Chapter TEN

Understanding Work
Teams

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Why
Why Have
Have Teams
Teams Become
Become So
So Popular?
Popular?

 Teams typically outperform individuals.

 Teams use employee talents better.
 Teams are more flexible and responsive to
changes in the environment.
 Teams facilitate employee involvement.
 Teams are an effective way to democratize an
organization and increase motivation.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Team
Team Versus
Versus Group:
Group: What’s
What’s the
the Difference?
Difference?
Work Group
A group that interacts
primarily to share
information and to make
decisions to help each
group member perform
within his or her area of
responsibility.
Work Team
A group whose individual
efforts result in a performance
that is greater than the sum
of the individual inputs.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Comparing
Comparing Work
Work Groups
Groups and
and Work
Work Teams
Teams

E X H I B I T 10–1
E X H I B I T 10–1

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Types
Types of
of Teams
Teams

Problem-Solving Teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from
the same department who meet
for a few hours each week to
discuss ways of improving quality,
efficiency, and the work
environment.
Self-Managed Work Teams
Groups of 10 to 15 people who
take on the responsibilities of
their former supervisors.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Types
Types of
of Teams
Teams (cont’d)
(cont’d)
Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical
level, but from different work areas, who
come together to accomplish a task.

• Task forces

• Committee
s

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Types
Types of
of Teams
Teams (cont’d)
(cont’d)

Virtual Teams
Teams that use
computer technology to
tie together physically
dispersed members in
order to achieve a
common goal.
Characteristics
Characteristicsof
ofVirtual
VirtualTeams
Teams
1.1. The
Theabsence
absenceof
ofparaverbal
paraverbaland
andnonverbal
nonverbalcues
cues
2.2. AAlimited
limitedsocial
socialcontext
context
3.3. The
Theability
abilityto
toovercome
overcometime
timeand
andspace
spaceconstraints
constraints

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 AATeam-
Team-
Effectiveness
Effectiveness
Model
Model

E X H I B I T 10–3
E X H I B I T 10–3

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Creating
Creating Effective
Effective Teams
Teams

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Creating
Creating Effective
Effective Teams
Teams (cont’d)
(cont’d)

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Key
KeyRoles
Roles
of
of Teams
Teams

E X H I B I T 10–4
E X H I B I T 10–4

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Creating
Creating Effective
Effective Teams
Teams (cont’d)
(cont’d)

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Creating
Creating Effective
Effective Teams
Teams (cont’d)
(cont’d)

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Effects
Effects of
of Group
Group Processes
Processes

= +

MINUS

Goal: Maximize Process Gains

While Minimizing Process Losses!

E X H I B I T 10–5
E X H I B I T 10–5

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Creating
Creating Effective
Effective Teams:
Teams: Diversity
Diversity

Group Demography
The degree to which members of a group
share a common demographic attribute, such
as age, sex, race, educational level, or length
of service in the organization, and the impact
of this attribute on turnover.

Cohorts
Individuals who, as part
of a group, hold a
common attribute.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Turning
Turning Individuals
Individuals Into
Into Team
Team Players
Players
 The Challenges
– Overcoming individual resistance to team
membership.
– Countering the influence of individualistic cultures.
– Introducing teams in an organization that has
historically valued individual achievement.
 Shaping Team Players
– Selecting employees who can fulfill their team roles.
– Training employees to become team players.
– Reworking the reward system to encourage
cooperative efforts while continuing to recognize
individual contributions.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Teams
Teams and
and Quality
Quality Management
Management
 Team Effectiveness and Quality Management
Requires That Teams:
1. Are small enough to be efficient and effective.
2. Are properly trained in required skills.
3. Allocated enough time to work on problems.
4. Are given authority to resolve problems and
take corrective action.
5. Have a designated “champion” to call on when
needed.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Beware:
Beware: Teams
Teams Aren’t
Aren’t Always
Always the
the Answer
Answer
 Three tests to see if a team fits the situation:
– Is the work complex and is there a need for
different perspectives?
– Does the work create a common purpose or set
of goals for the group that is larger than the
aggregate of the goals for individuals?
– Are members of the group involved in
interdependent tasks?

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Chapter Check-Up: Teams
What kinds of things have you experienced in
a team setting that could be considered as
process loss? Choose two and write them
down.

Possibilities include: Too much socializing,

coordinating work flow, lag time in
responses to emails, personality conflicts,
attendance and timeliness problems, etc.
© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
 Chapter Check-Up: Teams
If you were asked to choose people
from your class right now to make up
a team for a class project, list five
individuals you would choose.

Now that you have your list, consider what the

composition of your team would look like. How much
diversity would there be? Given what we learned in
this chapter, what would the pros and cons of your
composition be?

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.

 Chapter Check-Up: Teams

Is conflict in a team good or

bad? Discuss.
Conflict can be both good and bad. Task conflict is
beneficial for a team because it helps protect against
groupthink. Relationship conflict is bad for a team’s
morale.

What, specifically, can you do to create task conflict in

a group? Think about the reality of trying to “stir the
pot”… and write down a phrase you could say (e.g.,
you would feel comfortable saying to your peers) to
create task conflict.

© 2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.