Understanding Groups and Teams Lecture Material PDF

3/13/2024 Understanding Groups and Teams Activity 01 Prepared By : Ms. M.W.A.M.P. Muthukuda Lecturer, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Faculty of Information Technology, University...

3/13/2024 Understanding Groups and Teams Activity 01 Prepared By : Ms. M.W.A.M.P. Muthukuda Lecturer, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa "What comes to mind when you think of effective teamwork?" 02 1 2 Why Teams?- Inevitable Wave of Collaboration at Work Why Teams?- Inevitable Wave of Collaboration at Work Q) Why do people Join Groups? o Goal Achievement o Security More complex projects o Status o Self-esteem Multiple skills/Different expertise o Affiliation are tapped o Power Q) What makes a group/ team perform well? Tight deadlines ✓ Clarity of Purpose ✓ Positive Role for Conflict ✓ Shared Leadership ✓ Positive Group Dynamics Play the game using different pieces on the board ✓ Psychological Safety 03 04 3 4 Why Teams?- Psychological Safety Why Teams?- Employee Profiling for Team Building 05 06 5 6 1  3/13/2024 TEAMS VS. GROUPS: What’s the Difference? Types of Organizational Groups and Teams Group: Formal Groups Two or more individuals with common interests or ▪ Created with formal authority within an organization. common characteristics. ▪ Formed to achieve specific organizational goals and are ▪ Their work is related, but each individual is focused on usually hierarchical in nature. their own performance; another person’s work does ▪ Members of formal groups have specific roles and not influence their own. They may not even know all responsibilities to fulfill, and their performance is evaluated of the people in their department. based on the achievement of organizational goals. Team: Informal Groups Teams are groups of individuals that work closely together toward a common objective and are accountable to one ▪ Created based on common interests, personal relationships, or another. social needs. ▪ Companies create teams to bring together groups of ▪ Have a significant influence on the behavior and attitudes of Source: Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A., & Millett, B. (2019). Organizational behavior. Pearson Education Limited. people with complementary skills and interests to work their members, but they do not have a defined role or toward a common goal. responsibility within the organization. 07 08 7 8 Ways of Teaming Up Ways of Teaming Up Self Managed Teams Virtual Teams Problem Solving Teams Cross Functional Teams ▪ Creating an environment that empowers and supports ▪ Involves employees who work in different locations ▪ Focused on solving a specific issue. ▪ Teams are made up of employees from about the same team members to take responsibility for their own and who rely on the power of communication and hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who decision-making, problem-solving, and day-to-day collaboration tools to get things done together. ▪ This kind of team may be created after the financial crisis come together to accomplish a task. operations. or any unplanned event or challenge. ▪ Autonomy is given to the team. ▪ Require the expertise of individuals from different functional areas. Global Teams ▪ Relying on a geographically dispersed workforce ▪ Multicultural teams tend to be more creative and better at decision- making and problem-solving. Members of global teams may have to communicate using languages in which they are not fluent and interact with people from different cultures who have different mental models of how to approach problems, make decisions, interact with others, and handle conflicts. 09 010 9 10 Virtual Teams - If I Can’t See You, Can I Trust You? Characteristics of Groups and Teams- Role ▪ All group members are actors, each playing a role. ▪ Virtual teams can do all the things that other The Challenges of Working in Virtual teams do ▪ A set of expected behavior patterns associated with occupying a given position in a social unit. Teams ▪ Role Identity- Certain attitudes and behaviors consistent with a role. ✓ Share information People have the ability to shift roles rapidly when they recognize that the situation and its demands clearly ✓ Make decisions ▪ Are team members delivering what they require major changes. ✓ Complete tasks said they would? ▪ Conflicting communication styles ▪ Role Expectations - Role expectations are defined as how others believe you should act in a given ▪ They can include members from the same situation. ▪ Different time zones organization or link an organization’s members ▪ Isolation ▪ Role Conflict - A situation in which an individual is confronted by divergent role expectations. with employees from other organizations Role conflicts can arise from various sources, such as role ambiguity when the role definition, scope, or (suppliers and joint partners, for example). boundaries are unclear or inconsistent; role overload when the role demands are too high or conflicting with other roles or personal needs; role underload when the role offers too little challenge, variety, or autonomy; ▪ Take advantage of distributed expertise or time and role incongruence when the role does not match the member's skills, interests, or values. Q) How has the integration of project management tools specifically facilitated the maintenance of accountability and ensured effective contributions from team members in a Q) “Role conflicts are not roadblocks; they are opportunities for team members to redefine responsibilities and enhance collaboration.” virtual setting? How can embracing role conflicts lead to positive outcomes within a team?" 011 012 11 12 2  3/13/2024 Roles of Team Members Characteristics of Groups and Teams- Norms ▪ Innovator —generate ideas and concepts; may be ▪ Shared