M.Sc. in Management Advanced Management PDF

M.Sc. in Management Course: Advanced Management Session 2: Groups and teamwork Winter Term 2024/2025 Prof. Dr. Lars Schweizer Today’s class schedule 1. Introduction to teams, team formation, and team roles 2. G...

M.Sc. in Management Course: Advanced Management Session 2: Groups and teamwork Winter Term 2024/2025 Prof. Dr. Lars Schweizer Today’s class schedule 1. Introduction to teams, team formation, and team roles 2. Groupthink and Video case: “Challenger Disaster” 3. Group properties, group cohesiveness, and social influence in groups End of class  2  Organizational (change) phenomena result from a three-level interaction and can be triggered from an outside context Industry Organization Government Customers Group Individual Society 3 Definition of Group and Teams Groups consist of two or more people Teams share information, goals and help each other to perform individually within his or her area of responsibility Individual efforts result in performance greater than the sum of individual inputs Example of teams: problem solving teams, cross-functional teams, self- managed teams and virtual teams 4 Benefits of Groups/Teams From Organizational From Individual Standpoint Standpoint Social needs for friendship and Innovativeness and creativity interaction Completion of complex tasks Sense of belonging and security Development of social identity Integrative mechanism and self-esteem Access to knowledge and rewards Controlling mechanism beyond individual reach Problem solving Decision-making and implementation Socializing mechanism 5 Role development within teams Expected Sent Perceived Enacted role role role role 6 5 stages of team Formation Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning (Tuckman, 1965) 7 5 stages of group development Confusion Uncertainty Forming Testing ground rules Feeling about others Defining goals Adjourning Disengagement Storming Anxiety about separation Disagreement over priorities Struggle for leadership Tension, hostility Performing Norming Consensus Successful performance Leadership accepted Tasks roles established Trust established Openness Standards set Helpfulness Co-operation 8 Why groups may hinder change or increased performance Group composition Role imbalance Change/ Performance? Groupthink 9 Composition of the group Composition of the group  Every group member should possess task relevant knowledge  Group size  Inverse-U-shaped relationship between number of group members and productivity of the group  Diversity  Variety of perspectives (+)  De facto information exchange (-) 10 Belbin’s team roles Role Team role contribution Weaknesses Plant Creative, imaginative Ignores details Resource investigator Extrovert, enthusiastic, Over-optimistic explores opportunities Coordinator Mature, confident, promotes Can be seen as manipulative decision making Shaper Challenging, dynamic, Can provoke others overcomes obstacles Monitor-evaluator Strategic, sees all options Overly critical Team worker Co-operative, diplomatic Can be easily influenced Implementer Disciplined, reliable and Somewhat inflexible efficient Completer Conscientious, anxious, Reluctant to delegate searches errors Specialist Single-minded, dedicated Contributes on only a narrow front 11 To achieve the best balance, there should be:  One Coordinator or Shaper as a leader  A Plant to stimulate ideas  A Monitor/evaluator to maintain honesty and clarity  One or more Implementer, Team worker, Resource investigator or Completer/finisher to make things happen 12 …as they fulfill different functions Overall Belbin role Coordinator Leading Shaper Implementer Doing Completer/finisher Monitor/Evaluator Thinking Plant Specialist Resource/investigator Socializing Team Worker 13 Today’s class schedule 1. Introduction to teams, team formation, and team roles 2. Groupthink and Video case: “Challenger Disaster” 3. Group properties, group cohesiveness, and social influence in groups End of class  14 Cohesiveness and groupthink Cohesiveness: Degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group Groupthink: “a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action” = group pressure for conformity (Janis, 1972) 15 Key drivers for group cohesiveness  Small size  External threat  Stable membership  Past success of the group  Members sharing common goals  Opportunity to interact with others  Members’ agreement about their status  Attractiveness of group to individuals  Fairness of rewards 16  Causes of groupthink  Group cohesiveness  Isolation of the group  Lack of methodological know-how  Intense stress and lack of hope to find a better alternative  Autocratic leadership style Janis, I. L./Mann, L. (1977): Decision Making. A Psychological Analysis of Conflict, Choice, and Commitment. New York – London. 17 Role development within teams Expected Sent Perceived Enacted role role role role 18 Symptoms of groupthink 1. Illusion of invulnerability Overestimation of the group 2. Illusion of morality 3. Collective rationalization Closed Mindedness 4. Shared stereotypes 5. Self-censorship 6. Direct pressure Pressure toward 7. Mindguards uniformity 8. Illusion of unanimity 19  Consequences of groupthink Decision quality deteriorates  Not all relevant alternatives and goals are considered  Risks involved with the selected alternative are not explored  Incomplete and biased information search and processing  No contingency plans Janis, I. L./Mann, L. (1977): Decision Making. A Psychological Analysis of Conflict, Choice, and Commitment. New York – London. 