Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
Chapter 8
We’re All in This Together:
Organization and Teamwork
Learning Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
7.
6.
8.
Discuss the function of a company’s organization structure
Explain the concepts of accountability, authority, and delegation
Define five major types of organization structure
Describe the five most common forms of teams
Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams
Review the five stages of team development
List the characteristics of effective teams
Highlight six causes of team conflict
Summary of Learning Objectives
1.
Discuss the function of a company’s organization structure.
An organization structure provides a framework through which a company can
coordinate and control the work, divide responsibilities, distribute authority, and hold
employees accountable. An organization chart provides a visual representation of this
framework.
2.
Explain the concepts of accountability, authority, and delegation.
Accountability is the obligation to report work results to supervisors or team members
and to justify any outcomes that fall below expectations. Authority is the power to make
decisions, issue orders, carry out actions, and allocate resources to achieve the
organization’s goals. Delegation is the assignment of work and the transfer of authority
and responsibility to complete that work.
3.
Define five major types of organization structure.
Companies can organize in four primary ways:
1.
By function, this groups employees according to their skills, resource use, and
expertise
2.
By division, which establishes self-contained departments formed according to
similarities in product, process, customer, or geography
3.
By matrix, this assigns employees from functional departments to
interdisciplinary project teams and requires them to report to both a department
head and a team leader
4.
By network, this connects separate companies that perform selected tasks for a
headquartered organization
5.
In addition, many companies now combine elements of two or more of these
designs into hybrid structures.
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4.
Describe the five most common forms of teams.
The five most common forms of teams are:
1.
Problem-solving teams, which seek ways to improve a situation and then submit
their recommendation to management
2.
Self-managed teams, which manage their own activities and seldom require
supervision
3.
Functional teams, which are composed of employees within a single functional
department
4.
Cross-functional teams, which draw together employees from various
departments and expertise in a number of formats such as task forces, specialpurpose teams, and committees
5.
Virtual teams, which bring together employees from distant locations.
5.
Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams.
Teams have the potential to produce more effective decisions by pooling the resources,
knowledge, and diverse views of individual members. They can lead to increased
acceptance of a solution, higher performance levels, increased organizational flexibility,
and increased operational efficiencies. The potential disadvantages of working in teams
include the possibilities of groupthink, distractions from members’ hidden agendas, the
failure of free riders to contribute to the group, and the costs and time needed to
coordinate members’ schedules and project parts.
6.
List the characteristics of effective teams.
Effective teams have clear a clear sense of purpose, communicate openly and honesty,
build a sense of fairness in decision making, think creatively, stay focused on key issues,
manager conflict constructively, and select team members by involving stakeholders,
creative thinkers, and members with a diversity of views. Moreover, effective teams
have an optimal size of between 5 and 12 members.
7.
Review the five stages of team development.
Teams typically go through five stages of development.
1.
In the forming stage, team members become acquainted with each other and
with the group’s purpose.
2.
In the storming stage, conflict often arises as coalitions and power struggles
develop.
3.
In the norming stage, conflicts are resolved and harmony develops.
4.
In the performing stage, members focus on achieving the team’s goals.
5.
In the adjourning stage, the team dissolves upon completion of its task.
8.
Highlight six causes of team conflict and three styles of conflict resolution.
Conflict can arise from competition for:
1.
scarce resources
2.
confusion over task responsibility
3.
poor communication and misinformation
4.
differences in values, attitudes, and personalities
5.
power struggles
6.
goal incongruity
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Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
Brief Chapter Outline
I.
Designing an Effective Organization Structure
A.
Identifying Job Responsibilities
B.
Defining Chain of command
1.
Span of management
2.
Centralization versus decentralization
C.
Organizing the Workforce
1.
Functional structures
2.
Divisional structure
3.
Matrix Structures
4.
Network Structures
5.
Hybrid Structures
II.
Working in Teams
A.
What is a Team?
B.
Types of teams
1.
Problem-solving teams
2.
Self-managed teams
3.
Functional teams
4.
Cross-functional teams
5.
Virtual teams
B.
Advantages and disadvantages of working in teams
C.
Characteristics of Effective Teams
D.
Five Stages of Team Development
E.
Team Conflict
1.
Causes of Team Conflict
2.
Solutions to Team Conflict
F.
Productive Team Meetings
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Detailed Chapter Outline:
I.
4
Designing an Effective Organization Structure
A.
Organization structure
1.
Has a dramatic influence on the way employees and managers make
decisions
2.
Provides a framework for managers
3.
Organization chart – used to represent the organization’s structure
a.
Representation of how employees and tasks are grouped
b.
How the lines of communication and authority flow
4.
Formal organization – the formal design for accomplishing tasks that lead
to achieving the organization’s goals
5.
Informal organization – the network of interactions that develop on a
personal level among workers
a.
Sometimes the interactions parallel the relationships in the formal
organization
b.
Often interactions transcend formal boundaries, which can:
•
Establish a more pleasant work environment
•
But, can also undermine formal work processes
6.
To identify the best structure, four factors must be considered during
design phase:
a.
Work specialization
b.
Chain of command
c.
Vertical organization
d.
Horizontal organization and coordination
B.
Identifying Job Responsibilities
1.
Work specialization (division of labor) – the degree to which
organizational tasks are broken down into separate job
a.
Can improve organizational efficiency by enabling each worker to
perform tasks that are well defined and that require specific skills
b.
Possible to overdo specialization, however
•
Task can be defined too narrowly and employees can
become bored with repetitious job
•
Employees can feel unchallenged and alienated
•
Employees can focus too intently on their own
responsibilities thus reducing their contributions to the
overall organization
c.
More companies are balancing specialization and employee
motivation through teamwork
C.
Chain of command
1.
