Understanding

g Work Teams

Why
y Have Teams Become So Popular?
p
Teams typically outperform individuals.
Teams use employee talents better.
Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes
in the environment.
Teams facilitate employee
p y involvement.
Teams are an effective way to democratize an
organization and increase motivation.
Teams foster Synergy and Consensus Building
among the team members

Definition
A team is a small group of people with
complimentary skills
skills, who work actively
together to achieve a common purpose for
which they hold themselves collectively
accountable.

Teams in Organizations
Teamwork is the process of
people working together in
teams to accomplish common
g
goals

Pre-requisites for Team Building and Team

W k
Work
Common objectives
Trust
Cooperation
Support
S
t
Information sharing
Mutual
M
l respect
Accountability
Positive group- no back-biting or stabbing
at the back

Team Versus Group: Whats the Difference?

Work Group
A group that
th t interacts
i t
t primarily
i
il tto
share information and to make
decisions to help each group
member perform within his or her
area of responsibility

Work Team
A group whose individual efforts
result in a performance that is
greater than the sum of the
individual inputs

Work Group

Strengths:
members work on the directive of a group leader
perform within his/her area of responsibility
pp
y to engage
g g in collective work
Limited opportunity
requiring joint effort
Weaknesses:
No positive
i i Synergy
S
( performance
f
is
i merely the
summation of each members individual contribution.)
Time-consuming-to
Time
consuming to pool all information
Decision-making authority in a single person can be
perilous

Work Team
A group whose individual efforts result in a
performance that is greater than the sum of
the individual inputs (generates positive
synergy))
Members with complimentary skills committed
to a goal
Mutually accountable
Interact with each other and the leader-highly
leader highly
collaborative
Decisions reflect the know-how and experience
of many-better decisions

Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams

ProblemProblemSolving

SelfSelfManaged

Types of
Teams
Virtual

CrossCrossFunctional

Problem-solving
g Teams
Composed
p
of 512 employees
p y
from the same
department, who meet for a few hours each week
to discuss, share ideas or offer suggestions
A special type of Employee Involvement team is
the QUALITY
QUALITY CIRCLE
CIRCLE ( A small group of
persons who meet periodically to discuss and
develop solutions for problems relating to quality,
productivity
d ti it and
d cost.)
t)

Characteristics

Ways of improving quality

Efficiency
Work environment
How work processes and methods can be improved
No authority to implement their suggested actions

Self-Managed
g Work Teams

Groups of 10 to 15 people empowered to handle a

t k and
task
d make
k d
decisions
i i
on a day-to-day
d t d basis.
b i May
M
select their own leader and members
performing highly related or interdependent jobs
planning
scheduling of work
assigning tasks to members
Evaluating performance
Training for job-skills

Self-Managed
g Work Teams
Advantages
Collective control over the pace of work
Making operating decisions
Taking
T ki action
ti on problems.
bl
Selecting their own members who evaluate each
others performance.
Disadvantages

Higher levels of job satisfaction but also higher

absenteeism
b
t i
and
d tturnover rates.
t

The effectiveness is dependent on the situation

Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical
level but from different work areas
level,
areas, who come
together to accomplish a task

Task forces
Committees

Cross-Functional Teams
Advantages

Exchange of information
Diverse inputs
New ideas
New solutions
Coordination of complex
p
p
projects
j

Disadvantages

Difficult to setup
Time consuming
Trust formation takes time

Types of Teams (contd)

Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer
technology to tie together
physically dispersed
members in order to
achieve a common goal
Characteristics of Virtual Teams
1. The absence of paraverbal and nonverbal cues
2. A limited social context
3. The ability to overcome time and space constraints
4 Cost-effectiveness
4.
Cost effectiveness and speed to teamwork

HOW TO CREATE EFFECTIVE TEAMS?

Challenge for a Team

Finding a right balance between allowing
individuals to show their unique talents
talents, while
at the same time minimizing grudges, big
egos,
g ,p
personality
y conflicts and
misunderstandings.
THE STRONGEST TEAMS SUCCESSFULLY
BALANCE THE I AND THE WE
Individual attitudes are also critical for team
success

Effectiveness means

Objective measures of the teams

team s productivity
Managers ratings of the teams performance
Aggregate measures of member satisfaction

A Team
Team-Effectiveness
Effectiveness
Model

Creating
g Effective Teams

Ad
Adequate
t Resources
R
All work teams rely on resources outside the
group to sustain it
scarcity of resources reduces the ability of the
team to perform its job effectively

Leadership and Structure

On traditionally managed teams two factors influence
team performance.
leaders expectations.
leaders mood.
Leaders who expect good things from their team are
more likely to get them!
Self-managed work teams often perform better than
teams with formally
y appointed
pp
leaders.
Team members decide collectively.
Who is to do what?
Ensure equal sharing.

Performance Evaluation & Reward Systems

y
Individual
Indi id al performance evaluations
e al ations
Incentives/Rewards
Team-based
T
b
d appraisals
i l
profit sharing/gain sharing
small-team incentives
system modifications that will reinforce team
effort
ff t and
d commitment
it
t

Creating
g Effective Teams ((contd))

Abiliti off Members

Abilities
M b
Teams require
q
three different types
yp of
skills
Technical expertise
Problem-solving and decision-making
skills
Interpersonal skills
The right mix is crucial
Members learn the skills in which the team
is deficient to reach its full potential

Personality
Teams that rate higher
g
in mean levels of
extraversion,agreeableness,
conscientiousness and emotional stability
achieve higher team performance
f
The variance in personality characteristics
may be
b more important
i
t t than
th the
th mean
One bad apple can spoil the basket

Allocating Roles and Diversity

Nine potential team roles.
Teams selected to ensure diversity
Select members for their strengths and
allocate work assignments accordingly.

