message
Noise
Noise
Sender/receiver

24. Individual communication and interpersonal processes
Perceptual processes
Attribution processes
Semantics
Communication skills
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25. Perceptual processes Three stages of perception: Selecting Organising
Filtering of stimuli so that only some information gets our attention
Organising
Patterning of information to match familiar patterns
Interpreting
Giving meaning to selected and organised information
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26. Perceptual processes Distortions: Stereotyping
Tendency to attribute characteristics to an individual on the basis of an assessment of the group to which they belong
Halo effect
Tendency to use a general impression based on one or a few characteristics of an individual
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27. Perceptual processes Distortions (contd): Projection
Tendency of an individual to assume others share their thoughts, feelings and characteristics
Perceptual defence
Tendency to block out or distort information one finds threatening
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28. Attribution process Fundamental attribution error Self-serving bias
Attribution theory attempts to explain how individuals make judgments or attributions about the cause of another’s, or their own, behaviour.
Fundamental attribution error
Tendency to underestimate situational influences and to overestimate dispositional influences
Self-serving bias
Claiming responsibility for our successes and blaming others for our failures
Attribution theory is one way to understand how perceptions influence managerial communication and interpersonal processes. It explains how people make judgments or attributions about causes of the behaviour of another or themselves. These judgments form a basis for later actions.
Further discussion can be found on page 254.

29. Semantics Semantic net Semantic blocks
Network of words and word meanings a given individual has available for recall
Semantic blocks
Blockages or communication difficulties arising from word choices
Words are symbols, so their meanings differ for everyone. Semantics is the study of meanings and word choice. Within organisations, a common cause of semantic blocks is the use of professional jargon, or language related to a specific profession but unfamiliar to outsiders.
Further discussion can be found on pages

30. Communication skills Interpersonal communication skills
Listening skills
Active listening
Feedback
- Giving and receiving
- Positive and negative
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31. Group communication networks
Pattern of information flow among task-group members
Centralised networks
Decentralised networks
When tasks need several people’s input, managers must look at the communication network, or the information flow patterns among task group members.
Further discussion can be found on pages (See Figure 7.9 on page 256.)

32. Promoting innovation: using task forces and teams
Temporary task group formed to recommend on a specific issue.
- May be called ad hoc or temporary committee
Team
Temporary or ongoing task group with members
charged to work together to identify problems,
identify approach and implement necessary
actions.
- May be entrepreneurial, self-managing, virtual
Groups are used when organisations can benefit from the experience and ideas of two or more people. Group efforts are increasingly tapped when creativity and innovation are needed for organisational success.
Further discussion can be found on pages

33. Teams Entrepreneurial team
Group of individuals with diverse expertise and backgrounds brought together to develop and implement innovative ideas aimed to create new products or services or significantly improve existing ones.
Page 260

34. Teams Self-managing team
Work group with responsibility for a task area without supervision, and given authority to influence and control group membership and behaviour.
Page 260

35. Teams Virtual team Virtual teams require:
Physically dispersed work group using information
technology as a means to interact, but rarely, if
ever, meeting physically.
Virtual teams require:
Appropriate reward systems
Continual training
Clear team processes
Strong technological support
High level, cultural diversity and trust
Leaders modelling technology use and high performance
Virtual teams comprise members who rarely, if ever, meet, instead interacting through different means of technology including phones, faxes, , computer networks and video conferencing. Global organisations with widely dispersed activities are finding virtual teams increasingly important as knowledge becomes further specialised.
Further discussion can be found on pages

36. Lecture summary Foundations of work groups Work-group inputs
Formal
Informal
Work-group inputs
Composition
Roles
Group size
Page 264

37. Lecture summary Work-group processes Communication
Positive/negative synergy
Norms
Cohesiveness
Development
Communication
Verbal, non verbal
Components
Perceptions and feedback
Page 264

38. Lecture summary Communication networks
Centralised, decentralised
Promoting creativity and innovation
Task forces (temporary)
Teams (temporary or permanent)
Entrepreneurial
Self-managing
Page 264