PSY 350 TEAMWORK EXAM 1

What is the value of group process observations?

- Allows the team to work on its problems when they occur rather than waiting for an outside consultant - Help group members see what is lacking in their interactions, and may encourage team members to adjust their personal styles to enable the team to operate more effectively - Can obtain feedback about how it is functioning--used to analyze and develop more effective ways of interacting within the team

How has the study of group dynamics changed over time?

- Becoming more sophisticated - Simple models that look at cause-effect relationships → new models focus on the conditions that help teams manage their own processes - Looking at group behavior as sum of individual variables → focus on emergent properties of teams - Search to find best approach to manage a team → recognition of equifinality (there are many ways for teams to operate successfully) - Before: Looked at effects of groups on individuals. - After: Viewed groups as a unit of study - 1950s: Study group social systems (self-awareness, interpersonal communication, group process) - 1990s: Study groups in other disciplines, business, political science, education

How does competition between teams affect a team?

- Can lead to conflict and hostility in intergroup competition--groups are more likely to act competitively with each other than are individuals - A team in competition focus on its task to the exclusion of social and emotional issues--ignoring these social issues can lead to the breakdown of the team

What biases does a team have when processing information to make a decision?

- Confirmation bias - False dichotomy

How can leaders promote team learning?

- Develop the agenda to help structure meetings - Ensure that info is shared, understood, and processed by the team in a supportive and participative environment - Remove internal problems that hinder the team's operations

What contributes to miscommunication in a team?

- Discussing info already shared rather than combining new knowledge with team members, which may explain why technical information is overlooked. - Confirmation bias - Processing errors can occur because of false dichotomy (seeing things as either/or or for/against) can limit the reality of options

What are the implications of team development stages?

- Emotional highs and lows are a normal part of team development - Developing the team is important; Time must be spent developing social relations and socializing new members, establishing goals and norms, and defining the project - Team may go through periods of lower task performance as it tries to resolve conflicts over relationship and task issues

How can a team deal with the negative effects of competition?

- Encouraging cooperation within a team - Developing common goals and rebuilding trust and communication - Positive social relations among team members

What are the three criteria used to define team success?

- For students: Emotional intelligence, equal participation, and the percentage of women in teams --> More than doing the task well, the initial performance will decrease followed by a steady improvement --> Social relations need to like team --> Individual benefit, each member must feel that they cannot just be replaced

What are the main historical trends in the use of teams?

- Industrial revolution introduced the use of teams with scientific management that simplified jobs and created hierarchical work systems (factory workers) - Following WWII, researchers experimented with work teams - In 1960s, STS (Sociotechnical systems theory) - Teams should be used when jobs are technically uncertain rather than routine, when environment is turbulent and requires flexibility. (Daniel) - 1970s: Contemporary Japanese use Quality Circles - Parallel teams of production workers and supervisors meet to analyze problems and develop solutions to quality problems in the manufacturing process (Daniel) - Social sciences then developed the field of group dynamics (understanding how groups operate)

Why is the use of teams by organizations increasing?

- Jobs are changing from routine to nonroutine work. Characteristics of jobs become more complex --> Individuals more specialized, teams of diverse knowledge enhances support - Teamwork brings a simpler organizational hierarchies (to save costs and increase flexibility by reducing layers of management) - Teams provide a way to integrate and coordinate the various parts of an organization in a timely and cost-effective manner - Teams execute tasks better, learn faster, and change more easily than traditional work structures

What are the formal roles commonly played by team members?

- Leader or facilitator (responsible for structuring the team's interactions to ensure that the team completes its goals) - The recorder (takes notes on key decisions and task assignments and writes up min.) --team scribe - Team timekeeper

How is a team different from a group?

- Members of a team work together on a common project for which they are all accountable --> Team members have specialized knowledge/skills/abilities related to their tasks -Groups are more inclusive (Political party, social organizations). --> Don't really have a common goal

What are the positive and negative effects of group norms?

- Positives: allow fairer communication, maintain respect among members, and distribute power to weaker members of the team. - Negatives: can enforce conformity and stifle innovation

What are the causes of role ambiguity and role stress?

- Roles often ill defined (emerge informally) - Person fulfilling role don't understand what other people expect of them - Team members occupy several roles at a time

What factors cause social loafing in a team? How can social loafing be prevented?

