1. Understanding Work Teams10
Understanding Work Teams

2. Learning Objectives
Analyze the growing popularity of teams in organizations.
Contrast groups and teams.
Compare and contrast four types of teams.
Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Show how organizations can create team players.
Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.
Show how our understanding of teams differs in a global context.

3. Why Have Teams Become So Popular?
Great way to use employee talents
Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the environment
Can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband
Facilitate employee involvement
Increase employee participation in decision making
Democratize an organization and increase motivation
Note: teams are not ALWAYS effective
Over the last decade we have seen the use of teams grow exponentially in organizations. There are a number of reasons why this is true. Teams can enhance the use of employee talents and tend to be more flexible and responsive to change. Teams can help to keep employees engaged in their work and increase their participation in decision making, thus increasing their motivation. However, teams are not always effective and so it is important to take a look at how to deploy teams effectively.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

4. Differences between Groups and Teams
Work Group
A group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility
No joint effort required
Work Team
Generates positive synergy (working together) through coordinated effort. The individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs
Groups and teams are not the same thing. A group is primarily there to share information and make decisions, no real joint effort is required. A team works in a more coordinated effort to achieve a goal.
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5. Types of Teams Problem-Solving Teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment
Self-Managed Work Teams
Groups of 10 to 15 people who take on the responsibilities of their former supervisors
There are a number of different types of teams. Problem-solving teams are a very popular method used in many organizations. Typically this type of team meets for a few hours each week to solve a particular problem.
Self-managed work teams are comprised of a group of people who do not have a manager and the group takes on the responsibilities of the supervisor.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

6. More Types of Teams Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task
Very common
Task forces
Committees
Cross-functional teams gather workers from many different work areas to come together to accomplish a task that needs to utilize multiple perspectives.
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7. A Final Type of Team Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal
Characteristics
Limited socializing
The ability to overcome time and space constraints
To be effective, needs:
Trust among members
Close monitoring
To be publicized
Virtual teams are increasing in their use. This type of team uses computer technology to bring people together to achieve a common goal. Typically these types of teams get right to work with little socializing, but need to overcome time and space constraints to accomplish the task. In order to be effective, virtual teams need to find ways to establish trust among the members, have close monitoring, and results need to be publicized.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

8. A Team-Effectiveness Model
This is a general guide only.
The model displayed here depicts team effectiveness. In order for teams to be effective a combination of conduct, compositions, work design, and process must be brought together to assist effectiveness in the team. The model has two caveats – this model is only a general guide and it assumes that teamwork is preferable to individual work.
The model assumes that teamwork is preferable to individual work.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

9. Key Components of Effective Teams
Context
Composition
Work Design
Process Variables
The four key components of effective teams are context, composition, work design, and process variables. Next we will look at each one of these components individually.
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10. Creating Effective Teams: Context
Adequate Resources
Need the tools to complete the job
Effective Leadership and Structure
Agreeing to the specifics of work and how the team fits together to integrate individual skills
Even “self-managed” teams need leaders
Leadership especially important in multi-team systems
Climate of Trust
Members must trust each other and the leader
Performance and Rewards Systems that Reflect Team Contributions
Cannot just be based on individual effort
Understanding the context is important for teams to be effective. The team needs the right resources to do the job well. They also need effective leadership and structure to facilitate a process that will help the team succeed. It is important that teams fit together so they can successfully utilize the individual skills present in the group. Trust is also an important aspect of teams and essential for group cohesiveness as we have seen previously. Finally, the reward system needs to be equitable and based on team contributions.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

11. Creating Effective Teams: Composition
Abilities of Members
Need technical expertise, problem-solving, decision-making, and good interpersonal skills
Personality of Members
Conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness all relate to team performance
Allocating Roles and Diversity
Many necessary roles must be filled
Diversity can often lead to lower performance
Size of Team
The smaller the better: 5 to 9 is optimal
Members’ Preference for Teamwork
Do the members want to be on teams?
A manager must pay close attention to how they put a team together to assure group cohesiveness and effectiveness. Each member should be selected based on the type of skills and abilities needed to accomplish the task at hand. However, abilities are not the only characteristic that managers need to pay attention to; personality is also important so that the team can bond and form trust. In addition, the manager must be sure he assigns the right people to fill the roles needed, but still maintain adequate diversity so that idea generation still occurs. The manager must also pay attention to the size of the team and that the members want to be on the team and enjoy teamwork.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

