Ebbpa3 b ch17
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Transcript of Ebbpa3 b ch17
Teams in Organizations
• Team – A small group of people with complementary
skills who interact and work with one another to achieve shared goals
• Teamwork – The process of people actively working together
to accomplish common goals
Teams in Organizations
Team and teamwork roles for managers:– Team leader— serving as the appointed head of a team
or work unit– Network facilitator — serving as a peer leader an network
hub for a special task force – Team member — serving as a helpful contributing
member of a project team– Coach or team developer — serving as a team’s advisor
on ways to improve processes and performance
Teams in Organizations
Synergy– The creation of a whole that is greater than the
sum of its individual parts – A team uses its membership resources to the
fullest and thereby achieves through collective action far more than could be achieved otherwise
Teams in Organizations
Common problems in teams:– Personality conflicts – Individual differences in work styles – Ambiguous agendas – Ill-defined problems – Social loafing
tendency of some people to avoid responsibility by“free-riding” in groups
Teams in Organizations
Formal groups– Officially recognized and supported by the
organization– Specifically created to perform essential tasks – Managers and leaders serve “linking pin” roles– Recognized on organizational charts
Teams in Organizations
Informal groups – Not recognized on organization charts – Not officially created for an organizational purpose – Emerge as part of the informal structure and from
natural or spontaneous relationships among people
– Include interest, friendship, and support groups – Can have positive performance impact – Can help satisfy social needs
Trends in the Use of Teams
Committees, project teams, and task forces:– Committees • People outside their daily job assignments work
together in a small team for a specific purpose • Task agenda is narrow, focused, and ongoing
– Projects teams or task forces • People from various parts of an organization work
together on common problems, but on a temporary basis • Official tasks are very specific and time defined • Disbands after task is completed
Trends in the Use of Teams
Cross-functional teams – Members come from different functional units of
an organization – Teams are created to knock down “walls”
separating departments – Functional chimneys problem – a lack of
communication across functions
Trends in the Use of Teams
Self-managing teams – Have the authority to make decisions about how
they share and complete their work– Key feature is multitasking with an emphasis on
participation
Trends in the Use of Teams
Virtual (distributed) teams – Teams of people who work together and
solve problems through largely computer-mediated rather than face-to-face interactions
Trends in the Use of Teams
Potential advantages of virtual teams:
• Savings in time and travel expenses
• Minimization or elimination of interpersonal difficulties
• Ease of expansion
Potential problems of virtual teams:
• Difficulty in establishing good working relationships
• Depersonalization of working relationships
Trends in the Use of Teams
• Select team members high in initiative and capable of self-starting.
• Select members who will join and engage the team with positive attitudes.
• Select members known for working hard to meet team goals.• Begin with social messaging that allows members to exchange
information• about each other to personalize the process.• Assign clear goals and roles so that members can focus while
working alone and also know what others are doing.
Guidelines for managing virtual teams:
Trends in the Use of Teams
Team Building–Activities that analyze teams and make
changes to improve performance–May include meetings, games and outdoor
activities
How Teams Work
Team effectiveness may be summarized as
Quality of inputs
Process gains – Process losses
Team effectiveness
How Teams Work
Team diversity:– A variety of values, personalities, experiences,
demographics, and cultures among members – Greater variety of available ideas, perspectives,
and experiences – As team diversity increases, complexity of
interpersonal relationships also increases
How Teams Work
Team input factors that influence group process in the pursuit of team effectiveness:– Resources and setting – Nature of the task – Team size – Membership characteristics
How Teams Work
Stages of team development:– Forming
• initial orientation and interpersonal testing
– Storming• conflict over tasks and ways of working as a team
– Norming • consolidation around task and operating agendas
– Performing• teamwork and focused task performance
– Adjourning• task accomplishment and eventual disengagement