Chapter 9: Groups and Teams

• Importance of Groups and Teams

• Group Behavior
• Group Decision Making
• Turning Groups Into Teams
• Managing Effective Teams
What Is a Group?
• Group – Two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come
together to achieve specific goals.

– Formal groups
• Work groups defined by the organization’s structure that have designated work
assignments and tasks.

– Informal groups
• Groups that are independently formed to meet the social needs of their members.
Examples of Formal Work Groups

• Command groups—Groups determined by the organizational chart and composed of individuals

who report directly to a given manager.

• Task groups—Groups composed of individuals brought together to complete a specific job task;
their existence is often temporary because when the task is completed, the group disbands.

• Cross-functional teams—Groups that bring together the knowledge and skills of individuals from
various work areas or groups whose members have been trained to do each others’ jobs.

• Self-managed teams—Groups that are essentially independent and that, in addition to their own
tasks, take on traditional managerial responsibilities such as hiring, planning and scheduling, and
evaluating performance.
Stages of Group Development
Forming Stage – The first stage of group development in
which people join the group and then define the group’s
purpose, structure, and leadership.
Storming Stage – The second stage of group development,
characterized by intragroup conflict.
Norming Stage – The third stage of group development,
characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness.
Performing Stage – The fourth stage of group development
when the group is fully functional and works on group task.
Adjourning – The final stage of group development for
temporary groups during which group members are concerned
with wrapping up activities rather than task performance.
Stages of Group Development
Work Group Performance and
Satisfaction

• Why are some groups more successful than others?

– The abilities of the group’s members
– The size of the group
– The level of conflict
– The internal pressures on members to conform to the
group’s norms
Group Performance/Satisfaction Model

Group members resources: Abilities and skill etc.

External Conditions Imposed on the
Group
• Work groups are affected by the external conditions
imposed on it:
– The organization’s strategy
– Authority relationships
– Formal rules and regulations
– Availability of resources
– Employee selection criteria
– The performance management system and culture
– The general physical layout of the group’s work space
Group Member Resources

• A group’s performance potential depends to a large extent

on the resources each individual brings to the group.
These include:
– Knowledge
– Abilities
– Skills
– Personality traits
Group Structure

• Role – Behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a given position in a social unit.
• Norms – Standards or expectations that are accepted and shared by a group’s members.
• Groupthink – When a group exerts extensive pressure on an individual to align his or her
opinion with that of others.
• Status – A prestige grading, position, or rank within a group.
• Social Loafing – The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working
collectively than when working individually.
• Group Cohesiveness – The degree to which group members are attracted to one another
and share the group’s goals.
 Group Structure
• Group Size
– Small groups are faster than larger ones at completing tasks
– Large groups consistently get better problem solving results than smaller ones
• Group Processes – Processes that go on within a work group determines group performance and
satisfaction. These include:
– Communication
– Decision-making
– Conflict management
• Group Decision-Making – Most organizations use groups to make decisions.
– Advantages of group decision-making
• More complete information and knowledge
• A diversity of experience and perspectives
• Increased acceptance of a solution
– Disadvantages of group decision-making
• Groups almost always take more time to reach a solution
• Dominant and vocal minority can influence the decision
• Groupthink
Creative Group Decision Making
Group Cohesiveness and Productivity
Conflict Management
Conflict: It is a perceived incompatible differences that result in interference or
opposition.
• Traditional view of conflict – The view that all conflict is bad and must be avoided.
• Human relations view of conflict – The view that conflict is a natural and
inevitable outcome in any group.
• Interactionist View of Conflict – The view that some conflict is necessary for
a group to perform effectively.
o Functional conflicts – Conflicts that support a group’s goals and improve its
performance.
o Dysfunctional conflicts – Conflicts that prevent a group from achieving its goals.
• Task Conflict – Conflicts over content and goals of the work.
• Relationship Conflict – Conflict based on interpersonal relationships.
• Process Conflict – Conflict over how work gets done.
Conflict-Management Techniques
 Turning Groups into Effective Teams
• Work Teams – Groups whose members work intensely on a specific, common
goal using their positive synergy, individual and mutual accountability, and
complementary skills.
Work Teams Work Groups
• Leadership role is shared • One leader clearly in charge
• Accountable to self and team • Accountable only to self
• Team creates specific purpose • Purpose is same as broader organizational purpose
• Work is done collectively • Work is done individually
• Meetings characterized by open-ended discussion and • Meetings characterized by efficiency; no
collaborative problem-solving collaboration or open-ended discussion
• Performance is measured directly by evaluating • Performance is measured indirectly according to its
collective work output influence on others
• Work is decided upon and done together • Work is decided upon by group leader and delegated
to individual group members
• Can be quickly assembled, deployed, refocused, and
disbanded
Types of Work Teams

