1. Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Top Performance through Empowerment, Teamwork, and Communication
Chapter 9: Top Performance through Empowerment, Teamwork, and Communication
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chapter 9

2. Learning Objectives Describe team conflict5
Describe team conflict
Explain the importance of effective communication
Compare the basic forms of communication
Explain external communication and crisis management 1
Discuss empowering employees
Distinguish the five types of teams
Identify team characteristics
Evaluate team cohesiveness and norms 6 2 3 7
Learning objectives for chapter 9 include:
Discuss empowering employees.
Distinguish the five types of teams.
Identify team characteristics.
Evaluate team cohesiveness and norms
Describe team conflict.
Explain the importance of effective communication.
Compare the basic forms of communication.
Explain external communication and crisis management. 4 8
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

3. Empowering Employees
Empowerment – giving employees authority and responsibility to make decisions about their work.
By sharing information and decision-making authority
Gives workers a sense of ownership
Keeping them informed about the company’s financial performance
Giving them broad authority to make workplace decisions that implement a firm’s vision and competitive strategies
Empowerment is an important component of effective management.
Empowerment taps the brainpower of all workers to find improved ways of doing their jobs, better serving customers, and achieving organizational goals.
Empowerment gives workers a feeling of ownership
Sharing information and decision-making authority are the keys to empowering employees.
Empowerment frees managers from hands-on control of employees and motivates workers by adding challenges to their jobs.
Lecture Enhancer: In today’s hyper-competitive, technology-driven business environment, creating an environment where empowered employees are free to challenge the status quo is critical.
Class Activity: Discuss with students the possible drawback of sharing detailed operating and financial information with all employees.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

4. Empowering Employees
A way in which companies empower employees is to give them broad authority to make workplace decisions that implement a company’s vision and its competitive strategy without seeking managerial input. At Lebanon Valley Brethren Home, a continuing care community in Pennsylvania, workers at all levels are empowered to do whatever it takes to improve the quality of their elderly residents’ lives.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

5. Linking Rewards to Company Performance
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
11 million workers at 12,000 companies participate in ESOPs
Gives employees financial ownership, leading to potential profits
This motivates employees to work smarter and harder.
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.
1/3 of all options go to the top five executives at a firm.
Employee ownership has become a way to link rewards to company performance.
This is done in two ways:
Employee stock ownership plans benefit employees by giving them ownership in the company.
Stock options are another way to provide workers with ownership by providing them the right to buy a specific amount of company stock at a given price.
Stock options have turned hundreds of employees at firms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Home Depot, Microsoft, and Google into millionaires.
Lecture Enhancer: In 1993, the Internal Revenue Code was written to limited corporate executive cash compensation to $1 million per year. This is when stock options as a form of compensation began to take off.
Lecture Enhancer: Many technology company employees have benefitted from the rewards of high stock prices and increased investor demand.
Class Activity: In a letter to shareholders, Warren Buffet said: "Though options, if properly structured, can be an appropriate, and even ideal, way to compensate and motivate top managers, they are more often wildly capricious in their distribution of rewards, inefficient as motivators and inordinately expensive for shareholders.“
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

6. Employee Stock Options and Ownership
Table 9.1 compares and contrasts two types of employee ownership -- ESOPs and Stock Option Plans
Lecture Enhancer: Ask students to evaluate both types of rewards in a booming stock market.
Lecture Enhancer: The stock option has been used by companies to attract and motivate top talent, especially those who were willing to take a chance on stock instead of additional money in pay.
Class Activity: Ask students to discuss the pros and cons of stock options in a bear market.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