Unbroken line of authority that connects each level of management with
the next level
2.
Helps the organization function smoothly by making to things clear:
a.
Responsibility – the obligation to perform the duties and achieve
the goals and objectives associated with their jobs
b.
Accountability – their obligation to report the results of their work
to supervisors or team members and to justify outcomes that fall
below expectations
Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
3.
4.
Manager ensure tasks are accomplished by exercising authority – the
power to make decisions, issue orders, carry out actions, and allocate
resources
Delegation – the assignment of work and the transfer of authority and
responsibility to complete that work
Suggestion – What Do Students Think?
Should a manager be accountable for everything his or her employees do? Ask students to
consider the following situation and decide whether or not the decision made was ethical, fair,
or appropriate. During a routine visit, a regional manager of a retail chain caught an
employee stealing. He fired the thief on the spot, and later fired the manager although he
knew that the manager knew nothing about the theft and had not stolen himself. The regional
manager based his actions on the principal of accountability; was his decision right?
5.
6.
Possible chain-of-command systems
a.
Line organization – the simplest and most common chain-ofcommand system
•
Everyone knows who is accountable to whom
•
Know which tasks and decisions each person is responsible
for
•
Disadvantage – the technical complexity of a firm’s
activities may require specialized knowledge that individual
managers don’t have and can’t easily acquire
b.
Line-and-staff organization – combines specialization with
management control
•
Managers are supplemented by functional groupings of
people known as staff
•
These staff provide advice and specialized services but are
not in the line organization’s chain of command
Span of management – the number of people a manager directly
supervises
a.
Flat organization
•
A large number of people report directly to one person
•
The manager has a wide span of management
•
Relatively few levels in management hierarchy
b.
Tall organizations
•
Usually only a few people reporting to each manager
•
The span of management is typically narrow
•
Many hierarchical levels
c.
Several factors affect the number of people a manager can
effectively supervise, including:
•
The manager’s personal skills and leadership ability
•
The workers’ skills
•
The workers’ motivation
•
The nature and complexity of the job
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7.
D.
6
Centralization Versus Decentralization – the location of decision-making
authority
a.
Centralization – focus decision-making authority ear the top of the
chain of command
•
Benefits a company by utilizing top management’s rich
experience and board view of organizational goals
•
Can be utilized in both line and line-and-staff organizations
b.
Decentralization – pushes decision-making authority down to the
lower organizational levels, while control over essential
companywide matters remain with top management
•
Can stimulate responsiveness because decisions don’t have
to be referred up the hierarchy
•
Doesn’t work in every company or in every situation
Organizing the Workforce
1.
Departmentalization
a.
Vertical Structure – how many layers the chain of command is
divided into from the top of the company to the bottom
b.
Horizontal Structure – how the various business functions and
work specialties are divided across the company
c.
Variations in vertical and horizontal structures can create endless
possibilities of structure
2.
Functional Structures
a.
Groups employees according to their skills, resource use and
expertise
b.
Examples = marketing, human development, operations, finance,
etc
c.
Advantages
•
Allows for efficient use of resources
•
Encourages the development of in-depth skills
d.
Enables unified direction by top management
e.
Enhances communication and coordination of activities within
department
f.
Disadvantages
•
Can create communications barriers between departments
•
Can slow response to change
•
Can overemphasize work specialization
•
Employees can become too narrowly focused on
departmental goals and lose sight of company goals
3.
Divisional Structure
a.
Establishes self-contained departments that encompass all major
functional resources required to achieve their goals
b.
Are typically formed according to similarities in:
•
Product divisions – grouped around each of the company’s
products or family of products
•
Process divisions – also called process-complete
departments – based on the major steps of a product
process
Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
Customer divisions – concentrates activities on satisfying
specific groups of customers
•
Geography divisions – enable companies to spread over
national or global areas to respond more easily to local
customs, styles and product preferences
c.
Advantages of divisional departmentalization:
•
Can react quickly
•
Offer better service to customers
•
Can focus on problem areas more easily
•
Managers can gain valuable experience
d.
Disadvantages:
•
Can increase costs by duplicating the use of resources
•
Temptation for the employee focus to become too narrow
on divisional goals at the cost of the organization’s overall
goals
•
Divisions may compete with one another
Matrix Structures
a.
Employees from functional departments form teams to combines
their specialized skills, allowing the company to pool and share
resources across divisions and functional groups
b.
May be a permanent feature or may be established to complete a
specific project
c.
Can help big companies function like smaller ones
d.
Disadvantages:
•
Team members usually continue to report to their
functional department heads as well as the matrix project
team leader
•
Authority tends to be more ambiguous
•
Power struggles and other interpersonal conflicts can
development
e.
Excellent communication and coordination are necessary to avoid
conflict
Network Structures
a.
A method of electronically connecting separate companies that
perform selected tasks for a headquarters organization
b.
Also called virtual organizations
c.
The network organization outsources various functional work
d.
Advantages:
•
Increased flexibility
•
Increased speed in decision making
•
The organization can continually redefine itself
•
Employees tend to have greater job variety and
satisfaction
e.
Disadvantages
•
There is a lack of hands-on control
•
Headquarters organization can suffer even if the problem
is created elsewhere in the network
•
3.
4.
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Strong employee loyalty and team spirit less likely to
develop
Hybrid organization
a.
Combines vertical and horizontal functions
b.
Core processes are supported by organization-wide functional
departments
•
5.
Suggestion – Classroom Discussion:
Ask students to discuss organizations of which they have been members, including jobs, clubs,
teams, church groups, choirs, etc. Broaden the scope to include organizations other than jobs.
Ask students which types of organizations they felt were successful, and whether they were
horizontal, vertical or hybrid. Does the success of the group depend on the style of
organization? How successful would the group be if it were organized differently?
