Principle of Management-Managing Teams Ch10

Work team characteristics

A. norms, which are informally agreed-on standards that regulate team behavior -they let team members know what is expected of them -they observed nearby team members -10 percent of team productivity, effectiveness, and work quality was determined by who they sat next to. - when an average performer was replaced by a top performer, the workers seated nearby increased their performance by ten percent -productive workers (fast, but lacking quality) sat next to quality workers (superior work done slowly) -quality workers became 13 percent more productive (Faster) and productive workers were 17 percent more effective (higher quality) -members know what is expected of them is by taking immediate cues from those around them -norms are one of the mot powerful influences on work behavior because they regulate the everyday actions that allow teams to function effectively -associated with positive outcomes such as stronger organizational commitment, more trust in management, and stronger job and organizational satisfaction -effective work teams develop norms about the quality and timeliness of job performance, absenteeism, safety, and honest expression of ideas and opinions -Norms can also influence team behavior in negative ways -example, most people would agree that damaging organizational property; saying or doing something to hurt someone at work; intentionally doing one work badly, incorrectly, or slowly; griping about coworkers; deliberately bending or breaking rules; and doing something to harm the company or boss are negative behaviors, a study of workers from 34 teams in 20 different organizations found that teams with negative norms strongly influenced their team members to engage these negative behaviors -the longer individuals were members of a team with negative norms and the more frequently the interacted with their teammates the more likely the were to perform negative behaviors B. Cohesiveness -First, is the extent to which team members are attracted to a team and motivated to remain in it -suffers when members are allowed to withdraw from the team and miss team meetings and events -Second, make sure that all team members are present at team meetings and activities -Bank of America discovered the value of cohesive teams when t did a study tracking employee behavior -Third, Create additional opportunities for teammates to work together by rearranging work schedules and creating common work-spaces -example, Head trainer Eric Sugar-man says, its for the guys who aren't injured (who pay for the donuts) to be able to support the guys who mandatory treatment all week (who eat the donuts) - fourth, engaging in nonworking activities as a team can help build cohesion - Fifth, companies build team cohesiveness by making employees feel that they are part of an organization C. Team Size Ca. Larger teams -very small or very large teams may not perform as well as moderately sized teams -CE0 Jeff Bezos saids if i see more than two pizza for lunch, the team is too big -The Wall Street Journals Sue Shellenbarger says managers invite too many people to meetings -Mankins says by the time you get to 17 people, the chances of your actually making a decision are zero -when teams get too large, team members find it difficult to get to know one another, and the team may splinter into smaller subgroups -subgroups sometimes argue and disagree, weakening overall team cohesion -minority domination, where just a few team members dominate team discussions -larger groups may not have time for all team members to share their input -when team members feel that their contributions are unimportant or not needed, the result is less involvement, effort, and account ability to the team -teams also face logistical problems such as finding an appropriate time or place to meet -social loafing, is much higher in large teams -the team can be large enough to take advantage of team members diverse skills, knowledge, and perspectives -multiple perspectives, generation more ideas and alternative solutions, and stronger commitment Cb. Small team -very small or very large teams may not perform as well as moderately sized teams -CEO Jeff Bezon prefers small teams -the rights size is some where between six and nine members, the team of this size is small enough for team members to get to know each other and for each member to have an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way to the success of the team -Bain and Company's Michael Mankins follows the rule of seven, which says the chances of making good decisions drop 10 percent for every person beyond seven. -Among companies with a market capitalization of 10 billion or more, those with smaller boards of directors outperform their peers by 8.5 percent, and those with larger boards under perform their peers by nearly 11 percent -teams with just a few people may lack the diversity of skills and knowledge found in larger teams -if a teams is having difficulty coming up with ideas or generating solutions, or it the team does not have the expertise to address a specific problem, chances are the team is too small -teams that are too small are unlikely to gain the advantages of team decision making C.c Signs - if decisions are taking to long -if the team has difficulty making decisions or taking action -if a few members dominate the team -if the commitment or efforts of team members are weak TO BIG! D. Conflict and disagreement are inevitable in most teams. From time to time, people who work togeether are going to disagree about what and how things get done. -Anything could lead to conflict, casual remarks that unintentionally offend a team member or fighting over scarce resources -the primary cause of team conflict is disagreement over team goals and priorities -conflict include disagreement over task related issues, interpersonal incompatibilities, and simple fatigue Da. C-type, Cognitive conflict, which focuses on problem related difference of opinion -is strongly associated with improvements in team performance, whereas affective, conflict is strongly associated with decreases in team performance -teams members disagree because their different experiences and expertise lead them to different views of the problem and solutions. -describe their team as smart, team players, and best in the business -open, fun, productive -willingness to examine, compare, and reconcile differences to produce the best possible solution Db A-Type, Affective Conflict, which refers to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional -often results in hostility, anger, resentment, distrust, cynicism, and apathy -descried their teammates as manipulative, secretive, burned out, and political -example, may be the quiet person sitting in the back, but as soon as the (team) meeting is over, they are over by the Coke machine, planning your demise -can make people uncomfortable and cause them to withdraw and decrease their commitment to a team -also lowers the satisfaction of team members, may lead to personal hostility between coworkers, and can decrease team cohesiveness -undermines team performance by preventing teams from engaging in the kinds of activities that are critical to team effectiveness Note: -they need to realize that emphasizing cognitive conflict alone wont be enough. -studies show that cognitive and affective conflicts often occur together in a given team activity -attempts to reach agreement on a difficult issue can quickly deteriorate fro cognitive to affective conflict if the discussion turns personal, and tempers and emotions flare -even though cognitive is the better approach to take it should be managed well and checked before they deteriorate, causing the team to become unproductive De. Several ways teams can have a good fight. -First, work with more rather then less information -A senior retail executive said, Disagreement is great as long as it is fact-based -if data are plentiful, objective, and up to date, teams will focus on issues, not personalities -Second, develop multiple alternatives to enrich debate -focusing on multiple solutions diffuses conflict by getting the team to keep searching for a better solution -Positions and opinions are naturally more flexible with five alternatives than with just two -Third, establish common goals -remember, most team conflict arises from disagreements over team goals and priorities -common goals encourage collaboration and minimize conflict over a teams purpose -example, Steve Job, former CEO OF Apple, explain it this way: its okay to spend a lot of time arguing about which route to take to San Francisco when everyone wants to end up there, but a lot of time gets wasted in such arguments of one person wants to go to San Francisco and another secretly wants to go to San DIEGO -Fourth, inject humor into the workplace, Humor relieves tension, builds cohesion, and just makes being in teams fun -Fifth, maintain a balance of power by involving as many people as possible in the decision process -Sixth, resolve issues without forcing a consensus -Consensus means that everyone must agree before decisions are finalized -Effectively, requiring consensus gives everyone on the team veto power -Most team members can accept the team leaders choice if they've been thoroughly involved in the decision process F. Stage of Team Development, four stages of development -After a period of time, however, if a team is not managed well, its performance may start to deteriorate as the team begins a process of decline and progresses through the stages de-norming, de-storming, and de-forming Fa. Forming -is 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 teams -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 Fb. Storming -Conflicts and disagreements -As a team members begin working together, different personalities and work style may clash -team members become more assertive at this stage and more willing to state opinions -jockey for position and try to establish a favorable role for themselves on the team -disagreement on what the group should do and how it should do it -team performance is still relatively low, given that team cohesion is weak and team members are still reluctant to support each other -almost always ineffective -it is important for team leaders to focus the team on team goals and on improving team performance -team members need to be particularly patient and tolerant with each other in this stage Fc. norming -teams members begin to settle into their roles as team members -Positive team norms will have developed by this stage, and teammates should know what to expect from each other -teams members will have accepted team goals, be operating as a unit, and, as indicated by the increase in performance, be working together effectively -this stage can be very short and is often characterized by someone on the team saying, i think things are coming together -teams may also cycle back and forth between storming and norming several times before finally settling into norming Fd. performing - performance improves because the team has finally matured into an effective, fully functioning team -fully functional -fully committed to the team and think of themselves as members and not just employees -teams often become intensely loyal to one another at this stage and feel mutual accountability for team failures -teams get a lot of work done, and it is fun to be a team member note: the team should not become complacent, however without effective management , its performance may begin to decline as the team passes through the stages of de-norming, de-storming, and de-forming

