Groups versus Teams

Study Notes

Effective teams consist of 13 key components as outlined in Organizational Behavior (HUR 212) course.
Context: includes adequate resources, effective leadership, climate of trust, and performance evaluation system.
Composition: consists of composition of team members, their abilities, personality, diversity, size, and member flexibility.
Work Design: includes autonomy, skill variety, task identity, and task significance.
Process: includes member commitment to a common purpose, establishment of specific team goals, team efficacy, managed level of conflict, and minimizing social loafing.
Shaping Team Players: includes selection of interpersonal skills in addition to technical skills, training on problem-solving, communication, negotiation, and conflict management skills.
Rewards: include encouraging cooperative efforts rather than competitive ones.
Teams and Quality Management: provide a natural vehicle for employees to share ideas and implement improvements.
Challenges in Managing Teams: include encouraging employees to cooperate, share information, confront differences, and sublimate personal interests for the greater good of the team.
Understanding Social Networks: includes informal connections among individuals within groups, their influence on team effectiveness, and their potential to hinder or help in achieving team goals.
Social Networks: are key to understanding team dynamics, with patterns of informal connections among individuals within a team.
Importance of Social Networks: relationships can improve team goal attainment and increase member commitment to the team.