II.
8
Working in Teams
A.
What is a Team?
1.
Unit of two or more people who work together to achieve a goal
2.
Differ from work groups, which interact primarily to share information
and are essentially a summation of all group members’ individual
contributions
3.
In contrast, the members of a team have a shared mission and are
collectively responsible for their work
4.
Shifting to a team structure can be challenging
5.
Teams have:
a.
Clear goals that are tied to the company’s strategic goals
b.
Outcomes that are measured and compared with benchmarks
c.
Employees work together in teams because they are motivated to
do so by:
•
Extensive training
•
Compensation system, based, at least in part on team
performance
B.
Types of Teams
1.
Problem-solving teams
a.
Also referred to as quality circles
b.
Typically consist of 5 to 12 employees from the same department
c.
Meet voluntarily
d.
Seeking to improve quality, efficiency, and the work environment
e.
Their recommendations are then submitted to management for
approval
2.
Self-managed teams
a.
Manage their own actions
b.
Require minimum supervision
c.
Typically control the pace of work and determination of work
assignments
d.
Often select own members
Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
e.
3.
4.
Managers are often reluctant to embrace self-managed teams
because the manager would have to give up substantial control
Functional teams
a.
Also called command teams
b.
Organized along the lines of the organization’s vertical structure;
may also be referred to as vertical teams
c.
Composed of managers and employees within a single functional
department
d.
Structure typically follows the formal chain of command
e.
May include several levels of the organizational hierarchy within
the same functional department
Cross-functional teams
a.
Draw together employees from various functional areas and
expertise
b.
Often employees are cross-trained to perform a variety of jobs
c.
Have many benefits, including:
•
Generate ideas for how to best facilitate exchange of
information between employees
•
Encourage new solutions
•
Aid the development of new organizational policies and
procedures
d.
Can take a number of different formats, including:
•
Task forces
A cross-functional team formed to work on a
specific activity with a completion point
Several departments usually are involved so all
parties have a stake in the outcome
Once the goal is accomplished, the task force is
disbanded
•
Special-purpose teams
Created as temporary entities to achieve specific
goals
Different because they exist outside the formal
organizational hierarchy
Such teams remain a part of the organization but
have their own reporting structures
Members view themselves as separate from the
normal functions of the organization
•
Committees
Usually has a long life span
May become a permanent part of the organization
structure
Typically deal with regularly recurring tasks
Usually require official representation, so
committee members are often selected on the
basis of their title or position rather than their
personal expertise
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Suggestion – Time for Review:
The amount of information covered to this point in the chapter can begin to be
overwhelming. Helping students to identify the subtle differences among the various types
of teams can be useful.
Ask students to close their notebooks and spend about five minutes writing what they recall
about the various types of teams.
Have students share their recollections and develop a comparison chart on the board with
their information.
5.
C.
D.
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Virtual teams
a.
Groups of physically dispersed members who work together to
achieve a common goal
b.
Use a variety of technological formats and devices
c.
May occasionally meet face-to-face
d.
Biggest advantage = members are able to work together even if
they are physically separated
e.
Must deal with the absence of nonverbal cues, limited social
context, and the ability to overcome time and space constraints
Advantages and disadvantages of Working in Teams
1.
Advantages of working in teams
a.
Higher-quality decisions
b.
Increased commitment to solutions and changes
c.
Lower levels of stress and destructive internal competition
d.
Improved flexibility and responsiveness
2.
Disadvantages of teams
a.
Inefficiency
b.
Groupthink – occurs when peer pressures cause individuals to
withhold contrary or unpopular opinions
c.
Diminished individual motivation
d.
Structural disruption
e.
Excessive workloads
Characteristics of Effective Teams
1.
Size
a.
optimal size if generally between 5 and 12 members
b.
teams smaller than five may lack the necessary skill diversity
c.
teams larger than twelve may have poor communications,
disagreements and factionalism
2.
Roles within teams
a.
task-specialist role – focuses on helping the team reach its goals
b.
socioemotional role – focuses on supporting the team’s emotional
needs the strengthening the team’s social unity
c.
nonparticipators – free riders – don’t contribute their fair share;
often because they are not being held individually accountable for
their work
3.
Characteristics of effective teams
a.
Clear sense of purpose
b.
Open and honest communication
Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
E.
c.
Creative thinking
d.
Focused
e.
Decision by consensus
Five Stages of Team Development
1.
All effective groups move through five developmental stages, including:
a.
Forming
•
Period of orientation
•
Members get to know one another
•
Determine what types of behavior are appropriate
•
Identify what is expected of group
•
Members become acquainted with others’ task orientation
b.
Storming
•
Members show more of their personalities
•
Become more assertive in establishing their roles
•
Conflict and disagreement often arise
•
Members are jockeying for positions
•
Coalitions are formed to promote own perceptions of
groups’ mission
c.
Norming
•
Conflicts are resolved
•
Team harmony develops
•
Members understand and accept each other
•
A consensus is reached on who the group leader is
•
Reach agreement on each member’s roles
d.
Performing
•
Members are really committed to the team’s goals
•
Problems are solved
•
Disagreements are handled with maturity in the interest of
task accomplishment
e.
Adjourning
•
Task is completed
•
Issues are wrapped up
•
Team is dissolved
Suggestions – Applying Their Experiences:
If students are involved in teamwork in your class, ask them to join their team members and
discuss their current development through the various stages. What could they do to assist
their group in becoming more effective?
If students are not working in teams in your class, ask them to join another student and
discuss a team experience they have had. They should discuss their observations about the
various stages of development the group experienced. They should also be encouraged to
identify ways the team’s productivity and effectiveness could have been enhanced.
2.
As teams move through various stages, three things happen:
a.
