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Chapter
14
McGraw-Hill
Managing Teams
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The Contributions Of Teams
Building block
for organization
structure
Force for
innovation
Effects on
organizations
Force for
change
Force for
speed
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Force for
productivity
Force for
quality
Force for
cost reduction
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Benefits Of Groups
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Benefits derived by organizations
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groups have greater total resources than individuals do
groups have a greater diversity of resources
groups can aid decision making
Benefits derived by members
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a group is a useful learning mechanism
a group can satisfy important personal needs
group members can provide one another with feedback
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identify opportunities for growth and development
train, coach, and mentor
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The New Team Environment
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Definitions
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working group - collection of people who work in the same
area or have been drawn together to undertake a task
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do not necessarily come together as a unit and achieve significant
performance improvements
team - small number of people with complementary skills who
are committed to a common purpose, common performance
goals, and a common approach for which they hold
themselves mutually accountable
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real teams are more fully integrated into the organizational
structure
authority of teams is increasing
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The New Team Environment (cont.)
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Types of teams
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work teams - make or do things like manufacture, assemble,
sell, or provide service
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project and development teams - work on long-term projects
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are well defined and a clear part of the organization’s structure
composed of a full-time, stable membership
disband when the work is completed
parallel teams - operate separately from the regular work
structure on a temporary basis
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do work that is not normally done by the standard structure
recommend solutions to specific problems
do not have the authority to act
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The New Team Environment (cont.)
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Types of teams (cont.)
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management teams - coordinate and provide direction to
subunits under their jurisdiction
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integrate work among subunits
authority based on hierarchical rank
responsible for the overall performance of the business unit
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The New Team Environment
Traditional environment
•Managers determine and plan the
work
•Jobs are narrowly defined
•Cross-training is viewed as
inefficient
•Most information is “management
property”
•Training for nonmanagers focuses
on technical skills
•Risk taking is discouraged and
punished
•People work alone
•Rewards based on individual
performance
•Managers determine “best methods”
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Team environment
•Managers and teams jointly determine
and plan the work
•Jobs require broad skills and knowledge
•Cross-training is the norm
•Most information is freely shared
•Continuous learning requires training
for all
•Encourage and support measured risk
taking
•People work together
•Rewards based on contributions to the
team and individual performance
•Everyone works to improve methods
and processes
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Team Autonomy Continuum
Low team autonomy
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High team autonomy
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The New Team Environment (cont.)
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Self-managed teams
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autonomous work groups in which workers are trained to do
all or most of the jobs in a unit
have no immediate supervisor
make decisions previously made by first-line supervisors
compared to traditionally managed teams, self managed
teams appear to:
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be more productive
have lower costs
provide better customer service
have better safety records
be more satisfying for members
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The New Team Environment (cont.)
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Self-managed teams (cont.)
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traditional work groups - have no managerial responsibilities
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quality circles - voluntary groups of people drawn from
various production teams who make suggestions about quality
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supervised by first-line manager
have no authority to make decisions or execute
semiautonomous work groups - make decisions about
managing and carrying out major production activities
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still get outside support for quality control and maintenance
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The New Team Environment (cont.)
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Self-managed teams (cont.)
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autonomous work groups (self-managing teams) - control
decisions about and execution of a complete range of tasks
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self-designing teams - control the design of the team
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fully responsible for an entire product or an entire part of a
production process
other responsibilities comparable to those of autonomous work
groups
semiautonomous and autonomous teams improve the
organization’s financial and overall performance
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How Groups Become Teams
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Group activities
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forming - members lay the ground rules for what types of
behavior are acceptable
storming - hostilities and conflict arise
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norming - members agree on shared goals
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people jockey for positions of power and status
norms and closer relationships develop
performing - group channels its energies into performing its
task
declining - deterioration of a group
adjourning - termination of a group
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How Groups Become Teams (cont.)
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Group activities (cont.)
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transnational teams
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work groups composed of multinational members whose
activities span multiple countries
often are geographically dispersed and psychologically distant
work on highly complex projects of considerable importance
teams require several skills
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advocacy skills - build team’s legitimacy
catalytic skills - work with a variety constituents, build commitment,
reward members for contributions
integrative skills - emphasize excellence, coordinate problem
solving, and measure progress and results
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How Groups Become Teams (cont.)
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The passage of time
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groups are open to formative experiences at critical periods
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forming period - rules, norms, and roles are established that set
long-lasting precedents
midway period - occurs between initial meeting and a deadline
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realization that time is becoming a scarce resource
group must “get on with it”
groups should renew or open lines of communication
sufficient time to change the approach if necessary
A developmental sequence
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groups do not necessarily progress from one ‘stage’ to the next
progress on these dimensions must be a conscious goal
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Stepping Up To Team Leadership
Team leadership
Participative leadership
Supervisory leadership
Build trust and
inspire teamwork
Involve people
Direct people
Explain decisions
Train individuals
Get input for
decisions
Develop individual
performance
Facilitate and support
team decisions
Expand team
capabilities
Create a team identity
Coordinate group
effort
Manage one-on-one
Make the most of
team differences
Resolve conflict
Foresee and
influence change
Contain conflict
Implement change
React to change
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How Groups Become Teams (cont.)