- Social loafing: the reduction of individual contributions when people work in groups rather than alone - Factors: Lack of a perceived need to work as a team (reduces motivation), Individual performance can be hidden in team's collective effort--leads members to reduce their effort bc no longer concerned what others think of their performance, Team members might be unaware of how much effort others are putting into the task--they don't know whether they're doing their fair share - Prevention: When teams given challenging tasks, When rewarded for team success yet have identifiable individual performances, Commitment to the team

How do task and social behaviors affect team performance?

- Task support increases the collective efficacy of the team and improves coordination among team members - Social support increases group cohesion and helps motivate team members - Both factors interact to improve team performance

What factors determine whether a team has the right set of people?

- Team must contain people with knowledge, skills, and abilities that match the task requirements - Members must also have the necessary group process skills to operate effectively - Conscientious people are task and goal focused, avoid social loafing, and more likely to engage in cooperative team behavior. - Extraversion in team members - better social and communicative skills

What factors encourage group cohesion?

- Team pride or social identity - Have a shared social identity - Membership is personally important--so define themselves as members of the team - Like one another and feel connected - The task - Joining together to work as a team

What can a team do to help improve the beginning stages of a team project?

- Team warm ups (icebreakers) are a great way to encourage social interaction. - Project definitions and understanding- Everyone on the team should have the same understanding of the assignment, and this understanding should conform to the organization's intention. - Team contract

What motivates a team?

- The task it performs: More motivated when the task is interesting, involving, and challenging, Good team task requires team interdependence--work together to successfully complete the task (it also helps motivate) - How performance will be evaluated and rewarded: Encourage dual sense of responsibility, Individual and team based rewards is necessary to encourage commitment to team and incentive for individual performance - Teams belief in its ability to succeed (team efficacy):Team efficacy: the perception that the team is capable of performing well at a given task - Team members' sense of commitment or belonging: Group cohesion: increased sense of commitment and attraction to a team

How does competition hurt a team?

- When individuals or teams in an organization compete against each other, changes occur that prevent the team from being successful - Individual competition creates confusion about goals--Creating distrust that reduces the communication within the team (uncertain of others motives) - Can lead to conflict and hostility in intergroup competition--groups are more likely to act competitively with each other than are individuals

What are the basic communication skills that are useful to facilitate a team meeting?

- ask questions - listen actively - give constructive feedback - manage feelings

What are the main characteristics of team goals?

- from Book: --> Should be moderately difficult, but not impossible - The goals work best when it is interesting and challenging - The team should feel a sense of accomplishment once achieved - from Lecture: → specific, measureable, accepted (reasonable) , feedback

How does cohesion affect team performance?

- interpersonal effects are positive--More satisfied with their jobs, reduce stress (bc members more supportive of one another) - Positive impact on team performance esp for smaller teams: --->Relationship goes in both directions--cohesion can help improve performance and can help improve cohesion but when not successful, members blame each other for failure which reduces group cohesion --> Cohesion based on commitment to task has larger impact on performance --> Effects of cohesion are more important when the team's task requires high levels of interaction, coordination, and interdependence - More likely to accept the team's goals, decisions, and norms - Affects teams social interactions which can affect performance and decision making: --> Better able to communicate and coordinate their actions -->But high levels can sometimes impair a team's decision making ability (agree to a decision bc dont wanna upset someone)

How can one avoid dysfunctional group decision making?

- members should actively find and present disconfirming evidence/info to the team - question absolute statements made by team members

What are some of the important activities of the facilitator of a meeting?

- review the agenda - keep the meeting on time - maintain open communication - manage disruptive behaviors - manage differences - make decisions

What types of tasks are better suited for teams than for individuals? Why?

-Coordinated tasks are better suited for teams because it involves group cohesion -Additive tasks are the worst kind of tasks because you just add everything together and don't really need each other

What are the characteristics of a group?

-Goal Orientation - People joining together for some purpose and to achieve some goal -Interdependent - People who have some type of relationship, see connections among themselves, or believe they share a common fate. -Interpersonal Interaction - People who communicate and interact with one another -Perception of Membership - Recognition that there is a collective to which one belongs -Structured Relations - Roles, rules, and norms that control people's interactions -Mutual Influence - Impact people have on one another because of their connections -Individual Motivation - Satisfaction of personal needs through membership in the group

What is the impact of a mixed-motive situation?

-Mixed-motive situation examples--group project; want to get a good grade but have other classes and stressors so want to put in least amount of time but still get a good grade or basketball game want team to win but there's also a scout in the audience - They create social dilemmas for the participants - Many people decide to be competitive--result i s poor team performance

How are teams used by organizations?

