Chapter 9 Work Team Groups Nelson Quick Strategies

Chapter 9 Work Team & Groups Nelson & Quick Strategies for Successful Teams

Groups & Teams Group - two or more people with common interests or objectives Team - a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Characteristics of a Well. Functioning, Effective Group Relaxed, comfortable, informal atmosphere People express feelings Task well understood & ideas & accepted Consensus decision making Group aware of its operation & function Members listen well & participate Clear assignments made & accepted Conflict & disagreement center around ideas or methods

Group Behavior Norms of behavior - the standards that a work group uses to evaluate the behavior of its members Group cohesion - the “interpersonal glue” that makes members of a group stick together Social loafing - the failure of a group member to contribute personal time, effort, thoughts, or other resources to the group Loss of individuality - a social process in which individual group members lose self-awareness & its accompanying sense of accountability, inhibition, and responsibility for individual behavior

Group Formation Formal groups - official or Informal groups - unofficial or assigned groups gathered emergent groups that to perform various tasks evolve in the work setting to gratify a variety of – need ethnic, gender, cultural, and interpersonal member needs not met by diversity formal groups – need professional and geographical diversity

Stages of Group Formation • Mutual acceptance – Focus is on the interpersonal relations among the members • Decision making – Focus is on decision making activities related to tasks • Motivation & commitment – Focus on self- and group-motivation, execution, achievement • Control & sanctions – Focus on effective, efficient unit

Mature Group Characteristics Purpose and Mission • May be assigned or may emerge from the group • Group often questions, reexamines, & modifies mission & purpose • Mission converted into specific agenda, clear goals, & a set of critical success factors

Mature Group Characteristics Behavioral Norms - well-understood standards of behavior within a group Formal & written Ground rules for meetings Informal but understood Intra-group socializing Dress codes

Mature Group Characteristics Group cohesion - interpersonal attraction binding group members together • Enables groups to exercise effective control over the members • Groups with high cohesiveness – demonstrate lower tension & anxiety – demonstrate less variation in productivity – demonstrate better member satisfaction, commitment & communication

Cohesiveness & Work-Related Tension Group Cohesiveness from low to high 7 16 52 65 57 19 Number of groups 12 “Does your work ever make you jumpy or nervous? ” From S. E. Seashore, Group Cohesiveness in the Industrial Work Force, 1954. Research conducted by Stanley E. Seashore at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Reprinted by permission.

Mature Group Characteristics Status structure - the set of authority & task relations among a group’s members • Hierarchical or egalitarian • Often leadership is shared Diversity styles Data/Info Contributor Mission Collaborator Facilitator Communicator Devil’s advocate Challenger

Why Teams? • Good when performing complicated, complex, inter-related and/or more voluminous work than one person can handle • Good when knowledge, talent, skills, & abilities are dispersed across organizational members • Empowerment & collaboration; not power & competition

Quality Circles & Teams Quality circles (QC) - a small group of employees who work voluntarily on company time, typically one hour per week, to address work-related problems QC’s deal with substantive issues – Do not require final decision authority – QC’s need periodic reenergizing Quality team - a team that is part of an organization’s structure & is empowered to act on its decisions regarding product & quality service

Social Benefits of Teams Psychological intimacy emotional & psychological closeness to other team or group members Integrated intimacy closeness achieved through tasks & activities

Team Task Functions Task functions - those activities directly related to the effective completion of the team’s work Initiate activities Give information Seek information Test ideas Summarize ideas Coordinate activities Elaborate concepts Diagnose problems Evaluate effectiveness

Team Maintenance Functions Maintenance functions - those activities essential to the effective, satisfying interpersonal relationships within a team or group Support others Follow others’ lead Set standards Express member feelings Test consensus Harmonize conflict Test group decisions Reduce tension Gatekeeper communication

Empowerment An attribute of a person or of an organization’s culture Preparation & careful planning focuses empowered employees Encourages participation

Foundations for Empowerment Participative, supportive organizational culture Organizational foundations Team-oriented work design

Individual Prerequisites for Empowerment • The capability to become psychologically involved in participative activities • The motivation to act autonomously • The capacity to see the relevance of participation for one’s own well being

Empowerment Skills • Competence skills - mastery and experience in one’s chosen discipline & profession • Process skills - including negotiating skills • Development of cooperative and helping behaviors • Communication skills - skills in self expression & skills in reflective listening

Self-Managed Teams Self managed teams - teams that make decisions that were once reserved for managers How does an organization avoid the risks of self managed teams? – morale reduction – increased conflict – groupthink

Upper Echelons: Teams at the Top

Multicultural Teams Multicultural groups represent three or more ethnic backgrounds. Diversity may increase uncertainty, complexity, & inherent confusion in group processes. Culturally diverse groups may generate more & better ideas & limit groupthink.

Executive Tenure & Organizational Performance Organizational performance relative to the industry average High Low 1 7 CEO tenure (years) 14 Source: D. Hambrick, The Seasons of an Executive’s Tenure, keynote address, the Sixth Annual Texas Conference on Organizations, Lago Vista, Texas, April, 1991.

Triangle for Managing in the New Team Environment Manager Team Individuals L. Hirschhorn, Managing in the New Team Environment, (pages 13/14). Copyright© 1991 Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Addison Wesley Longman.