Chapter 11: Team characteristics & DIversity

Performing

members are comfortable working within their roles, and the team makes progress toward goals

hybrid outcome interdependence,

which means that members receive rewards that are dependent on both their team's performance and how well they perform as individuals.

disjunctive tasks

the member who possesses the highest level of the ability relevant to the task will have the most influence on the effectiveness of the team.

team composition

the mix of people who make up the team

11.5 How do team characteristics influence team effectiveness?

Team viability refers to the likelihood that the team can work together effectively in the future. Task interdependence has a moderate correlation to team performance. Task interdependence has a weak correlation to team commitment. Teams with higher task interdependence have only a slightly higher probability of including members who are committed to their team's continued existence. As with the relationship with team performance, task interdependence has a stronger effect on viability for teams doing complex knowledge work.

11.1 What are the five general team types and their defining characteristics?

The 5 general team types are Work teams, Management teams, Parallel teams, Project teams, and Action teams. Work teams are designed to be relatively permanent and their purpose is to produce goods or provide services. They usually require a full-time commitment from the members. Management teams are designed to be relatively permanent and participate in managerial level tasks that affect the entire organization. They are responsible for coordinating the activities of organizational subunits to help organization achieve its long-term goals. Parallel teams are composed of members from various jobs who provide recommendations to mangers about important issues that run "parallel" to the organizations production process. Parallel teams only require a part time commitment from their members. Project teams are formed to take on "one-time" tasks that are generally complex and require a lot of input from members with different types of training and expertise. Action teams perform tasks that are normally limited in duration. These tasks are not as complex and take place in contexts that are either highly visible to an audience or of a highly challenging nature.

11.2 What are the three general types of team interdependence?

The three general types of team interdependence are task interdependence, goal interdependence, and outcome interdependence. Task interdependence refers to the degree to which team members interact with and rely on other team members for the information, materials, and resources needed to accomplish work for the team. Goal interdependence exists when team members have a shared vision of the team's goal and align their individual goals with that vision as a result. Outcome interdependence exists when tam members share in the rewards that the team earns, with reward including pay, bonuses, formal feedback, and recognition, pats on the back, extra time off, and team survival.

Adjourning

members experience anxiety and other emotions as they disengage and ultimately separate from the team.

Reciprocal interdependence

members interact with a subset of other members to complete the team's work.members are specialized to perform specific tasks.

Forming

members orient themselves by trying to understand their boundaries in the team

Norming

members realize that they need to work together to accomplish team goals, and consequently, they begin to cooperate with one another.

Storming

members remain committed to ideas they bring with them to the team. This initial unwillingness to accommodate others' ideas triggers conflict that negatively affects some interpersonal relationships and harms the team's progress

team

consists of two or more people who work interdependently over some time to accomplish common goals related to some task oriented purpose.

role

defined as a pattern of behavior that a person is expected to display in a given context.

Goal interdependence

A high degree of goal interdependence exists when team members have a shared vision of the team's goal and align their individual goals with that vision as a result

outcome interdependence

A high degree of outcome interdependence exists when team members share in the rewards that the team earns.how members are linked to one another in terms of the feedback and outcomes they receive as a consequence of working in the team.

Action Teams

Action teams perform tasks that are normally limited in duration. However, those tasks are quite complex and take place in contexts that are either highly visible to an audience or of a highly challenging nature.

11.6 How can team compensation be used to manage team effectiveness?

Outcome interdependence is important because high levels of outcome interdependence promotes higher levels of cooperation because members understand that they share the same fate. Although, high outcome interdependence may result in reduced motivation, especially among higher performing members. High performers may perceive that they're not paid in proportion to what they contributed to the team and that their teammates are taking advantage of this inequity for their own benefit. Hybrid outcome interdependence is members receive rewards that are dependent on both team's performance and how well they perform as individuals. One way to resolve the dilemma of outcome interdependence is to implement a level of team-based pay that matches the level of task interdependence

conjunctive tasks

Tasks like this, for which the team's performance depends on the abilities of the "weakest link,

sequential interdependence

different tasks are done in a prescribed order, and the group is structured such that the members specialize in these tasks.

11.3 What factors are involved in team composition?

Team composition is the mix of people who make up the team and there are 5 factors that help describe team composition are roles, ability, personality, diversity, and size. Member roles are defined as a pattern of behavior that a person is expected to display in a given context. Member ability is important because everyone has different abilities, and the team members must have the abilities to complete their tasks. Member personality is important because personality traits affect the roles the team members take on and the norms that develop on the team. Diversity is the degree to which members are different from one another in terms of any attribute that might be used by someone as a basis of categorizing people. Team size is how many members are a part of the team.

11.4 What are the types of team diversity, and how do they influence team functioning?

Team diversity is having members who are different from one another in terms of any attribute that might be used to categorize someone. Surface level diversity refers to the observable attributes such as race, ethnicity, sex, and age. Deep-level diversity is diversity with respect to at attributes that are less easy to observe initially but that can be inferred after more direct experience. Differences in attitudes, values, and personality are good examples of deep level diversity. Time appears to increase the negative effects of deep-level diversity on team functioning and effectiveness. Over time, as team members learn more about one another, differences that relate to underlying values and goals become increasingly apparent. Those differences can therefore create problems among team members that ultimately result in reduced effectiveness

Parallel Teams

are composed of members from various jobs who provide recommendations to managers about important issues that run "parallel" to the organization's production process. Parallel teams require only part-time commitment from members, and they can be permanent or temporary, depending on their aim.

Project Teams

are formed to take on "one-time" tasks that are generally complex and require a lot of input from members with different types of training and expertise.

Virtual teams

are teams in which the members are geographically dispersed, and interdependent activity occurs through electronic communications—primarily e-mail, instant messaging, and web conferencing.

value in diversity problem-solving approach

diversity in teams is beneficial because it provides for a larger pool of knowledge and perspectives from which a team can draw as it carries out its work.

comprehensive interdependence

each member has a great deal of discretion in terms of what they do and with whom they interact in the course of the collaboration involved in accomplishing the team's work

additive tasks

for which the contributions resulting from the abilities of every member "add up" to determine team performance

pooled interdependence

group members complete their work assignments independently, and then this work is simply "piled up" to represent the group's output.

similarity-attraction approach

people tend to be more attracted to others who are perceived as more similar. People also tend to avoid interacting with those who are perceived to be dissimilar, to reduce the likelihood of having uncomfortable disagreements.

5 stages of development

1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming 4. Performing 5. Adjourning

Surface-level diversity

refers to diversity regarding observable attributes such as race, ethnicity, sex, and age.

Deep-level diversity

refers to diversity with respect to attributes that are less easy to observe initially but that can be inferred after more direct experience.

team diversity

refers to the degree to which members are different from one another in terms of any attribute that might be used by someone as a basis of categorizing people.

Task interdependence

refers to the degree to which team members interact with and rely on other team members for the information, materials, and resources needed to accomplish work for the team

Team viability

refers to the likelihood that the team can work together effectively into the future.

Management Teams

relatively permanent, management teams participate in managerial-level tasks that affect the entire organization. Specifically, management teams are responsible for coordinating the activities of organizational subunits—typically departments or fun-ctional areas—to help the organization achieve its long-term goals.

Work teams

relatively permanent. Their purpose is to produce goods or provide services, and they generally require a full-time commitment from their members.