Cohesiveness
•
A measure of how committed the members are to the
team’s goals
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Reflected in meeting attendance, team interaction, work
quality, goal achievement
•
If competition present, cohesiveness increases as team
strives to win
•
Cohesiveness also increases if team’s efforts are
recognized by the organization
•
Productivity increases is cohesiveness is coupled with
strong management support for team objectives
Norms emerge
•
Informal standard of conduct that members share and that
guide behavior
•
Define what is acceptable behavior
•
Set limits, identify values, clarify what is expected
•
b.
Suggestion – Reflection and Discussion:
Students can be asked to recall a recent team experience in which they were involved.
Provide five to ten minutes for students to prepare some reflections on the team’s
effectiveness. Which of the above characteristics were displayed?
Ask students to share their responses in small groups. Encourage them to provide specific
examples of behaviors they observed that provided evidence of the various characteristics.
F.
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Conflict in teams
1.
The antagonistic interactions resulting from differences in ideas,
opinions, goals or ways of going things
a.
Can be both constructive – increases the involvement of
team members – and destructive – diverts energy from
important issues and destroys morale
2.
Causes of Team Conflict:
a.
Teams and individuals feeling they are in competition for
scarce resources
b.
Team members disagreeing about who is responsible for
specific tasks
c.
Poor communication and/or intentionally withholding
information can lead to misunderstandings and
misperceptions
d.
Basis differences in values, attitude and personalities
e.
Power struggles leading to questioning of authority
f.
Pursuit of different goals
3.
Solutions to Team Conflict
a.
Perspective of conflict is influenced by health of the team
•
Healthy team is morel likely to view conflict as
simply another challenge; can emerge even
stronger than before
•
Dysfunctional team can disintegrate even further in
the face of conflict
b.
Teams handle conflict in a variety of ways, including:
Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
•
•
•
•
•
•
Simply force a resolution by bringing it out into the
open and resolving it as quickly as possible
Ignore the conflict
Negotiating compromises
Remind the team to refocus on its shared goals
Disband
Form with new members
Suggestion – Small Group Discussion:
Have students move into group of three. In these small groups students should discuss their
dominant method of approaching conflict in groups from the list above. After all members
have discussed their preferences and provided examples, they should be asked to provide
examples of when they have used the techniques below to prevent conflict – establishing clear
goals, developing well-defined tasks, and facilitating open communications.
c.
G.
Steps can be taken to prevent conflict, including:
•
Establishing clear goals that require the efforts of
everyone on the team
•
Develop well-defined tasks for each member
•
Facilitating open communications
Productive Team Meetings
1.
Clarify the purpose of the meeting
2.
Select participants carefully
3.
Establish a clear agenda
4.
Keep the meeting on track
5.
Follow agreed-upon rules
6.
Encourage participation
7.
Close effectively
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Potential Difficulties and Suggestions Solutions
1.
Students may have some difficulty in understanding the two organizational hierarchies:
flat organizations and tall organizations. To better their understanding of the subject
matter, you may want to ask them to analyze certain firms to identify their
organizational hierarchy and the rational for choosing that hierarchy.
For example, what type of organizational hierarchy do you think high-tech and ecommerce firms prefer? (Answer: flat organizational hierarchy) Ask the students to
think about what benefits this organizational hierarchy offers them? What possible
disadvantages do they face? Because of the rapidly changing technological
environment, these high-tech firms need to possess a high degree of flexibility.
Benefits:
•
These jobs carry a high degree of authority and decision-making power because
the employees are well trained and educated in their field.
•
If all decisions had to be made by top management, the decision-making process
would be slowed down tremendously. Therefore, it is imperative for these
employees to make decisions at the lower levels so as to remain competitive in
this ever-changing business environment.
Disadvantages:
•
Possible duplication of effort
•
Difficulty transmitting information accurately
2.
Students often need situational examples to understand some concepts thoroughly.
Such may be the case with: the concepts of responsibility and authority. To further
explain these concepts, you may want to ask the students to consider the following:
What do you think happens if a manager is given responsibility without authority? It is
important to include the following in your discussion:
•
The manager is likely to be ineffective because he/she has duties to perform
without the power to make necessary decisions, delegate tasks, or control the
work of his/her subordinates.
•
The result will likely be poor performance and a frustrated manager.
Answers to End-of-Chapter Questions
Test Your Knowledge
Questions for Review
1.
14
Why is organization structure important?
Organization structure is important because it lets employees know where and how they
fit into an organization, enabling them to work together toward company goals and to
feel satisfied with their contributions to the organization.
Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
2.
What are the characteristics of tall organizations and flat organizations?
Tall organizations have many levels of hierarchy with a narrow span of management at
each level, and most of the authority and responsibility are concentrated at the top. Flat
organizations are decentralized and characterized by few levels and wide spans of
management.
3.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of work specialization?
Work specialization, also called a division of labor, refers to degree to which
organizational tasks are broken down into separate jobs. When employees specialize in
one task in a series needed to complete a job, they can complete it far more efficiently
than if they performed every task necessary to complete the job. However, because
repetition of tasks creates boredom, employees can become unmotivated, and feel
isolated. For this reason, companies are balancing specialization and employee
motivation through teamwork.
4.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of functional
departmentalization?
Functional departmentalization (grouping employees according to their skills and
resource use) has several distinct advantages. First, resources are used efficiently, which
save a company both time and money. Second, centralized decision making enables
upper management to give unified direction. Third, coordination of activities within
departments becomes streamlined. However, communication between departments can
become less clear, slowing down the overall production process, and making it difficult
to respond to environmental changes. Sometimes employees even become alienated
from the overall goals of the firm.
5.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams?
