Group Dynamics & Team Management PDF

**CHP 9 MANAGING GROUPS AND TEAMS** **9.2 Group Dynamics** **Types of Groups: Formal and Informal** ---------------------------------------- A **group** is a collection of individuals who interact with each other such that one person's actions have an impact on the others.   **Informal work grou...

**CHP 9 MANAGING GROUPS AND TEAMS** **9.2 Group Dynamics** **Types of Groups: Formal and Informal** ---------------------------------------- A **group** is a collection of individuals who interact with each other such that one person's actions have an impact on the others.   **Informal work groups**Two or more individuals who are associated with one another in ways not prescribed by the formal organization.  Ex.  few people in the company who get together to play tennis on the weekend. A **formal work group**Is made up of managers, subordinates, or both with close associations among group members that influence the behavior of individuals in the group.  **Stages of Group Development** ------------------------------- ### [Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing model ( Bruce Tuckman )]  **forming-storming-norming-performing model:** a four-stage map of group evolution **adjourning phase**The fifth and final stage later added to the Tuckman model. - individual moves through developmental stages such as childhood, adolescence, and adulthood - the leader needs to move through various leadership styles. - In the **forming**Stage when the group comes together for the first time.  -  **storming**Stage when participants focus less on keeping their guard up as they shed social facades, becoming more authentic and more argumentative.  differentiating themselves from the other group members rather than seeking common ground. authentic as they express their deeper thoughts and feelings "Can I truly be me, have power, and be accepted? In many cases, the group gets stuck in the storming phase. Once group members discover that they can be authentic, next stage, norming. -  **norming**Stage when participants find it easy to establish their own ground rules (or *norms*) and define their operating procedures and goals.  members ask each other for both help and feedback ideal time to host a social or team-building event. - **performing**Stage when participants are not only getting the work done, but they also pay greater attention to *how* they are doing it.  How can I further develop as a person to become more effective?" Group leaders can finally move into coaching roles and help members grow in skill and leadership. - ***after-action review**A meeting conducted at the end of a project or event, where team members discuss what went right, what went wrong, and what could have been done differently. Commonly used alternative names include "retrospective meeting", "debrief meeting", or post mortem.* ### [The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model] life of a group is much more dynamic and cyclical in nature.  **punctuated equilibrium**The theory that change within groups occurs in rapid, radical spurts rather than gradually over time. groups remain fairly static, maintaining a certain equilibrium for long periods of time. Change during these periods is incremental, largely due to the resistance to change that arises when systems take root and processes become institutionalized. In this model, revolutionary change occurs in brief, punctuated bursts, catalyzed by a crisis or problem that breaks through the systemic inertia. At this point, the organization or group has the opportunity to learn and create new structures better aligned with current realities. **Cohesion** **Cohesion**The degree of camaraderie ( amicizia, unione) within the group.  The fundamental factors affecting group cohesion: - *Similarity*. - *Stability* - *Size* - *Support*. : When group members receive coaching and are encouraged to support their fellow team members, group identity strengthens. - *Satisfaction* Does cohesion result in a higher performing team? It depends: Cohesion is more strongly related to performance behaviors rather than outcomes. Cohesive teams do the right things, but of course doing the right things may not always have positive results due to environmental constraints. Advantage of cohesive groups :  share information and knowledge. ### [Can a Group Have Too Much Cohesion?] conflict avoidant, focusing more on trying to please each other  superficial sense of harmony and less diversity of thought.  **Groupthink**A tendency to avoid a critical evaluation of ideas the group favors.  research shows that cohesion leads to acceptance of group norms. Groups with high task commitment do well, but imagine a group where the norms are to work as little as possible? As you might imagine, these groups get little accomplished and can actually work together against the organization's goals. ### **Social Loafing ( also Ringelmann effect)** **Social loafing**The tendency of individuals to put in less effort when working in a group context.  *The Ringelmann effect found that as the number of group members increases, the effort of each member decreases.