Chapter 9
1
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Objectives
• Examine group effectiveness
• Examine the conflicting information on teamwork:
– Are teams effective
– Are leaders important
– How are teams compensated
• Discuss team development
• Examine selection criteria for team work
2
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Successful Team Designs
• Have clear direction – know its purpose or
objectives
• Establish team norms on how you will work
and communicate
• Have basic material resources
• Have authority (autonomy) to manage the
work
• Have specific goals
• Promote strategic thinking (be aware of the
environment; seek ways to improve)
• Are rewarded for excellence
3
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Benefits of Work Teams
• They enhance employee commitment
as members feel more ownership
because of involvement in decision
making
• They enhance quick adaptability of the
organization to the environment and to
customer demands
4
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Benefits of Work Teams
• They create productivity gains due to
worker flexibility
• They increase gains by reducing the
need for managers
5
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Costs of Work Teams
• Can’t meet production demands and
organizational goals due to:
– Difficulty of consensus
– Effort and time for coordination
– Effort and time for training
6
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Saturn Car Company
• GM’s experiment in cutting costs and using
teamwork (1990)
– Self-managed work teams assemble cars,
maintain equipment, order supplies, set work
schedules, select team members.
• Workers are salaried and have a profit sharing plan
• Although the company started made a profit
after the first three years the company has
been unprofitable most years and has not yet
recouped its initial investment
7
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Does Empowerment meet the
same objectives as teamwork
• Empowerment:
• Specify employee objectives and range
of discretion
• Delegate process decisions
• Have employees to develop goals
• Ensure required resources are available
• Establish feedback processes
8
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
How do you compensate teams?
• Only as a group (Wageman) or a
combination of individual and group
(Lipnack and Stamps, Osland et.al.)
• Issues:
– Types of teams – full-time, part-time, fulltime temporary
– Complexity of the plan
9
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
How do you compensate teams?
• Issues:
– Team member control of conditions
– What proportion of team versus individual
• There is agreement that there must be team
level compensation
• Disagreement comes over the degree of
individual compensation.
10
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
of Group Development
11
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Punctuated Equilibrium
• Groups who reported a significant
transition had higher performance
• Groups who reported a significant
transition were had lower satisfaction
12
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Tuckman’s Hierarchical Stage
Development Model
forming>storming>norming>performing
13
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Results
• Satisfaction
– The earlier that people went through the
stages the happier they were.
• Forming, norming, performing correlated with
satisfaction in a negative direction
– Group norming and performing were the
primary predictors of satisfaction
– Groups that did not storm were more satisfied
14
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Results
• Groups that left performing until later
had higher performance.
• Groups that went through norming
earlier were more successful
15
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Selecting to Teams
• What qualities would you select for
when creating teams??
16
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Selecting to Teams
(M.J. Stevens and M.A. Campion)
–
–
–
–
–
Conflict Resolution Skills - Encouraging desirable conflict
but discouraging undesirable conflict; and, employing
integrative (win-win) negotiation strategies rather than
distributive (win-lose) strategies.
Collaborative Problem Solving Skills - identifying
situations requiring participative group problem solving
and utilizing the proper degree of participation.
Communication Skills - Utilizing decentralized networks
where possible; recognizing open and supportive
communication methods;
Goal Setting Skills- Establishing specific, challenging,
and accepted team goals; and monitoring, evaluating,
and providing feedback on both overall team
performance and individual team member performance.
Planning and Task Coordination Skills - Coordinating and
synchronizing activities, information, and tasks between
team members, establishing individual task and role
assignments which ensure the proper balance of
workload between team members.
17
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Group norms
• Unwritten rules that guide group behavior and
define what is good behavior and what is bad
behavior
• Norms of self-managed teams will control
member behavior more than organizational
rules
• Team norms have more impact on the ethical
behavior of its members than does a
supervisor
• Norms will determine whether the group is
effective/ineffective and whether member behavior
supports or does not support organizational goals
18
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
Creating the right norms
• Select individuals who hold organizationally
consistent standards.
• Training to reinforce the organizational values
should be considered at the inception of
teams and updates should occur during the
course of a team's life.
• Close monitoring of the early development
period of the group - the time when norms
develop - to ensure the inception of
organizationally responsible norms.
19
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
...Tips for Virtual Teams
• Establish team norms on how you will
work and communicate
• Determine how work will be managed
and reviewed
• Allow for multiple leadership; avoid a
controlling style
20
Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 7/E
Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, and Irwin M. Rubin
©2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.