-Production - Manufacture or assemble products on a repetitive basis (Factory teams) -Service - Conduct repeated transactions with customers (Maintenance/Food Service) -Management - Work together, plan, develop policy, coordinate activities (Managers) -Project - Bring experts together to perform specific task within defined period (Research/Engineering) -Action/Performing - Engage in brief performances repeated under new conditions that require specialized skills and extensive training. (Sports/Entertainment/Surgery) -Parallel - Temp teams that operate outside normal work (Employee involvement groups/Advisory committees - provide suggestions for changing an organization) -provide advice and deal with special problems -help manage coordination problems by linking different parts of organizations -change organizations by planning for the future or managing transitions

What are the main functions of group norms?

-Team norms express the team's central values which help give members a sense of who they are as a team. -Team norms help coordinate the activities of team members by establishing common ground and making behavior more predictable. -Team norms help define appropriate behavior for team members, allowing members to avoid embarrassing or difficult situations, thereby encouraging active participation in the team. -Team norms help the team survive by creating a distinctive identity; this identity helps team members understand how they are different from others and provides criteria for evaluating deviant behavior within the team

How are work groups different from teams and self-managing teams?

-Work groups have a manager, a dictator, and they do independent work (can be over 5,000 people). Part of a hierarchy. -Teams have an appointed leader, they come to a consensus, and they do interdependent work (2-20 people) -Self-Managing Teams have a leader selected by the team, operates democratically or on a consensus. More independent than team.

What are the characteristics of successful teams?

A team must have members with the right set of knowledge, skills, and abilities to complete its task. For some types of teams, members must represent the relevant parts of an organization to ensure a sense of participation in the decision and support for its implementation. Finally, team members must have the interpersonal skills to work together as a team.

How does a group minority become influential?

Ability to influence the majority group depends on: - Consistency, sticking to their positions - Self-confidence, resist pressure to change - Belief in their autonomy, demonstrate they are not controlled by an outside group - Relationship to the group overall, must appear to be a part of the team

What are the benefits and problems of cooperation?

Benefits: - In a cooperative team, all team members are motivated by the team's goals--mutually reinforced and encouraged - Team members help and learn from one another -- team and individual perform better - Research: in classroom, best performers still perform at high level but performance of avg and lower improves--overall groups have higher performance, better social relations, higher self-esteem, and better attitude towards school - Cooperation encourages supportive communication - Cooperation is more important when tasks are ambiguous, complex, or changing - Provides foundation for social relations of team members Problems: - Conformity--become too socially and emotionally connected--make the team resistant to outside influence and resistant to changing the way it operates--can make it difficult for outsiders to influence the team and change its direction - Unhealthy agreement--members try to be friendly and cooperative by adopting a position bc they think that's what the other members want but not what they necessarily want--avoid to challenge one another to avoid conflict

How can one build trust within a team?

Building trust in a team involves two types of behaviors: trusting and trustworthiness: - Trusting means being willing to be open with information and sharing with others by providing help and resources - Trustworthiness means accepting the contributions of other team members, supporting their actions, and cooperating in assisting them. Techniques to help (re)build trust: - Apologize sincerely for actions that destroyed trust in the team - Act trusting and demonstrate your support for others in the team - Promote cooperation in the team - Review the team's goals and gain commitment to common actions - Establish credibility by making sure that actions match words

How do conformity and obedience influence people's behaviors?

Conformity occurs through influence from the group of two types: 1. Normative influence is change based on the desire to meet the expectations of others and to be accepted. 2. Informational influence is change that is based on accepting information from others about a situation. - Asch's conformity experiment: Subjects were asked to determine which two lines out of several were the same length. Subjects giving answers to a question who were exposed to others giving incorrect answers often conformed and gave incorrect answers. - Milgram obedience studies: People are obedient to authority figures even when the requested behaviors are inappropriate, even with no consequences for not obeying -- Participants were instructed to administer electric shocks to "other learner participants." → Nearly all willing. 65% continued after learner stopped responding or dangerous levels -- Factors: Legitimacy of authority figure, Proximity to authority figure, Proximity to victim, Others in group's refusal

How are cooperators, competitors, and individualists different?

Cooperators: - Focus on the team - Concerned with both their own outcomes and those of others - Attempt to make sure the team is successful and rewards are distributed equally among team members Competitors: - View situation as opportunity to win - Define success relative to others performances--success means performing better than others - Whether they or the team succeeds is less important than whether they excel more than the other members on the team individualists: - Define success relative to their own personal goals - They don't evaluate their performance relative to others - May or may not care about the success of the team - Teams success is only important if they have adopted the team's goals for themselves

Why do people act competitively in teams?

