Groups and Teams PDF

Groups and Teams Work groups include command or functional groups and affinity groups as well as teams. Let's take a look. Work groups are formal groups established by the organization to do its work. A command group is a relatively permanent group characterized by functional reporting relationships...

Groups and Teams Work groups include command or functional groups and affinity groups as well as teams. Let's take a look. Work groups are formal groups established by the organization to do its work. A command group is a relatively permanent group characterized by functional reporting relationships, such as having both a group manager and those who report to the manager. Command groups are usually included in the organizational chart. In business organizations, most employees work in command groups, as typically specified in an organizational chart. The size, shape, and organization of a company's command groups can vary considerably. Typical command groups in organizations include the quality assurance department, customer service department, the accounting department, and the human resource department. Affinity groups are relatively permanent collections of employees from the same level in the organization who meet on a regular basis to share information, capture emerging opportunities, and to solve problems. Affinity groups are a special type of formal group. They are set up by the organization, yet they're not really part of the formal organizational structure. They're not really command groups because they're not part of the organizational hierarchy, and they are not task groups because they stay in existence longer than any one particular task. Affinity groups are groups of employees who share roles, responsibilities, duties, and interests, and which represent horizontal slices of the normal organizational hierarchy. Because the members share important characteristics such as roles, duties, and levels, they are said to have an affinity for one another. Employees sometimes form groups to discuss or pursue common interests. The members of functional teams come from the same department or functional area. A team of marketing employees and a team of finance employees are examples of functional teams. Cross-functional teams have members from different departments or functional areas. This is one of the most common types of work teams. Some organizations are organized such that the company's core work is done in cross-functional teams. For example, IDEO, a product innovation and design company, believes that interdisciplinary teamwork boosts innovation and creativity. Teams share and improve ideas, build on other team members' skills, and provide more opportunities for problem solving. Cross-functional teams have several strengths. In addition to getting things done faster, particularly customer service and new product development, they can increase creativity. Cross-functional teams also improve a firm's ability to solve complex problems by bringing different sets of skills, perceptions, and experiences together. Because they're driving diverse people from functional background areas together, they also increase employees' knowledge about other areas of the organization. The same diversity that can be a strength for cross-functional teams can also be a weakness if this diversity is not properly managed and conflicts are not effectively handled. Problem-solving teams are established to solve problems and make improvements. The core strength of problem-solving teams is that because employees are the ones actually doing the work, they usually know the job best. Putting employees in teams responsible for solving problems puts this expertise to work. Self-directed teams set their own goals and pursue them in ways desired by the team. Team members are responsible for tasks typically reserved for team members or managers, including schedule work and vacation, ordering supplies, and evaluating their own performance. Venture teams are teams that operate semi-autonomously and create and develop new products, product development teams, processes, process design teams, or businesses, venture teams. Virtual teams are teams of geographically and or organizationally dispersed coworkers who communicate using the Internet and other information technologies. Global teams have members from different countries. Global teams can be virtual or meet face-toface. Whereas formal groups and teams are established by the organization, informal groups are formed by their members and consists of friendship groups which are relatively permanent and interest groups which may be shorter-lived. Friendship groups arise out of cordial relationship among members and the enjoyment they've gotten from being together. Interest groups are organized around a common activity or interest, although friendships may develop among members. Virtual teams are becoming increasingly common in organizations. New forms of technology, coupled with pressures to reduce travel costs, make it easy for colleagues who are geographically dispersed to interact in ways that mirror face-to-face interactions. The composition of a group plays an important role in determining group productivity. Group composition is most often described in terms of the similarities and differences in group members. A substantial amount of research has explored the relationship between a group's composition and its productivity. A group's heterogeneity in terms of age and tenure with the group has been shown to be related to turnover. Groups with members of different ages and experiences with the group tend to experience frequent changes in membership. A homogeneous group is likely to be more productive when the group task is simple. Cooperation is necessary, group tasks are sequential, and quick action is required. A heterogeneous group is more likely to be productive when the task is complex, requires a collective effort, that is, each member does a different task, and the sum of these efforts constitutes a group output, demands creativity, and when speed is less important through deliberations. Group composition becomes especially more important as organizations become increasingly more culturally diverse. Cultures differ in the importance they place on group membership and how they view authority, uncertainty, and other important factors. Increasing attention is being focused on how to deal with groups made up of people from different cultures. In general, a manager in charge of a culturally diverse group can expect several things. First, members will probably distrust one another. Stereotyping will present a problem, and communication problems will almost certainly arise. Thus, managers need to recognize that such groups will seldom function smoothly, at least at first. Managers may therefore need to spend more time helping a culturally diverse