• Problem-Solving Team – A team from the same department or functional

area that’s involved in efforts to improve work activities or to solve specific
problems.
• Self-Managed Work Team – A type of work team that operates without a
manager and is responsible for a complete work process or segment.
• Cross-Functional Team – A work team composed of individuals from
various functional specialties.
• Virtual Team – A type of work team that uses technology to link physically
dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal.
Creating Effective Work Teams
• Clear Goals – High-performance teams have a clear understanding of the
goal to be achieved.
• Relevant Skills – Team members have the necessary technical and
interpersonal skills.
• Mutual Trust – Effective teams are characterized by high mutual trust
among members.
• Unified Commitment – Members are dedicated to team goals.
• Good Communication – Messages are clearly understood.
• Negotiating Skills – Members need to be able to confront and reconcile
differences.
• Appropriate Leadership – Leaders motivate a team to follow through
difficult situations.
• Internal and External Support – Proper training, incentives, and
resources.
Characteristics of Effective Teams
Current Challenges in Managing Teams

• Group Member Resources in Global Teams – Managers

need to clearly understand the cultural characteristics of
group members.
• Group Structure – Issues include conformity, status,
social loafing, and cohesiveness.
• Group Processes – Multicultural global team is better
able to capitalize on the diversity of ideas.
 Global Teams

Drawbacks Benefits

Dislike of team members Greater diversity of ideas

Mistrust of team members Limited groupthink

Stereotyping Increased attention on understanding

others’ ideas, perspectives, etc.

Communication problems Blank

Stress and tension Blank

Understanding Social Networks

• Social Network
– The patterns of informal connections among individuals
within groups.
• The Importance of Social Networks
– Relationships can help or hinder team effectiveness.
– Relationships improve team goal attainment and increase
member commitment to the team.
1. Define groups and the stages of group development.

– Formal groups are work groups and informal groups are social groups.
– Group development
• forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning
– A group is two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together
to achieve specific goals.
2.Describe the major components that determine group performance and
satisfaction.
– Group performance and satisfaction are determined by external conditions, group
member resources, group structure, group processes, and group tasks.
– External conditions include availability of resources, organizational goals, and other
factors.
– Group member resources (knowledge, skills, abilities, personality traits) can influence
what members can do and how effectively they will perform in a group.
– Group roles generally involve getting the work done or keeping group members happy.
Group norms are powerful influences on a person’s performance and dictate things such
as work output levels, absenteeism, and promptness.
– Pressures to conform can heavily influence a person’s judgment and attitudes. If carried
to extremes, groupthink can be a problem.
– Group decision-making and conflict management are important group processes that play
a role in performance and satisfaction.
– Effective communication and controlled conflict are most relevant to group performance
when tasks are complex and interdependent.
3.Define teams and best practices influencing team
performance.
– Characteristics of work groups include a strong, clearly focused leader;
individual accountability; purpose that’s the same as the broader
organizational mission; individual work product; efficient meetings;
effectiveness measured by influence on others; and discusses, decides,
and delegates together.
• Characteristics of teams include shared leadership roles; individual and
mutual accountability.
• A problem-solving team is one that’s focused on improving work activities
or solving specific problems.
• A self-managed work team is responsible for a complete work process or
segment and manages itself.
• A cross-functional team is composed of individuals from various
specialties.
• A virtual team uses technology to link physically dispersed members in
order to achieve a common goal.
 4. Discuss the characteristics of an effective team.

• The characteristics of an effective team include:

– Clear goals
– Relevant skills
– Mutual trust
– Unified commitment
– Good communication
– Negotiating
– Skills
– Appropriate leadership
– Internal and external support
4. Discuss contemporary issues in managing teams.
– Challenges of managing global teams
Group member resources
Diverse cultural characteristics
Group structure
Status,
Social loafing and cohesiveness
Group processes
Managing conflict