MNO 3370: Teams Lecture

How to increase goal interdependence

ensure that the team has a formalized mission statement that members buy into teams experience greater effectiveness if they invest time & effort soon after team forms

When it comes to floor-time (talking) in a typical 8-person team meeting,

3 people do over 75% of the talking

An essential condition for high performance teamwork is:

A shared goal

punctuated equilibrium

At the initial team meeting, members make assumptions and establish behaviors that lasts for the first half of its life. This pattern of behavior becomes habit for members and creates an inertia that continues until the midway point. After the midpoint, members realize that they have to change their approach to complete it on time. Teams that take this approach tend to do well, and the new framework dominates until completion

When it comes to making decisions, teams are:

Better than the average of its members, but not necessarily as good as the best performer

Pros & cons of surface level diversity

Can lead to problems initially because people may have difficulty communicating with others who are perceived to be different These problems tend to fade over time as members gain experience with one another.

When and why is surface level diversity good for performance?

stereotypes are replaced with knowledge regarding the underlying characteristics that are more relevant to social and task interactions

Should consciousness in a team be supplementary or complementary?

supplementary

Relationship between task interdependence & team performance

task interdependence has a moderate positive effect on team performance

Conscientious people...

tend to be dependable & work hard to achieve goals

Agreeable people...

tend to be more cooperative and trusting, tendencies that promote positive attitudes

extraverted people...

tend to perform more effectively in interpersonal contexts & are more positive & optimistic

What impacts the relationship between task interdependence and performance

the complexity of the work can cause the correlation to be higher

pooled interdependence

the lowest degree of required coordination members complete their work independently and then this work is piled up to represent the team's output

Reasons for process loss

coordination loss production blocking motivational loss social loafing

Task interdependence

degree to which team members interact with and rely on each other for information, materials, and resources needed to accomplish work for the team

is diversity in teams a good thing or a bad thing for team performance?

depends on time, type of team, what is the diversity, interdependence of the team, task at hand

Social loafing

reduced accountability that causes members to exert less effort than if they had worked alone

Types of team conflict

relationship conflict task conflict

Stages of team development

1. forming 2. storming 3. norming 4. performing 5. adjourning

What are the 3 traits that are especially critical in teams?

-agreeable -conscientious -extraverted

Benefits of levels of task interdependence

-increases in task interdependence increase the ability of the team to adapt to new situations -the more members interact & communicate with other members, the more likely the team will be able to devise solutions to novel problems

Deep-level task-related characteristics

-knowledge & expertise -ideas & perspectives -cognitive abilities & skills -physical abilities & skills

Surface-level task-related characteristics of team diversity

-organizations department -organization venture -education level -formal credentials -membership in professional associations

Deep-level relationship-related characteristics

-personality -values -attitudes -political views -social identity -culture -religion

Surface-level relationship-related characteristics

-sex -age -race -ethnicity -socioeconomic status

What are the Personality traits in a team?

Complementary fit Supplementary fit

When it comes to conflict, the highest-performing teams should:

Encourage conflict about tasks; discourage conflict about personalities

All of the following can minimize the "free rider" problem in teams, except:

Increase the size of the team

When it comes to creativity, teams are:

Less creative than individuals

comprehensive interdependence

Members have a great deal of freedom in terms of what they do and with whom they interact in the course of collaboration involved in accomplishing the team's work *highest level of interaction & coordination

The most commonly cited problem with regard to teamwork is:

Sustaining motivation

The most important skills (competencies) that team members need to have are:

Task and people skills

Pros & cons of deep level diversity

Time increases the negative effects of deep level diversity on team effectiveness It has positive effects on team creativity when members are instructed to take the perspective of their teammates

When is process gain most important?

capability / synergy is most important when the complexity of the work is high

Ambassador activities

communications that are intended to protect the team, persuade others to support the team or obtain important resources for the team members who engage in these actives typically communication with people who are higher up in the organization

Sequential interdependence

different tasks are done in a prescribed order Interaction only occurs between members who perform tasks that are next to each other in sequence

Task conflict

disagreements among team members about the team's task can be positive if it results in discussion, there is trust, effective conflict management & conflict is positively skewed *better type of conflict

relationship conflict

disagreements among team members because interpersonal relationships or incompatibilities of personal values or preferences *always harmful to the team

Surface level diversity

diversity regarding observable attributes

Deep level diversity

diversity with respect to attributes that are less easy to observe initially but that can be inferred after more direct experience doesn't cause problems initially but can lead to problems over time

How to handle team conflict

effective conflict management → discuss ideas & opinions openly, stay focused

When is there high goal interdependence

exists when team members have a shared vision of the team's goal and align their individual goals with that vision as a result

Pros of team cohesion

fosters high levels of motivation & commitment to team promote higher levels of team performance members develop strong emotional bonds

Process loss

getting less from the team than you would expect based on the capabilities of its individual members

Process gain

getting more from the team than you would expect according to the capabilities of its individual members

Pros & cons of large/small teams

greater number of members is beneficial for management and project teams but NOT for teams engaged in production tasks

Most common & effective outcome interdependence

hybrid outcome interdependence members receive rewards for their own work, while at the same time, sharing a team performance reward.

Task coordinator activities

involve communications that are intended to coordinate task-related issues with people or groups in other functional areas

What is boundary spanning?

involves 3 types of activities with individuals and groups other than those who are considered part of the team

Motivational loss

loss in team productivity that occurs when team members don't work as hard *most common*

Complementary fit

people fit when they fill an unmet need of the team, brings something that makes the team whole - people have different knowledge, skills & abilities -one should complement the other -agreeableness & extraversion

Performing

members are comfortable working within their roles - makes progress toward goals

Storming

members are committed to their own ideas they bring to their team

Reciprocal interdependence

members are specialized to perform specific tasks but members interact with a subset of other members to complete the team's work

Adjourning

members experience emotions as they ultimately have to separate from the team

Coordination loss

members have to work to not only accomplish their own tasks but to also coordinate their activities with the activities of their teammates consumes time & energy

Norming

members realize they need to work together to accomplish team goals - cooperation

Forming

members try to understand their boundaries in their team

Supplementary fit

people are more comfortable and productive when they are similar to others -many smart people are good for the team -conscientiousness

Why is greater number of members beneficial for management & project teams?

they engage in work that's complex and knowledge intensive so they benefit from the additional resources and expertise from additional members

Scout activities

things team members do to obtain information about technology, competitors or the broader marketplace

Costs of levels of task interdependence

trade-offs associated with the different types As the level of task interdependence increases, members must spend increasing amount of time communicating & coordinating with others members to complete tasks can result in decrease in productivity

Relationship between task interdependence & team commitment

weak positive relationship

Cons of team cohesion

when cohesion is at an extreme, it can be detrimental, leads to groupthink

Production blocking

when members have to wait on one another before they can do their part

When does a high degree of outcome interdependence exits

when team members share in the rewards that the team earns (Pay, bonuses, formal feedback and recognition, pats on the back, extra time off, and continued team survival) Higher levels increase the amount of information shared among members, which promotes team performance