Team Composition and Types

Team Composition and Types

• A team is formed by two or more individuals working interdependently to achieve shared, task-oriented goals over time.
• The complexity of modern work necessitates teams that pool complementary skills and knowledge, enhancing problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.

Benefits of Working in Teams

• Teams contribute to better identification of problems, more effective alternative solutions, and superior decision-making when tasks require diverse skills.

Types of Teams

• Work Teams: High involvement, focused on producing goods or services (self-managed, production, or sales teams).
• Management Teams: Moderate involvement, integrate the activities of various subunits across business functions.
• Parallel Teams: Low involvement, offer recommendations and resolve issues (e.g., advisory councils).
• Project Teams: Varying involvement, formed for one-time outputs.
• Action Teams: Varying involvement, handle complex tasks in challenging environments.
• Work and management teams usually have longer lifespans compared to the other types of teams.

Aspects of Team Composition

• Member Roles: Defined tasks and positions within the team.
• Member Ability: Skills and competencies of team members.
• Member Personality: Individual traits and how they influence team dynamics.
• Team Diversity: Variability among team members in different attributes.
• Team Size: Optimal size varies based on task complexity.

Importance of Team Size

• Teams of 4-5 members are preferred by most students; larger teams may complicate communication in routine tasks.
• In knowledge-intensive tasks, extra members can provide beneficial expertise, while in simple tasks, they may induce challenges in coordination.

Importance of Member Personality

• Personality traits explain consistent patterns in thought, emotion, and behavior; they shape social reputation and team dynamics.

Origins of Personality

• Personality is influenced both by genetics (35%-49% variation) and environmental factors, especially early life experiences and cultural values.

Big Five Personality Traits

• Conscientiousness: Linked to ambition, reliability, and task performance.
• Agreeableness: Relates to tolerance and cooperation; may hinder challenging decisions when high.
• Neuroticism: Connected with emotional instability and stress, generally detrimental to job performance.
• Openness to Experience: Indicates creativity and willingness to embrace new ideas; valuable in complex tasks.
• Extraversion: Associated with sociability and assertiveness; too many extraverts can lead to conflicts in teams.

Team Roles and Their Importance

• Task Roles: Encourage teamwork and task completion (e.g., orienter, energizer).
• Building Roles: Focus on team climate improvement (e.g., harmonizer, encourager).
• Individualistic Roles: Detract from team goals for individual benefit; should be minimized (e.g., aggressor, recognition seeker).

Importance of Team Diversity

• Diversity's Value: Can enhance problem-solving by bringing various perspectives; may create initial conflicts based on perceived differences.
• Surface-Level vs. Deep-Level Diversity: Observable traits create initial friction; deeper traits foster creativity over time.
• The effectiveness of diversity depends on the type and duration of team cohesion.

Task Types and Member Skills

• Disjunctive Tasks: Performance hinges on the most skilled member; leverage their strengths for best outcomes.
• Conjunctive Tasks: Success depends on the weakest team member; support and improve their capabilities.
• Additive Tasks: Collective effort enhances efficiency; requires collaboration from all team members.