One of the biggest advantages of teams is that the interaction of the participants leads
to higher-quality decisions based on the combined intelligence of the group. Moreover,
teams lead to increased acceptance of a solution. Team members who participate in
making a decision are more likely to enthusiastically support the decision and encourage
others to accept it. Another big advantage is that teams have the potential to unleash
vast amounts of creativity and energy in workers. Motivation and performance are often
increased as workers share a sense of purpose and mutual accountability. Teams can
also fill the individual worker’s need to belong to a group. Furthermore, they can reduce
boredom, increase feelings of dignity and self-worth, and reduce stress and tension
between workers. Finally, teams empower employees to bring more knowledge and skill
to the tasks they perform and thereby often lead to greater efficiency and cost
reduction. Organizational flexibility is another key benefit of using teams in the
workplace. Such flexibility means employees are able to exchange jobs, workers can be
reallocated as needed, managers can delegate more authority and responsibility to
lower-level employees, and the company can meet changing customer needs more
effectively.
Although teamwork has many advantages, it also has a number of potential
disadvantages. For one thing, power within the organization sometimes becomes
realigned with teams. Successful teams mean that fewer supervisors are needed, and
usually fewer middle and front-line managers. Adjusting to their changing job roles, or
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even to the loss of their jobs, is understandably difficult for many people. Another
potential disadvantage is free riders--team members who don’t contribute their fair
share to the group’s activities because they aren’t being held individually accountable for
their work. The free-ride attitude can lead to the nonfulfillment of certain tasks. Still
another drawback to teamwork is the high cost of coordinating group activities. Aligning
schedules, arranging meetings, and coordinating individual parts of a project can eat up
a lot of time and money. Moreover, a team may develop groupthink, a situation in which
pressures to conform to the norms of the group cause members to withhold contrary or
unpopular opinions. Groupthink can hinder effective decision making because some
possibilities will be overlooked.
Questions for Analysis
6.
Why would you expect a manager of a group of nuclear physicists to have a
wide span of management?
Since nuclear physicists are highly skilled scientists requiring little supervision, one would
expect their managers to have a wide span of supervision.
7.
How can a virtual organization reduce costs?
A virtual organization can reduce costs in several ways, including:
a.
a reduction in the need for brick and mortar office space for each employee
b.
a reduction in travel costs
c.
increased productivity due to improved employee satisfaction
d.
bring together members with special expertise or skills
8.
What can managers do to help teams work more effectively?
To help teams work more effectively, managers can show strong support for team
concepts, give the teams the authority to make their own decisions, and help them to
establish clear objectives. Managers can also offer financial incentives for team
performance, such as stock options, profit sharing, and bonuses. Public recognition is an
additional powerful motivation for success.
9.
How can companies benefit from using virtual teams?
Virtual teams enable a company to bring together geographically distant employees and
coordinate their work. The technologies that make virtual teams possible also enable a
company to find new opportunities by expanding its geographic reach. This can help
the company develop competitive advantages by reducing both product development
and global distribution times. In addition, the exchange of information and ideas
between people from around the world can lead to a better sense of the organization’s
overall goals and allow for greater innovation in products and services.
10.
Ethical Considerations: You were honored that you were selected to serve on
the salary committee of the employee negotiations task force. As a member
of that committee, you reviewed confidential company documents listing the
salaries of all department managers. You discovered that managers at your
level are earning $5,000 more than you, even though you’ve been at the
company the same amount of time. You feel that a raise is justified on the
basis of this confidential information. How will you handle this situation?
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Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
Clearly, there are some ethical issues involved in this situation. Because this information
was obtained when reviewing confidential company documents, students must take this
issue into account when responding. Although the employee should seek a raise in
salary, it would be a mistake to mention the salaries of other employees as a reason for
greater pay. Answers should emphasize the reasons that the employee deserves a raise
rather than simply comparing salaries (and it would probably be better not to mention
others’ salaries at all).
Questions for Application
11.
You are the leader of a cross-functional work team whose goal is to find ways
of lowering production costs. Your team of eight employees has become
mired in the storming stage. They disagree on how to approach the task, and
they are starting to splinter into factions. What can you do to help the team
move forward?
The team leader’s focus at this point should be to resolve the conflict and help the team
become more cohesive. Adopting the avoidance style will not be helpful here; however,
diffusion might be possible. The leader can encourage the disputing parties to confront
the issue by openly discussing it at a special meeting. After both parties have stated
their views, a compromise may be possible. If not, the leader can suggest that the team
vote on the issue, with all parties agreeing to accept the outcome. If this fails, the
leader can turn to a neutral third party to mediate the dispute.
12.
Your warehouse operation is currently functioning at capacity. To
accommodate new business, your company must either build a major addition
to your current warehouse operation or build a new warehouse that would be
located at a distant site. As director of warehouse operations, you would like
several people to participate in this decision. Should you form a task force,
committee, or a special-purpose team? Explain your choice.
Student answers should reflect upon the nature of these different styles of teams. All
answers should rule out the possibility of a committee because the goals of this
particular project are short term with a specific completion point. Both task forces and
special-purpose teams are created to deal with short-term goals. Whether a specialpurpose team or a task force should be used is debatable. A special-purpose team
would have more freedom to explore ideas and consider innovations. Otherwise, a task
force should be used to study the advantages of building an addition or moving to
another site.
13.
Integrated: One of your competitors has approached you with an intriguing
proposition. The company would like to merge with your company. The
economies of scale are terrific. So are the growth possibilities. There’s just
one issue to be resolved. Your competitor is organized under a horizontal
structure and uses lots of cross-functional teams. Your company is organized
under a traditional vertical structure that departmentalizes by function.
Using your knowledge about culture clash, explain the likely issues you will
encounter if these two organizations are merged.
