Management Org. Ch. 11
team
a group whose members work INTENSLY with one another to achieve a SPECIFIC common goal or objective
group role
a set of behaviors and tasks that a member of a group is expected to perform because of his or her position in the group
group roles of top management teams
are shaped primarily by their areas of expertise such as production, marketing, finance, R and D but also draws on their broad expertise as planners and strategists
particiption
as cohesiveness increases so does participation participation contributes to effectiveness
task forces
committee of managers or nonmanagerial employees from various department or divisions who meet to solve a specific, mutual problem ad hoc committee valuable when managers do not have the time to personally explore an important issue in depth
balance between
conformity and deviance
group cohesiveness
degree to which members are attracted to or loyal to their group
asynchronous teechnologies
delay communication and include email, bulletin boards, websites
advantage of virtual tams
enable managers to disregard geographic distance and form teams with members who have knowledge, expertise, and experience that is needed can include members not employees of the organization
cross-functional teams
expertise and knowledge in different organizational departments are brought together in the skills and knowledge of the team members
adjourning
fifth stage groups that are eventually disbanded Ex- task forces
command groups
group composed of subordinates who report to the same supervisor department/unit think chain of command
informal groups
group that managers or nonmanagerial employees form to help achieve their own goals or meet their own needs
high cohesiveness
individuals strongly value their membership, find the group appealing, and have strong desires to remain a part of the group can result in off-track meetings can result in too-high conformity
interest groups
informal group composed of employees seeking to achieve a common goal related to their membership in an organization can also signify need for change
advantage to small groups (2-9)
interact more with one another and find it easier to coordinate their efforts be more motivated, satisfied, and committed find it easier to share infomration be better able to see the importance of their personal contributions to group success
main advantage of using groups
is the opportunity to obtain synergy "the whole is more than the sum of its parts"
self-managed team problems
members don't like disciplining each other don't withhold bonuses from underperforming members don't fire bad members
disadvantage to small group (2-9)
members have fewer resources available to accomplish their goals
group norms
shared guidelines for behavior that most group members follow
potential downside to working in groups
social loafing
two forms of information technology
synchronous and asynchronous technologies
role making
taking the initiative to modify an assigned role by assuming additional responsibilities - managers can encourage this
virtual team
team whose member rarely or never meet face-to-face but, rather, interact by using various forms of information technology such as email, telephone, fax, and video-conferences use synchronous and asynchronous technologies
group size
the number of members in a group can be an important determinate of member's motivation and commitment and group performance
Why do group members conform to group norms?
their desire to be a member of the group in good standing and to have friendly relationships with other members (rewards) they're copying the behavior of other members who they respect an who always attend stuff (imitating other members) their belief in the merits of supporting the activities of the food bank (believing that is the right and wrong way to behave)
low cohesiveness
they do not want to retain membership no one is interested in the meeting
empowerment
when managers make team members fully responsible and accountable for the innovation process
ways managers can encourage acceptable deviance
1. be role models of group and not rigidly require continuity 2. should let members know there can be other ways to improve group processes and performance levels 3. should encourage members to periodically assess the appropriateness of their norms
groups and teams help competitive advantage because they
1. enhance its performance 2. increase its responsiveness to customers 3. increase innovation 4. increase employees motivation and satisifaction
steps for effective self-managed work teams
1. give teams enough responsibility and autonomy to be self-managing, don't tell members what to do or solve problems for them 2. make sure the work is sufficiently complex, it has a number of steps that end in a finished product 3. carefully select members, they should have diversity of skills, ability to work with others, and want to be part of the team 4. realize that manager's role is as a resource for guidance, coaching, and supporting, NOT supervising 5. analyze the type of training members need and provide it, self-managed teams require more extensive technical and interpersonal skills
ways groups respond to deviantly behaving members
1. group can try to make the member to conform, or they will ignore it, or with will punish the deviant 2. group might expel the member 3. group might change the norm to be consistent with the deviant's
3 ways to reduce social loafing
1. making individual contributions to a group as identifiable when possible 2. emphasizing the valuable contributions of individual members 3. keeping group size at an appropriate level
regarding the balance of conformity and deviance within a group, ______ 1. moderate conformity and moderate deviance result in high performance 2. low conformity and high deviance result in low performance because the group fails to change dysfunctional norms 3. high conformity and low deviance result in low performance because the group cannot control its members' behavior 4. groups should strive to maximize conformity and eliminate deviance in order to achieve optimum performance
1. moderate conformity and moderate deviance result in high performance
advantages to using teams
1. they can uncover each other's errors or false assumptions 2. can critique one another 's approaches and build off one another's strengths while compensating for weaknesses 3. promote innovation 4. empowerment of teams 5. lower turnover due to higher personal satisfaction