* is less a matter of being lazy. Research shows that perceptions of fairness are related to less social loafing. Therefore, teams that are deemed as more fair should also see less social loafing. ### **Collective Efficacy** **Collective efficacy**A group's perception of its ability to successfully perform well.. This relationship is higher when task interdependence (the degree to which an individual's task is linked to someone else's work) is high. **9.3 Understanding Team Design Characteristics** ------------------------------------------------- Effective teams give companies a competitive advantage. Team members not only benefit from their diverse experiences and perspectives but also stimulate each other's creativity. **Differences Between Groups and Teams** ---------------------------------------- **Group**: collection of individuals. Within an organization, groups might consist of project-related collectives, such as a product division. Performance of a group: inputs of the group minus process losses, such as quality of a product. **Process loss**: [any aspect of group interaction that inhibits group functioning.] **Team:** [cohesive coalition of people working together to achieve mutual goals]. Being on a team requires a commitment to the vision and involves each individual working toward accomplishing the team's objective. Teams differ from other types of groups in that members are focused on a joint goal and are mutually accountable. Teams also are defined by their relatively smaller size. Purpose of a team: accomplish larger, more complex goals than what would be possible for individuals working independently the sum is greater than the parts. Teamwork is also needed when multiple skills are tapped or buy-in is required from several individuals. Teams CAN improve performance and they increase mutual cooperation between what are often competing factions. The key properties of a true team include collaborative action in which, along with a common goal, teams have collaborative tasks (≠ group: individuals responsible only for their own area). They share the rewards of team performance with their compensation based on shared outcomes and not individual performance. Members are willing to sacrifice scarce resources for the common good instead of competing for them. Early 1990s: rise in the use of teams within organizations good results and more subtle individual worker-related benefits. One reason for the rise: advances in technology. **Team Tasks** -------------- Teams differ in terms of the tasks they are trying to accomplish. Three major classes of tasks: - **Production tasks**: [include actually making something, such as a building, product, or a marketing plan]. - **Idea-generation tasks**: [creative tasks, such as brainstorming a new direction or creating a new process].  - **Problem-solving tasks**: [refer to coming up with plans for actions and making decisions]. **Task interdependence**: [degree that team members are dependent on one another to get information, support, or materials from other team members to be effective]. High if the team's task requires communication, collaboration, and coordination -\> team performance will be highly dependent on cohesion Three types of task interdependence.  - **Pooled interdependence**: [team members work independently and simply combine their efforts to create the team's output.] - **Sequential interdependence**: [in a team, when one person's output becomes another person's input.] - **Reciprocal interdependence:** [Team members working on each task simultaneously]. Another type of interdependence that is not specific to the task itself is **outcome interdependence:** [when the rewards that an individual receives depend on the performance of others.] **Team Roles** -------------- Effective teams divide up tasks so the best people are in the best positions. Individuals more aware of team roles and the behavior required for each role perform better. Teams have two categories of roles related to: the tasks at hand and the team's functioning. Teams do well when members have different cognitive styles. *Teams are based on ten key roles: task roles (green), social roles (yellow), and boundary-spanning roles (orange)* \ Team leadership is effective when leaders are able to adapt the roles they are contributing or asking others to contribute to fit what the team needs given its stage and the tasks at hand. Ineffective leaders might always engage in the same task role behaviors, when they should focus on social roles and put disagreements aside. **Task Roles** - [Contractor]: includes behaviors that serve to organize the team's work, including creating team timelines, production schedules, and task sequencing. - [Creator]: deals with changes in the team's task process structure, for ex reframing the team goals and looking at the context of goals. - [Contributor]: brings information and expertise to the team by sharing knowledge and training those who have less expertise to strengthen the team. Teams with highly intelligent members and evenly distributed workloads are more effective.  - [Completer]: transforms ideas into action. Behaviors associated with this role include following up on tasks, such as gathering needed background information or summarizing the team's ideas into reports. - [Critic]: includes "devil's advocate" behaviors that go against the assumptions being made by the team. **Social Roles:** serve to keep the team operating effectively. When they are filled, team members feel more cohesive, and the group is less prone to suffer process losses or biases such as groupthink. Three social roles: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - [Cooperator]: supporting those with expertise toward the team's goals. This is a proactive role. - [Communicator]: includes behaviors that are targeted at collaboration, such as practicing good listening skills. - [Calibrator]: to keep the team on track in terms of suggesting any needed changes to the team's process. It includes initiating discussions about potential team problems such as tensions, settling disagreements or pointing out what is working and what is not in terms of team process. **\ Boundary-Spanning Roles:** related to activities outside the team that help to connect it to the organization. Teams that have a greater level of boundary-spanning behaviors increase team effectiveness.  - [Consul]: gathering information from the larger organization and informing those within the organization about team activities, goals, and successes. Often the consul role is filled by team managers or leaders. - [Coordinator]: interfacing with others within the organization so that the team's efforts are in line with other individuals and teams within the organization. **Types of Teams** ------------------ There are several types of temporary teams. **Task force:** [is asked to address a specific issue or problem until it is resolved]. **Product development teams:** [in charge of designing a new product]. Matrix organizations have **cross-functional teams:** [involve individuals from different parts of the organization.]  **Virtual teams**: [teams in which members are not located in the same physical place]. Some virtual teams are formed by necessity, such as to take advantage of lower labor costs in different countries; other to take advantage of distributed expertise or time---the needed experts may be living in different cities. Challenges of virtual teams. \- Managers often think that they have to see team members working to believe work is being done. Because this is impossible in virtual teams, it is important to devise evaluation schemes that focus on deliverables. \- Building trust. \- Communication. If individuals are not fully engaged and avoid conflict, team performance suffers. Choosing the right technological aids helps virtual teams be successful. Ex document sharing and tools that allow joint and simultaneous creation of presentations, enable them to coordinate and communicate more effectively. **Top management teams**: [appointed by the chief executive officer (CEO) and, ideally, reflect the skills and areas that the CEO considers vital for the company]. They include representatives from functional areas, key geographic areas or other areas such as legal counsel or the chief technologist. Typical members: COO, CFO,,.... Top teams help set the company's vision and strategic direction. They make decisions on new markets, expansions, acquisitions, or divestitures. The top team is also important for its symbolic role: how it behaves dictates the organization's culture and priorities by allocating resources and modeling behaviors that will be emulated lower down in the organization. The top team is most effective when it is diverse and operates as a *team*, not just a *group*. The board of directors is one important team in corporations. "People make the place" is especially true for the top management team. Firms that demonstrate excellence are those who attend to people first and strategy second. The best teams plan for turnover. Succession planning: process of identifying future members of the top management team -\> if effective, it allows the best top teams to achieve high performance today and create a legacy of high performance for the future. **Team Leadership and Autonomy** **Traditional manager-led teams** [Teams in which the manager serves as the team leader]. These types of teams are the most natural to form, with managers assigning work to other team members, having the power to hire and fire team members, and being held accountable for the team's results. **Self-managed teams:** [Manage themselves and do not report directly to a supervisor; team members select their own leader, and may take turns in the leadership role]. These teams can also select new members. As a whole, the team shares responsibility for a significant task, which is ongoing rather than temporary. [One reason] for their use: reduce hierarchy by allowing team members to complete tasks and solve problems on their own. [Benefits for employees]: higher job satisfaction (which reduces absenteeism), increased self-esteem, and grow more on the job. [Benefits to the organization]: increased productivity, flexibility, and lower turnover. Self-managed teams can be found at all levels of the organization and bring particular benefits to lower level employees by giving them a sense of ownership of their jobs that they may not otherwise have. [Typical team goals]: improving quality, reducing costs, and meeting deadlines. Teams also have a "stretch" goal---a goal difficult to reach but important to the business unit. Many teams also have special project goals. Self-managed teams are **empowered teams**: [have the *responsibility* as well as the *authority* to achieve their goals] power to control tasks and processes and make decisions. Particularly in teams with clear and stable tasks, having an established structure within them is helpful benefit from having a clear division of labor. Self-managed teams with such a structure increase learning and minimize conflict. They do not have to get permission from higher management. So, empowered teams can more effectively meet tighter deadlines. *Table 9.1 Team Leadership Is a Major Determinant of How Autonomous a Team Can Be * **Traditionally managed teams** **Self-managed teams** **Self-directed team** --------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leader resides outside the team The team manages itself but still has a team leader The team makes all decisions internally about leadership and how work is done Potential for low autonomy Potential for low, medium, or high autonomy Potential for high autonomy **Designing Effective Teams: Team Composition** Team size (the optimal number of people on the team) and team diversity (should team members be of similar background, such as all engineers, or of different backgrounds) are important considerations. **Who Are the Best Individuals for the Team?** A key consideration when forming a team is to ensure that all the team members are qualified for the roles they will fill for the team. This process often entails understanding the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of team members as well as the personality traits needed before starting the selection process. When talking to potential team members, be sure to communicate the job requirements and norms of the team. **How Large Should My Team Be?