7. Teams
A team is a group of employees who are committed to a common purpose, approach, and set of performance goals.
Members are mutually responsible and accountable for accomplishing objectives.
Ability to work on teams often emphasized during the hiring process.
Work teams are groups of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose.
Two-thirds of U.S. firms currently use work teams, permanent employee groups
A team is a group of employees who are committed to a common purpose, approach, and set of performance goals.
Teams are widely used in organizations. Companies who use teams look to hire people who can work well with others.
Lecture Enhancer: Discuss the benefits of working as part of a team as compared to individualized work.
Lecture Enhancer: How can companies reward teamwork while encouraging collaboration toward meeting organizational goals?
Class Activity: What happens when teams compete for attention rather than cooperating in the larger goals of the organization?
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

8. Five Types of Teams Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Figure 9.1 shows five types of teams, including:
In addition to work teams, teams may exist as problem-solving teams who gather information to solve a specific problem.
Self-managed teams are work teams that have the authority to decide how their members complete their daily tasks.
Cross-functional teams have members from different functions, such as production, marketing, and finance.
A virtual team is a group of geographically or organizationally dispersed co-workers who uses a combination of telecommunications and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task.
Lecture Enhancer: Which type of team do you imagine would be the easiest to manage? Why?
Lecture Enhancer: Provide a few examples of the types of problems solved by knowledge workers on a problem-solving team.
Class Activity: Lead a discussion to identify work situations in which a team composed solely of members from the same function would be more effective than a cross-functional team.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

9. Five Types of Teams
Although members of a virtual team rarely meet in person, they stay in touch through technologies
such as videoconferencing. In today’s global marketplace, the flexibility of virtual teams is a distinct advantage.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

10. Team Characteristics Team Size
Can range widely, but most have fewer than 12 members.
Ideal size is often six or seven members
Team Level and Team Diversity
Team level – average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team
Team diversity - variances or differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team.
In addition to team size, teams also can be categorized according to the similarities and differences among team members called level and diversity.
The size of a team ranges, but the ideal size, according to research, is six or seven.
Team level describes the average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team.
Team diversity is an important consideration for teams that must complete a wide range of different tasks or particularly complex tasks. Having varying levels of experience is an important form of diversity.
Lecture Enhancer: Why do you think larger groups might have lower participation rates?
Class Activity: Ask students to describe the possible challenges of working on a diverse team.
Class Activity: Discuss the impact of team diversity on organizational outcomes. Does a larger firm usually have more team diversity than a smaller one?
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

11. Team Characteristics
Yolanda Mangolini is Director of Diversity and Inclusion for
Google, which has made a $150 million commitment to internal and external diversity initiatives. Google’s goal is
to foster a fair and inclusive culture while expanding the pool of computer science job applicants.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

12. Stages of Team Development
Teams typically progress through five stages of development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
Forming is the orientation period.
Storming is when the personalities of the members clarify their roles and expectations.
During the norming phase, members resolve differences and accept each other.
In the performing phase, members focus on solving problems and accomplishing tasks.
Adjourning is when the team disbands.
Lecture Enhancer: During which stage is the manager’s role most important? Why?
Lecture Enhancer: What might be the effect on a team if a manager skips the norming stage?
Class Activity: Discuss the impact of the adjourning stage on team members who prefer routine, or have developed close working relationships with other team members.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

13. Team Cohesiveness and Norms
Team cohesiveness is 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.
Increases when Team norms are the informal standards of conduct shared by team members that guide their behavior.
Can be positive or negative
Teams maximize productivity when they form into highly cohesive units.
Cohesiveness, when members feel attracted to the team, and motivated to remain part of it, motivates the team to achieve goals.
Team norms, a standard of conduct shared by members, helps guide behavior. It is important to note that norms can be positive or negative and that cohesiveness helps build positive norms.
In highly productive teams, norms contribute to constructive work and the accomplishment of team goals.
Cohesiveness increases when members interact frequently and share similar attitudes, goals, and enjoy being together.
Lecture Enhancer: What is likely to happen if team cohesiveness is low or nonexistent?
Lecture Enhancer: Provide an example of a team norm you have experienced.
Class Activity: Describe a sports team exhibiting team cohesiveness. Describe its characteristics as a team and among the individual players.
Class Activity: Would you say that companies with low turnover also have greater cohesiveness among its team members?
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

