chap 17 MGT

problem solving teams

A team set up to help eliminate a specified problem within the organization. The typical problem-solving team has 5 to 12 members and is formed to discuss ways to improve quality in all phases of the organization, to make organizational processes more efficient, or to improve the overall work environment. After the problem-solving team reaches a consensus, it makes recommendations to management about how to deal with the specified problem

examples of formal groups

Committees are the more traditional formal group; work teams have only recently gained acceptance and support in U.S. organizations

Cartwright and Lippitt list four additional reasons why managers should study groups:

Groups exist in all kinds of organizations. Groups inevitably form in all facets of organizational existence. Groups can cause either desirable or undesirable consequences within the organization. An understanding of groups can help managers increase the probability that the groups with which they work will cause desirable consequences within the organization

norming

Managers should encourage teams that have entered the norming stage to progress toward developing team norms and values that will be instrumental in building a successful organization. The process of determining what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is not acceptable within the team is critical to the work team's future productivity.

Adjourning

Normally, this stage occurs only in teams established to accomplish some special purpose in a limited time period. team members are generally disappointed that the team is being broken up because disbandment means the loss of personally satisfying relationships and/or an enjoyable work situation

A group qualifies as a team

only if its members focus on helping one another accomplish organizational objectives

special purpose teams

consists of workers and union representatives meeting together to collaborate on operational decisions at all levels. The aim is to create an atmosphere conducive to quality and productivity improvements.

formal group

group that exists within an organization by virtue of management decree to perform tasks that enhance the attainment of organizational objectives

Group

"any number of people who (1) interact with one another, (2) are psychologically aware of one another, and (3) perceive themselves to be a group. Groups are characterized by frequent communication among members over time and by a small enough size to permit each member to communicate with all other members on a face-to-face basis

a manager can raise the quality of committee discussions by

1. Rephrasing ideas already expressed 2. Bringing all members into active participation 3. Stimulating further thought by members

Committees are often used to

recruit new organization members.

cross-functional teams

work team composed of people from different functional areas of the organization—marketing, finance, human resources, and operations. teams established to choose and implement new technologies throughout an organization, teams formed to improve marketing effectiveness within the organization, and teams established to control product costs

stages for formal group development

1. the acceptance stage 2. The Communication and Decision-Making Stage- group members are better able to communicate frankly with one another 3. the group solidarity stage- members become more involved in group activities and cooperate rather than compete with one another. In addition, members find belonging to the group extremely satisfying and are committed to enhancing the group's overall success. 4. the group control stage- group members attempt to maximize the group's success by matching individual abilities with group activities and by assisting one another. Flexibility and informality usually characterize this stage.

team

group whose members influence one another toward the accomplishment of an organizational objective

groupthink 5 stages

1. The first stage, antecedents, describes what precursors are associated with the development of groupthink 2. The second stage, concurrence seeking, occurs when a group member agrees with the entire group's position even though the group member privately opposes the entire group's position 3. The third stage, symptoms of groupthink, occurs as group members feel pressured to conform and censor their own ideas. 4. The fourth stage, decision-making defects, occurs when group members fail to make effective decisions. 5. The fifth stage, poor decision outcomes, occurs when the group performs poorly

stages of team development

1. forming- members of the newly formed team become oriented to the team and acquainted with one another 2. storming- characterized by conflict and disagreement as team members become more assertive in clarifying their individual roles. 3. norming- characterized by agreement among team members on roles, rules, and acceptable behavior while working on the team. Conflicts generated during the storming stage are resolved in this stage. 4. performing- the team fully focuses on solving organizational problems and on meeting assigned challenges 5. adjourning- team is finishing its job and preparing to disband

informal groups are divided into two general types

1. interest group is an informal group that gains and maintains membership primarily because of a common concern that members have about a specific issue. 2. friendship group is an informal group that forms in organizations because of the personal affiliation members have with one another

kinds of formal groups

A command group is a formal group that is outlined in the chain of command on an organization chart. Command groups typically handle routine organizational activities. A task group is a formal group of organization members who interact with one another to accomplish most of the organization's nonroutine tasks. Although task groups are usually made up of members of the same organizational level, they can consist of people from different levels in the organizational hierarchy

committees

a group of individuals charged with performing a type of specific activity and is usually classified as a task group. From a managerial viewpoint, committees are established for four major reasons:9 To allow organization members to exchange ideas To generate suggestions and recommendations that can be offered to other organizational units To develop new ideas for solving existing organizational problems To assist in the development of organizational policies

work team

a task group used in organizations to achieve greater organizational flexibility to cope with rapid growth

self-managed teams

consist of 5 to 15 employees who work together to produce an entire product. Members learn all the tasks required to produce the product and rotate from job to job. Self-managed teams even take over managerial duties such as scheduling work and vacations and ordering materials

informal group

defined as a collection of individuals whose common work experiences result in the development of a system of interpersonal relations that extend beyond those established by management informal groups are not highly structured in procedure and, although generally they are not formally recognized by management, some organizations have seen the value of integrating informal groups into their corporate structure

forming

exploring issues related to the members' new job situations, such as what is expected of them, who has what kind of authority within the team, what kinds of people are team members, and what skills team members possess. The forming stage of team development is usually characterized by uncertainty and stress.

storming

he team seems to lack unity because members are continually challenging the way the team functions. To help the team progress beyond storming, managers should encourage team members to feel free to disagree with any team issues and to discuss their own views fully and honestly. Most of all, managers should urge team members to arrive at agreements that will help the team reach its objective(s).

performing

managers should regularly acknowledge the team's accomplishments because productive team behavior must be reinforced in order to enhance the probability that it will continue in the future.

Groupthink

mode of thinking that group members engage in when the desire for agreement so dominates the group that it overrides the need to appraise alternative solutions realistically

three types of teams commonly found in today's organizations

problem-solving teams, self-managed teams, and cross-functional teams.

self managed teams

team that plans, organizes, influences, and controls its own work situation with only minimal intervention and direction from management. creating work schedules, establishing work pace and breaks, developing vacation schedules, evaluating performance, determining the level of salary increases and rewards received by individual workers, and ordering materials to be used in the production process. responsible for whole tasks instead of parts