16th Module
Teams and Teamwork
Organizational Workgroups
• Trend toward using workgroups, teams,
committees, etc.
• What defines a group?
–2 or more people
–Common goal or task
–Recognized membership
–Interdependence
Level of Analysis
Organization
(macro)
Team
Individual
(micro)
Types of Teams
Problem Solving Teams – Members assemble to
solve a particular problem
1.
•
Must resolve problem to most people’s satisfaction, not
own
Creative Teams – Assembled to come up with new
2.
ideas
•
Brainstorming for new products ideas, marketing, etc.
Tactical Teams – Assemble to execute a plan
3.
•
Members have clearly defined roles (ex: SWAT teams)
Ad hoc Teams – Assembled for a limited time to solve
a specific problem
4.
•
Cross between a problem-resolution and a tactical team
Principles of Effective Teamwork
1. Members provide and accept feedback
•
•
Should be constructive and flow up as well as down
ex: catcher suggests to pitcher which pitch to throw
2. Members must be willing & prepared to back up others
•
•
Know when to jump in and help
ex: pitcher’s job doesn’t end with the pitch
3. Members view themselves as a group
•
•
Success of team more important than individual
ex: sacrifice bunt
4. Members are interdependent
•
•
Rely on one another to carry out mission
ex: everyone must make their plays
5. Team leadership is important
•
•
Leaders don’t just instruct, they serve as role models and influence
team member behavior
ex: team captain leads by example and influence
Team Processes
• Socialization – process of mutual adjustment between
the team and its members
– Based on evaluation, commitment & role transition
• Socialization passes through 5 phases:
1. Investigation: team and individuals find a
good match
2. Socialization: individuals and team
assimilate to each other
3. Maintenance: both parties try to
maximize their needs
4. Resocialization: team and individual
try to influence each other in order to satisfy team needs
5. Remembrance (Advisory): occurs if resocialization is
not successful
Interpersonal Processes in Teams
1. Communication
– Ideal communication is frank,
continuous, & regular
2. Conflict
– unavoidable in teams; what is important
is how teams deal with conflict
– conflict can be seen as beneficial (different ideas but willing
to listen) or competitive ( disagree with team members, not
willing to listen to other’s opinion)
3. Cohesion
– team members feel attracted to their team and want to stay
in it
4. Trust
– creates an environment where workers spend less time
worrying about others and are more willing to allow other
team members to help them
Personnel Selection for Teams
• Successful selection of team members requires
identifying the best mix of personnel for effective team
performance
• Prieto (1993) describes 5 critical social skills for an
individual in a team to possess:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
gain the group acceptance
increase group solidarity
be aware of the group consciousness
share the group identification
manage others’ impressions of him or her
• Examining relationship between personality variables
and team effectiveness
– factors of conscientiousness & agreeableness have been found to
predict various dimensions of work team performance
• Stevens and Campion (1999) developed test to
measure team related KSAs
– e.g., conflict resolution, collaborative problem solving,
communication, & planning
Training for Teams
• A team task analysis is conducted to assess tasks that
require coordination
• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are asked to provide info
on each task that requires interdependency
• Info obtained is used to specify team training objectives
• Salas and Cannon-Bowers refer to team KSAs as:
thinking, doing, & feeling
• Much of our knowledge on team training comes from
military applications
– e.g., cross-training - exposure to and practice on other
teammates’ tasks, results in increased knowledge regarding
task responsibilities and coordination requirements
The Structure of team training
Salas & Cannon-Bowers, 1997
Team Performance
Cognition
Behaviors
Attitudes
Knowledge
Skills
Affect
“Think”
“Do”
“Feel”