Effective Groups and Teams

1. Effective Groups and Teams Chapter Nine

2. After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to: LO9.1 Describe the five stages of Tuckman’s theory of group development. LO9.2 Contrast roles and norms, and specify four reasons norms are enforced in organizations. LO9.3 Describe four attributes of a team player LO9.4 Explain three ways to build trust and three ways to repair trust. LO9.5 Describe self-managed teams and virtual teams. LO9.6 Describe groupthink, and identify at least four of its symptoms.

3. Fundamentals of Group Behavior • Group • two or more freely interacting people who share collective norms and goals and have a common identity

4. Formal and Informal Groups • Formal group • group is formed by a manager to help the organization accomplish its goals. • Informal group • exists when the members’ overriding purpose of getting together is friendship

5. Formal Groups Fulfill Organizational and Individual Functions

6. Tuckman’s Five-Stage Theory of Group Development

7. Group Development Process Stage 1: Forming • Group members tend to be uncertain and anxious about their roles, the people in charge and the group’s goals • Mutual trust is low

8. Group Development Process Stage 2: Storming • Time of testing • Individuals try to determine how they fit into the power structure • Procrastination may occur

9. Group Development Process Stage 3: Norming • Questions about authority and power are resolved through unemotional, matter-of-fact group discussion • Group cohesiveness • a “we feeling” binding group members together

10. Question? A search committee has been created at ABC University to hire a new dean of College of Business. During which stage of the group development process would the search committee address role agreements and working as a team? • Storming • Performing • Adjourning • Norming

11. Group Development Process Stage 4: Performing • Activity focused on solving task problems • Climate of open communication, strong cooperation, and lots of helping behavior

12. Group Development Process Stage 5: Adjourning • Work is done • Time to move on to other things

13. Group Member Roles • Roles • expected behaviors for a given position • Task roles • Enable the group to define, clarify, and pursue a common purpose • Maintenance roles • Foster supportive and constructive interpersonal relationships • Keep the group together

14. Task and Maintenance Roles

15. Question? Bob's role in his work group is to promote greater understanding through examples or explanation of implications. Bob's role can be described as a(n): • Initiator • Elaborator • Coordinator • Energizer

16. Norms • Norms • an attitude, opinion, feeling, or action—shared by two or more people— that guides their behavior

17. How Norms are Developed • Explicit statements by supervisors or co-workers • Critical events in the group’s history • Primacy • Carryover behaviors from past situations

18. Why Norms are Enforced • Help the group or organization survive • Clarify or simplify behavioral expectations • Help individuals avoid embarrassing situations • Clarify the group’s or organization’s central values and/or unique identity

19. Teams • Team • a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable • Task groups that have matured to the performing stage

20. Teams A group becomes a team when: • Leadership becomes a shared activity • Accountability shifts from strictly individual to both individual and collective • The group develops its own purpose or mission • Problem solving becomes a way of life, not a part-time activity • Effectiveness is measured by the group’s collective outcomes and products

21. Eight Characteristics of Effective Team Players

22. 3 C’s of Team Players

23. Team Building • Team building • catchall term for a host of techniques aimed at improving the internal functioning of work groups • Team-building workshops strive for greater cooperation, better communication, and less dysfunctional conflict.

24. Question? As the new Department Chair, Melvin wanted his faculty members to engage in more collaboration. He decided to start by taking everyone to a Paintball course. This is called ___________. • Social loafing • Cohesiveness • Team building • Leadership

25. Trust: A Key Ingredient of Teamwork • Trust • reciprocal faith that the intentions and behaviors of another will consider the implications for you.

26. Three Forms of Trust • Contractual trust • trust of character • Communication trust • trust of disclosure • Competence trust • trust of capability

27. How to Build Trust

28. Question? As quarterback at Alabama, Jay Barker won almost all of the games he started. When the team was in a tough situation, they trusted Barker to help them win. The team’s trust was built by Barker’s _______. • Respect • Fairness • Predictability • Competence

29. Self-Managed Teams • Self-managed teams • groups of workers who are given administrative oversight for their task domains. • Administrative oversight involves delegated activities such as planning, scheduling, monitoring, and staffing

30. Teams • Cross-functionalism • team made up of technical specialists from different areas • Common feature of self-managed teams

31. Question? The work team at More 4 Babies, Inc. is made up of technical specialists from different areas of the company. This feature of the work team at More 4 Babies is referred to as • Cross-functionalism. • Administrative alignment. • Cohesiveness. • Groupthink.

32. Are Self Managed Teams Effective? • Have a positive effect on productivity • Have a positive effect on specific attitudes relating to self-management • No significant effect on general attitudes • No significant effect on absenteeism or turnover

33. Virtual Teams • Virtual team • physically dispersed task group that conducts its business through information communication technology (ICT).

34. Research Insights • Benefits • Reduced real-estate costs • Ability to leverage diverse knowledge, skills, and experience across geography • Ability to share knowledge of diverse markets • Can reduce work-life conflicts

35. Threats to Effectiveness • Groupthink • “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action”

36. Symptoms of Groupthink

37. Social Loafing • Social Loafing • tendency for individual effort to decline as group size increases

38. Reasons for Social Loafing • Equity of effort • Loss of personal accountability • Motivational loss due to sharing of rewards • Coordination loss as more people perform the task

39. Question? The Organizational Behavior class has a project that counts for 50% of the class grade. Groups of 10 have been assigned to complete it. Duane thinks that he will not have to work very hard because the group is so large. This is called _______. • Groupthink • Cohesiveness • Social loafing • Collective groupthink

40. Video Case: Teamwork: Team Activities for Coworkers • What types of activities are being used today for team building and skills development? Why do these types of activities work? • Are companies able to justify sending employees to fun training programs? How? • Are corporate training programs such as those described in the video case growing in popularity? • What benefits do you think you would get from attending training programs like those described in the case?