Chapter 5
Groups and Teamwork
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Teams vs. Groups
• Group – two or more individuals interacting and
interdependent who have a stable relationship, common
goal and perceive themselves to be a group
• Team – a Group that works closely together toward a
common objective and are accountable to one another
• Why are teams popular these days?
– They create a potential for an organization to generate outputs with
no increase in inputs
– Teams generally outperform individuals when the tasks require
multiple skills, judgment and experience
– Teams are more responsive to change, can quickly assemble,
deploy, refocus and disband
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
4 Types of Teams
• Problem Solving Teams
– These teams are built from people often from the same department,
who get together to discuss improving quality, efficiency,
environment
– They are rarely given the authority to implement their
recommendations
– Sometimes called Quality Circles
• Self Managed Teams
– Made up of employees whose jobs are related or interdependent
– They take on the responsibilities of their managers to make
decisions
– They collectively control the work pace making operating
decisions
– May be so authoritative that managers may not be required
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
4 Types of Teams
• Cross Functional Teams
– These temporary are made up of employees from about the same
hierarchical level but from different departments who come
together to accomplish a complete task
– Skunk Works are a type of cross functional team that develop
spontaneously to create new products usually outside the rules of
the organization
• Virtual Teams
– Use computer technology and ancient technology (a phone) to tie
together physically dispersed members to achieve a goal
– Usually more possible in knowledge based industries
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Definitions around Roles
• Roles – a set of expected behaviour patterns attributed to
someone occupying a position
• Role Identity – attitudes and behaviours identified with a
role
• Role Perception – a person’s view of how they are
supposed to act in a given role
• Role Expectations – how others believe a person should
act in a given situation
• Psychological Contract – an unwritten agreement stating
what management expects of an employee and vice versa
• Role Conflict – a situation where a person is confronted by
divergent role expectations
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Norms
• Norms
– acceptable standards of behaviour, shared by group members
– Usually developed gradually as groups learn what team behaviours
are necessary for efficiency
– Norms get established if
•
•
•
•
They facilitate the group’s survival
Increase predictability of member’s behaviour
Reduce interpersonal problems
Allow members to express central values
• Conformity is when people adopt group norms. There can
be significant pressure to conform
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Norms
• Deviant Workplace Behaviour
– Antisocial actions by members that intentionally violate
established norms that result in negative consequences for the
organization or its members
• Status
– Socailly defined rank
– It is a significant motivator
– High status group members can often deviate or avoid conforming
to norms
– Note that status importance varies widely across cultures
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
5 Stages of Group Development
• Forming – where members are testing the waters on
accepted behaviour. The team is determining its purpose
• Storming – intragroup conflict caused by imposing group
constraints on individuality
• Norming – a strong sense of team identity and camaraderie
has developed and there is a common understanding of
correct behaviour
• Performing – when significant task progress is being made
• Adjourning – wrapping up activities and disbanding
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Creating Effective Teams
• Effective teams take collective responsibility for their tasks
• Effective teams have the ability to complete a whole and
identifiable task
• Typically an effective team has 3 types of skills
– Technical skills
– Problem solving/decision making skills
– Interpersonal skills to listen, provide feedback and resolve
conflicts
• Effective teams still possess conflict. But this conflict
remains over tasks, and not matters intrinsic to the group
• Effective teams also have a good mix of personalities
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Creating Effective Teams
• Effective teams can be of varying sizes.
– However, usually the tighter the team, the faster it can respond.
– Also, when decision making is required, larger teams can often
benefit from more members having a wider range of experiences
• Effective teams are made up of members who are flexible,
who are cross trained for each other’s tasks
• Members provide feedback to each other, reminding each
other of their responsibility
• Effective teams have a common purpose that can be
translated into specific measurable goals which are realistic
• Effective tams believe they can succeed (team efficacy)
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
The Cost of Teams
• Teams do come at a cost
– Teams require more resources (by definition you need more than 1
person)
– Teams require communication (any time you get more than one
person involved in a task, communication must be present to
coordinate activity)
– Conflicts must be managed (if you have a conflict with a team of
one, you have another problem!!)
– Meetings must be run
• Another Team?!
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP
Exercise
• Read Chapter 5 Point/Counterpoint (p. 208)
• Questions
– What is the role of the team coach? How are coaches successful?
– In pro sport, why are coaches fired for poor team performance?
– We’ve seen that effective teams have many characteristics. What
are the top 3 components that make up a successful team?
• Chapter 6
Organizational Behaviour
Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP