Management Study Guide: Effective Teamwork

Trust

A psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based on positive expectations of the intent or behavior of another person

Team Identity

All members know one another, clarified team vision, defined team procedures, help everyone become comfortable with one another. This helps everyone support one another and achieve the singular team goal

Task Interdependence

Allows teams to complete difficult tasks by working together and collaborating

Conflict

An emotional or cognitive response that occurs when interests, perspectives, and behaviors of one individual or groups explicitly differ from those of another individual or groups

Identification-Based Trust

Based on common mental models and values; increases with person's social identity with the team; high level of trust

Calculus-Based Trust

Based on deterrence; fragile and limited potential because dependent on punishment; low level of trust

Work Groups

Clearly focused leader, individual accountability, group's purpose is same as organization's mission, characterized by straightforward and independent tasks, individual work products, predetermined work structure

Vertical Teams

Composed of a manager and his or her subordinates in the formal chain or command, usually in one functional department (finance or human resources, for instance); also known as functional teams

Horizontal Teams

Composed of employees from about the same hierarchical level but from several different departments in the organization. This allows for a multi-perspective approach to be utilized for problem solving purposes; also known as cross-functional teams

Cohesive Teams

Conflict may be suppressed within these types of teams

Accommodating

Conflict response style that should be used when an issue is more important to the other party, when a person seeks to build some social capital for the future, or when it is important to preserve friendly relationships

Team Goals

Desired and valued future towards which team members are working; become the foundation of the team's vision thus motivating the team while providing a common purpose and direction

Task Conflict

Differences in ideas, opinions, and viewpoints about task content; can be constructive if well managed; especially important when making important decision, solving complex problems; also known as substantive conflict

Process Conflict

Disagreement on how to work together as a team or approach a task; often associated with who is doing what, punctuality issues, timing; can be minimized by agreeing to rules ahead of time (planning)

Enhance Ability of Team Members to Work Together in the Future

Done by building a shared sense of purpose and a strong level of mutual trust; teams help to expand an individual's personal network of relationships in the organization

Pooled Interdependence

Each organization department or business unit performs completely separate functions. While departments may not directly interact and do not directly depend on each other in the polled interdependence model, each does contribute individual pieces to the same overall puzzle

Self-Directed Teams

Empower workers by giving every team member authority and responsibility for team building and team progress. Team-building and decision-making roles have been assigned to different team members, with each responsible for participating in processes that help the team progress; teams must encourage individual responsibility, clarity of roles, and teamwork among team members to be effective

Avoidance

Evading conflict because disagreements are perceived to create tension. Interpersonal problems do not get resolved, which causes long-term frustration; should be utilized when the issue is trivial or when a delay will enable the individual to gather more information or will enable both sides to cool down

Team Norms

Expected team behaviors

Avoidance, Accommodating, Compromising, Forcing, Collaborating

Five different conflict response styles

Meeting, Working, Communication, Leadership, Consideration

Five groups of team norms

Contribute to Team Members' Satisfaction

Individuals are more likely to feel connected to the team and to contribute to its mission if they believe that the experience will enhance their personal development and support the overall mission of the organization

Departmental Teams

Members have similar or complimentary skills and are located in the same unit of functional structure; minimal task interdependence

Virtual Teams

Members operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries, similar to geographically distributed teams

Skunkworks

Multi-skilled entities usually located away from the organization and are relatively free of its hierarchy; often initiated by an entrepreneurial team leader who borrows people and resources to create a product or develop a service

Sequential Interdependence

Occurs when one unit in the overall process produces an output necessary for the performance by the next unit; an assembly line and leads to efficient operations

Social Loafing

Occurs when team members disengage from the team process and fail to contribute to the team's recommendation or other deliverable; occurs when people exert less effort when working in groups than when working alone

Emotional/Interpersonal/Relational Conflict

Often based on accusation targeted personality ("you are..."); often due to people taking task related comments personally and feeling threatened/attacked; dynamics of blame, disrespect, offense; tends to be very destructive as coworkers experiencing interpersonal tension tend to be less satisfied with the group in which they are working and tend to feel more negative about their group when they dislike or are disliked by others in the group

Reciprocal Interdependence

Output of one department becomes the input of another, and is cyclical; at highest level of interaction these models are the most complex to manage as one unit can change the rules and affect everyone at any time

Compromising

Reach an agreement quickly because prolonged conflicts can distract people from their work and cause bitter feelings. Using this approach can result in less-effective solutions; should be used when goals of both sides are equally important or when a temporary, expedient solution is needed

Forcing

Reach an agreement that satisfies your needs rather than the needs of the other person because staying committed to an issue is more important than upsetting someone else; should be used when faced with a crisis or a need to enact an unpopular decision