14. Team Conflict
Conflict – when one person or group’s needs do not match those of another, and attempts may be made to block the opposing side’s intentions or goals.
Cognitive conflict focuses on problem-related differences of opinion.
Reconciling these differences strongly improves team performance
Affective conflict refers to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional.
Team leaders should facilitate good communication so that teammates respect each other and work cooperatively.
Conflict and disagreements are inevitable in most teams. People are naturally going to disagree about how to get things done when working together.
Team conflict might be cognitive or affective. Conflict is the antagonistic interaction in which one party attempts to thwart the intentions or goals of another. Managers’ most important contribution to conflict resolution is communication.
The job of the manager is to create an environment in which differences are appreciated and in which a team of diverse individuals works productively together.
Lecture Enhancer: Share an instance of team conflict you have experienced within the workplace, or at school.
Lecture Enhancer: Which type of conflict would be the most difficult for a manager to resolve?
Class Activity: The primary source of team conflict is disagreement over goals and priorities. Provide actual examples of how this can occur within an organizational setting such as a bank.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

15. Importance of Effective Communication
Communication is the 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 college graduates.
Managers devote 80% of their time to communication (the meaningful exchange of information through messages).
Communication includes listening, conversing, providing feedback, telephone, meetings, , or individual conversation.
Lecture Enhancer: Can you think of a manager who you feel is or was exceptionally good at communicating? What specific traits helped that manager to be a good communicator?
Class Activity: How might you let a prospective employer know about your communication skills?
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

16. The Communication Process
Communication follows a step-by-step process that involves six elements: sender, message, channel, audience, feedback, and context.
The sender composes the message and sends it through a communication carrier, or channel.
Encoding a message means that the sender translates its meaning into understandable terms and a form that allows transmission through a chosen channel.
The sender can communicate a particular message through many different channels, including face-to-face conversations, phone calls, and or texting.
Every communication takes place in some sort of situational or cultural context. The context can exert a powerful influence on how well the process works.
Noise is any interference that influences the transmission of messages and feedback.
The context can exert a powerful influence on how well the process works. A conversation between two people in a quiet office, for example, may be a very different experience from the same conversation held at a noisy party.
Lecture Enhancer: What is the impact of using technology on the communication process?
Lecture Enhancer: What can happen to the communication process if the feedback step is ignored?
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

17. Cultural Context
Communication in low-context cultures tends to rely on explicit written and verbal messages.
Switzerland, Austria, Germany and the U.S.
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, and India
All communication occurs in a situational or cultural context.
The context can exert a powerful influence on how well the process works.
Low context culture tends to rely on explicit written and verbal messages, while high-context cultures depend 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.
Westerners must carefully temper their low-context style to the expectations of colleagues and clients from high-context countries.
Lecture Enhancer: Describe whether low or high context has to do specifically with culture rather than the situation.
Class Activity: Conduct a web search for more information on low- and high-context cultures and communication.
Class Activity: Ask students how noise in their households affects their ability to participate in a distance learning activity.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

18. Cultural Context
During a recent visit to New Zealand, an elder performs Hongi with the Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton. Hongi is a traditional Māori greeting in which people press their nose and forehead together at the same time.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

19. Basic Forms of Communication
People communicate in many different ways. They include:
Oral – communication transmitted through speech
Written –communication transmitted in writing
Formal – communication transmitted through the chain of command within an organization
Informal – communication transmitted outside formal channels without regard for the organization’s hierarchy
Nonverbal – communication transmitted through actions and behaviors rather than words
Communication includes writing as well as gestures and facial expressions.
Lecture Enhancer: Can you think of some additional drawbacks to oral communication?
Lecture Enhancer: Storytelling is a form of verbal communication which clarifies values and demonstrates a point the sender is trying to convey.
Class Activity: Most jobs involve a certain amount of writing, and many companies take writing into consideration when hiring professional employees. Have students discuss their writing skills confidence.
Class Activity: Would you classify texting as a form of basic communication? If so, how would you categorize?
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