which of the following refers to the shared guidelines or rules for behavior that most group members follow 1. groupthink 2. group norms 3. group polarization 4. group roles
2. group norms
to make a self-managed work team effective, managers should _____ 1. discourage the inclusion of members with diverse skills 2. provide training to the team members 3. make sure a team's work is simple 4. assist the members in solving problems
2. provide training to the team members
the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they work in groups than when they work alone is known as _____ 1. satisficing 2. social loafing 3. diffusion 4. groupthink
2. social loafing
which of the following defines group roles 1. the initiative to assume additional responsibilities as they see fit and modify their assigned roles 2. the division of work to be performed into particular tasks and assigning tasks to individual workers 3. a set of behaviors and tasks that a member of a group is expected to perform because of his/her position in the group 4. the characteristics and processes from which the group derive its function and effectiveness
3. a set of behaviors and tasks that a member of a group is expected to perform because of his/her position in the group
regarding group cohesiveness, _____ 1. members of small groups are less cohesive than members of large groups 2. healthy competition decreases group cohesiveness 3. as groups become more successful, their cohesiveness tends to increase 4. cohesiveness within a group increases when conformity to group norms is low
3. as groups become more successful, their cohesiveness tends to increase
with the five stages of group development, during the norming stage _____ 1. group members experience conflict and disagreements 2. the real work of the group gets accomplished 3. members try to get to know one another and reach a common understanding 4. close ties between group members develop
4. close ties between group members develop
"groupthink" refers to 1. the degree to which members of a group are attracted to or loyal to their group or team 2. the performance gains that result when individuals in a group coordinate their actions 3. the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they work in groups than when they work alone 4. faulty group decision making that results when group members strive for agreement at the expense of an accurate assessment of the situation
4. faulty group decision making that results when group members strive for agreement at the expense of an accurate assessment of the situation
"synergy" refers to _____ 1. a set of tasks and behaviors that a member of a group is expected to perform 2. the degree to which members are attracted to their group and internalize its norms 3. the violation of a group norm by a member of the group 4. the performance gains that result when individuals and departments coordinate their actions
4. the performance gains that result when individuals and departments coordinate their actions
groupthink
faulty group decision making that results when group members strive for agreement at the expense of an accurate assessment of the situation
forming
first stage members try to get to know one another and reach a common understanding of what the group i trying to accomplish and how group members should behave managers try to make sure each member knows they are a valued part of the group
five stages of group development
forming storming norming performing adjourning
performing
fourth stage real work of the group gets accomplished managers of Command Groups :make sure everyone is motivated managers of Self-Managers Groups: everyone is empowered and that they are given enough autonomy/responsiblility
self-managed work team
group of employees who supervise their own activities and monitor the quality of the goods/services they provide where members are empowered and have responsibility and autonomy usually formed to improve quality, increase motivation and satisfaction, and to lower costs
factors leading to group cohesiveness
group size effectively managed diversity group identity and healthy competition success
group dynamics
group size group roles group leadership group development group norms group cohesiveness
formal groups
group that managers establish to achieve organizational goals generally cross-functional and cross-cultural
friendship group
informal group composed of employees who enjoy one another's company and socialize with one another
group leadership
informal leaders emerge naturally in a group formal leaders are appointed by managers
synchronous technologies
let virtual teams communicate and interact with one another in real time simultaneously and include video/tele-conferencing
consequences of group cohesivess
level of participation within a group level of conformity to group norms emphasis on group goal accomplishment
example of too large group size
members spend more time communicating what they know to others than applying what they know to solve problems and create new products individual productivity decreases group performance suffers
Increasing globalization is likely to result in....
more organizations relying on virtual teams to a greater extent
advantages to large groups (10+)
more resources as their disposal to achieve group goals let managers obtain the advantages stemming from division of labor
disadvantages of large groups (10+)
problems of communication and coordination lower levels of motivation, satisfaction, commitment
storming
second stage members experience conflict and disagreements because some members do not wish to submit to the demands of other group members Ex- who should be leader
division of labor
splitting the work to be performed into particular tasks and assigning tasks to individual workers
research and development teams
team whose members have the expertise and experience needed to develop new products
social loafing
tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they work in groups that when they work alone
norming
third stage close ties between members develop, and feelings of friendship and camaraderie emerge. Arrive at group conses of what group goals are and how to achieve them and how to act towards one another
why have virtual teams meet face-to-face and then have periodic in-person meetings
to promote trust, understanding, and cooperation among teams vitural members can be more dissatisfied with teamwork efforts and have fewer feelings of cohesion
group
two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs satisfys member's needs for engaging in social interaction