20 Group pressure for conformity Group level Social Individual level pressure Cohesiveness Conformity Group norm Productivity 21 Group pressure to secure norm conformity Expulsion from the group (if possible) Mental punishment and possible use of physical force Isolate individual from group activities Verbal persuasion to conform to norms Inform members of expected behaviour 22 Group norms, cohesiveness and productivity Cohesiveness high low high moderate Performance norms high productivity productivity moderate to low low low productivity productivity 23 Symptoms of Groupthink at the example of Volkswagen (www.sueddeutsche.de) Martin Winterkorn, former CEO of Volkswagen, is considered to be responsible for an under-developed culture of open critics at Volkswagen. Stephan Weil, member of the supervisory board of Volkswagen and prime minister of Lower Saxony, emphasizes that Volkswagen needs new ways of leadership, personal responsibility and teamwork. He states: „What we had to notice at Volkswagen in a painful way is that there is no sufficient readiness to openly and timely state erroneous trends and undesirable developments if one is not personally responsible for it". 24 Strategies to avoid groupthink 1. Foster an open climate of discussion 2. Avoid insulating the group from outside criticism 3. Assign everyone the role of critical evaluator 4. Avoid being too directive or exerting undue influence upon the group 25 Model to understand individual action… ORGANIZATION Roles Resources Constraints Interpretation/ Trigger Sensemaking Action Experience Goals Personality INDIVIDUAL 26 …and its consequences for the organization… An organization is a body of thought thought by thinking thinkers." Karl Weick 27 Today’s class schedule 1. Introduction to teams, team formation, and team roles 2. Groupthink and Video case: “Challenger Disaster” 3. Group properties, group cohesiveness, and social influence in groups End of class  28 Group/Team Properties How do group properties, (size, roles, norms, status and cohesiveness) affect group performance, the attitudes and behaviour of individuals in groups and the performance of groups? 29 Group Properties: Size  The lower... The bigger the Individual satisfaction group... Individual motivation Cohesion The more... The more... Communication Directive Problems leadership Social loafing is needed 30 Group Properties: Roles, Norms & Status Role Norm Status A set of expectations Shared expectations The rank a person and obligations and accepted holds within a group. related to how one standards about how The emergence of a should behave in all group members ranking system certain contexts ought to behave in a irrespective of the Watch out for: role group. formal structure ambiguity, role Norms about ends & How do status conflict and role norms about means. differences develop? overload. …Based on expectations about each member’s probable contribution to the achievement of group goals (Berger et al. 1980). 31 Group Properties: Group Cohesiveness  Cohesiveness = – Forces that keep the members of a group together (Festinger, 1950). – Sense of “we-ness” (Owen, 1985). Membership attraction Clear group norms Past success Size Cohesiveness in the Group isolation group External threats 32 The Effects of Group Cohesiveness  Predictability and stability  Uniformity of attitudes  Morale and motivation  Pressures to conform  Job satisfaction  Resistance to change  Intra-group conflict,  Inter-group conflict absenteeism and quitting ‘Groupthink’  Norm enforcement  Innovation/creativity Cohesiveness performance VS. Performance Cohesiveness 33 Behaviour in the Presence of Others  Social facilitation: Positive changes in the performance due to the presence of others.  Social loafing (Latané et al., 1979): A decrease in individual effort in shared group activities.  De-individualization (Festinger et al. 1952): Reduction of a person’s sense of individuality in a group situation. 34 Social Influence in Groups Conformity:  A change in behaviour due to majority. Compliance:  A change in behaviour due to a direct request. Obedience to authority:  A change in behaviour due to the commands of authority figures. 35 E.g. Conformity: Asch’s Experiment In Asch’s (1951) experiments, 76% of the participants conformed in at least one trial. Why do people confirm? Normative social influence: pressure that reflects group norms Informational social influence: assumptions that others have knowledge we don’t have. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA-gbpt7Ts8 36 E.g. Obedience to Authority (Milgram 1974) - 65 % of the subjects delivered the final 450 volt level. - Why did participants obey? Normative social influence Little of no personal responsibility for the actions, “only following orders”. Emotional distance to the victim http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr5cjyokVUs 37  Summary: Individual and group per- formance decision making compared Factor Individual when Group when Type of problem task Creativity or efficiency desired Diverse skills/knowledge required Acceptance of decision Acceptance is not important Acceptance by group is important Quality of the solution ‘Best member’ can be identified Several group members can improve the solution Characteristics of the Individuals cannot collaborate Members have experience of individuals working together Decision-making climate Climate is competitive Climate is supportive of group problem-solving Time available Relatively little time is available Relatively more time is available 38 Lessons Learned & Points for Revision Having been to this session, you should be able to… 1. … name the advantages of using teams. 2. … describe how groups and teams form. 3. … understand the phenomenon of groupthink and explain what cohesiveness is and how it affects team effectiveness. 4. … describe the ways how social influence drives human behaviour in groups and teams. 39 Today’s class schedule 1. Introduction to teams, team formation, and team roles 2. Groupthink and Video case: “Challenger Disaster” 3. Group properties, group cohesiveness, and social influence in groups End of class  40