20. Listening
Cynical 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.
Listening is a vital component of oral communication.
Listening is receiving a message and interpreting its intended meaning by grasping the facts and feelings it conveys.
Certain types of listening behaviors are common in both business and personal interactions.
Learning how to be an active listener is an especially important goal for business leaders.
All organizations, large or small, have grapevines.
There are four types of listening: cynical, offensive, polite, and active.
Lecture Enhancer: Have students name a situation where they engaged in each type of listening.
Class Activity: Discuss the implication that the average person talks at a rate of 150 words per minute when the brain can handle an average of 400 words per minute.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

21. Listening
Listening may seem easy, because the listener appears to make no effort. But the average person talks much slower than the amount of information the brain can handle at any given time.
This gap may lead to boredom, inattention, and misinterpretation on the part of the listener.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

22. Written Communication
Channels include reports, letters, memos, online discussion boards and social media, s, and text messages
Delayed feedback
Provides a record of the message
Importance to consider audience, the channel carrying the message, and the appropriate degree of formality
is ubiquitous in nature
Channels for written communication include reports, letters, memos, online discussion boards and social media, s, and text messages.
Writing is a popular mode of communication, particularly with , which provides documentation of the message.
However, for this reason, it is all the crucial for the sender to carefully consider what they want to say and how they will convey it before sending the message.
These channels create delayed feedback and a record of the message.
Lecture Enhancer: What are some possible drawbacks to written communication?
Class Activity: Ask students about a situation when they were thankful to have put something in writing. Describe the situation.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

23. Formal Communication
Carries messages that flow within the chain of command structure defined by an organization.
Downward communication
carries messages from someone who holds a senior position in the organization to subordinates
Upward communication
communication from employees to supervisors and upward to top management levels
Open and honest communication is key in formal communication
A formal communication channel carries with it a chain of command within the organization.
Downward communication carries messages from someone who holds a senior position in the organization to subordinates.
Managers may communicate downward by sending employees messages, presiding at department meetings, giving employees policy manuals, posting notices on bulletin boards, and reporting news in company newsletters.
Many firms also define formal channels for upward communications.
These channels encourage communication from employees to supervisors and upward to top management levels. Employee surveys, suggestion boxes, and systems that allow employees to propose new projects or voice complaints are all upward communications.
Lecture Enhancer: Share some typical methods that companies use for downward formal communication.
Class Activity: Discuss what happens when management tries to “spin” bad with the intent of lessening the blow to employees?
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

24. Open Communication
With open communication, employees feel free to express opinions, offer suggestions, and even voice complaints.
7 Characteristics of Open Communication:
Employees are value
High level of trust exists
Conflict is invited and resolved politely
Creative dissent is welcome
Employee input is solicited
Employees are well-informed
Feedback is ongoing
In a work environment characterized by open communication, employees feel free to express opinions, offer suggestions, and even voice complaints.
Research shows there are 7 characteristics of open communication, as follows:
Employees are value
High level of trust exists
Conflict is invited and resolved politely
Creative dissent is welcome
Employee input is solicited
Employees are well-informed
Feedback is ongoing
Lecture Enhancer: Discuss whether a classroom environment is one where open communication exists on an ongoing basis.
Lecture Enhancer: Ask students to match a work or personal situation to each of the 7 characteristics of open communication.
Class Activity: Ask students how they would communicate with employees about an across-the-board 20 percent workforce reduction.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

25. Formal and Informal Channels of Communication
Figure 9.4 indicates formal and information channels of communication.
The upward and downward communication axis is on the left and right.
The solid line represents formal communication with an organization
The dotted line represents informal communication within an organization
Lecture Enhancer: Discuss the impact of telecommuting on formal communication
Class Activity: List the benefits of informal communication channels.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

