Chapter 7
Work groups and teams
Overview
• Defining work groups and teams
• The benefits of teamwork
• Creating and maintaining effective teams
• Input-process-output models
• Summary
Work teams are…
• ‘composed of two or more individuals who
exist to perform organisationally relevant
tasks, share one or more common goals,
interact socially, exhibit task
interdependencies, maintain and manage
boundaries, and are embedded in an
organisational context that sets boundaries,
constrains the team, and influences
exchanges with other units in the broader
entity.’ (Kozlowski & Bell, 2003, p.334)
Defining work groups and teams
• Over the past 30 years, work groups and
teams have become increasingly common in
the organisations.
• Traditional hierarchical structures have
become inadequate.
• Increasing task complexity and
interdependence between job functions.
• Organisations are downsizing and delayering to more team-based designs.
Defining work groups and teams
• Examples of teams in organisations?
• Production teams, negotiation teams,
service teams, performing teams.
• Teams differ on various dimensions:
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temporal duration
physical proximity
task routineness
autonomy over work practices
reliance on technology.
Real versus pseudo teams
• Characteristics of real teams: clear shared
objectives, interdependence, reflexivity,
autonomy, boundedness, and clear roles for
each team member.
• Pseudo teams are teams by name only –
they are missing crucial ‘real team’
characteristics.
• Pseudo teams are potentially detrimental for
individual and organisational outcomes.
• Imperative to design tasks for real teams.
• High levels of task interdependence.
The benefits of teamwork
• Teams enable organisations to develop and
deliver products and services in a speedy and
cost effective manner.
• Teams are the best way to endorse
organisational strategy.
• Teams enable organisations to learn more
effectively and retain this learning for longer
periods of time.
• Teams promote creativity and innovation
through the exchange of ideas and divergent
perspectives between team members.
Source: Cohen and Bailey (1997)
Origins of teamwork
• Group working was crucial for survival in
prehistoric times.
• Humans have an innate need for belonging
and acceptance (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).
• Seminal Hawthorne studies of the 1930s
found that work is typically viewed as a
group activity.
• ‘Hawthorne effect’ – providing support and
attention, and allowing participation in
decision-making can enhance employee
motivation and performance.
Models of team effectiveness
• Commonly follow the input-process-output
(I-P-O) framework (McGrath, 1964).
• Interactions between team members (team
processes) will influence input-output
relationships (Hackman, 1986).
• Various limitations of I-P-O models have
promoted recent additions/amendments.
Input-process-output model of team
effectiveness
Summary
• Strong trend towards team-based designs.
• Teams can outperform individuals and
accomplish highly complex tasks.
• Organisations must ensure that they
develop and support real and effective
teams.
• Work groups and teams are not suitable for
all organisations.