Teamwork
Chapter 14
Bateman and Snell
Learning Objectives
After studying Chapter 14, you will know:
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how teams contribute to your organization’s
effectiveness
what makes the new team environment different
from the old
how groups become teams
why groups sometimes fail
how to build an effective team
how to manage your team’s relationships with
other teams
how to manage conflict
The Contributions Of Teams
Building block
for organization
structure
Force for
innovation
Force for
productivity
Effects on
organizations
Force for
change
Force for
speed
Force for
cost reduction
Force for
quality
Benefits Of Groups
For the organization
For the individual
•Accomplish tasks that could not be
done by individuals alone
•Aid in learning about the organization
and its environment
•Bring multiple skills and talents to
bear on complex tasks
•Aid in learning about oneself
•Provide help in gaining new skills
•Provide a vehicle for decision making
•Obtain valued rewards that are not
that permits multiple views
accessible through individual initiative
•Provide a means for controlling
•Directly satisfy important personal
individual behavior
needs, especially social needs
•Facilitate changes in policies or
procedures
•Increase organizational stability
The New Team Environment
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, set of performance goals, and
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
The New Team Environment
Types of teams (cont.)
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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
The New Team Environment
(cont.)
Types of teams (cont.)
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management teams - coordinate and
provide direction to subunits
integrate work among subunits
 authority based on hierarchical rank
 responsible for the overall performance of the
organization
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The New Team Environment
Traditional environment
Team 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
•People work alone
•Rewards based on individual
performance
•Managers determine “best methods”
•Managers and teams jointly determine
and plan the work
•Jobs require broad skills and knowledge
•Cross-training is the norm
•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
The New Team Environment (cont.)
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
The New Team Environment (cont.)
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
The New Team Environment (cont.)
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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fully responsible for an entire product or an entire part of
a production process
self-designing teams - control the design of the
team
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responsibilities comparable to those of autonomous work
groups
How Groups Become Teams
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 temporary group
How Groups Become Teams (cont.)
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
How Groups Become Teams (cont.)
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”
sufficient time to change the approach if necessary
Why groups sometimes fail
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not easy to build high-performance teams
giving up control to teams is difficult for some
managers
not knowing and doing what makes teams successful
Building Effective Teams
Criteria for team effectiveness
productive output - standards of quantity and
quality
 satisfaction of member needs
 commitment to work together - remain viable
with good prospects for future successes
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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
Building Effective Teams (cont.)
Motivating teamwork (cont.)
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generated by designing the team’s task to be
motivating
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the task is meaningful
team members accountable to one another, not just the boss
best motivation is tying rewards to team performance
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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 decisionmaking, and interpersonal skills
Building Effective Teams (cont.)
Norms
shared beliefs about how people should
think and behave
 from the organization’s standpoint, norms
can be positive or negative
 generally apply to all team members
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Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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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have more decision-making responsibilities
provide instructions and advice
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
Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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
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
Building Effective Teams (cont.)
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, cohesive team subject to groupthink
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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
Cohesiveness, Performance Norms,
And Group Performance
Performance Norms
Cohesiveness
Low
High
Low Poor goal attainment and
task performance
Moderate goal attainment
and task performance
High goal attainment
(group’s perspective)
High
and lowest task performance
(management’s perspective)
High goal attainment
and task performance
Building Cohesiveness And High
Performance Norms
Recruit members
with similar
attributes
Tie rewards to
team performance
Present a
challenge from
outside the team
Team
Cohesiveness
and
Performance
Be a
participative
leader
High entrance
and socialization
standards
Keep the team
small
Help team succeed
and publicize its
successes
Managing Lateral Relationships
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
teams must:
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accept differences and conflict
learn to use differences to their advantage
Managing Lateral Relationships
(cont.)
Managing conflict
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
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don’t allow dysfunctional conflict to build
 procedural justice is important
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Managing Lateral Relationships
(cont.)
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
Conflict Management Strategies
Cooperativeness
Uncooperative
Cooperative
Assertiveness
Assertive Competing
Unassertive Avoiding
Collaborating
Compromising
Accommodating