group through the rough spots as it matures, and they should allow a longer than normal time before expecting it to carry out its assigned task. A group can have as few as two members or as many members as can interact and influence with one another. Group size, the number of people in the group, can have an important effect on performance. Social loafing is the tendency of some group members not to put forth as much effort in a group situation as they would working alone. The most effective size of a group is determined by the group members' ability to interact and influence with each other effectively. The need for interaction is affected by the maturity of the group, of the tasks of the group, and the maturity of individual members, and the ability of a group leader or manager to manage the communication, potential conflicts, and task activities. In some situations, the most effective group size is three or four. Other groups can function effectively with 15 or more members. A norm is a standard against which appropriateness of behavior is judged. Thus, norms determine the behavior expected in certain situations. Norms result from the combination of members' personality characteristics, the situation, the task, and the historical traditions of the group. Norms serve four purposes in organizations. First, they help the group survive. Second, they simplify and make more predictive the behaviors expected of group members. Third, norms help the group avoid embarrassing situations. And finally, norms express the central values of the group and identify the group to others. Group cohesiveness is the extent to which a group is committed to remaining together. It results from forces acting on the members to remain in the group, the forces that create cohesiveness and attraction to the group, resistance to leaving the group, and motivation to remain a member of the group. Cohesiveness may also be a primary factor in the development of certain problems for decision-making groups. An example is groupthink, which occurs when a group's overriding concern is a unanimous decision rather than critical analysis of alternatives. The best combination is for the group to be cohesive and for the group goals to be congruent with the organization's goals. Because friendship and interest groups are formed by the members themselves, however, any formal leader must be elected or designated by the members. Although some groups do designate such a leader, a softball team may elect a captain, for example. Many do not. Moreover, even when a formal leader is assigned, the group or team may also look to others for leadership. An informal leader is a person who engages in leadership activities but whose right to do so has not been formally recognized. The formal leader and the informal leader in any given group or team may be the same person, or they might be different people. Is informal leadership desirable? In many cases, informal leaders are quite powerful because they draw from referent or expert power. When they're working in the best interests of the organization, they can be a tremendous asset. Given the significant roles that groups and teams play in organizational effectiveness, it's clearly important that this process be approached logically and rationally. Groups are not static, and when a new group or team is created, it generally goes through some growing pains before it becomes fully functional. Traditional research on small groups, per se, as opposed to teams, has focused on a four-stage development process. The four stages of group development include mutual acceptance, communication and decision-making, motivation and productivity, and control and organization. The stages and the activities that typically form them are shown here. We'll discuss the stages as separate and distinct. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when a group moves from one stage to another, however, because the activities in the phases tend to do some overlapping. In the mutual acceptance stage of group development, also called the forming stage, the group forms and members get to know one another by sharing information about themselves. If the members do happen to know one another already, this stage may be brief, but it's unlikely to be skipped altogether because a new group has a new purpose. The group progresses to the communication and decision-making stage, also called the storming stage, once group members have begun to accept one another. People may show more tolerance for opposing viewpoints and explore different ideas to bring about a reasonable solution or decision. The membership usually begins to develop norms of behavior during this stage. Members discuss and eventually agree on groups' goals. They are assigned roles and tasks to accomplish the goal. In the next stage, motivation and productivity, also called the norming stage, the emphasis shifts away from personal concerns and viewpoints to activities that will benefit the group. Members perform their assigned tasks, cooperate with each other, and help others accomplish their goals. The members are highly motivated and may carry out their tasks creatively. In this stage, the group is accomplishing its work and moving towards the final stage of development. In the final stage, control and organization, also called the performing stage, the group works effectively towards accomplishing its goals. Tasks are assigned by mutual agreement and according to ability. In a mature group, the members' activities are relatively spontaneous and flexible rather than subject to rigid structural restraints. Mature groups evaluate their activities and potential outcomes and take corrective actions if necessary. The characteristics of flexibility, spontaneity, and self-correction are very important if the group is to remain productive over extended periods of time. Not all groups, however, go through all four stages. Some groups disband before reaching the final stage. Others fail to complete the stage before moving to the next. Although these stages are not separate and distinct in all groups, many groups make fairly predictable transitions in activities at about the midpoint of the period available to complete the task. Process gain refers to the performance improvements that occur because people work together rather than independently. Process gain is the goal of working in teams, people working together doing more and doing it better than would be possible working alone. Unfortunately, many teams do not realize process gain and instead experience process loss. Process loss occurs when a team of people working in a group or a team performs worse than individual members would have worked alone. Process loss can be reduced by making clear roles and task assignments and not tolerating free riders. Free riders do not contribute because they rely on the work of