Chapter 8 Business Test
relationship-building roles
-Supporting -Harmonizing -Tension relieving -Confronting -Energizing -Developing -Consensus building -Empathizing
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Memos are effective at conveying fairly detailed information.
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Perhaps most importantly, when alert managers notice that the grapevine is particularly active, they tend to reach a sensible twofold conclusion: 1. The organization's formal lines of communication aren't working as well as they should be. 2. The best way to minimize informal communication and its potential damage is to provide better formal communication from the outset—or, failing that, to provide whatever formal communication will counteract misinformation as thoroughly as possible.
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every team faces two basic challenges: 1. Accomplishing its assigned task 2. Maintaining or improving group cohesiveness
Cultural barriers
sometimes called cultural filters, are the barriers that result from differences among people of different cultures
relationship-building role
When you challenge unmotivated behavior or help other team members understand their roles, you're performing a _________ and addressing challenge number two—maintaining or improving group cohesiveness. This type of role includes just about every activity that improves team "chemistry," from confronting to empathizing.
barriers
anything that prevents people from communicating as effectively as possible.
Internal communication
is shared by people at all levels within a company.
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nonverbal- these cues are often better at telling you what's on a person's mind than what the person actually says.
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the ability to communicate well topped the list of skills that business recruiters want in potential hires
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the difficulty of maintaining a high level of motivation is the chief cause of frustration among members of teams
communication
the process of transferring information from a sender to a receiver.
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you'll be a member of a team more often than a leader. Team members, however, can have as much impact on a team's success as its leaders.
nonverbal communication
—"nonword" messages communicated through facial expressions, posture, gestures, and tone of voice.
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(1) Teams are most effective when there's a good balance between task facilitation and relationship building; (2) it's hard for any given member to perform both types of roles, as some people are better at focusing on tasks and others on relationships; and (3) overplaying any facet of any role can easily become counterproductive
virtual teams
(types of teams) geographically dispersed members interact electronically in the process of pursuing a common goal
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(types of teams) Committees and task forces, both of which are dedicated to specific issues or tasks, are often cross-functional teams. Problem-solving teams, which are created to study such issues as improving quality or reducing waste, may be either intradepartmental or cross-functional
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(types of teams) Needless to say, not every self-managed team enjoys the same degree of autonomy
Self-managing teams (also known as self-directed or self-regulating teams)
(types of teams) have considerable autonomy. They are usually small and often absorb activities that were once performed by traditional supervisors. A manager or team leader may determine overall goals, but the members of the self-managing team control the activities needed to achieve the goals, such as planning and scheduling work, sharing tasks, meeting quality standards, and handling day-to-day operations. (whole foods)
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(types of teams) some are more autonomous than others—less accountable to those higher up in the organization
cross-functional teams
(types of teams) teams that cut across an organization's functional areas (operations, marketing, finance, and so on). A ___________ is designed to take advantage of the special expertise of members drawn from different functional areas of the company (product development at Nike)
manager-led team
(types of teams) the manager is the team leader and is in charge of setting team goals, assigning tasks, and monitoring the team's performance. The individual team members have relatively little autonomy. (football manager/coach and players)
Task-facilitating Roles
-Direction giving -Information seeking -Information giving -Elaborating -Urging -Monitoring -Process analyzing -Reality testing -Enforcing -Summarizing
Why teams are better
-team-based operations are 30 percent more productive than conventional operations. -factories organized around team activities are 40 percent more productive than traditionally organized factories. -teams have cut case-handling time from twenty-seven to two days and virtually eliminated service complaints. -teams reduced service errors (lost packages, incorrect bills) by 13 percent in the first year
five key characteristics of work teams
1. Teams are accountable for achieving specific common goals. Members are collectively responsible for achieving team goals, and if they succeed, they're rewarded collectively. 2. Teams function interdependently. Members cannot achieve goals independently and must rely on each other for information, input, and expertise. 3. Teams are stable. Teams remain intact long enough to finish their assigned tasks, and each member remains on board long enough to get to know every other member. 4. Teams have authority. Teams possess the decision-making power to pursue their goals and to manage the activities through which they complete their assignments. 5. Teams operate in a social context. Teams are assembled to do specific work for larger organizations and have the advantage of access to resources available from other areas of their organizations. Why
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A leader must help members develop the attitudes and behavior that contribute to team success: interdependence, collective responsibility, shared commitment, and so forth.