** A good rule of thumb is a size of two to 20 members. Research shows that groups with more than 20 members have less cooperation and less coordination, experience more problems, such as aggressive behaviors and the misuse of resources. Some tasks, however, require larger team sizes because of the need for diverse skills or because of the complexity of the task. In those cases, the best solution is to create subteams in which one member from each subteam is a member of a larger coordinating team. The bottom line is that team size should be matched to the goals of the team. **How Diverse Should My Team Be?** Teams whose members have complementary skills are often more successful, because one team member's strengths can compensate for another's weaknesses. EX. Workers who are educated as forecasters have the analytic skills needed for forecasting, but lack critical information about customers; while salespeople are in the know about upcoming customer decisions, but lack the analytic skills. Putting forecasters and salespeople together makes the best use of each member's skills and expertise. Diversity in team composition can help teams come up with more creative and effective solutions. The more diverse a team is in terms of expertise, gender, age, and background, the more ability the group has to avoid the problems of groupthink. **9.4 MANAGEMENT OF TEAMS** **Managing Effective Teams: Team Processes** **Team Norms** **Norms** are shared expectations about how things operate within a group or team. Understanding of norms helps teams be more cohesive and perform better. Norms are a powerful way of ensuring coordination within a team. **Team Contracts** Team contracts are agreements on established ground rules, goals, and roles. Teams that develop team contracts are better equipped to face challenges that may arise within the team. A meaningful team contract: **Team Meetings** They serve an important function in terms of information sharing and decision making. They also serve an important social function and can help to build team cohesion and a task function in terms of coordination. [Before the Meeting: ] - *Is a meeting needed*? - *Decide who should be at the meeting, and only invite those.* - *Decide how long the meeting should be, and keep it short: The longer the meeting, the more distractions there will be.* - *Create and distribute an agenda.* - *Determine how all members can attend.* - *Send a reminder prior to the meeting.* [During the Meeting: ] - *Start the meeting on time* - *Getting on the same page: making sure everyone is informed and responding to the same information.* - *Follow the meeting agenda. But this does not mean that there should be no personal connecting.* - *Manage group dynamics for full participation* - *Summarize the meeting with action items: Be sure to clarify team member roles* - *End the meeting on time.* [After the Meeting: ] - *Follow up on action items* **Establish Psychological Safety** Psychological safety refers to the perception that the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in workplace contexts are worth the risk. It fosters the sharing of ideas, open communication, healthy levels of risk-taking, and increased creativity. Trust is also important for team performance. Amy Edmondson, an expert in the area of teams and psychological safety, supports the idea that psychological safety matters greatly for workplace effectiveness. **9.5 Barriers to Effective Teams** **Common Problems Faced by Teams** **Challenges of Knowing Where to Begin** At the start of a project, team members may be at a loss as to how to begin or are unable to move on to the next step. Floundering often results from a lack of clear goals, so the remedy is to go back to the team's mission or plan and make sure that it is clear to everyone. **Dominating Team Members** Some team members may have a dominating personality that encroaches on the participation of others. Remedy: to design a team evaluation to include a "balance of participation" in meetings. **Poor Performance of Some Team Members** In situations in which the poor performer is perceived as lacking in ability, teams are more likely to train the member. When members perceive the individual as simply being low on motivation, they are more likely to try to motivate him. Be sure that poor performers are dealt with in a way that is deemed fair by all the team members. **Poorly Managed Team Conflict** Disagreements among team members are normal and should be expected. Unfortunately, sometimes disagreements arise owing to personality issues or feuds that predated a team's formation. Remedy: to form a behavioral contract between the two parties. **9.6 The Role of Ethics and National Culture** **Ethics and Teams** The use of teams, especially self-managing teams, has been seen as a way to overcome the negatives of bureaucracy and hierarchical control and increase control over individual workers. Team pressure can harm a company as well. Consider a sales team whose motto of "sales above all" hurts the ability of the company to gain loyal customers. The sales team feels pressure to lie to customers to make sales. **Teams Around the Globe** People from different cultures often have different beliefs, norms, and ways of viewing the world. Collectivist societies value interpersonal relationships over individual achievement and show more close ties between individuals. They have long-term commitment to the member group and loyalty is paramount. Power distance: People in high power distance countries expect unequal power distribution and greater stratification.