1. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 Management and Organisational Behaviour 7th Edition CHAPTER 14 Working in Groups and Teams

2. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.2 Belbin’s team roles The most consistently successful groups comprise a range of roles undertaken by various members The constitution of the group itself is an important variable in its success

3. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.3 Different team roles Plant Resource investigator Co-ordinator Shaper Monitor–evaluator Team worker Implementer Completer Specialist Belbin

4. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.4 Belbin’s evolved roles: Plant Team-role contribution Creative Imaginative Unorthodox Solves difficult problems Allowable weaknesses Ignores details Too preoccupied to communicate effectively

5. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.5 Belbin’s evolved roles: Resource investigator Team-role contribution Extrovert Enthusiastic Communicative Explores opportunities Develops contacts Allowable weaknesses Over-optimistic Loses interest once enthusiasm has passed

6. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.6 Belbin’s evolved roles: Co-ordinator Team-role contribution Mature Confident A good chairperson Clarifies goals Promotes decision- making Delegates well Allowable weaknesses Can be seen as manipulative Delegates personal work

7. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.7 Belbin’s evolved roles: Shaper Team-role contribution Challenging Dynamic Thrives on pressure Has the drive & courage to overcome obstacles Allowable weaknesses Can provoke others Hurts other’s feelings

8. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.8 Belbin’s evolved roles: Monitor-evaluator Team-role contribution Sober, strategic & discerning Sees all options Judges accurately Allowable weaknesses Lacks drive & ability to inspire others Overly critical

9. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.9 Belbin’s evolved roles: Team worker Team-role contribution Co-operative Mild Perceptive & diplomatic Listens Builds Averts friction Calms the waters Allowable weaknesses Indecisive in crunch situations Can be easily influenced

10. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.10 Belbin’s evolved roles: Implementor Team-role contribution Disciplined Reliable Conservative & efficient Turns ideas into practical actions Allowable weaknesses Somewhat inflexible Slow to respond to new possibilities

11. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.11 Belbin’s evolved roles: Completer Team-role contribution Painstaking Conscientious Anxious Searches out errors & omissions Delivers on time Allowable weaknesses Inclined to worry unduly Reluctant to delegate Can be a nit-picker

12. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.12 Belbin’s evolved roles: Specialist Team-role contribution Single-minded Self-sharing Dedicated Provides knowledge & skills in rare supply Allowable weaknesses Contributes on only a narrow front Dwells on technicalities Overlooks the ‘big picture’

13. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.13 Constructing the perfect team The group work in such a way that adds up to a sum greater than the individual parts (synergy) If business people are happy to accept that group effort is always better than individuals working in isolation, then Belbin’s research may help in constructing the perfect team White

14. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.14 Communication networks Figure 14.2

15. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.15 Communication networks & simple task complexity Figure 14.3 Source: Baron/Greenberg, Behaviour in Organisations: Understanding Managing, Third edition, Prentice-Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

16. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.16 Communication networks & complex task complexity Figure 14.3 Source: Baron/Greenberg, Behaviour in Organisations: Understanding Managing, Third edition, Prentice-Hall Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

17. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.17 Sociometry A method of indicating the feelings of acceptance or rejection among group members Sociograms – Depict the choices, preferences, likes or dislikes, & interactions between individual members Display the structure of the group & record the observed frequency & / or duration of contacts among members

18. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.18 Sociograms Figure 14.4

19. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.19 Task functions within groups Functions within a group that are directed towards – Problem solving The accomplishment of the tasks of the group The achievement of its goals Production activities

20. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.20 Maintenance functions within groups Concerned with the emotional life of the group Directed towards building & maintaining the group as an effective working unit Concerned with relationships among members, giving encouragement & support, maintaining cohesiveness & the resolution of conflict

21. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.21 Individual compared with group performance Social loafing - the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working as a member of a group than as an individual (Ringelmann) Teams can be elevated into a ‘silver bullet’ – a magic solution to all business problems. ‘Teams are not always the answer to a problem.’ (Hall) The collective power of a group can outshine individual performance (Guirdham)

22. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.22 The risky-shift phenomenon Instead of taking fewer risks & making safer or more conservative decisions, the reverse is often the case Preferences for conformity means that there is a tendency for groups to make more risky decisions than the individual members would

23. Mullins: Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th edition © Pearson Education Limited 2005 OHT 14.23 Symptoms of ‘groupthink’ Illusion of invulnerability Rationalisation Inherent morality of the group Negative stereotyping Pressure on individual members to conform & reach consensus Self-censorship Illusion of unanimity Emergence of ‘mind guards’