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Why groups sometimes fail
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not easy to build high-performance teams
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teams sometimes are launched with little or no training or support
systems
giving up control to teams is difficult for some managers
teams are not allowed to make important decisions
failure lies in not knowing and doing what makes teams
successful
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Building Effective Teams
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Criteria for team effectiveness
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productive output - standards of quantity and quality
satisfaction of member’s personal needs
commitment to work together
A performance focus
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key element is commitment to a common purpose
common understanding of how team will work together
norms developed for examining performance strategies
purpose translated into measurable performance goals
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team will play the lead role in designing the measurement system
feedback on team performance
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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Motivating teamwork
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social loafing - being less productive when in a group
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occurs when individuals believe that:
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their contributions are not important
others will do the work for them
their lack of effort will go undetected
social facilitation - working harder when in a group than when
working alone
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occurs when individuals:
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are concerned with what others think of them and when they want to
maintain a positive self-image
know each other and can observe each other
have clear performance goals and culture
supportive of teamwork
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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Motivating teamwork (cont.)
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generated by designing the team’s task to be motivating
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best motivation is tying rewards to team performance
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the task is meaningful
team members accountable to one another, not just the boss
assumes that performance can be measured validly
differential rewards for member’s contributions should be made
by the team itself
member contributions
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members should be selected and trained to be effective
teams require technical, problem-solving and decision-making,
and interpersonal skills
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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Norms
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shared beliefs about how people should think and behave
from the organization’s standpoint, norms can be positive or
negative
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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Roles
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different sets of expectations for how different individuals
should behave
two important sets of roles must be performed
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task specialist - have more job-related skills and abilities
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keep team moving toward task accomplishment
maintenance specialist - develop and maintain harmony
team leaders - build commitment and confidence
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manage relationships with outsiders
deal with obstacles in the way of team performance
create opportunities for team members
do real work, not just supervise
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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Roles (cont.)
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coach - management representative to whom the team reports
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not a true member of the team
helps the team understand its role in the organization
acts as a resource to the team
acts as an advocate for the team in the rest of the organization
Cohesiveness
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degree to which:
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the team is attractive to its members
members are motivated to remain in the team
members influence one another
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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Cohesiveness (cont.)
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importance of cohesiveness
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contributes to member satisfaction
impacts performance depending upon the task and team norms
the task
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in decision making tasks, a cohesive team is subject to groupthink
 to make a good decision, team should establish a norm of
constructive disagreement
if task involves producing tangible output, cohesiveness can enhance
performance
performance norms - cohesive groups are more effective at norm
enforcement
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Cohesiveness, Performance Norms,
And Group Performance
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Performance Norms
Cohesiveness
Low
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High
Low
Poor goal attainment and
task performance
Moderate goal attainment
and task performance
High
High goal attainment
(group’s perspective)
and lowest task performance
(management’s perspective)
High goal attainment
and task performance
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Managing Lateral Relationships
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Managing outward
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gatekeeper - role that spans team boundaries
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scans environment for relevant information
team’s strategy dictates the mix of internally versus externally
focused roles
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informing strategy - entails concentrating on the internal team
process to achieve a state of performance readiness
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subsequently, outsiders informed of teams intentions
parading strategy - entails simultaneously emphasizing internal
team building and achieving external visibility
probing strategy - requires team members to interact frequently
with outsiders to diagnose customer needs and experiment with
solutions
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Managing Lateral Relationships (cont.)
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Intergroup conflict
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some conflict may be constructive for the organization
many things cause great potential for destructive conflict
tensions and anxieties likely to arise in teams that are:
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demographically diverse
from different parts of the organization
composed of contrasting personalities
over time and with communication, diverse groups become
more cooperative and perform better than homogeneous
groups
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Managing Lateral Relationships (cont.)
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Managing conflict
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aim is to make conflict productive
people benefit from conflict when:
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a new solution is implemented, the problem is solved, and it is
unlikely to emerge again
work relationships have been strengthened and people believe
they can work together in the future
four-stage dispute resolution process
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investigate - interview the disputants and others
decide - decide how to resolve the dispute
take action - explain decision and the reasoning
follow up - document the conflict and the resolution
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Managing Lateral Relationships (cont.)
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Managing conflict (cont.)
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don’t allow dysfunctional conflict to build
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address it before it escalates
procedural justice is important
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make a good faith effort
give voice in proceedings
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Managing Lateral Relationships (cont.)
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Conflict styles
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two dimensions used to distinguish among styles
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assertiveness - how much people strive to satisfy their own
concerns
cooperativeness - degree of focus on satisfying other party’s
concerns
different styles are necessary at different times
collaboration is the ideal approach when both sets of
concerns are valid, a creative solution is needed, and when
commitment to the solution is vital for implementation
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superordinate goals - higher-level organizational goals toward
which all teams should be striving
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Conflict Management Strategies
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Cooperativeness
Uncooperative
Cooperative
Assertiveness
Assertive Competing
Unassertive Avoiding
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Collaborating
Compromising
Accommodating
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