Enhancing work team effectiveness setting team goals and priorities

A.Team goals lead to much higher team performance 93 percent of the time Aa. Setting specific team goals so critical to team success? -One reason is that increasing a teams performance is inherently more complex than just increasing one individuals job performance example, each members goal for the team, each members goal for himself or herself on the team, the teams goal for each member, and the teams goal for itself -clarifies team priorities by providing a clear focus and purpose Ab. Challenging team goals -affect hard team members work -greatly reduce the incidence of social loafing -when face with difficult goals, team members necessarily expect everyone to contribute -example, they are much more likely to notice and complain if a teammate isn't doing his or her share -when teammates know each other well, when team goals are specific, when team communication is good, and when teams are rewarded for team performance there is 1-16 chance that teammates will be social loafers Ac. what can companies and teams do to ensure that team goals lead to superior team performance? -One increasingly popular approach is to give teams stretch goals First,teams must have a high degree of autonomy or control over how they achieve their goals Second, teams must empowered with control of resources, such as budgets, work-spaces, computers, or whatever is needed to do their jobs. Third, team needs structure accommodation, means to give team the ability to change organizational structure, policies, and practices if doing so helps them meet their stretch goals Fifth, team needs bureaucratic immunity, means that teams don't have to go through the frustratingly slow process of multilevel reviews and sign-offs to get management approval before making changes teams are immune from the influence of various organizational groups and accountable only to top management B. Selecting people for teamwork -if you prefer to work alone then teamwork is not for you -job satisfaction is higher in teams when team members prefer working with others Ba. Individualism collectivism, is the degree to which a person believe that people should b self sufficient and that loyalty to ones self is more important that loyalty to one team or company individuals- who put their own welfare and interest first, generally prefer independent task in which they work alone Collectivists- who put group or team interests ahead of self interest, general prefer interdependent tasks in which they work with others would rather cooperate than compete and are fearful of disappointing team members or of being ostracized from teams it is in your best interest to select collectivists then individualist C. Team level, is the average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team. -example, high level of team experience means that a team has particularly experienced team members -means that every member of the teams has considerable experience, but that enough team members do to significantly raise the average level of experience on the team -is used to guide selection of teammates when teams need a particular set of skills or capabilities to do their job well. D. team diversity -represent the variances or differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team -Alex Pentlands research at MITs Human Dynamics lab shows that the most successful teams 1. talk with everyone on the team,balancing talking with listening 2. have a diversity of ideas and team members who are open to new ideas 3.are goal oriented -You need everyone exploring slightly different things, but doing in the same direction -diversity ensures that strong teams not only have talented members (that is, a high team level), but those talented members also have different abilities, experiences, and personalities from which to view and solve problems -it is also important to get the team together after to putting together individualism - collectivism E. Team training -particularly in interpersonal skills, decision making and problem solving skills, conflict resolution skills, and technical training. -organization can underestimate the important of team training - great teams provide thousands of hours of training - employees will take basic qualify knowledge classes as well -Teams must know how their work affects the company, and how their success will be measured - most members of work teams receive training in interpersonal skills, 1. listening 2. communicating 3. questioning 4. providing feedback enable people to have effective working relationships with other -example, if they had to do it over again, they would have more of the people skills up front -They don't struggle with the technical stuff -because of autonomy and responsibility, many companies also give team members training in decision making and problem solving skills to help them do a better job of cutting costs and improving quality and customer service -many organizations also teach teams conflict resolution skills -firms must also provide team members with the technical training they need to do their job on the the team -Cross training, is less appropriate for teams of highly skilled workers -Team leaders need training too, as they often fee unprepared for their new duties -New team leaders face myriad problems ranging from confusion about their new roles as team leaders (compared with their old jobs as managers or employee) to not knowing where to go for help when their teams have problems F. Team Compensation and Recognition - currently is very difficult -37 percent of companies were satisfied with their team compensation plans and even fewer, just 10 percent, reported being very positive -strong set is a very strong set of beliefs in most organizations that people should be paid for how well they do. -when people first get put int team based organization, they really balk at being paid for how well the team does -companies need to carefully choose a team compensation plan and then fully explain how teams will be rewarded -One basic requirement for team compensation to work is that the level of rewards (individual versus team) must match the level of performance (individual versus team) Fa. Employees can be compensated for team participation and accomplishments in three ways Skill based pay, garnishing, and non financial reward -F1. Skill based pay, -programs pay employees for learning additional skills or knowledge -these programs encourage employees to acquire the additional skills they will need to perform multiple jobs within a team and to share knowledge with others within their work groups -F2. Gainsharing -programs, companies share the financial value of performance gains, such as productivity increases, cost savings, or quality improvements, with their workers -F3. Non financial rewards -which can range fro vacations to T-Shirts, plaques, and coffee mugs, are especially effective when coupled with management recognition, such as awards tend to be most effective when teams or team-based interventions, such as total quality management NOTE; -Skill based pay is most effective for self managing and self directing teams performing complex tasks in these situation, the more each team member knows and can do, the better the whole team performs. -Gainsharing works best in relatively stable environments where employee can focus on improving productivity, cost savings, or quality