Culture: --> individualism vs collectivism--individualists tend to be more competitive --> The US has an individualistic culture--promotes competition by emphasizing individualism, freedom, capitalism, and personal success: ----Negative attitude towards teamwork, believe individual is more important) --> Japan--collectivist culture-promote cooperation, commitment, loyalty; competition between other organizations -----Inside-outside perspective toward working in teams (act cooperatively with their team but also act competitively with those outside of their team)) Personality: --> Some people misperceive situations and redefine them as opportunities to act competitively --> 3 personality types to why people act competitively--they affect how people interpret the situations they are in and how they define success --- Competitors, cooperators, and individualists) Organizational rewards: --> Organizational practices often do not encourage or reward teamwork --- Most have performance evaluations that are based on individual performances) --> Inability to share rewards encourages unhealthy competition within organizations -->Most useful because easiest to change

What is emotional intelligence? How does it affect a team's communications?

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to solve emotional problems. It includes the following four components: - Self-awareness: the ability to identify, understand, and discuss one's emotions - Empathy: the ability to perceive, recognize, and experience others' emotions - Emotional regulation: the ability to regulate one's emotions and control the expression of emotions - Relationship management: the ability to respond to others' emotions with respect and concern for the relationship EI affects a team's communication: - ability to recognize and regulate one's emotions and emotions of others during communicative interactions - emotions are contagious in small groups → be able to regulate one's own emotions

What is empowerment?

Empowerment: The process of giving employees more power and control over their work. In a sense, it is the core notion of teamwork, a team must have power to control how it operates, and cannot succeed if a manager controls its internal operation. Can be viewed at the team or individual level: - Team empowerment is the delegation of authority or responsibility to the team -Individual empowerment is when team members accept responsibility and are given the ability to make decisions - Empowerment benefits both individuals and teams, and their organizations: - It increases individual employee motivation, responsibility, confidence, and engagement. - Empowered are more willing to accept responsibility for handling customer problems - Organizations benefit by having teams that function more effectively, with more commitment and acceptance of change

What are the main stages of group development?

Forming - Orientation: members getting to know one another Storming - Conflict: disagreement about roles and procedures Norming - Structure: establishment of rules and social relationships Performing - Work: focus on completing the task Adjourning- Dissolution: completion of task and end of the group

When is conflict good for a team? When is it bad for a team?

Good: conflict about non-routine tasks - Ex: designing a new building - Good for tasks that require creativity Bad: conflict about routine tasks - Ex: surgery; flight team - Not good to have conflict during a routine task, task should be completed first - Ex: military has a good system; perform routine task (a mission) with no conflict; then come back and debrief and talk about what happened - conflict is okay here

How do changes in team membership affect team performance?

In each stage of the socialization process, the team member must make the transition from newcomer to full member, and because of this transition, it affects the performance of the team. At each step in this process, the individual is evaluating the team and deciding on his or her level of commitment. This then results in a learning curve; they do better as members become familiar with each other. Teams with more experience are better at communicating and coordinating their activities.

Why is team success more than just completion of the task?

It's not just about getting the project done (you want to like your team members, too)

How are communication and gender interconnected?

Masculine communication styles: - emphasize gaining status, which means that talk embodies independence, competition, exerting control, and reporting knowledge in an effort to elevate their position in the group. In contrast feminine communication styles: - emphasize building connection, which means that talk embodies interdependence, cooperation, and empowerment in an effort to facilitate agreement, interest in others, and participation. Women, then, tend to share feelings, invite others to speak, and listen in order to foster bonds between members.

How do the demands of a project change the way a team operates?

Model of team development based on the skills that team members develop while completing a project. In their model, a team works on role clarification during the early stages, moves on to coordinated skills development, and finally focuses on increasing the variety and flexibility of its skills as a team. This model uses the changing relationship between the team and the project as the driver of change throughout the stages.

What problems does an organization encounter when trying to empower teams?

One of the main problems with empowerment programs is resistance from managers and supervisors: - Managers are often told to empower work teams under their supervision, but they are held responsible for how the team performs - Although some supervisors support empowerment, many are concerned about loss of status and lack of support from upper management - To handle this problem: Supervisors should be involved in design of empowerment programs, The roles of supervisors should be evaluated and defined, Supervisors may need training as team leaders

How do passive (1), aggressive (2), and assertive (3) power styles affect a team and it's members?