expectations about how things operate within a group or team. impractical but stimulating ▪ All groups have established norms that tell members what they ought and ought not to do under certain ▪ Worker —practical; ready to get the job done but circumstances. may lack vision ▪ Norms for both groups and organizations cover a wide variety of circumstances. ▪ Monitor/evaluator —analyzes ideas and feasibility, o Performance can process complex data but may dominate too o Allocation of resources much with practicalities o Communication ▪ Resource investigator —explores resources and ideas outside the team; may overextend and increase o Behaviors complexity but improves external contacts ▪ Completer —concerned about keeping on schedule Q) How does group conformity influence decision-making processes within a team, and what and completing details; often anxious but controlled measures can be taken to ensure a balance between group cohesion and the encouragement of and will work hard to meet goals diverse viewpoints? ▪ Free-rider —see if others will pick up the slack 013 014 13 14 Characteristics of Groups and Teams- Cohesiveness Group and Team Building Process ▪ Degree to which team members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay on the team ▪ Stage I- Forming ▪ Factors increasing cohesiveness ✓ Intergroup communication ✓ Personal attraction ▪ Stage II – Storming ✓ Favorable evaluation ✓ Agreement on goals ✓ Interaction ▪ Stage III – Norming Q) Considering that group size is a significant factor in determining group cohesiveness, reflect the ▪ Stage IV – Performing interplay between the size of a group and its ability to maintain cohesiveness and effective collaboration?" ▪ Stage V - Adjourning 015 016 15 16 Group and Team Building Process Group and Team Building Process Stage II- Storming ▪ Avoid Getting Stuck in the Storming Phase! o Members focus less on keeping their guard up.- Becoming more authentic o Normalize conflict. Let members know this is a and more argumentative natural phase in the group-formation process. o Group members begin to explore o Be inclusive. Continue to make all members feel their power and influence, and they included and invite all views into the room. often stake out their territory by Mention how diverse ideas and opinions help Stage I- Forming differentiating themselves from the foster creativity and innovation. o Characterized by much uncertainty about the team’s purpose, structure, and leadership. other group members rather than o Make sure everyone is heard. Facilitate heated seeking common ground. discussions and help participants understand each o Group comes together for the first time. The members may already know each other or they may be total strangers. o Questioning and resisting direction other. from the leader. – “Why should I o Don’t rush the group’s development. Remember o Members are “testing the waters” to determine what types of behavior are acceptable. have to do this? “ that working through the storming stage can take o Polite, Conflict avoidant, and Observant several meetings. 017 018 17 18 3  3/13/2024 Managing Team Conflicts Group and Team Building Process ▪ A conflict is a disagreement between two or more individual groups or organizations- One party tries to block the actions or decisions of another party ▪ Stage III- Norming ▪ Stage IV- Performing Common Causes of Conflict Conflict Resolution o “We survived!” - Resolved the o Shared vision and a feeling of unity. ▪ Competition over resources ▪ Avoiding (no way) interpersonal conflict. o Members are more interdependent, o A “lose-lose” situation o Group is more open and respectful individuality and differences are respected, and ▪ Communication breakdowns toward each other, and members ask group members feel themselves to be part of a ▪ Dominating (my way) Misunderstandings are o Effective approach for unpopular decisions or when individual each other for help and feedback. greater entity. worsened in virtual teams team members are personally affected o Finding themselves more cohesive o Group has matured, becoming more and teams with cross- ▪ Compromising (halfway) and cooperative. competent, autonomous, and insightful. cultural members o When the arguments on both sides are equally rational o The leader should become more of a o Role of the leader becomes less active. Leader ▪ Accommodating (your way) facilitator by stepping back and can finally move into coaching roles and help o Agree that the team member is, in fact, right letting the group assume more members grow in skill and leadership. ▪ Collaborating (our way) responsibility for its goal. o Win-win approach o Negotiation and mediation 019 020 19 20 Group and Team Building Process Do We Still Need Teams? ▪ Stage V - Adjourning Don’t let teamwork get in the way of agility- HBR o Wrapping up activities. - Just as groups form, so do they end. o group members feel a combination of victory, grief, and insecurity about what is coming ▪ Right size it- What form next. and how much teamwork is o Evaluating the results and needed at each stage of a producing final reports. project o Leader set aside time to debrief - Provide a platform for people to say what they appreciate about each other. ©2012 Christina L. Merkley 021 022 21 22 Don’t let teamwork get in the way of agility Learning Outcomes The concept of ✓ Define a group and a team Amazon’s two-pizza teams: ✓ Explain the essential characteristics of groups and teams No team should be ✓ Identify different types of organizational groups and teams big enough that it would take more ✓ Identify member roles than two pizzas to feed them. ✓ Explain group/team formation process and implications ✓ Explain the nature and challenges of virtual teams ✓ Identify conflicts among members 023 024 23 24 4  3/13/2024 Thank You !!!! 25 25 5