Team Dynamics
Chapter Seven
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Teams at Whole Foods Markets
Whole Foods Markets
organizes employees around
self-directed teams,
responsible for a particular
store area. These teams have
considerable autonomy to
operate their store section.
7-2
What are Teams?
Groups of two or more people
Exist to fulfill a purpose
Interdependent -- interact and
influence each other
Mutually accountable for
achieving common goals
Perceive themselves as a social
entity
7-3
Groups versus Teams
All teams are groups
Some groups are just people assembled together
Teams have task interdependence whereas some
groups do not (e.g., group of employees enjoying
lunch together)
7-4
Many Types of Teams
•
Departmental teams
•
Skunkworks
•
Production/service/
leadership teams
•
Task force (project)
teams
•
Self-directed teams
•
Virtual teams
•
Advisory teams
•
Communities of practice
7-5
Why Informal Groups Exist
1.
Innate drive to bond
2.
Social identity

We define ourselves by group memberships
3.
Goal accomplishment
4.
Emotional support
7-6
Advantages of Teams
Compared with individuals working
alone, teams tend to:
Make better decisions
Make better products and services due to more
knowledge and expertise
Increase employee engagement
7-7
The Trouble With Teams
Individuals better/faster on some tasks
Process losses - cost of developing and
maintaining teams

Brooks’ Law -- more delays when adding members
to a team already behind schedule
Social loafing

Occurs when individuals exert less effort when
working in groups than alone
7-8
How to Minimize Social Loafing
Make individual performance more visible



Form smaller teams
Specialize tasks
Measure individual performance
Increase employee motivation


Increase job enrichment
Select motivated employees
7-9
Team Effectiveness
Model and
Components
Team Dynamics
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Effectiveness Model
Team Design
•Task characteristics
•Team size
Organizational
•Team composition
and Team
Environment
Team Processes
•Team development
•Team norms
•Team cohesiveness
•Team trust
Team
Effectiveness
• Achieve
organizational
goals
• Satisfy member
needs
• Maintain team
survival
7-11
Team’s Task and Size
Task characteristics



Better when tasks are clear, easy to implement
Share common inputs, processes, or outcomes
Task interdependence
Team size


Smaller teams are better
But large enough to accomplish task
7-12
Levels of Task Interdependence
High
A
Reciprocal
B
Sequential
A
C
B
C
Resource
Pooled
Low
A
B
C
7-13
Shell Looks for Team Players
Gourami session in Asia -- Courtesy of Shell International Ltd
Shell holds the 5-day Gourami
Business Challenge in Europe,
North America, and Asia to
observe how well the university
students work in teams. One of
the greatest challenges is for
students from different cultures
and educational specializations
to work together.
Gourami session in U.S.A. -- Courtesy of Shell U.S.
7-14
Team Composition
Effective team members must be
willing and able to work on the team
Effective team members are good at
the 5 C’s:
Gourami session in Asia -- Courtesy of Shell International Ltd

Cooperating

Coordinating

Communicating

Comforting (psych support)

Conflict resolving
Team diversity

Homogeneous or heterogeneous,
depending on task requirements
Gourami session in U.S.A. -- Courtesy of Shell U.S.
7-15
Team Development
Team development involves:





Interpersonal knowledge and trust
Understand and agree on roles
Discover appropriate behaviors
Learn to coordinate with each other
Develop team mental models
7-16
Stages of Team Development
Performing
Norming
Storming
Forming
Existing teams
might regress
back to an
earlier stage of
development
Adjourning
7-17
Team Norms
Informal rules and shared expectations team
establishes to regulate member behaviors
Norms develop through:

Initial team experiences

Critical events in team’s history

Experience/values members bring to the team
7-18
Changing Team Norms
Introduce norms when forming teams
Select members with preferred values
Discuss counter-productive norms
Reward behaviors representing desired norms
Disband teams with dysfunctional norms
7-19
Team Cohesion
The degree of attraction people feel toward the
team and their motivation to remain members
Calculative -- members believe the team will fulfill
goals and needs
Emotional -- team is part of person’s social
identity
7-20
Influences on Team Cohesion
Member
similarity
Team
size
Member
interaction
• Similarity-attraction effect
• Some forms of diversity have less effect
• Smaller teams more cohesive
• Regular interaction increases cohesion
• Calls for tasks with high interdependence
7-21
Influences on Team Cohesion
Somewhat
difficult entry
Team
success
External
challenges
(con’t)
• Team eliteness increases cohesion
• But lower cohesion with severe initiation
• Successful teams fulfill member needs
• Success increases social identity with team
• Challenges increase cohesion when not
overwhelming
7-22
Team Cohesiveness Outcomes
1.
Want to remain members
2.
Willing to share information
3.
Strong interpersonal bonds
4.
Resolve conflict effectively
5.
Better interpersonal relationships
7-23
Cohesiveness and Performance
Team Norms
Support
Company
Goals
Team Norms
Oppose
Company
Goals
Moderately
high task
performance
High task
performance
Moderately
low task
performance
Low task
performance
Low Team
Cohesiveness
High Team
Cohesiveness
7-24
Trust Defined
A psychological state comprising the
intention to accept vulnerability based
upon positive expectations of the intent
or behavior of another person
7-25
Three Levels of Trust
High
Identity-based Trust
Knowledge-based Trust
Calculus-based Trust
Low
7-26
Three Levels of Trust (con’t)
Calculus-based trust