People express power through their behaviors in three ways, (This is defined by their emotional tone and the ways they confront problems.) 1. Passive: Tries to avoid problems by not taking a stand or by being unclear. Goal is to win approval and acceptance. This style does not work well. Passive people often feel stressed and resentful, partially because problems never seem to go away. There are situations where a passive response is appropriate, such as defusing a tense emotional situation. 2. Aggressive: Approaches problems by trying to win and refusing to compromise. Underlying emotions are anger, insecurity, and a lack of trust. Similar to passive style, some people will swing back and forth. This style can often be rewarded, others may simply defer. The cost is others feel resentment and act defensively. This style can be appropriate in emergency situations, or those requiring change when progress is stalled. 3. Assertive: This style is communicating openly with concern for both others and oneself. The assertive person takes a direct problem solving approach to conflicts and problems, with the goal being to find the best solution. The assertive style shows respect, encourages trust in others, and inspires open communication in a team. This style is appropriate in most situations in which people are interacting on an equal basis, i.e. most team situations.

How does positive psychology define team success?

Positive psychology provides an alternative perspective toward team success by focusing on the individual. When team members are fully engaged in their tasks and feel supported by other team members, then the team's performance is likely to be successful.

How does having power change the power holder?

Power is rewarding, people with power often want more of it It has a corrupting influence, those in power often give themselves a higher share of the rewards Power people begin to care less about what subordinates say and have an inflated view of their own worth ** Kipnis study documents a cycle of power where power leads to a desire to increase one's power → Often unconscious, Can be avoided by rotating leaders

What are the benefits and problems of using work teams?

Problems: time and place to move/work, freerider- all same team grade, sometimes the smartest students, sucker effect- , social loafing- work less hard, diffusion of responsibility, team hijacker- one person does all work due to lack of trust.

How does perception of psychological safety affect a team's communications?

Psychological safety is the perception that members are free to take interpersonal risks and to express their thoughts and feelings without fear of consequences.This creates a safe environment for idea sharing and innovation. Without, some may be less inclined to share their ideas resulting in increased conformity of group ideas.

How can a mediator help facilitate management of a team conflict?

Separate people from the problem: -- You want the disagreement to be about the issues, not the people on each side Focus on shared interests: -- Once in conflict, you're not thinking about the issue, but about all the differences -- Most of the time, there are a lot more shared ideas and beliefs than differences --> Bring the focus here) Develop many options: -- Do not see a win-lose or a lose-lose situation -- Must open up thinking Build trust: -- For psychological safety -- When going through a dilemma, realize it won't be solved in one day -- Work little piece at a time, building trust and compromise slowly.. Working towards the larger problem -- Building a relationship

What can teams do to prepare for conflicts?

Social relations plus trust: - It's important to develop social relations first - That way trust is built and conflict is okay later - So that if conflict happens, the relationship is already set and it is known conflict is task oriented - Built over time Psychological safety: - When a group doesn't have time to build relationships - Create a safe environment - Politeness rules - Norms about politeness and communication. - Or a leader and facilitator that guarantees safety Make open: - Encourage conflict at a low level - To avoid running into larger, built ups issues later - Talk about problems before one gets upset

How does one decide which influence tactics to use?

Tactics vary by several factors: 1. Directness, direct tactics are explicit, overt methods of influence (e.g., personal appeals and pressure, vs Indirect are covert manipulation ( e.g., ingratiation and coalition) 2. Cooperative tactics encourage support through rational argument or consultation, vs Competitive tactics through pressure or ingratiation 3. Rationality, Rational based in rational argument or exchange of support, vs inspirational or personal appeals rely on emotion ***People prefer direct and cooperative strategies. The most effective are rational argument, consultation, and inspirational appeals. Traditional leaders use pressure and legitimizing tactics to influence subordinates. Subordinates use rational argument, personal appeals, and ingratiation to influence leaders. Team leaders have less positional power, use cooperative strategies. ** Tactics used depend on the target for influence (subordinate, peer, superior) and the objective (e.g., assign task, get support, gain personal benefit)

What are the implications when the use of teams becomes a fad?

Team use and the benefits of teamwork have become a business fad and organizations now suffer from the subsequent problems of overuse. One result of the overly positive view of teamwork is that use of teams has expanded beyond the point where they are valuable (Allen & Hecht, 2004). They are used to solve every organizational problem, regardless of whether teams are an appropriate way to organize the work. This means that many teams operate in organizational contexts that are inappropriate for teamwork. The strong belief in the effectiveness of teams also leads to implementation of teams without the organizational changes needed to support the team (Charan & Useem, 2002). Managers implement teams, looking for benefits without considering the costs of training teams and other ensuing organizational changes

How does an organization provide a supportive context for teams?

