Chapter 13
The five stages of group and team development:
(1) Forming, (2) Storming, (3) Norming, (4) Performing, and (5) Adjourning.
Maybe the problem will go away
Avoiding
5-6 group of people
Optimal
Fewer resources Possibly less innovation Unfair work distribution
Small teams some disadvantages
Better Interaction Better Morale
Small teams two advantages
Cross-Functional Team:
Staffed with specialists pursuing a common objective.
The considerations in building a group into an effective team:
(1) Cooperation (2) Trust (3) Cohesiveness (4) Performance goals and feedback, (5) Motivation through mutual accountability, (6) Size, (7) Roles, (8) Norms, (9) Awareness of Groupthink.
Suggestions for managers when managing virtual workers:
(1) Take baby steps and manage by results, (2) State expectations, (3) Write it down, (4) Communicate, but be considerate, (5) Be aware of cultural differences, and (6) Meet regularly.
Conflict:
A process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.
Team:
A small group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.
Let's Do it your way
Accommodating
Norming:
Conflicts are resolved, close relationships develop, and unity and harmony emerge.
Continuous Improvement Team:
Consist of small groups of volunteers or workers and supervisors who meet intermittently and discuss workplace- and quality-related problems.
Task Role:
Consists of behavior that concentrates on getting the team's tasks done.
Maintenance Role:
Consists of behavior that fosters constructive relationships among team members.
Advice Teams:
Created to broaden the information base for managerial decisions.
Programmed Conflict:
Designed to elicit different opinions without inciting people's personal feelings.
Division of Labor:
Division of work into particular tasks that are assigned to particular workers.
Symptoms of Groupthink
Invulnerability, inherent morality, and stereotyping of opposition Rationalization and self-censorship Illusion of unanimity, peer pressure, and mindguards Groupthink versus "the wisdom of crowds"
Problem-Solving Team:
Knowledgeable workers who meet as a temporary team to solve a specific problem and then disband.
Less interaction Lower morale Social loafing
Large team disadvantages
10-16 members for more resources and division of labor
Large teams
Performing:
Members concentrate on solving problems and completing the assigned task.
Top-Management Team:
Members consist of the CEO, president, and top department heads and work to help the organization achieve its mission and goals.
Work Team:
Members engage in collective work requiring coordinated effort; purpose of team is advice, production, project, or action.
Virtual Team:
Members interact by computer network to collaborate on projects.
Adjourning:
Members prepare for disbandment.
Allow criticism Allow other perspectives
Preventing Groupthink
Social Loafing:
The tendency of people to exert less effort when working in groups than when working alone.
More resources Division of Labor
Large team advantages
Devil's Advocacy:
The process of assigning someone to play the role of critic.
Group Cohesiveness:
A "we" feeling binding group members together.
Groupthink:
A cohesive group's blind unwillingness to consider alternatives.
Formal Group:
A group established to do something productive for the organization and headed by a leader.
Informal Group:
A group formed by people seeking friendship and has no officially appointed leader, although a leader may emerge from the members.
Constructive Conflict:
Benefits the main purpose of the organization and serves its interests.
Storming:
Characterized by the emergence of individual personalities and roles and conflicts within the group.
Multicultural Conflicts
Clashes between cultures
Intergroup Conflicts
Clashes between work groups, teams, and departments
Let's Cooperate to reach a win-win solution that benefits both of us
Collaborating
Let's Split the difference
Compromising
Dysfunctional Conflict (negative conflict)
Conflict that hinders the organization's performance or threatens its interests
Negative Conflict:
Conflict that hinders the organization's performance or threatens its interests.
You have to do it my way
Forcing
Norms:
General guidelines or rules of behavior that most group or team members follow.
Self-Managed Team:
Groups of workers who are given administrative oversight for their task domains.
Personality Conflict:
Interpersonal opposition based on personal dislike, disagreement, or differing styles.
Trust
Reciprocal faith in others' intentions and behaviors
Production Teams:
Responsible for performing day-to-day operations.
2-9 Members for better interaction and morale
Small teams
Roles:
Socially determined expectations of how individuals should behave in a specific position.
Four devices are used to stimulate constructive conflict
Spur Competition Among Employees Change the organization's culture and procedures Bring in outsiders for new perspectives Use programmed conflict: Devil's Advocacy and Dialectic Method
Forming:
The process of getting oriented and getting acquainted.
Dialectic Method:
The process of having two people or groups play opposing roles in a debate in order to better understand a proposal.
Reduction in alternative ideas Limiting of other information
The results of groupthink: decision-making defects
Cohesiveness:
The tendency of a group or team to stick together.
Group:
Two or more freely interacting individuals who share collective norms, share collective goals, and have a common identity.
Cooperating
When their efforts are systematically integrated to achieve a collective objective
Functional Conflict (constructive or cooperative conflict)
Which benefits the main purposes of the organization and serves its interests
To help the group service To clarify role expectations To help individuals avoid embarrassing situations To emphasize the group's important values and identity
Why Norms are enforced: Four Reasons
Increased productivity Increased speed Reduced costs Improved quality Reduced destructive internal competition Improved workplace cohesiveness
Why teamwork is important
Action Teams:
Work to accomplish tasks that require people with (1) specialized training and (2) a high degree of coordination.
Project Teams:
Work to do creative problem solving, often by applying the specialized knowledge of members of a cross-functional team.