Class 19
Team Conflict
- Arises from disagreement over team goals - Reduced by using cognitive conflict to address work problems in a manner where it minimizes occurrences of affective conflict
Advantages of Teams
- increase customer satisfaction - improve product and service quality - increase speed and efficiency in product development - increase job satisfaction - share the benefits of group decision making
Greater team size:
-Poses the risk of minority domination -Increase incidences of social loafing
Disadvantages to Team Norms
Negative norms strongly influenced team members to engage in these negative behaviors
De-forming
a reversal of the forming stage, in which team members position themselves to control pieces of the team, avoid each other, and isolate themselves from team leaders
De-norming
a reversal of the norming stage, in which team performance begins to decline as the size, scope, goal, or members of the team change
De-storming
a reversal of the storming phase, in which the team's comfort level decreases, team cohesion weakens, and angry emotions and conflict may flare
Work Teams
a small number of people with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for pursuing a common purpose, achieving performance goals, and improving interdependent work processes. Helps firms respond to specific problems and challenges
Cross-functional team
a team composed of employees from different functional areas of the organization -Often used in conjunction with matrix and product organizational structures
Virtual team
a team composed of geographically and/or organizationally dispersed coworkers who use telecommunication and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task -Highly flexible and often temporary
Project team
a team created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time
Self-managing team
a team that manages and controls all of the major tasks of producing a product or service
Storming
the second stage of development, characterized by conflict and disagreement, in which team members disagree over what the team should do and how it should do it
social loafing
the tendency for people in a group to exert less effort when pooling their efforts toward attaining a common goal than when individually accountable
Norming
the third stage of team development, in which team members begin to settle into their roles, group cohesion grows, and positive team norms develop
Work Team Characteristics
to make teams an effective part of organizations, managers need to understand the characteristics of work teams -Team Norms -Team Cohesiveness -Team Size -Team Conflict
Classification of teams based on autonomy
traditional work groups, employee involvement teams, semi-autonomous work groups, self-managing teams, and self-designing teams
Cross-training
training team members to do all or most of the jobs performed by the other team members
Special Kinds of Teams
Cross-functional teams Virtual teams Project teams
Disadvantages of group decision making
-groupthink -minority domination -lack of feeling accountable for team decisions and actions
Disadvantages of Teams
-not a guarantee of positive outcomes -initial high turnover -social loafing
When to use teams
-there is a clear, engaging reason or purpose -the job can't be done unless people work together -rewards can be provided for teamwork and team performance -ample resources are available
When not to use teams
-there isn't a clear, engaging reason or purpose -the job can be done by people working independently -rewards are provided for individual effort and performance -the necessary resources are not available
Tips for Managing Virtual Teams
1. Establish clear expectations for communication, availability during offices hours, and frequency of check-ins. 2. Establish clear goals and milestones to help remote workers stay on track and accountable to the team. 3. Help team members set clear boundaries between work and family spaces. 4. Assign employees who have many outside obligations to teams whose members mostly have few nonwork obligations. 5. Ensure that team members have access to technology tools such as teleconferencing, file-sharing services, online meeting services, and collaboration portals. 6. Facilitate face-to-face communication with video conferencing or by requiring members of remote teams to work on-site several days each month. 7. Ensure the task is meaningful to the team and the company. 8. Solicit volunteers as much as possible
Traditional work group
a group composed of two or more people who work together to achieve a shared goal
Affective (A-type) Conflict
Emotional reactions that occur due to personal disagreements
Team Size
For most teams, the right size is between 6-9 members -Should be small enough for members to get to know each other -Provides each member with the opportunity to contribute
Semiautonomous work group
a group that has the authority to make decisions and solve problems related to the major tasks of producing a product or service
Team Development Reversals
Without effective management, team performance may begin to decline as it passes through these stages -De-norming -De-storming -De-forming
Performing
the fourth and final stage of team development, in which performance improves because the team has matured into an effective, fully functioning team
Team Cohesiveness
the extent to which team members are attracted to a team and motivated to remain in it Promoted by -Ensuring that all team members are present at team activities and meetings -Creating additional opportunities for task interdependence -Engaging in non work activities -Helping employees feel they are apart of the organization
Forming
the first stage of team development, in which team members meet each other, form initial impressions, and begin to establish team norms
Team norms
informally agreed-on standards that regulate team behavior -Let team members know expectations -Developed by observing nearby team members -Powerful influences that regulate the everyday actions and allow teams to function effectively
Groupthink
members feel the pressure not to disagree with each other
Employee involvement team
team that provides advice or makes suggestions to management concerning specific issues
Cognitive (C-type) Conflict
focuses on problem-related differences of opinion
Stages of team development
forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
Minority domination
one or two people dominate team discussions