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About 80 percent of top executives say that learning to listen is the most important skill in getting things done in the workplace
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About 5 to 10 percent of your time can be spent on the opening. The body covers the bulk of the material and consumes about 80 to 85 percent of your time. Your close, which uses about 5 to 10 percent of your time... It has been found that an audience can absorb only about four to six points.
disadvantages
As information seeps downward, for instance, it tends to lose some of its original clarity and often becomes distorted or downright wrong. most people who are responsible for using downward communication don't like delivering bad news. s a result, bad news—including bad news that happens to be important news—is often ignored or disguised. The same thing may happen when bad news—say, a negative status report—must be sent upward. while horizontal flows are valuable for promoting cooperation, they can also be used to engage in conflict—for instance, between two departments competing for the same organizational resources.
Blocking strategies
Dominate- Talk as much as possible; interrupt and interject Overanalyze- Split hairs and belabor every detail Stall- Frustrate efforts to come to conclusions: decline to agree, sidetrack the discussion, rehash old ideas Remain passive- Stay on the fringe; keep interaction to a minimum; wait for others to take on work Overgeneralize- Blow things out of proportion; float unfounded conclusions Find fault- Criticize and withhold credit whenever possible Make premature decisions- Rush to conclusions before goals are set, information is shared, or problems are clarified Present opinions as facts- Refuse to seek factual support for ideas that you personally favor Reject- Object to ideas offered by people who tend to disagree with you Pull rank- Use status or title to push through ideas, rather than seek consensus on their value Resist- Throw up roadblocks to progress; look on the negative side Deflect- Refuse to stay on topic; focus on minor points rather than main points
advantages
Downward communication, for example, is appropriate for giving instructions or directions—telling people what to do. upward communication usually provides managers with information that they need for making decisions, but it's also the vehicle for new ideas, suggestions, and complaints. Horizontal communication supports efforts to coordinate tasks and otherwise help people work together.
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Every member of the team should know how to recognize blocking behavior. If teams don't confront dysfunctional members, they can destroy morale, hamper consensus building, create conflict, and hinder progress.
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Hand in hand with the ability to influence is the ability to gain and keep the trust of team members. People aren't likely to be influenced by a leader whom they perceive as dishonest or selfishly motivated.
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Here are a few helpful hints to get you started on the right track (memos): • The format should follow the format of this memo. Note the guide headings—"TO," "FROM," "DATE," and "RE" (which, by the way, stands for "regarding" or "reference"). We also include a line across the page to signal the beginning of the body of the memo. • Keep paragraphs short and to the point. The trick is being concise yet complete—summarizing effectively. Paragraphs should be single-spaced, flush against the left margin, and separated by a single blank line. • Accent or highlight major points. Use underlining, bullets, or bold type for desired effect (taking care not to overdo it). • Use short headings to distinguish and highlight vital information. Headings keep things organized, provide structure, and make for smooth reading. Headings (and, as appropriate, subheadings) are an absolute must. • Your title (the "Re" line) should reflect the contents of your memo: It should let the reader know why he or she should read it. Keep the title short—a phrase of a few words, not a sentence. • Be persuasive and convincing in your narrative. You have limited space in which to get your key points across. State your positions clearly. And again, be concise (a memo is not a term paper). • If you have any additional information in the form of exhibits—charts, tables, illustrations, and so forth—put them in an attachment. Label each item "Exhibit 1," "Exhibit 2," and the like. Give each one a title, and be sure to reference them in your narrative ("As shown in Exhibit 1, the annual growth rate in sales has dropped from double-digit to single-digit levels"). • Finally, staple multiple pages for submission. Needless to say, be sure to proofread for correct spelling and punctuation. Don't scribble in changes by hand: They're sloppy and leave a bad impression.
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If you do use PowerPoint slides, follow some simple (but important) rules (Iasted, 2011): • Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only. • Don't crowd your slide: include at most four to five points per slide. • Use at least an eighteen-point font (so that it can be seen from the back of the room). • Use a color font that contrasts with the background (for example, blue font on white background). • Use graphs rather than just words. • Proof your slides and use spell check.
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In particular, every team requires some mixture of three sets of skills: • Technical skills. Because teams must perform certain tasks, they need people with the skills to perform them. For example, if your project calls for a lot of math work, it's good to have someone with the necessary quantitative skills. • Decision-making and problem-solving skills. Because every task is subject to problems, and because handling every problem means deciding on the best solution, it's good to have members who are skilled in identifying problems, evaluating alternative solutions, and deciding on the best options. • Interpersonal skills. Because teams are composed of people, and because people need direction and motivation and depend on communication, every group benefits from members who know how to listen, provide feedback, and smooth ruffled feathers. The same people are usually good at communicating the team's goals and needs to outsiders.
