OB Chapter 6

two or more people with a common relationship

a smaller number of people who work closely together toward a common objective and are accountable to one another

• team members share leadership
• both individual and the team as a whole, share accountability for work of team
• team develops purpose or mission
• team works on problem-solving continuously
• team's measured effectiveness is the team's outcomes and goals

• more flexible and responsive to changing events
• ability to quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband
• creates potential of greater outputs with no increased inputs
• can be motivational

• problem-solving (process-improvement)
• self managed
• cross-functional (project)
• virtual

a group of 5-12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and work environment

group of 10-15 members who take on many of the responsibilities of their former managers

a group of employees at about the same hierarchical level, from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task

temporary cross-functional team

a group composed of members from different departments

cross-functional teams that develop spontaneously to create new products or work on complex problems

• uses computer technology to tie together physical dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal
• use vid conferences, email, online communication links

• 1. trust established
• 2. team progress monitored closely
• 3. efforts/products of virtual team are publicized throughout organization

set of expected behaviours of a person in a given position in a social unit

how others believe a person should act in a given situation

a situation in which an individual finds that complying with one role requirement may make it more difficult to comply with another

a person is unclear about his/her role

too much is being expected of someone

too little is expected of someone, and that person feels that he/she is not contributing to the group

acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the group's members

• explicit statements made by group members
• critical events in groups history
• primacy
• carry-over behaviours from past situations

• facilitates the group's survival
• increases predictability of behaviours
• reduces embarrassing interpersonal problems for group members
• allows members to express central values of the group and clarify distinctive group identity

• 1. forming - uncertainty about team structure, purpose, and leadership
• 2. storming - intragroup conflict, develop hierarchy, individualistic tendencies
• 3. norming - close relationships, cohesiveness, team identity, common set of expectations emerges
• 4. adjourning - for temporary groups, attention directed at wrapping up activities

for groups that are temporary and have deadlines. They act their own way.

• performance
• appearance
• social arrangements
• allocation of resources

• 1st meeting stets group's direction
• 1st phase of groups activity is one of inertia
• transition then takes place,at exactly half of allotted time
• transition = major changes occur
• 2nd phase of inertia
• last meeting = accelerated activity

combines forming/norming, period of low performing, then storming, then high performing, then finally adjourning

• 5-stage theory considers interpersonal process of group.
• Punctuated-Equilibrium model considers time challenges

objective measures of productivity, manager's ratings of performance, measures of member satisfaction

• 1. resources/other contextual influences that make teams effective
• 2. team composition
• 3. work design
• 4. team process (things that occur in team that influence effectiveness)

• adequate resources
• leadership/structure
• climate of trust
• performance evaluation and rewards

• skills
• personality
• roles
• diversity
• size
• members flexibility
• preference teamwork

• autonomy
• skill variety
• task identity
• task significance

• common purpose
• specific goals
• mental models
• managed conflict level
• accountability

• teams need support from management and the larger organization to succeed
• support such as technology, staffing, admin assistance, encouragement and timely info

leader's role is creating a team atmosphere, setting clear and meaningful direction for the team, making sure that the team structure will support working effectively, ensuring that the team operates within a supportive organizational context, and provides expert coaching

different teams need to coordinate their efforts to produce a desired outcome

• integrity
• competence
• consistency
• loyalty
• openness
• all help build trust, important to be effective

managers should consider group based appraisals, profit sharing, gainsharing, small-group incentives, and other system modifications that reinforce team effort/commitment

• how teams should be staffed
• skills, personality, roles of members
• diversity
• size of team

• 1. needs people with technical expertise
• 2. needs people with problem-solving and decision-making skills
• 3. needs people with good listening, feedback, resolution and other interpersonal skills

• orients team to problem solving situation
• organizes and manages team performance
• promotes a positive team environment
• facilitates/manages task conflict
• appropriately promotes perspective

people should be selected based on personalities and preferences,a nd team's need for diversity and roles

• task oriented roles - performed by group members to ensure that the tasks of the group are accomplished. (initiators, info seekers, info providers, elaborators, summarizers, consensus makers)
• maintenance roles - performed to maintain good relations within group (harmonizers, compromisers, encouragers)
• individual roles - performed, but are not productive for keeping team on task

• initiating
• seeking information and opinions
• providing information and opinions
• clarifying
• elaborating
• summarizing
• consensus testing

• harmonizing
• compromising
• gatekeeping
• encouraging

• refers to the presence of a heterogeneous mix of individuals within a group
• differ in functional and demographic characteristics

• multiple perspectives
• greater openness to new ideas
• multiple interpretations
• increased creativity
• increased flexibility
• increased problem-solving skills

• ambiguity
• complexity
• confusion
• miscommunication
• difficulty reaching a single agreement
• difficulty in agreeing on specific actions

• less than ten is the most effective team size
• too many members = coordination problems, cohesiveness and mutual accountability decline, social loafing increases, more people do less talking in comparison to others

the tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively vs. individually

• improves adaptability, makes team less reliant on any singly member
• flexible members are capable of completing each others tasks, lead to higher performing groups

• individual preferences should be considered as to not damage teams morale
• one should prefer teamwork

• includes variables such as freedom and autonomy, opportunity to utilize different skills and talents, ability to complete a whole/identifiable task or product, and participation that has impact on others
• these characteristics motivate teams

• common purpose
• establish goals
• team efficacy
• mental models
• managed conflict levels
• system of accountability

• provides direction, momentum and commitment
• reflexivity - a team characteristic of reflecting on and adjusting the master plan when necessary

• energizes team
• clear communication
• turns team purpose into specific, measurable, realistic goals
• milestones allow focus

• confidence/belief = effective
• cohesiveness -> degree to which team members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay on the team

• high cohesiveness + high performance norms = high productivity
• high cohesiveness + low perf norms = low productivity
• low cohesiveness + high perf norms = moderate productivity
• low cohesiveness + low perf norms = moderate to low productivity

• knowledge/beliefs about how the work gets done
• must have common/accurate models

• conflict can be good
• usually bad = interpersonal incompatibilities, tensions and animosity
• no conflict = less effective team
• appropriate level of conflict is optimum
• avoiding conflict = lower performance, forgetting key issues, and unaware of important situation aspects

• more info, not less, for debate on basis of acts
• have multiple alternatives to enrich debate
• develop agreed upon goals
• use humour
• maintain balanced power structure
• resolve issues without forcing consensus

• making members individually and jointly accountable for the team's success
• (purpose, goals and approach)
• clearly defined responsibilities = important

• 1. can the work be done by more than one person?
• 2. does the work create a common purpose of set of goals fo rthe people in the group that is more than the sum of individual goals
• 3. are the members of the group interdependent?