Management 11e John Schermerhorn

Management 11e John Schermerhorn

Chapter 16Chapter 16Teams and TeamworkTeams and Teamwork

Planning Ahead — Chapter 16 Study Questions

How do teams contribute to organizations? What are the current trends in the use of

teams? How do teams work? How do teams make decisions?

Management 11 Chapter 16 2

Study Question 1: How do teams contribute to organizations?

Team A small group of people with complementary

skills, who work together to achieve a shared purpose and hold themselves mutually accountable for performance results

Teamwork The process of people actively working

together to accomplish common goals



Team and teamwork roles for managers: Supervisor — serving as the appointed head of a

formal work unit Network facilitator — serving as a peer leader an

network hub for a special task force Participant — serving as a helpful contributing

member of a project team External coach — serving as the external convenor

or sponsor of a problem-solving team staffed by others


Figure 16.1 Team and teamwork roles for managers



Synergy The creation of a whole that is greater than

the sum of its parts A team uses its membership resources to the

fullest and thereby achieves through collective action far more than could be achieved otherwise



Usefulness of teams: More resources for problem solving Improved creativity and innovation Improved quality of decision making Greater commitments to tasks Higher motivation through collective action Better control and work discipline More individual need satisfaction



Common problems in teams: Personality conflicts Individual differences in work styles Ambiguous agendas Ill-defined problems Poor readiness to work

Lack of motivation Conflicts with other deadlines or priorities Lack of team organization or progress Meetings that lack purpose or structure Members coming to meetings unprepared





Formal teams Officially recognized and supported by the

organization Specifically created to perform essential tasks Managers and leaders serve “linking pin” roles



Informal groups Not recognized on organization charts Not officially created for an organizational purpose Emerge as part of the informal structure and from

natural or spontaneous relationships among people Include interest, friendship,

and support groups Can have positive

performance impact Can help satisfy social needs


Study Question 2: What are the current trends in the use of teams?

Committees, project teams, and task forces: Committees

People outside their daily job assignments work together in a small team for a specific purpose

Task agenda is narrow, focused, and ongoing Projects teams or task forces

People from various parts of an organization work together on common problems, but on a temporary basis

Official tasks are very specific and time defined Disbands after task is completed





Cross-functional teams Members come from different functional units

of an organization Team works on a specific problem or task

with the needs of the whole organization in mind

Teams are created to knock down “walls” separating departments



Employee involvement teams Groups of workers who meet on a regular

basis outside of their formal assignments Have the goal of applying their expertise and

attention to continuous improvement Quality circles represent a common form of

employee involvement teams



Virtual teams Teams of people who work together and

solve problems through largely computer-mediated rather than face-to-face interactions







Self-managing work teams Teams of workers whose jobs have been

redesigned to create a high degree of task interdependence and who have been given authority to make many decisions about how to do the required work

Also known as autonomous work groups



Typical self-management responsibilities: Planning and scheduling work Training members in various tasks Sharing tasks Meeting performance goals Ensuring high quality Solving day-to-day operating problems In some cases, hiring and firing team

members Management 11 Chapter 16 20



Figure 16.2 Organizational and management implications of self-managing work teams



Team Building Activities that analyze teams and make

changes to improve performance May include meetings, games and outdoor

activities


Study Question 3: How do teams work?

Effective Teams Perform tasks Satisfy members Transform resource inputs into product

outputs Pride in performance and accomplishments Members are willing to work together in the

future



Resource input factors that influence group process in the pursuit of team effectiveness: Resources and setting Nature of the task Team size Membership characteristics



Group process: The way the members of any team work

together as they transform inputs into outputs Also known as group dynamics Includes communications, decision making,

norms, cohesion, and conflict, among others



Team effectiveness may be summarized as


Figure 16.3 An open-systems model of work team effectiveness



Team diversity: A variety of values, personalities,

experiences, demographics, and cultures among members

Greater variety of available ideas, perspectives, and experiences

As team diversity increases, complexity of interpersonal relationships also increases



Stages of team development: Forming

initial orientation and interpersonal testing Storming

conflict over tasks and ways of working as a team Norming

consolidation around task and operating agendas Performing

teamwork and focused task performance Adjourning

task accomplishment and eventual disengagement Management 11 Chapter 16 30

Figure 16.4 Criteria for assessing the maturity of a team



Norms Behavior expected of team members Rules or standards that guide behavior May result in team sanctions

Cohesiveness Degree that members are attracted to and

motivated to remain part of the team Desire to conform to norms




Figure 16.5 How cohesiveness and norms influence team performance



Guidelines for increasing team cohesion: Build agreement on team goals Increase membership homogeneity Increase interaction among members Decrease team size Introduce competition with other teams Reward team rather than individual results Provide physical isolation from other teams



Task activities Actions by team members that contribute

directly to team’s performance purpose Include:

Initiating Information sharing Summarizing Elaborating Opinion giving



Maintenance activities Support emotional life of a team as an

ongoing social system Include:

Gatekeeping Encouraging Following Harmonizing Reducing tension



Distributed leadership roles … Make every member responsible for recognizing

when task and/or maintenance activities are needed and taking actions to provide them

Leading through task activities focuses on solving problems and achieving performance results

Leading through maintenance activities helps strengthen and perpetuate the team as a social system


Figure 16.6 Distributed leadership helps teams meet task and maintenance needs



Dysfunctional activities that detract from team effectiveness: Being aggressive Blocking Self-confessing Seeking sympathy Competing Withdrawal Horsing around Seeking recognition



Communication networks Decentralized

All members communicate directly with one another

Centralized Activities are coordinated and results pooled by

central point of control Restricted

Polarized subgroups contest one another Subgroups may engage in antagonistic relations


Figure 16.7 Interaction patterns and communication networks in teams

Management 11 Chapter 16 42Source: John R Schermerhorn, Jr , James G Hunt, and Richard N Osborn, Organizational Behavior, 8th ed (New York: Wiley, 2003), p 347 Used by permission

Study Question 4: How do teams make decisions?

Methods of team decision making: Lack of response Authority rule Minority rule Majority rule Consensus Unanimity





Symptoms of groupthink: Illusions of group invulnerability Rationalizing unpleasant and disconfirming data Belief in inherent group morality Negative stereotypes of competitors Pressure to conform Self-censorship of members Illusions of unanimity Mind guarding



Methods for dealing with groupthink: Have each group member be a critical evaluator Don’t appear to favor one course of action Create subteams to work on the same problems Have team members discuss issues with outsiders Have outside experts observe and provide feedback

on team activities Assign a member to the devil’s advocate role Hold a second-chance meeting



Creativity in team decision making Brainstorming

Open and spontaneous discussion of problems and ideas Guidelines

Go for quantity of ideas Don’t criticize each other Welcome “freewheeling” Build on the ideas of others

Nominal Group technique Meeting agenda structured to allow participation of all group

members Individual contributions are brought to the group for discussion


Chapter 16 Case

NASCAR: Fast cars, passion and teamwork create wins

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Management 11e John Schermerhorn

Documents

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e john schermerhorn