Key
y Roles on Teams
Ad i
Adviser

Li k
Linker

C
Creator
t

Promoter

Assessor

Organizer

Producer

Controller

Maintainer

 An adviser encourages the search for more information.

A linker coordinates and integrates
g
team functions.
A creator initiates creative ideas.
A promoter champions ideas after they are initiated.
An assessor offers insightful analysis of opinions.
An organizer provides structure
structure.
A producer provides direction and follow-through.
A controller
t ll examines
i
details
d t il and
d enforces
f
rules.
l
A maintainer fights external battles.

Size of Teams

very small = under 4 or 5

y large
g = over a dozen
very
Very small teams lack diversity of views
Large
g teams have difficulty
yg
getting
g
much work done
p p
Effective teams = 512 people

Member Flexibility & Preferences

Members ability
abilit to complete each others
task improves adaptability and reduces
in-dispensability
Cross training leads to higher team
performance
Not every employee is a team player threat to team
teams
s morale
High performing teams - people who
prefer working
p
g in a team

Creating Effective Teams (contd)

Work Design
Effective teams need to work together and
take collective responsibility to complete
significant tasks
This category includes
freedom and autonomy
Skill variety
Task identity
Task significance

 these characteristics enhance

member motivation
increase sense of responsibility
ownership
hi off work
k
makes work interesting
increases
i
team effectiveness
ff i

Creating Effective Teams (contd)

Purpose
A common and meaningful purpose

Goals
S
Successful
f l teams
t
t
translate
l t their
th i common purpose
into
specific
measurable
and
realistic
performance goals
Team goals should be challenging

Efficacy
Team efficacy-teams confidence
fid
in
i themselves
h
l
to
succeed
Team efficacy
y can be increased by
y
small successes
providing skill training

Conflict
No conflict leads to apathetic and stagnant teams
Effective teams will be characterized by an
appropriate level of conflict
Relationship conflicts - make teams dysfunctional
Task conflicts - for teams performing non-routine
activities- reduce groupthink

S i l loafing
Social
l fi
Individuals can hide inside a group.
Effective
Eff ti teams
t
undermine
d
i this
thi tendency
t d
b holding
by
h ldi
themselves accountable at both the individual and
team level.
level

A Team
Team-Effectiveness
Effectiveness
Model

Turning individuals into team players

All team members must
have
ha e no interpersonal/communication
interpersonal/comm nication
barriers
be able to confront differences
resolve conflicts
sublimate personal goals for
f the good off
the team

What can go wrong in teams?

social loafing
personality conflicts
task ambiguity
poor readiness to work
poor teamwork
t
k

41

Beware! Teams Arent Always the Answer

The P
Th
Problems
bl
Teamwork takes more time
Requires
R i more resources.
Teams increase communication demands,
conflicts
fli t to
t be
b managed,
d andd meetings
ti
to
t be
b run.
Some managers have introduced teams into
situations
it ti
where
h the
th workk is
i better
b tt done
d
by
b
individuals.

Beware: Teams Arent Always the Answer

Three tests to see if a team fits the situation:
Is the work complex and is there a need for
different perspectives?
Does the work create a common purpose or set of
goals for the group that is larger than the
aggregate of the goals for individuals?
Are members of the group involved in
interdependent tasks?

Contemporary Issues in Managing Teams

How
H
d
do tteams ffacilitate
ilit t th
the
adoption of total quality
management?
What are the implications of workforce
diversity
y on team p
performance?
How does management reenergize
stagnant teams?

Teams and Quality Management

Team Effectiveness and Quality Management
q
that teams:
requires
Are small enough to be efficient and effective.
Are properly trained in required skills
skills.
Are allocated enough time to work on problems.
A
Are given
i
authority
th it tto resolve
l problems
bl
and
d ttake
k
corrective action.
Have a designated champion
champion to call on when
needed.

Creating Effective Teams: Diversity

Group Demography
The degree to which members of a group share a
common demographic attribute, such as age,
sex,, race,, educational level,, or length
g of service
in the organization, and the impact of this
attribute on turnover
Cohorts
Individuals who, as part
of
a group, hold a
common attribute

Reinvigorating Mature Teams

Ho does management re
How
re-energize
energi e stagnant
teams?
Effective teams can become stagnant due to
Familiarity breeds apathy.
Success can lead to complacency.
Maturity brings less openness to novel ideas
and innovation.
Mature teams are susceptible to groupthink.

Suggestions for reinvigorating Teams

Prepare members to deal with the problems of
maturity
refresher training
advanced training
g
development to be treated as a constant
learning experience

Chapter Check-up: Teams

What kinds of things have you
experienced in a team setting that
could be considered as process loss?
Choose two and write them down
down.
Possibilities include: Too much
socializing, coordinating work flow, lag
ti
time
iin responses tto emails,
il personality
lit
conflicts, attendance and timeliness
problems etc
problems,
etc.

Chapter Check-up: Teams

If you were asked to choose
people from your class right now
to make up a team for a class
project, list five individuals you
would choose.
Now that you have your list, consider what
the composition of your team would look like.
H
How
much
h di
diversity
it would
ld th
there b
be?
? Gi
Given
what we learned in this chapter, what would
the pros and cons of your composition be?

Chapter Check-up: Teams

Is conflict in a team good or bad? Discuss.
Conflict can be both good and bad. Task conflict
is beneficial for a team because it helps protect
against groupthink. Relationship conflict is bad
for a teams morale.
What, specifically, can you do to create task
conflict in a group? Think about the reality of
trying
i to stir
i the
h pot . . . and
d write
i d
down a
phrase you could say (e.g., you would feel
comfortable saying
y g to yyour p
peers)) to create task
conflict.