Teams are more likely t o be successful in organizations with supportive organizational cultures. Supportive cultures encourage open communication and collaborative effort. Power and responsibility are given to teams so they can control their own actions. Although the use of teams can help change an organization's culture, it can be difficult to initiate change when limits are imposed by the existing culture.

What are the different bases of power?

Two types of power in an organization: 1. Personal or soft power, from an individual's characteristics and personality: --- Expert power, based in expertise --- Referent power, based in another's liking or admiration --- Informational power, based in knowledge or or information one has about a topic 2. Positional or hard power, based on formal position in the organization: ---Legitimate, based on acceptance of a person's authority --- Reward, based on the ability to reward or reinforce a behavior --- Coercive, based on ability to threaten or punish undesirable behavior

How does unequal power affect team interactions?

Unequal power in a team leads to more mistrust, less communication, and more social problems. Teams with powerful leaders have less communication and more autocratic decision making, reducing the quality of team decisions Unequal power often caused by status differences: -High status members talk more, address whole team, have lower opinions or others' communication, less willing to see others' perspective, less likely to listen - Team members communicate more with high status people and pay attention to what they say - Low status members talk less, don't state opinions if they differ - When high status people speak, others agree or say nothing - As a result high status people have more influence in team discussions, which does not lead to good decision making or satisfied team members Unequal status can have positive effects, such as managing conflict, but negative effects, such as feelings of inequality or increased competition

What are the different approaches to conflict resolution?

avoidance: ignores the issues or denies there is a problem accommodation: some members give up their position to be agreeable --loses unique ideas confrontation: act aggressively and try to win compromise: everyone "gives in" a little (balance) collaboration: search for solutions that satisfy everyone -- requires cooperativeness and respect for others' positions

Which approach to conflict resolution is best? Why?

collaboration is best: members search for alternative solution where everyone wins -- encourages creativity -- leads to greater commitment to decisions -- improves relationships among team members

How do teams respond to competitive versus cooperative rewards?

competitive: - Effective in motivating individual performance -Strong motivators especially for encouraging speed Cooperative: - Promote trust, cohesiveness, and mutual support--promote team performance - Coordinated tasks - Encourage discussion, collaboration, and info sharing--improve accuracy but will slow speed of performance - Encourage social loafing (by poor performers)

Why is lack of conflict a sign of a problem in a team?

could mean that the team has: - a strong/vicious leader that punishes people who disagrees ---> no one would offer other opinions and/or disagree with the leader - no care for the project that they are supposed to get done (don't want to improve) -----> everyone will just agree with the easiest and fastest way to get it done

What should a team do to create an integrative solution to a conflict?

focus attention on interests rather than positions developing rapport and trust between conflicted parties

What are health and unhealthy sources of conflict?

healthy sources: (focus on task issues) - legitimate differences in opinions about the team's task - differences in objectives and values of team members - differing beliefs about the motives and values of others - different expectations about the results of decisions unhealthy sources: (social factors) - competition over power, rewards, and resources - conflict between individual and team goals - poorly run team meetings - personal grudges from the past - faulty communications

What are the characteristics of supportive (2) and defensive (1) communication climates?

in response to perceived threats to one's self-esteem and shifts mental attention away from the message content and team tasks to instead defending oneself and distorting information. In the short term, this decreases team productivity and erodes cohesiveness. Long term: a defensive climate can lead to burnout and turnover the content of a message and yields increased cooperation and trust, which is essential for the development of psychological safety. Team members establish and maintain a supportive communication climate through choices of how they structure their communication.

How does the impact of a conflict vary depending on the type of conflict?

negative impact: - relationship conflict: distracts members from the task and consumes the emotional resources of the team - process conflict: people performing routine tasks have differences over how the team is managing the tasks or coordinating the role assignments of the members --> related to feelings of inequity among members positive impact: - task conflicts

Why is communication important in teams?

the transactional model of communication recognizes that people are both simultaneously senders and recipients of messages—both verbal and nonverbal feedback provided by a recipient continuously influences the message that a sender sends. These dynamics emphasize that not only what you communicate, but how you communicate is influenced by and influences the functioning of a team.

What are hidden agendas? How do they affect a team?

unspoken individual goals that conflict with overall team goals. They damage trust within the team, which reduces communication and makes conflicts more difficult to resolve.