12. Key Roles in Teams
There are a number of key roles on different teams. This model takes a look at the various roles and how they impact the team.
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13. Creating Effective Teams: Work Design
Freedom and Autonomy
Ability to work independently
Skill Variety
Ability to use different skills and talents
Task Identity
Ability to complete a whole and identifiable task or product
Task Significance
Working on a task or project that has a substantial impact on others
Work design is a way to help increase the effectiveness of teams. The work of teams should have certain characteristics to help the team accomplish their assigned task. The team should have autonomy over their work so that they can work independently and control how the work is done. In addition, the team should be required to utilize a variety of skills and talents to complete the task. The task should be definable and easy to identify so that the group knows when they have accomplished it. Finally, the task should be significant and impactful to the organization.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

14. Creating Effective Teams: Process
Commitment to a Common Purpose
Create a common purpose that provides direction
Have reflexivity: willing to adjust plan if necessary
Establishment of Specific Team Goals
Must be specific, measurable, realistic, and challenging
Team Efficacy
Team believes in its ability to succeed
Mental Models
Have an accurate and common mental map of how the work gets done
A Managed Level of Conflict
Task conflicts are helpful; interpersonal conflicts are not
Minimized Social Loafing
Team holds itself accountable both individually and as a team
Group’s processes can have a big impact on their effectiveness. In the process groups must have a strong commitment to a common purpose that provides direction but yet incorporates reflexivity where it can adjust plan if needed. The goals of the team must be set up so they are specific, measurable, realistic yet challenging in order to keep the team members engaged.
The team must believe they can succeed and have a mental map of how to get the work done to assist in the process of accomplishing their task.
Finally, the group must navigate through conflict and social loafing to encourage a healthy and effective group.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

15. Turning Individuals into Team Players
Selection
Make team skills one of the interpersonal skills in the recruitment process.
Training
Individualistic people can learn
Rewards
Rework the reward system to encourage cooperative efforts rather than competitive (individual) ones
Continue to recognize individual contributions while still emphasizing the importance of teamwork
Not all employees are team players. In the U.S. we tend to have more of an individualistic culture and it is not always possible to turn everyone into a team player. When formulating teams it is important to carefully select the right employees who are more attuned to teamwork. It is also possible to train people on how to be good team members. Finally, if managers carefully craft a reward system to encourage cooperative efforts rather than competitive ones they can encourage teamwork. However, it is still important to recognize individual contributions and avoid social loafing.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

16. Beware! Teams Aren’t Always the Answer
Teams take more time and resources than does individual work.
Three tests to see if a team fits the situation:
Is the work complex and is there a need for different perspectives – will it be better with the insights of more than one person?
Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for the group that is larger than the aggregate of the goals for individuals?
Are members of the group involved in interdependent tasks?
We have looked at a number of ways to make teams effective and to encourage good teamwork. However, teams are not always the answer. There are three questions to ask to assess if teams fit the situation.
Is the work complex and is there a need for different perspectives?
Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for the group that is larger than the aggregate of the goals for individuals?
Are members of the group involved in interdependent tasks?
If these three questions all can be answered with a yes, then a team might be the solution!
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

17. Global Implications Extent of Teamwork
Other countries use teams more often than does the U.S.
Self-Managed Teams
Do not work well in countries with low tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty and a high power distance
Team Cultural Diversity and Team Performance
Diversity caused by national differences interferes with team efficiency, at least in the short run
After about three months, the differences between diverse and non-diverse team performance disappear
Teams are a concept that have a wide range of global applicability. In fact, teams are used more extensively in other countries. However, in cultures with a low tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, self-managed teams are not always effective. Diversity can cause inefficiencies in teams, but if teams can work through the initial difficulties those conflicts will disappear over time.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.

18. Summary and Managerial Implications
Effective teams have common characteristics:
Adequate resources
Effective leadership
A climate of trust
Appropriate reward and evaluation systems
Composed of members with correct skills and roles
Are smaller
Do work that provides freedom, autonomy, and the chance to contribute
The tasks are whole and significant
Has members who believe in the team’s capabilities
Managers should modify the environment and select team-oriented individuals to increase the chance of developing effective teams.
There are a number of common characteristics of effective teams, such as a need for trust, smaller in size, a chance to contribute, significant tasks, and a team who believes in itself.
Managers do need to modify the environment to help the team succeed and pay careful attention to the make-up of the team members to ensure success.
(c) 2008 Prentice-Hall, All rights reserved.