The differences between a vertical structure and a horizontal structure are vast. When a
company uses a traditional vertical structure, authority comes from above, functions are
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discrete, and employees have little creativity. On the other hand, horizontally organized
structures tend to have fewer levels of management, functions are less discrete, and
employees have greater creativity. Each of these styles of organization creates a unique
culture. Merging companies would bring together these two disparate styles of
organization and the distinctive cultures they create. The clash of these cultures will
take patience and strong leadership among managers. Depending on how CEOs decide
to combine companies, employees may lose or gain freedom in ways that they are
unaccustomed to. This could create conflict, anger, confusion, fear, and stress among
employees. Strong leadership skills would be necessary to make the transition as
smooth as possible.
14.
Integrated: Chapter 7 discussed several style of leadership, including
autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire. Using your knowledge about the
differences in these leadership styles, indicate which style you would expect
to find under the following organization structures: (a) tall organization -departmentalization by function; (b) tall organization – departmentalization
by matrix; (c) flat organization; (d) self-directed teams?
a.
When an organization is departmentalization by function, employees are grouped
according to skill, resource use, and expertise. In a tall organization, one of the
critical components of effective management is ensuring that information flows
all of the way from the top managers to the entry-level employees, and from
those employees who interact regularly with customers to the upper levels where
decisions are made. This kind of organization would function well with an
autocratic leadership style.
b.
When an organization is departmentalized by matrix, employees from functional
departments form teams to combine specialized skills. Structure of these
organizations is less rigid than those departmentalized by function. A leader for
this style of organization would have to be democratic. Being a tall organization,
special care would be necessary to ensure that communications, information and
decision making moved throughout the entire organization.
c.
Flat organizations are created to encourage decentralized decision making. The
leadership style that would aid in that manner of decision making would be
democratic.
d.
Self directed teams manage their own activities and require little supervision:
Clearly, the best leader for this structure would be a laissez faire leader. This
type of leader could act as mentor and guide but would allow the self-directed
team to function on its own.
Practice Your Knowledge
Handling Difficult Situations on the Job: Dehiring Campus Recruits
Responses to “Your Task”
Determine the best course of action. Should Intel dehire recruits? How might
dehiring recruits impact the firm’s organizational structure? What alternatives can
you offer? If you choose reverse hiring, what will you say to recruits and how will
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Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
you reach them (letters, phone calls, e-mail)? What offers will you make, if any?
How can you prevent hard feelings against Intel?
Students’ answers will vary, particularly given their own experience of recruitment and hiring
processes. Regardless of their own experiences, the following advantages and disadvantages
might be identified:
Reasons Intel SHOULD
dehire recruits:
•
May have to simply let the new hires go
later, thus, placing them behind others in the
job-search process.
•
Could place an financial hardship on all
employees in an effort to maintain employment
commitment to new hires
•
These new hires will not receive the
training and other opportunities typically
provided to new employees, thus, slowing their
potential for advancement within the company
Reasons Intel SHOULD NOT
dehire recruits:
•
A commitment has been made; Intel
should be a company of its word.
•
Economic difficulties may be shortlived. If the new hires are let go, Intel
could find itself short of quality employees.
•
Even if not in the short term, there
will eventually be an economic swing,
making the desire to increase their
workforce increase. If they treat new hires
poorly, Intel’s reputation could be
tarnished.
If reverse hiring were to be utilized the following information should be provided to those
affected:
•
the detailed reasons for the decision must be shared
•
severance should be provided that both recognizes the time necessary for these
individuals to obtain a new position and to acknowledge that your original hiring
commitment had removed them from the job-searching process, making their search
more difficult at this point
•
a priority system could be established for extending offers of re-hire to these individuals
when the economy improves
Since this issue has the potential to tarnish Intel’s reputation, this information should be
provided in writing, followed by a phone call to respond to questions. Additionally, information
should be updated on the company’s webpage, perhaps providing secured entry to those
individuals to an exclusive portion of the website with this information.
Building Your Team Skills
What’s the most effective organization structure for your college or university? With your team,
obtain a copy of your school’s organization chart. If this chart is not readily available, gather
information by talking with people in administration, and then draw your own chart of the
organization structure.
Analyze the chart in terms of span of management. Is your school a flat or a tall
organization? Is this organization structure appropriate for your school? Does
decision making tend to be centralized or decentralized in your school? Do you
agree with this approach to decision making?
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Finally, investigate the use of formal and informal teams in your school. Are there
any problem-solving teams, task forces, or committees at work in your school? Are
any teams self-directed or virtual? How much authority do these teams have to
make decisions? What is the purpose of teamwork in your school-what kinds of
goals do these teams have?
Share your team’s findings during a brief classroom presentation, and then compare
the findings of all teams. Is there agreement on the appropriate organization
structure for your school?
Universities and community colleges tend to be rich with examples of different types of
organizational structures. There are usually many committees, and task forces, as well as “tall”
organizational structures to examine. This blending of structures is a good example for students
to explore because it demonstrates the ways in which different types of structures can coexist.
Students may tend to overlook the informal committees, groups, and networks; be sure to
encourage them to notice the informal as well as the formal structures
Expand Your Knowledge
Discovering Career Opportunities
Whether you’re a top manager, first-line manager (supervisor), or middle manager, your efforts
will impact the success of your organization. To get a closer look at what the responsibilities of
a manager are, log on to the Prentice Hall Student Success SuperSite at
www.prenhall.com/success. Click on Majors Exploration, and select “management” in the drop
down box. Then scroll down and read about careers in management.
1.
What can you do with a degree in management?
•
Management or management trainee is a first step towards overall direction of a
department, a division, or even a whole company.
•
Supervision of employees in corporate, retail, or many other environments takes
advantage of what you've learned about people and businesses.