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In a practical sense, what can a manager—say, the leader of a long-term product-development team—do to provide better communication? One manager suggests at least three specific responses (Watson, 2003): 1. Go to your supervisor or another senior manager and try to find out as much as you can about the organization's real plans. 2. Ask a senior manager or a human resources representative to meet with your team and address members' concerns with accurate feedback. 3. Make it a priority to keep channels open—both between yourself and your team members and between team members and the human resources department.
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In preparing and delivering your presentation, you can follow a four step process (plan, prepare, practice, and present)
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It might be easier to write your presentation if you divide it into three sections: opening, body, close.
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Plan your presentation based on your purpose and the knowledge level and interest of your audience
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Research shows that businesses benefit in several ways when they're able to foster effective communication among employees: • Decisions are more convincing and certain, and problem solving is faster. • Warning signs of potential problems appear earlier. • Workflow moves more smoothly and productivity increases. • Business relationships are stronger. • Marketing messages are more persuasive. • The company's professional image is enhanced. • Employee satisfaction goes up and turnover goes down. • The firm and its investors enjoy better financial results.
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Sometimes it's not what you say or how you say it that matters, but what your body language communicates about you and how you feel.
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Task facilitators are especially valuable when assignments aren't clear or when progress is too slow. Moreover, every team needs people who recognize when a little task facilitation is called for.
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Team leaders are often chosen from the ranks of successful supervisors—first-line managers
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The more "divisionalized" an organization becomes, the more likely it will be to encounter communication barriers.
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The principle of group cohesiveness, in other words, is based on the simple idea that groups are most effective when their members like being members of the group
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The skill ranked highest in importance was the use of e-mails, including the ability to adapt messages to different receivers or compose persuasive messages when necessary. The ability to make presentations (with visuals) ranked second in importance. Report writing came next.
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There's such a thing as too much cohesiveness. (If its members get too wrapped up in more immediate team goals, the whole team may lose sight of the larger organizational goals toward which it's supposed to be working.)
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While technical skills will be essential in your getting hired into an organization, your team skills will play a significant role in your ability to advance.
team
a group of people with complementary skills who work together to achieve a specific goal
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a working group go about their jobs independently and meet primarily to share information. Teams, by contrast, are responsible for achieving specific common goals, and they're generally empowered to make the decisions needed to complete their authorized tasks.
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ability in using e-mail is a nearly universal requirement. The ability to make presentations (with visuals) also ranks highly.
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an informal network is an extremely important communication channel. Why? For the simple reason that it's typically widespread and can rarely be prevented, even if it's not officially sanctioned by the company. Travels a lot faster than official information.
blocking roles
consist of behavior that inhibits either team performance or that of individual members.
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factors may contribute to team cohesiveness 1. Size. The bigger the team, the less satisfied members tend to be. When teams get too large, members find it harder to interact closely with other members; a few members tend to dominate team activities, and conflict becomes more likely. 2. Similarity. People usually get along better with people like themselves, and teams are generally more cohesive when members perceive fellow members as people who share their own attitudes and experience. 3. Success. When teams are successful, members are satisfied, and other people are more likely to be attracted to their teams. 4. Exclusiveness. The harder it is to get into a group, the happier the people who are already in it. Status (the extent to which outsiders look up to a team, as well as the perks that come with membership) also increases members' satisfaction. 5. Competition. Members value membership more highly when they're motivated to achieve common goals—especially when those goals mean outperforming other teams.
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four common obstacles to success in introducing teams into an organization • Unwillingness to cooperate. Failure to cooperate can occur when members don't or won't commit to a common goal or set of activities. What if, for example, half the members of a product-development team want to create a brand-new product and half want to improve an existing product? The entire team may get stuck on this point of contention for weeks or even months. • Lack of managerial support. Every team requires organizational resources to achieve its goals, and if management isn't willing to commit the needed resources—say, funding or key personnel—a team will probably fall short of those goals. • Failure of managers to delegate authority. Team leaders are often chosen from the ranks of successful supervisors—first-line managers who, as we saw in Chapter 6 "Managing for Business Success", give instructions on a day-to-day basis and expect to have them carried out. This approach to workplace activities may not work very well in leading a team—a position in which success depends on building a consensus and letting people make their own decisions. • Failure of teams to cooperate. If you're on a workplace team, your employer probably depends on teams to perform much of the organization's work and meet many of its goals. In other words, it is, to some extent, a team-based organization, and as such, reaching its overall goals requires a high level of cooperation among teams (Thompson, 2008). When teams can't agree on mutual goals (or when they duplicate efforts), neither the teams nor the organization is likely to meet with much success.