Functional Roles

Rely on the skills and experiences that we bring to the project or problem in hand

Team

Shared leadership roles, individual and mutual accountability, purpose is specific to the team, characterized by complex and independent tasks, collective work products, open-ended discussions and problem solving are encouraged; A group of two or more people with complementary skills who are committed to working together to achieve a specific objective

Collaborating

Solve a problem together because the positions of both individuals involved are perceived as equally important. Often this approach is the only approach that will resolve a problem because both parties are committed to the solution and are satisfied that they have been treated fairly; should be used when both parties' views are too important to compromise and when commitment from both sides is needed

Working Norms

Standards, deadlines, distribution of work, work review process, and accountability (addressing those who do not follow through on their commitments

Tuckman's Model of Team Development

States that teams often undergo a five-stage process of group development that includes forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. These stages tend to correspond with the five steps involved in a team's decision-making process

Faultlines

Subgroups or coalitions that emerge naturally within teams, typically along various demographic lines; split the teams into subgroups based on shared demographic characteristics; when these emerge, subgroups rarely collaborate with other subgroups, instead tending to share knowledge only within their subgroup

Manager-Led Teams

Teams in which the manager acts as the team leader. The manager is responsible for monitoring and managing performance processes and reporting the team's progress to the rest of the organization. These may be either functional (vertical) teams or cross-functional (horizontal) teams; Massachusetts General Hospital Example

Geographically Distributed Teams

Teams that are made up of geographically or organizationally dispersed members who rely heavily on electronic tools such as e-mail, fax, voicemail, telephone, and videoconferencing to interact with one another. Team members may also have different cultural backgrounds and styles of work that impeded open communication

Project Teams/Task Force

Teams that may be manager-led or self directed but can be differentiated from other teams in that they are designed to undertake special projects that are outside the scope of normal business activity; short duration; task oriented and operationally focused; Motorola RAZR example

Collocated Teams

Teams that use a significant amount of face-to-face communication to make operating decisions. They operate in close proximity to one another, have a good deal of social interaction, and give one another quick feedback on the team's progress. This closeness allows team members feel more connected to each other (can view other team members' facial expressions, physical appearances, and body language); Whole Foods Example

Team Roles

Tend to be based on our personality or preferred style of action

Specific, Difficult, and Shared

The characteristics of effective team goals

Team Cohesiveness

The degree of attraction people feel toward a team and their motivation to remain members; influenced by member similarity, team size, member interaction, somewhat difficult entry, team success, external competition and challenges

Superordinate Goals

The overlying goals that are achieved by the entire team

Adjourning

The stage that occurs when a team has completed its task and the team is disbanded

Performing

The stage that occurs when team members adopt and play roles that enhance the activities of the group; team members have bridged their differences in support of completing the task

Forming

The stage that occurs when team members define the task that is to be done and how that task is to be accomplished, setting the ground rules for the team

Storming

The stage that occurs when team members experience conflicts about interpersonal issues and differences in perspective; team members can become polarized around interpersonal issues, which are heightened by high levels of personal conflict

Norming

The stage that occurs when team members uncover ways to create new standards that encourage more collaborative behavior; team members begin to figure out ways to create new standards that encourage more collaborative behavior; opinions are shared, and as a result, team members accept the differences of fellow group members and group cohesion and harmony are established

Produce Meaningful Results

The team's output should meet or exceed the standards of quantity, quality, and timeliness expected by the team's clients; every member's personal agenda is subservient to the collective goal

Supportive Team Norms

These can hold relationship conflict at bay during constructive debates

Creative Teams

To create something new, to innovate

Tactical Teams

To execute and operationalize well-defined plans

Problem-Solving Teams

To resolve problems on an ongoing basis

Consideration Norms

Treating others with mutual respect and being considerate of members' needs

Production/Service/Leadership Teams

Typically multi-skilled members collectively produce a common product or service or making ongoing decisions; usually an assembly-line type of interdependence (leadership teams tend to have tight interactive interdependence)

Leadership Norms

What leadership structure should be used and how leadership should be exercised

Communication Norms

When communication should take place, who is responsible, how it should be done, and how to discuss feelings about the team or members especially in regard to issues of conflict

Meeting Norms

When, where, and how often to have gatherings; includes expectations for attendance, timelines, and preparation

Groupthink

"Everyone agrees so i don't want to be the one to disagree"

Conflict

A process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party

Knowledge-Based Trust

Based on predictability and competence; fairly robust; medium level of trust

Advisory Teams

E.g., committees, advisory councils, work councils, review panels; provide recommendations to decision makers

Process Losses

Resources extended toward team development and maintenance rather than tasks