advantages and disadvantages of teams

-been shown to improve customer satisfaction, product and service quality, speed and efficiency in product development, employee job satisfaction, and decision making A. customer satisfaction - are trained to meet the needs of specific customers B. Improve product and service quality in several ways -take on the responsibility of the products they produce and sell -teamwork can be more satisfying than traditional work because it gives workers a chance to improve their skills -cross training-which team members are taught how and almost how to do the work by other team members. -cross training-broadens their skills and increases their capabilities while also making their work more varied and interesting -is also satisfying because work teams often receive proprietary business information that typically is available only to managers C. Job satisfaction -unique leadership responsibilities that are not typically available in traditional organizations -because team members possess different knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences, a team is able to view problems from multiple perspectives -this diversity of viewpoints increases the odds that team decisions will solve the underlying causes of problems and not just address the symptoms -members are involved in decision making processes, they are also likely to be more committed to making those decisions work -two step of the decision making process: the problem and generating alternative solutions. Disadvantage of teams includes high turnover, social loafing, and the problems associated with group decision making A. High turnovers -teams aren't for everyone, and some workers balk at the responsibility, effort, and learning required in team settings. -Social loafing-occurs when workers withhold their efforts and fail to perform their share of the work. -social loafing-larger the team the smaller the effort social loafing-most likely to occur in larger groups were identifying and monitoring the efforts of individual team members can be difficult B. Team based class projects -social loafer, slackers, who contribute poor, little, or no work whatsoever -study of virtual teams members found that social loafing is higher among team members who are stretched by high levels of non work obligations C. Group decision making -group think- members of highly cohesive groups feel intense pressure not to disagree with each other so that the group can approve a proposed solution -group think-restricts discussion and leads to consideration of a limited number of alternative solutions, results in poor decision -team decision making takes considerable time, and team meetings can often be unproductive and inefficient -minority domination-where just one or two people dominate team discussion, restricting consideration of different problem definition and alternative solutions. Minority domination- likely to occur when team leaders talk so much during team discussion, effectively discouraging other teams members from speaking up. -Team members may not feel accountable for the decisions and actions taken by the team. D. When to use teams -teams are a mean to an end, not an end in themselves -does the work require interdependence? -Will the team philosophy fit company strategy? -Will management make a long term commitment to this process? -teams should be used when the job cannot be done unless people work together -teams should be used when the job cannot be done unless people work together, means that teams are needed when tasks are complex, require multiple perspectives, or require repeated interaction with others to complete. -teams should be used when rewards can be provided for teamwork and team performance, rewards that depend on team performance rather than individual performance are the key rewarding team behaviors and efforts