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how to survive team projects in college: Draw up a team charter. At the beginning of the project, draw up a team charter (or contract) that includes the goals of the group; ways to ensure that each team member's ideas are considered and respected; when and where your group will meet; what happens if a team member skips meetings or doesn't do his or her 334 • EXPLORING BUSINESS share of the work; how conflicts will be resolved. • Contribute your ideas. Share your ideas with your group; they might be valuable to the group. The worst that could happen is that they won't be used (which is what would happen if you kept quiet). • Never miss a meeting. Pick a weekly meeting time and write it into your schedule as if it were a class. Never skip it. And make your meetings productive. • Be considerate of each other. Be patient, listen to everyone, communicate frequently, involve everyone in decision making, don't think you're always right, be positive, avoid infighting, build trust. • Create a process for resolving conflict. Do this before conflict arises. Set up rules to help the group decide whether the conflict is constructive, whether it's personal, or whether it arises because someone won't pull his or her weight. Decide, as a group, how conflict will be handled. • Use the strengths of each team member. Some students are good researchers, others are good writers, others have strong problem-solving or computer skills, while others are good at generating ideas. Don't have your writer do the research and your researcher do the writing. Not only would the team not be using its resources wisely, but two team members will be frustrated because they're not using their strengths. • Don't do all the work yourself. Work with your team to get the work done. The project output is not as important as the experience of working in a team. • Set deadlines. Don't leave everything to the end; divide up tasks, hold team members accountable, and set intermediary deadlines for each team member to get his or her work done. Work together to be sure the project is in on time and in good shape.
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no team needs to possess all 8.3 THE TEAM AND ITS MEMBERS • 331 these skills—never mind the right balance of them—from day one. In many cases, a team gains certain skills only when members volunteer for certain tasks and perfect their skills in the process of performing them. For the same reason, effective teamwork develops over time as team members learn how to handle various team-based tasks. In a sense, teamwork is always work in progress.
External communication
occurs between parties inside a company and parties outside the company, such as suppliers, customers, and investors.
group cohesiveness
refers to the attractiveness of a team to its members.
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several factors that tend to contribute to effective teamwork: • Members depend on each other. When team members rely on each other to get the job done, team productivity and efficiency are high. • Members trust one another. Teamwork is more effective when members trust each other. • Members work better together than individually. When team members perform better as a group than alone, collective performance exceeds individual performance. • Members become boosters. When each member is encouraged by other team members to do his or her best, collective results improve. • Team members enjoy being on the team. The more that team members derive satisfaction from being on the team, the more committed they become. • Leadership rotates. Teams function effectively when leadership responsibility is shared over time.
groupthink
the tendency to conform to group pressure in making decisions, while failing to think critically or to consider outside influences (launched challenger anyways)
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tips for writing effective e-mail messages (Jerz & Bauer, 2011): 1. Write a meaningful subject line. Recipients use the subject line to decide whether to open or delete a message and sometimes where to store it. Write a subject line that describes the content. 2. Keep the message focused. Avoid including multiple messages or requests in one e-mail. Try to focus on only one topic. Use standard capitalization and spelling; none of this "thx 4 ur help 2day ur gr8." 3. Avoid attachments. Extract the relevant text from a large file and ask the recipient if he or she wants to see the full document. 4. Identify yourself clearly. Identify yourself in the first few lines—otherwise your message might be deleted quickly. 5. Be kind. Don't flame. Avoid writing e-mails when you are upset. Always think before you hit the "send" 356 button. Once it's gone, you can't get it back. If you're mad, write the e-mail, but don't send it. Keep it in your "save" or "draft" folder and reread it the next day. 6. Proofread. Use spell check and read the memo carefully before sending it. 7. Don't assume privacy. Don't send anything you wouldn't want posted on the office bulletin board (with your name on it). Remember, employers can read your e-mails! 8. Distinguish between formal and informal situations. When writing to a coworker with whom you are friends, you can be less formal than when you are writing to your manager or a client. 9. Respond promptly. Get back quickly to the person who sent you the e-mail. If you're too busy to answer, let the person know you got the message and will respond as soon as you can. 10. Show respect and restraint. Watch out: Don't use the "reply to all" button in error. Don't forward an email before getting permission from the sender.
