Management 3370- Chapter 10

Semi-autonomous 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

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

Cross-functional teams

a team composed of employees from different functional areas of the organization

Project Teams

a team created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time

Self Managing Teams

a team that manages and controls all of the major tasks of producing a product or service

Social Loafing

behavior in which team members withhold their efforts and fail to perform their share of the work

Skilled Based Pay

compensation system that pays employees for learning additional skills or knowledge

Interpersonal skills

skills, such as listening, communicating, questioning, and providing feedback, that enable people to have effective working relationships with others

Employee Involvement Teams

team that provides advice or makes suggestions to management concerning specific issues

Structural accommodation

the ability to change organizational structures, policies, and practices in order to meet stretch goals

Bureaucratic immunity

the ability to make changes without first getting approval from managers or other parts of an organization

Team Level

the average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team

Individualism-collectivism

the degree to which a person believes that people should be self-sufficient and that loyalty to one's self is more important than loyalty to team or company

Effective work teams develop norms about what?

the quality and timeliness of job performance, absenteeism, safety, and honest expression of ideas and opinions.

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

The first disadvantage of work teams is initially high turnover. Which is..?

Teams that aren't for everyone, and some workers balk at the responsibility, effort, and learning required in team settings.

Traditional Work Group

a group composed of two or more people who work together to achieve a shared goal

For most teams, the right size is?

between six and nine members

Companies are making greater use of teams because why?

teams have been shown to improve customer satisfaction, product and service quality, speed and efficiency in product development, employee job satisfaction, and decision making.

Use Teams When ...

-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.

Don't Use Teams When ...

-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.

What are the stages of team development

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.

Teams also help firms improve product and service quality in several ways. What is the way?

In contrast to traditional organizational structures, in which management is responsible for organizational outcomes and performance, teams take direct responsibility for the quality of the products and service they produce and sell.

Another reason for using teams is that teamwork often leads to increased job satisfaction. What are the reasons?

One reason that teamwork can be more satisfying than traditional work is that it gives workers a chance to improve their skills. A second reason that teamwork is satisfying is that work teams often receive proprietary business information that typically is available only to managers.

Teams help businesses increase customer satisfaction in several ways. What is a way?

One way is to create work teams that are trained to meet the needs of specific customers.

Gainsharing

a compensation system in which companies share the financial value of performance gains, such as increased productivity, cost savings, or quality, with their workers

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-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

Virtual teams

a team composed of geographically and/or organizationally dispersed coworkers who use telecommunication and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task

Self-designing Teams

a team that has the characteristics of self-managing teams but also controls team design, work tasks, and team membership

Companies are also increasingly using several other kinds of teams that can't easily be categorized in terms of autonomy:

cross-functional teams, virtual teams, and project teams. Depending on how these teams are designed, they can be either low- or high-autonomy teams.

Norms

informally agreed-on standards that regulate team behavior

Teams and teamwork are also prone to these significant disadvantages:

initially high turnover, social loafing, and the problems associated with group decision making.

Autonomy

is the degree to which workers have the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide how and when to accomplish their jobs.

Studies indicate that norms are what?

one of the most powerful influences on work behavior because they regulate the everyday actions that allow teams to function effectively.

Cohesiveness

the extent to which team members are attracted to a team and motivated to remain in it

Performing

the fourth and final stage of team development, in which performance improves because the team has matured into an effective, fully functioning team

Forming

the initial stage of team development. This is the getting-acquainted stage in which team members first meet each other, form initial impressions, and try to get a sense of what it will be like to be part of the team. Some of the first team norms will be established during this stage as team members begin to find out what behaviors will and won't be accepted by the team. During this stage, team leaders should allow time for team members to get to know each other, set early ground rules, and begin to set up a preliminary team structure.

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

Team Diversity

the variances or differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team

Cross-Training

training team members to do all or most of the jobs performed by the other team members