others. Paying attention to how a team does its work can help you to identify and remedy many of the factors contributing to process loss. One useful technique for promoting process gains is to develop and promote team efficacy. Team efficacy is a team's shared belief that it can organize and execute the behaviors necessary to reach its goals. Members of a highly cohesive team are motivated to stay in the team, contribute as much as they can, and conform to team norms. Because members of teams that lack cohesiveness are not strongly committed to the team and its goals and do not contribute to their full potential, team performance is compromised. Therefore, managers of new groups and teams should strive to promote cohesiveness. Managers should also try to build trust among team members. Trust is our confidence that other people will honor their commitments, especially when it's difficult to monitor or observe other people's behavior. Teams build trust through repeated positive experiences, commitment to shared goals, and an understanding of team members' needs, motives, and ideas. Because the lack of trust in a team can undermine any team activity, building trust is an important managerial task. Managers should also try to prevent social loafing. Indeed, social loafing is a primary cause of process loss. Social loafing often occurs because team members feel that their individual contributions will not be evaluated or because they expect others in the team to do tasks that they choose not to do. An opposite behavior occurs when people actually work harder and are more motivated when others are present than when they're working alone. Social facilitation happens when people are motivated to look good to others and want to maintain a positive self-image. It happens when people are working alone, but the presence of an audience exists. People sometimes increase their effort when working in a group simply because others are present or because of the evaluation apprehension they might have. Keeping the team size small, clarifying what the team expects each member to do, and making individual contributions to the team identifiable can help reduce social loafing and encourage social facilitation. In addition, managers should establish clear roles. Roles define the behaviors and tasks each team member is expected to perform because of the position they hold. One of the primary outcomes of the process of group and team development is the establishment of clear roles in the team. Understanding what your teammates expect you to do and what you expect your teammates to do reduces conflict and enables smooth team performance. Making team roles and expectations clear helps reduce process loss. It also is important to establish positive norms. By helping team members know what's expected of each other, norms help to ensure high performance. An example of a positive team norm is arriving to meetings prepared and on time and participating fully. Team members comply with team norms for a few reasons. To avoid punishments and receive rewards, to imitate team members who they like and admire, and because they have internalized the norm and believe it's the appropriate way to behave. When possible, managers should create shared team goals and provide feedback. High-performing teams have clear and challenging goals that all team members are committed to and create sub-goals and milestones against which they measure themselves. Team rewards also motivate effective teamwork behaviors. Tying team rewards to performance motivates team members to pursue team goals rather than individual goals. Typically, the organization is hierarchically designed to provide clear direction and control. However, many organizations need to be able to react quickly to a dynamic environment. In this section, we present several essential elements particular to an organizational change to a team-based situation. The process is shown here with five phases, from startup to reality and unrest, leadercentered, tightly formed, and self-managing. In phase one, team members are selected and prepared to work in teams so that the teams have the best possible chance of success. Much of the initial training and information or awareness training sends the message that top management is firmly committed to teams and that teams are not experimental. After perhaps six or nine months, team members and managers report frustration and confusion about the ambiguities of the new situation. For employees, unfamiliar tasks, more responsibility, and worry about job security replace the hope for opportunities presented by the new approach. All of the training and preparation, as important as it is, is never enough to prepare for the storm and backlash. As discomfort and frustrations of the previous phase peak, teams usually long for a system that resembles the old manager-centered organizational structure. In addition, the team begins to think for itself as a unit and members learn to manage themselves. Managers begin to get a new sense of the positive possibilities of organizing in teams and begin to withdraw slowly from the daily operation of the unit to begin focusing on standards, regulations, systems, and resources for the team. In the fourth phase of team implementation, teams become tightly formed to the point that their internal focus can become detrimental to other teams and the organization as a whole. Such teams are usually extremely confident in their ability to do everything. They're solving problems, managing their schedule and resources, and resolving internal conflicts. However, communication with external teams begins to diminish and the team covers up for underperforming members, and inter-team rivalries can occur, leading to unhealthy competition. In phase 5, the end result of months or years of planning and implementation, mature teams are meeting and exceeding their performance goals. Team members are taking responsibility for team-related leadership functions. Managers and supervisors have withdrawn from the daily operations and are planning and providing consulting for teams. Probably most important, mature teams are flexible. Partnerships among teams throughout the organization can help the internal teams continue to meet the needs of external customers. The best reason to start teams in any organization is to achieve the positive benefits that can result from a team-based environment, enhanced performance, employee benefits, reduced costs, and organizational enhancements. Enhanced performance can come in many forms, including improved productivity, quality, and customer service. Working in teams enables workers to avoid wasted effort, reduced efforts, and react better to customers, resulting in more output for each unit of employee input. Such enhancements result from pooling of individual efforts in new ways and from continuously striving to