Based on deterrence
Fragile, limited, dependent on punishment
Knowledge-based trust


Based on predictability and competence
Fairly robust, develops over time
Identification-based trust


Based on common mental models and values
Increases with person’s social identity with team
7-27
Self-Directed Teams
and Virtual Teams
Team Dynamics
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Self-Directed Teams at Chrysler
Chrysler president Tom La
Sorda is pushing the automaker
into an era of “smart
manufacturing” which relies
more on self-directed teams
(SDTs). This photo shows La
Sorda meeting employees at the
company’s plant in Saltillo,
Mexico, which has already
introduced SDTs.
7-29
Self-Directed Team Attributes
Formal groups that complete an
entire piece of work requiring
several interdependent tasks and
have substantial autonomy over the
execution of these tasks.
1. Complete an entire piece of work
requiring interdependent tasks
2. Substantial autonomy over
execution of the team’s tasks
7-30
Self-Directed Team Success Factors
Responsible for entire work
process
High interdependence within
the team
Low interdependence with
other teams
Autonomy to organize and
coordinate work
Technology supports team
communication/coordination
7-31
Virtual Teams
Teams whose members operate across space, time, and
organizational boundaries and are linked through
information technologies to achieve organizational tasks
 Increasingly possible because of:
—
—

Information technologies
Knowledge-based work
Increasingly necessary because of:
—
—
Knowledge management
Globalization
7-32
Virtual Team Success Factors
Member characteristics



Technology savvy
Self-leadership skills
Emotional intelligence
Flexible use of communication technologies
Opportunities to meet face-to-face
7-33
Team
Decision Making
Team Dynamics
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Decision Making Constraints
Time constraints


Time to organize/coordinate
Production blocking
Evaluation apprehension

Belief that other team members are silently evaluating you
Conformity to peer pressure

Suppressing opinions that oppose team norms
Groupthink


Tendency in highly cohesive teams to value consensus at the
price of decision quality
Concept is losing favor -- need to consider specific features
instead (e.g. overconfidence)
7-35
General Guidelines for Team Decisions
Team norms should encourage critical thinking
Sufficient team diversity
Ensure neither leader nor any member dominates
Maintain optimal team size
Introduce effective team structures
7-36
Constructive Conflict
Courtesy of Johnson Space Center/NASA
Occurs when team members debate their different
perceptions about an issue in a way that keeps the conflict
focused on the task rather than people.
Problem: constructive conflict easily slides into personal
attacks
7-37
Rules of Brainstorming
1.
Speak freely
2.
Don’t criticize
3.
Provide as many ideas as possible
4.
Build on others’ ideas
7-38
Evaluating Brainstorming
Strengths




Produces more innovative ideas
Strengthens decision acceptance and team cohesiveness
Sharing positive emotions encourages creativity
Higher customer satisfaction if clients participate
Weaknesses



Production blocking still exists
Evaluation apprehension exists in many groups
Fewer ideas generated than when people work alone
7-39
Electronic Brainstorming

Participants share ideas using software

Usually in the same room, but may be dispersed


Question posted, then participants submit their
ideas or comments on computer
Comments/ideas appear anonymously on
computer screens or at front of room
7-40
Evaluating Electronic Brainstorming
Strengths




Less production blocking
Less evaluation apprehension
More creative synergy
More satisfaction with process
Weaknesses




Too structured
Technology-bound
Candid feedback is threatening
Not applicable to all decisions
7-41
Nominal Group Technique
Describe
problem
Individual
Activity
Team
Activity
Individual
Activity
Write down
possible
solutions
Possible
solutions
described
to others
Vote on
solutions
presented
7-42
Team Dynamics
Chapter Seven
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.