autonomy teams that cannot be easily categorized

A. Cross functional teams -are intentionally composed of employees from different functional areas of the organization -their members have different functional backgrounds, education, and experience, cross functional teams usually attack problems from multiple perspectives and generate more ideas and alternative solutions, all of which are especially important when trying to innovate or solve problems creatively -can be used almost anywhere in an organization and are often used in conjunction with matrix and product organizational structure -they can also be used either with part time or temporary team assignments or with full time long term teams B. Virtual team- are groups of geographically and or organizationally dispersed coworkers who use a combination of telecommunications and information technologies to accomplish an organization task. -virtual teams are increasingly common, and are used by 28 percent of U.S. based corporations and 66 percent of multinational firms -they rarely meet face to face, instead, they use email, video conferencing and group communication software -Virtual teams can be nearly any kind of team discuss in this chapter -are often but not necessarily temporary teams that are set up to accomplish a specific task - Digital communication (email, IM, virtual conference) account for 63 percent of team communication on virtual teams, yet 23 percent of team members find that long email discussion threads threaten (rather then help) effective project communication -it is important for members to know when to use different communication media C. Project teams -are created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time. -are often used to develop new products, significantly improve exiting products, roll out new information systems, or build new factories of offices -are often to lead by a project manager who has the overall responsibility for planning, staffing, and managing the team, which usually includes employees from different functional areas. -effective projectile teams demand both individual collective responsibility -drawing employees from different functional areas can reduce or eliminate communication barriers -as long as team members feel free to express their ideas, thoughts, and concerns, free flowing communication encourages cooperation among separate departments and typically speeds up the design process -project teams, are created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time -project teams are often used to develop new products, significantly improve existing products, roll out new information systems, or build new factories or offices. -lead by a project manager who has the overall responsibility for planning, staffing, and managing the team, which usually includes employees from different functional areas -Effective project teams demand both individual and collective responsibility --Advantage -is that drawing employees from different functional areas can reduce or eliminate communication barriers -as long as team members feel free to express their ideas, thoughts, and concerns, free-flowing communication encourages cooperation among separate departments and typically speeds up the design process -another one is flexibility, when projects are finished, project team members either move on to the next project or return to their functional units -example, publication of this book required designers, editors, page compositors, and web designers, among others

Five kinds of team autonomy

autonomy is the degree to which workers have the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide how and when to accomplish their jobs. traditional work groups and employee involvement groups have the least autonomy, semi autonomous work group-more autonomy, self managing teams and self designing teams-have the most A. traditional work groups -where two or more people work together to achieve a share goal -in these groups, workers are responsible for doing the work or executing the task, but they do not have direct responsibility or control over their work -workers report to managers, who are responsible for their performance and have the authority to hire and fire them, make job assignments, and control resources. B. Employee involvement teams- which have somewhat more autonomy, meet on company time on a weekly or monthly basis to provide advice or make suggestions to management concerning specific issues such as plant safety, customer relations, or product quality -they offer advice and they don't make authority decision -membership on these teams is often voluntary, but members may be selected because of their expertise -is that the people closet to the problem or situation are best able to recommend decision B. Semi autonomous work groups-not only provide advice and suggestions to management but also have the authority to make decisions and solve problems related to the major tasks required to produce a product or service -semi autonomous groups regularly receive information about budgets, work quality and performance, and competitors products -they give employees the authority to make decisions that are typically made by supervisors and managers -the role a manager plays on a team usually evolves over time -they ask good questions, provide resources, and facilitate performance of group goals. C. Self managing teams- -are different from semi autonomous work groups in that team members manage and control all of the major task directly related to production of a product or service without first getting approval from management -includes managing and controlling the acquisition of materials, making a product or providing a service, and ensuring timely delivery -Squads receive feedback from other squads and customers, and conduct postmortems every few weeks to analyze what is or is not working. -the use of self managing teams has significantly increased productivity at a number of other companies D. Self designing teams -have all the characteristic of self managing teams, but they can also change and control and change the design of the teams themselves, the the membership of the teams -no managers -the thought of not having a manager but maybe somebody who steers the company in the right direction, towards opportunities and risk -is that they control and change the teams themselves by deciding who gets hired, fired, promoted, and what they get paid (which is determined by peer rankings regarding contributions to team projects)

Work teams

consist of 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. -computer programmers working on separate projects in the same department of a company would not be considered a team. -they help the organization respond to specific problems and challenges