Chapter 10: Managing work groups and work teams

What makes a team effective?

- Teams differ in form and structure - Objective measures in a teams productivity - Managers/ leaders rating of team performance - Member satisfactions

drawbacks of global teams

- disliking team members - mistrusting team members - stereotyping - communication problems - stress and tension

Large groups

12 people or more

Small groups

5-7 people

Status systems within a group behavior

A prestige grading, position, or rank with any group and then important factor in understanding behavior

informal team

A working group, generally not intended to be permanent, formed by team members to accomplish self-defined tasks and objectives. More tense and relaxed teams and social groups

Norms within a group behavior

Acceptable standard shared by a groups members

Conformity within a group behavior

Adjusting one's behavior to align with a groups norms

Roles within group behavior

Behavior pattern is expected of someone who occupies a given position in a social unit

Small groups are better at

completing tasks faster, figuring out what to do, and getting the job done

What are the five stages of development

forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning

Work teams

groups whose members work intensely on a specific, common goal using their positive synergy, individual and mutual accountability, and complementary skills

formal team

officially recognized and supported by the organization defined goals and organizational structure

Large groups are better at

problem solving, finding facts, gaining diverse input

virtual teams

teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal

Global teams

teams with members from different countries

adjourning stage

the final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up activities rather than task performance

performing stage

the fourth stage of group development when the group is fully functional and works on group task

Work groups

the groups that share resources and coordinate efforts to help members better perform their individual jobs

Synergy

the power that results from the combination of two or more forces

norming stage

the third stage in group development, characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness

What is a group?

two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve specific goals

forming stage

when team members first get to know each other and form initial opinions about other members

self-managed teams

work groups that supervise themselves

Teams almost always outperform employees working individually

False. Not all the time

Work teams have a neutral negative synergy while work groups have a positive synergy.

False: it is the other way around. Work teams - positive synergy Work groups - neutral (sometimes negative)

Benefits of global teams

Greater diversity of ideas, limited groupthink, increased attention on understanding others' ideas, perspectives, etc

Group size within a group behavior

Group size affects the groups behavior, but the effect depends on what criteria you are using

Drawbacks of large groups

Individual productivity of each group member declines as the group expands this is known as social loafing

How are groups turned into effective teams?

Organizations turn their individual employees and group them into work teams

What are the different types of work teams?

Problem solving, self managed, cross functional, and virtual

Major concepts of group behaviors

Roles, Norms, conformity, status system, group size, and group cohesiveness

A problem faced with managing global teams is?

Stereotyping, resentment overcome this by getting training

Group cohesiveness within a group behavior

The degree to which members are attracted to one another and share groups goals

storming stage

The stage that occurs when team members experience conflicts about interpersonal issues and differences in perspectives.

What issues do managers face in managing teams

They face the issue of potentially managing global teams in with understanding when teams are not the answer

Groups that experience a lot of internal disagreement and lack cooperation are less effective than our groups in which individuals generally agree cooperate and like each other.

True

Highly cohesive groups are more effective than those with less cohesiveness

True

Most organizations have common norms which typically focus on: Effort performance and dress code

True

Nothing guarantees positive synergy

True

Team skills can be learned

True

We all want to be accepted by a group to which we belong, making us susceptible to conformity pressures.

True

An effective team has a common plan and purpose

True. Also needs specific goals and needs a team efficacy so they believe they are doing well and succeeding

7-12 people is the wiggle room you have between a small group and a large group

True. It is said the group needs to be small enough to be fed by two large pizzas

Work Groups vs. Work Teams

WG: have no need to work collectively WT: looking at specific count, and specific common goals, accountable for actions, and have complementary skills

problem-solving team

a team from the same department or functional area that's involved in efforts to improve work activities or to solve specific problems. - lack the authority to implement their decisions

cross-functional team

a work team composed of individuals from various functional specialties