Why Have Teams Become So Popular?Teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than traditional departments or other forms of permanent groupings.-Quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband. -Differences B/w Groups and TeamsWord group: a group that interacts primarily to share info and make decisions to help each ember perform within his or her area of responsibility.They have no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort. -Performance is merely the summation of each group member's individ contribution. -No positive synergy that could genetare a greater sum of inputs.-Work team: generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. The individ efforts result in a level of performance greater than the sum of individ input. Management is looking for positive synergy that will allow the org to increase performance.Types of TeamsProblem-Solving Teams: a team trying to figure out ways to improve quality, efficiency, and the work environment. They have the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggestions.-Self-Managed Work Teams: groups of employees who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many responsibilities of their former supervisors. Tasks: planning, scheduling work, assigning tasks to members, making operating decisions, taking action on problems, working with supplies and customers.-Fully self-managed work teams even select their own members and evaluate each other's performance.-May not typically manage conflicts well. = members don’t cooperate and power struggles ensue.-Cross-Functional Teams: Employees from the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task. Allows people from diverse areas within or between orgs to exchange info, develop new ideas, solve problems, and coordinate complex projects.-It takes time to build trust and teamwork.-Virtual Teams: teams that use computer tech to unite physically dispersed members and achieve a common goal. Collaborate online - videoconferencing, email-Chapter 10Thursday, March 26, 201511:00 AM Org Behavioral Page 1Collaborate online - videoconferencing, email-Suffer from less social rapport and direct interaction among members-May share less info-For virtual teams to be effective, management should ensureTrust is established among members1.Team progress is monitored closely - do not lose sight of its goals an no team member disappears.2.The efforts and products of the team are publicized throughout the org. - team does not become invisible.3.Creating Effective TeamsContext: What Factors Determine Whether Teams Are SuccessfulAdequate resources4.Every work team relies on resources outside the grop to sustain the org. -This support includes timely info, proper equipment, adequate staffing, encouragement, and administrative assistance.-Leadership and Structure5.Agreeing on the specifics of work and how they fit together to integrate individ skills requires leadership and structure.-Multiteam systems: important in leadership. Different teams coordinate their efforts to produce a desired outcome. Leaders must empower teams by delegating responsibility to them.-Climate of trust6.Members of effective teams trust each other, they also trust their leaders.-Interpersonal trust among team members reduces stress.-Performance Evaluation and Reward Systems7.Management should modify the traditional reward system.-Focus on hybrid systems and recognize individ members for their exceptional contributions -Reward the entire group for positive outcomes.-Team CompositionAbilities of Members8.Team's performance depends on knowledge, skills, and abilities of its individ members-High-ability teams are more adaptable to changing situations-Ability of the team's leader matters-Personality of members9. Org Behavioral Page 2Personality of members9.Teams that rate higher on mean levels of conscientiousness and openness to experience tend to perform better-Minimum level of team member agreeableness matters-Open team members communicate better with one another and throw out more ideas.-Conscientious people are good at backing up other team members. Good at sensing when their support is truly needed.-Allocation of Roles10.Teams with more experienced and skilled members performed better-Managers should understand the individ strengths each person can bring to a team.--Diversity of Members11.Organizational demography: The degree to which members of a work unit (group, team, or department) share a common demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational level, or length of service in the org.-Org demography suggests age or date of joining can help predict turnover.-Cultural diversity may be an asset for tasks that call for a variety of viewpoints.-HOWEVER cultural diversity can have more difficulty learning to work with each other and solving problems.-Diversity in function, edu, and expertise are positively related to group performance, but these effects are quite small and depend on the situation.-Size of Teams12.Small teams are key to improving group effectiveness.-5-9 members-Excess members, cohesiveness, and mutual accountability decline, social loafing increases, and more communicate less.-Member Preferences13.High-performing teams are likely to be composed of people who prefer working as part of a group.-Team ProcessesCommon Plan and Purpose 14.Effective teams create strategies for achieving the goals.-Teams that consistently perform better have established a clear sense of what needs to be done and how.-Successful teams put a tremendous amount of time and effort into discussing, shaping, and agreeing on a - Org Behavioral Page 3Successful teams put a tremendous amount of time and effort into discussing, shaping, and agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively and individually.-Reflexivity: teams who reflect on and adjust their master plan when necessary. Some evidence suggest that teams high in reflexivity are better able to adapt to conflicting plans and goals among team members.-Specific Goals15.Specific goals facilitate clear communication-They help teams maintain their focus on getting results.-Teams goals should be challenging-Team efficacy: effective teams that have confidence in themselves and believe they can succeed.16.The greater the abilities, the team develops confidence and the ability to deliver on that confidence.-Mental models: organized mental