•
Management decision-making relies on well-founded analysis of facts and trends
to improve in how a business is run. Management majors are trained to conduct
these kinds of analyses.
•
Management students are trained to understand the human resource needs of
organizations and to develop programs for recruitment, training, retention, and
development of employees.
•
To compete successfully in a market, organizations need to know how to design
and execute strategies. Management studies prepare students by giving them a
background in strategic planning and in implementing strategy.
2.
What is the future outlook for careers in management?
The future looks very promising with a management degree - there are a variety of
subjects to specialize in and a variety of jobs available after college.
3.
Follow the link to the American Management Association website and click on
Research. Then scroll down and click on Administrative Professionals Current
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Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
Concerns Survey. According to the survey, what has affected administrative
professionals most recently? On which five tasks do managers spend most of
their time?
According to the survey, the following has affected administrative professional recently:
downsizing and reorganization of the company; change in boss’s responsibility; the
uncertain economy; promotion; and the events of September 11. Managers spend most
of their time on the following tasks: calendar management; correspondence/
communication; meeting/event organization; project/team coordination; information
management/research.
Developing Your Research Skills
Although teamwork can benefit many organizations, introducing and managing team structures
can be a real challenge. Search past issues of business journals or newspapers (print or online
editions) to locate articles about how an organization has overcome problems with teams.
1.
Why did the organization originally introduce teams? What types of teams
are being used?
Answers will vary depending on the articles selected.
2.
What problems did the organization encounter in trying to implement teams?
How did the organization deal with these problems?
Answers will vary depending on the articles selected.
3.
Have the teams been successful from management’s perspective? From the
employees’ perspective? What effect has teamwork had on the company, its
customers, and its products?
Answers will vary depending on the articles selected.
Exploring the Best of the Web
URLs for all Internet exercises are provided at the website for this book,
www.prenhall.com.bovee. When you log on to the text website, select Chapter 8, then select
“Student Resources,” click on the name of the featured website, and follow the detailed
navigational directions to complete these exercises.
Explore these chapter-related websites, review their content, and answer the following
questions for each website you visit:
1.
What is the purpose of this website?
2.
What kinds of information does this website contain? Please be specific.
3.
How is the information provided at this website useful for businesspeople? Consumers?
4.
How did you expand you knowledge of organizing and working in teams by reviewing
the material at this website? What new things did you learn about these topics?
Build Teams Online
Let Teamworks, the Virtual Team Assistant, help you build a more effective team, resolve team
conflict, manage projects, solve team problems, be a team leader, encourage team feedback,
and teach with teams. Each of the site’s nine information modules contains background
information, self-assessment vehicles, skill development exercises, and links to helpful
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resources. Log on now and increase your effectiveness as a team member by learning more
about why teams work, the stages of team development, tips for communicating with team
members during a project, and some creative problem-solving techniques.
www.vta.spcomm.uiuc.edu
1.
What is the purpose of this website?
Student answers may vary, but may include any of the following:
Teamworks, the Virtual Team Assistant, is a website developed to provide support for
group communication processes, and especially for design teams in engineering and
other practical arts and sciences.
2.
What kinds of information does this website contain? Please be specific.
Student answers may vary, but may include any of the following:
Teamworks consists of nine informational modules, each of which contains background
information, instruments for self-assessment, lessons to develop team work skills, and
links to helpful resources. The nine modules cover the following topics: team building;
project management, team problem-solving; team conflict; team feedback; team
leadership; participation in discussion; oral and written presentations; teaching with
teams.
3.
How is the information provided at this website useful for businesspeople?
Consumers?
Student answers may vary, but may include any of the following:
Businesspeople who work in teams can refer to this website to increase their
effectiveness as a team member by learning more about why teams work, the stages of
team development, tips for communicating with team members during a project, and
some creative problem-solving techniques.
4.
How did you expand you knowledge of organizing and working in teams by
reviewing the material at this website? What new things did you learn about
these topics?
Students’ responses will depend, in large part, on the material currently posted on the
website.
Be Direct
www.mapnp.org/library/grp_skll/slf_drct/slf_drct.htm
1.
What is the purpose of this website?
This website is designed to provide resources on working and leading teams. It is part
of the www.mapnp.org webpage, which assists non-profit organizations and skilled
business members to partner together to strengthen non-profit’s ability to enhance the
health of our communities.
2.
What kinds of information does this website contain? Please be specific.
Self-Directed Work Teams
Description of "self-directed" versus "self-managed" work team
Self-Directed Work Teams
Approaches to Self-Directed Work Teams
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Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
Self-Managed Work Teams
Description of "self-directed" versus "self-managed" work team
Effective Self-Managed Teams
Self-Managed Teams
Frequently Asked Questions About Self-Managed Teams
The Horizontal Corporation and Its Use of Self Managed Teams
Leaders Circles: Self-Managed Teams of Self-Directed Learners (page down to read booklet)
Related Library Links
Committees
Communications (Face-to-Face)
Conflict Management
Dialoguing
Facilitating Face-to-Face
Facilitating On-line
Focus Groups
Group Dynamics
Group Learning
Group Performance Management
Group Skills
Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities
Interpersonal Skills
Meeting Management
Negotiating
Open Space Technology
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Team Building
Valuing Diversity
Virtual Teams
On-Line Discussion Groups, Newsletters, etc.
There are a large number of on-line discussion groups, newsletters (e-zines), etc. in the overall
areas of management, business and organization development. Participants, subscribers, etc.,
can get answers to their questions and learn a lot just by posing the questions to the groups,
sharing insights about their experiences, etc. Join some groups and sign up for some newsletters!
References to major egroups, newsletters, etc.
3.
How is the information provided at this website useful for businesspeople?
Consumers?
Almost all organizations now use teams. This website can educate and assist business
leaders to lead those teams more effectively.
