Chapter 12

Managing Team Performance

12- 2Management 1e 12- 2Management 1e 12- 2Management 1e - 2Management 1e

Learning Objectives

Describe why managers form working groups to achieve results

Explain the characteristics of teams Explain team dynamics and its relationship to

performance Compare and contrast productive and

unhealthy conflict as it relates to organizational results

Develop a strategic plan to increase team performance

12- 3Management 1e 12- 3Management 1e

How Teams Make a Difference (p. 302)

Team• Purposeful group formed to accomplish a project,

task, or goal• Help solve cross-disciplinary problems, traverse

cultural boundaries, and drive initiatives• Social loafing – members of a team contribute less

effort than they would if they were individually responsible

• Teams can work as long as there is a reason for them to exist in the first place

12- 4Management 1e 12- 4Management 1e

How Teams Make a Difference (cont.)

Power of teams (p. 303)• If managed the right way, teams can be effective in

attaining goals• Formal team – working group formed by an

organization’s management to achieve specific, agreed-upon strategies, plans, and outcomes

• Informal team – working group, generally not intended to be permanent, formed by team members to accomplish self-defined tasks and objectives May operate outside the constraints of the working

environment

12- 5Management 1e 12- 5Management 1e

Team Characteristics (p. 304)

Different types of teams• Functional team – formal, longstanding working

group organized around specific tasks, processes, or roles Also known as vertical or command teams

• Cross-functional team – formal, longstanding working group with representation from diverse divisions, departments, and levels of authority Members represent a wide set of skills, roles, and

perspectives

12- 6Management 1e 12- 6Management 1e

Team Characteristics (cont.)

Figure 12.1

12- 7Management 1e 12- 7Management 1e

Team Characteristics (cont.)

Different types of teams (cont.)• Management team – functional or cross-functional working

group of managers formed to plan, organize, lead, and control organizational performance (p. 305)

• Self-directed team – operates without hierarchical management supervision Defined by specific outcomes and timetables

• Problem-solving team – working group formed to minimize the negative impacts of a specific organizational challenge (p. 306)

• Task-based team – working group established to accomplish a specific objective, with a tightly defined time frame for completion

12- 8Management 1e 12- 8Management 1e

Team Characteristics (cont.)

Quality circle (p. 306)• Working group comprised of management and

staff with the purpose of minimizing performance errors and variance

Virtual teams• Working group that conducts the majority of its

collaborations via electronic communications

12- 9Management 1e 12- 9Management 1e

Team Characteristics (cont.)

Size and roles (p. 307)• Small teams tend to be more cohesive• Larger teams more likely to instill social loafing• Role – behavioral and performance expectation that is

consciously or unconsciously defined by a group• Role structure – prescribed set of behavioral and

performance expectations for a position or job• Role ambiguity – confusion that arises from an employee not

understanding the expectations, intentions, or purposes of her/his position

• Overload – behavioral and system strains that occur when expectations for positions or working groups exceed their capacity to perform

12- 10Management 1e 12- 10Management 1e

Team Characteristics (cont.)

12- 11Management 1e

Team Dynamics (p. 308)

Largely unseen forces that can influence the way a team operates and performs

Conformity• An individual or group adheres to organizational

policies, procedures, cultural dynamics, and performance standards

Generalization• An individual or group perspective that is formed

through limited data or experience

12- 12Management 1e

Team Dynamics (cont.)

Stages of group development (p. 308)• Four-stage process by which teams become more

effective and efficient over time• Forming – team members meet each other for the

first time and get a feel for the type of team that they have joined Norms – expectations implicitly or explicitly defined by a

group that result in a consistent set of behaviors or beliefs

• Storming – a measure of conflict may arise (p. 309) Conflict – resistance or hostility arising from two or more

parties focusing on and attempting to reconcile differing opinions

12- 13Management 1e

Team Dynamics (cont.)

Stages of group development (cont.)• Norming – team members settle into their new

roles and, by mutual agreement, decide how to achieve their goals and objectives (p. 309) Cohesiveness – degree to which individuals in a

working group exhibit loyalty and norm consistencies Socialization – processes by which individuals attain

the knowledge, skills, cultural distinctions, and values to adapt to a group’s norms

12- 14Management 1e

Team Dynamics (cont.)

Stages of group development (cont.)• Performing – team working at optimal level,

loyalty is high, and each member is invested in achieving the goal (p. 309) affiliation – person’s perceived connection to a group,

based on purpose, demographics, function, and other intangible dimensions

• Team development can revert to earlier stages due to negative factors

12- 15Management 1e

Managing Conflict (p. 311)

Variation• System-level changes that inevitably occur that may

require individuals and groups to respond

Unhealthy conflict (p. 312)• Certain changes (e.g., high turnover, new group members)

can affect group dynamics and serve as a catalyst for unhealthy conflict

Encouraging healthy conflict• Negotiation- process by which two or more parties with

differing objectives, desires, or perspectives go through to find a mutually agreeable solution

12- 16Management 1e

Managing Conflict (cont.)

Key dimensions of ‘good conflict’ (p. 313)• Emotion is left out of the equation• Get ‘buy in’ from each member of the group on the

vision they propose to encourage productive debate

• Debate should be focused on the future rather than the past However, learn how past conflicts have been resolved

12- 17Management 1e

Strategies to Increase Performance (p. 315)

Effective meeting flow options

Figure 12.2

12- 18Management 1e

Strategies to Increase Performance (cont.)

Effective meetings (p. 316)

12- 19Management 1e

Strategies to Increase Performance (cont.)

Performance development (p. 316)

12- 20Management 1e

Strategies to Increase Performance (cont.)

Recognizing excellence (p. 316)

12- 21Management 1e 12- 21Management 1e 12- 21Management 1e - 21Management 1eManagement 1e

Copyright

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in Section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without express permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information herein.