improve and benefit the team. As empowered teams reduce scrap, make fewer errors, file fewer workers' compensation claims, and reduce absenteeism and turnover, organizations based on teams are showing significant cost reductions. Team members feel that they have a stake in the outcomes, want to make contributions because they feel valued, and are committed to the team and do not want to let it down. Other improvements in organizations that result from moving from a hierarchical-based, directive culture to a team-based culture include increased innovation, creativity, and flexibility. Use of teams can eliminate redundant layers of bureaucracy and flatten the hierarchy in large organizations. Employees feel closer and more in touch with top management. Employees who think their efforts are important are more likely to make significant contributions. Employees tend to benefit as much as an organization in a team environment. Rather than relying on the traditional, hierarchical, manager-based system, teams give employees freedom to grow and to gain respect and dignity by managing themselves, making decisions about their work, and really making a difference in the world around them. The costs of teams are usually expressed in terms of the difficulty of changing to a teambased organization. Managers have expressed frustration and confusion about their new roles as coaches and facilitators, especially if they develop their managerial skills under the traditional, hierarchical management philosophy. Some managers have felt as if they're working themselves out of a job as they've turned over more and more of their directing duties to a team. Management must therefore be fully committed to initiating a change to a team-based organization. Staffing teams with people who have the interpersonal skills and the competencies to contribute to task performance but who are also able to work well in team settings is critical. Some of the teamwork abilities you should look for are the following. Conflict resolution abilities. The ability to recognize and encourage desirable and discourage undesirable team conflict. The ability to recognize the type and source of conflict confronting the team and implement an appropriate resolution strategy. The ability to employ an integrative win-win negotiation strategy rather than the traditional distributive win-lose strategy. Next is collaborative problem-solving abilities. The ability to identify situations requiring participative group problem-solving and to utilize the proper degree of participation. The ability to recognize the obstacles to collaborative group problem-solving and implement appropriate corrective actions. Communication abilities. The ability to communicate openly and supportively. The ability to listen objectively and appropriately use active listening techniques. The ability to maximize the congruence between nonverbal and verbal messages and to recognize and interpret nonverbal messages of others. Goal setting and selfmanagement abilities, which are the abilities to help establish specific, challenging, and accepted team goals and the ability to provide constructive feedback. Planning and task coordination abilities. The ability to coordinate and synchronize activities, information, and tasks among team members. The ability to establish task and role assignments for individual team members and ensure proper balancing of workload. Teamwork competencies also include an understanding of ethical behavior in teams. The more frequently and intensely we interact with our peers, the stronger their influence on our own behavior is. Other people's ethical behavior influences our own ethical behavior. This is particularly true for managers, highlighting the importance of consistently setting good examples as managers. Four ethical issues are especially important in teams. How do teams fairly distribute work? How do teams assign blame and award credit? How do teams ensure participation, resolve conflict, and make decisions? And how do teams avoid deception and corruption? A team contract is a written agreement among team members establishing accountabilities. ground rules about the team's processes, roles, and Team members must communicate and negotiate in order to identify the quality of work they wish to achieve, how decisions will be made, and the level of participation and individual accountability they feel comfortable with. Diversity can be a source of creativity and innovation and can create a competitive advantage and improve a team's decision-making. Innovative organizations intentionally use diverse teams to solve problems. Diversity can create misunderstandings and conflict that lead to absenteeism, poor quality, low morale, and loss of competitiveness, as well as lowered workgroup cohesiveness. Diverse groups are less able to provide for their team member needs and tend to have less integration and communication and more conflict than do homogeneous groups. Informational diversity, or diversity in knowledge and expertise, has a positive impact on team performance. Because team members' unique knowledge enlarges the team's knowledge resources and can enhance the options it has to consider, it can enhance creativity and problem solving. Demographic diversity, on the other hand, often has a negative impact on performance. Team conflict tends to increase and teams tend to perform lower as they become more demographically diverse. Increasing demographic diversity can result in work teams having more difficulty utilizing their informational diversity because team members are not able to work effectively with different others. When this happens, the potential for demographically diverse work teams to perform more effectively is lost. To leverage the potential benefits of this diversity, however, many organizations take steps to proactively staff their work teams with informational diversity and with people who are comfortable with diversity and with the team environment. Effectively managing diversity in teams has much to do with the attitudes of team members towards diversity as it does to do with the diversity itself. Multicultural teams can create frustrating dilemmas for managers. Cultural differences can create substantial obstacles to effective teamwork, but they may be difficult to recognize until significant damage has been done. It is easy to assume that challenges in multicultural teams are just due to differing communication styles, but differing attitudes towards hierarchy and authority and conflicting norms for decision-making can also create barriers to a multicultural team's ultimate success. Multicultural teams are important emerging areas of teamwork and are relevant to most organizations today. Managers should strive to understand how they most effectively use two kinds of teams to realize the benefits of diversity for their organization.