4.
How did you expand you knowledge of organizing and working in teams by
reviewing the material at this website? What new things did you learn about
these topics?
Students’ answers will vary depending on the specific areas of the webpage they visit.
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Resolve Conflict Like a Pro
The field of conflict resolution has been growing very quickly and includes practices such as
negotiation, mediation, arbitration, international peace building, and more. Learn more about
each of these topics along with basic information about conflict resolution by visiting crinfo.org.
Be sure to check out the web resources where you’ll find links to communication and facilitation
skills, consensus building, and more. Find out why BATNA is important. Discover what a
mediator does. Learn how to conduct effective meetings. And don’t leave without testing your
knowledge of common negotiation terms.
www.crinfo.org/
1.
What is the purpose of this website?
Student answers may vary, but may include any of the following: To provide
information concerning conflict resolution processes.
2.
What kinds of information does this website contain? Please be specific.
Student answers may vary, but may include any of the following:
This website provides information on the following: negotiation, mediation, arbitration,
international peace building, basic information about conflict resolution, communication
and facilitation skills, consensus building, BATNA, how to conduct effective meetings.
3.
How is the information provided at this website useful for businesspeople?
Consumers?
Student answers may vary, but may include any of the following:
Businesspeople can find information pertaining to the following through this website:
locate website on specific conflicts; find current news stories about world conflicts and
dispute resolution, search for conflict resolution organization; search for books and
articles on particular types of conflict or conflict resolution processes; search for books
and article on particular conflicts, etc.
Consumers who are interested can search for information on the following through this
website: process of conflict resolution; websites on conflict type; websites on conflict
processed; website on specific conflicts, current news stories about world conflicts and
dispute resolution, conflict resolution organizations, etc.
4.
How did you expand you knowledge of organizing and working in teams by
reviewing the material at this website? What new things did you learn about
these topics?
Students’ responses will depend, in large part, on the material currently posted on the
website.
A Case for Critical Thinking
Harley-Davidson – From Dysfunctional to Cross-Functional
Critical Thinking Questions
Go to Chapter 8 of this text’s website at www.prenhall.com/mescon and click on the hot link to
get to the Harley-Davidson website. Navigate the site to answer the following questions: How
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Chapter 8: We’re All in This Together – Organization and Teamwork
many motorcycles did Harley produce in the most recent quarter? What is the output trend?
What is the trend in Harley’s worldwide sales?
1.
During Teerlink’s tenure as Harley’s CFO was the organization structure flat
or tall? Centralized or decentralized? Explain your answers
During Teerlink’s tenure as Harley’s CFO, the organizational structure was tall and
centralized. A very strong hierarchical, centralized leadership group drove it. The
previous crises were managed with an unmistakable top-down approach.
2.
As CEO, how did Teerlink change the organization structure?
As CEO, Teerlink flattened the corporate hierarchy and established teams of crossfunctional leaders to work collaboratively and provide senior leadership with direction. At
the heart of the organizational structure are three cross-functional teams called Circles—
the Create Demand Circle, the Produce Product Circle, and the Provide Support Circle.
Each circle includes design engineers, purchasing professionals, manufacturing
personnel, marketing personnel, and others.
3.
Why does Harley-Davidson include outside suppliers on its cross-functional
teams?
Recognizing that suppliers’ input is crucial to Harley’s new product development, all
cross-functional teams include key suppliers who work elbow-to-elbow with Harley
personnel. Harley believes that suppliers have expertise in not only what they are
developing today but what they will be developing in the future.
4.
Go to Chapter 8 of this text’s website at www.prenhall.com/bovee and click
on the hot link to get to the Harley-Davidson website. Navigate the site to
answer the following questions: How many motorcycles did Harley produce
in the most recent quarter? What is the output trend? What is the trend in
Harley’s worldwide sales?
Harley-Davidson’s website provides a link called “H-D Student Center,” containing:
•
Annual Report
•
Brag®
•
Buell
•
Career Opportunities
•
Company Brochure
•
Dealerships
•
Demographics
•
Facility Locations
•
Financial Factbook
•
Help Section
•
History
•
H.O.G.®
•
Investor Relations
•
Mission Statement
•
News
•
Products
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•
•
•
Rider Education
Values
Vision
Answers to Boxed Features
Box 1: Competing in the Global Marketplace – E-Softsys Stays Connected
Around the Globe
Questions for Critical Thinking
1.
How might a lack of trust between U.S. and international team members
threaten E-SoftSys’s ability to meet customer need?
If E-SoftSys is not able to reassure its customers of the teams’ abilities to work
cooperatively and effectively regardless of the location of individual members, customers
will take their business elsewhere.
2.
Why couldn’t the company introduce teams via instant messaging, rather
than through expensive, time-consuming in-person meetings?
While communicating with the use of the latest technology provides many opportunities
and benefits to companies, when teams are first forming, members still seek direct
interpersonal connection with one another.
Box 2: Innovating for Business Success – Don’t Leave Home – American
Express’s Virtual Environment
Questions for Critical Thinking
1.
How does American Express support virtual teams?
American Express supports its virtual teams in many ways, including:
•
establishing and reinforcing a corporate culture that relies upon and rewards
communication and work effectiveness via technology
•
offers every employee access to the company’s highly efficient computer network
•
allows employees the opportunity to work from home
•
provides employees with computer training, software and hardware setup
•
allows employee to select and then have delivered office furniture to establish
their virtual office
2.
How do American Express telecommuters stay in touch with the company and
with each other?
•
conducts regular virtual meetings
•
full utilization of e-mail and teleconferencing to brainstorm and collaborate on
projects
•
encourages employees to check in with local and regional offices on a regular
basis
•
developed a buddy system for employees to check in with other staff every
morning
26