26. Informal Communication
Informal communication channels carry messages outside formally authorized channels within an organization’s hierarchy
The grapevine is an internal channel that passes information from unofficial sources
Company communications should be managed so that the grapevine is not the main source
When managed well, managers can get a feel for company morale
Gossip is a main drawback of this channel of communication.
Informal communication channels carry messages outside formally authorized channels within an organization’s hierarchy.
Grapevines disseminate information with speed and economy and some are actually surprisingly reliable.
Company communications must be managed effectively so that the grapevine is not the main source of information.
When managed correctly, Grapevines do allow managers to get a feel for company morale
Gossip is a main drawback of this channel of communication.
Lecture Enhancer: What are some other ways in which managers can use the grapevine?
Lecture Enhancer: It makes sense that a rumor is likely to match what workers think about a situation or person, and that the person sharing the rumor with us can appear to be credible.
Class Activity: What happens when an employee belongs to three different groups (for example, working moms with kids, people within a work department, and a softball league ) with whom she speaks about work about in informal ways?
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

27. Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication transmits messages through actions and behaviors.
Gestures, posture, eye contact, tone and volume of voice, and even clothing choices are all nonverbal actions that become communication cues.
Can have a greater impact on communications than many people realize.
It is estimated that 70 percent of interpersonal communication is conveyed through nonverbal cues.
Nonverbal communication is a critical component of the communication process, whereby messages are transmitted through actions and behaviors.
Examples of nonverbal communication include: gestures, posture, eye contact, tone and volume of voice, and even clothing choices.
People send nonverbal messages even when the consciously try to avoid doing so.
Interpreting nonverbal cues can be especially challenging for people with different cultural backgrounds.
Lecture Enhancer: If you’ve ever watched a movie without the volume, you’d be particularly adept at reading nonverbal cues.
Class Activity: Discuss a situation when someone’s nonverbal message conveyed an attitude or thought which differed from their spoken meaning.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

28. Personal Space in Nonverbal Communication
Personal space can convey powerful messages.
There are four zones of personal space:
Intimate
Social
Personal
Public
Figure 9.5 indicates personal space in nonverbal communication.
Personal space can convey powerful messages. Concepts of personal space differ throughout most of the world.
There are four zones of personal space:
Intimate Zone is 18 inches or less between people
Social Zone is 4 to 12 feet apart between people
Personal is 1.5 to 4 feet apart between people
Public zone is 12 feet or more apart between people
Lecture Enhancer: Have students discuss, compare and contrast their personal space requirements.
Lecture Enhancer: What meaning do you infer if someone is standing too close to you when you are conversing? What if someone is standing unusually far away?
Lecture Enhancer: Studies show that affluent people expect larger amounts of personal space. Do you agree?
Class Activity: Personal space varies by individual, and can be influenced by cultural or personal experiences. Have students describe any other influences.
Copyright  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

29. External Communication and Crisis Management
External communication is a meaningful exchange of information through messages transmitted
Messages are transmitted between an organization and its major audiences: customers, suppliers, firms, general public, and government officials
Communicating during a public relations crisis:
Respond to crisis quickly
Put top company management in front of the press.
Stick to the facts
When you don’t know, offer to find out.
Never say “no comment.”
Speak to your audience
External communication is a meaningful exchange of information through messages transmitted between an organization and its major audiences: customers, suppliers, firms, general public, and government officials
Businesses use external communication to maintain their operations and manage their relationships with their customers.
Every communication with customers should promote goodwill.
When communicating during a crisis, organizations must focus on their audiences and know that what they say will be broken into sound bites.
Class Activity: Ask students for examples of organizations that handled communication surrounding a crisis in an effective manner.
Lecture Enhancer: Share a recent example of a company that did not follow one or more of these steps. What were the consequences?
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

30. External Communication
Businesses use external communication to keep their operations functioning, to
maintain their positions in the marketplace, and to build customer relationships. Every communication with customers—including sales presentations and advertisements—should create goodwill and contribute to customer satisfaction.
Copyright  2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.