Define Teams.
Groups of two or more people who interact and influence one another, are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organisational objectives and perceive themselves as a social entity within an organisation.
What are the few important components of a Team?
- Goal to fulfil some purpose.
- Interdependence. Collaboration. Communication.
- Team members influence one another.
- A team exists when its members perceive themselves to be a team.
What are the benefits of informal groups?
- Stress-relief : emotional & social support.
2. Social networks : trust building, info sharing, power, influence and associated communication.
Why are people more motivated in a team?
- Employees have a drive to bond and are motivated to fulfil the goals of their group.
- They are accountable to fellow team members, who monitor performance more closely than a traditional supervisor.
- Performance improves because co-workers become benchmarks of comparison.
What are the 2 disadvantages of working in a team?
- Process losses - Time and energy wasted towards team development and maintenance rather than the task.
- Social Loafing - The problem that occurs when people exert less effort when working in teams than when working alone.
When is a team effective?
A team is effective when it benefits the organisation and its members and when it survives long enough to accomplish its mandate.
Define Task interdependence.
The extent to which team members must share materials, information or expertise to perform their jobs.
What are the levels of task interdependence?
- Pooled - shared resources.
- Sequential - output of one person becomes the direct input of another.
- Reciprocal - work output is exchanged back and forth among individuals.
What’s a rule for the levels of task interdependence?
The higher the level of task interdependence, the greater the need to organise people into teams rather than have them work alone.
~ However this rule only applies if teams have the same goals. If not = excessive conflict.
What is the idea team size?
Small Team.
- Operate more effectively because they have less process loss.
- Members of smaller teams feel more engaged because they have more influence on the group’s norms and goals and fee more responsible for the team’s success and failure.
- Members get to know one another better which improves perceptions of support, help and assistance.
Describe the Five Cs model of team member competency.
- Cooperating - share resources & accomodate others.
- Coordinating - Align work with others & Keep team on track.
- Communicating - Share info freely, efficiently, respectfully & listen actively.
- Comforting - Show empathy, Provide psychological comfort & Build Confidence.
- Conflict Resolving - Diagnose conflict sources & use best conflict-handling style.
What type of employees have a high level of competency?
High conscientiousness and Extraversion personality traits, as well as with emotional intelligence.
What are the advantages of Team Diversity?
- Better decisions are made due to the different perspectives of problems/opportunities.
- Broader Pool of technical Competencies.
- Better representation of the team’s constituents.
What are the disadvantages of Team Diversity?
- Take longer to become a high-performing team.
- Susceptible to ‘fault lines’. This reduces the motivation of members to communicate and coordinate.
- Less effective than a homogenous team.
Describe Tuchman’s model of team development.
1. Forming ~ Discover expectations ~ Evaluate value of membership ~ Defer to existing authority ~ Test boundaries of behaviour
2. Storming ~ Experience interpersonal conflict ~ Compete for Team Roles ~ Influence goals and means ~ Establish norms
3. Norming ~ Establish Roles ~ Agree on Team Objectives ~ Form team mental models ~ Develop Cohesion
4. Performing ~ Become task-oriented, committed ~ Coordinate efficiently ~ Build high levels of cooperation and trust ~ Resolves conflict quickly
Do all work teams go through the Developmental Stages?
No.
- They are often brought together to work on specific projects
- The organisational context provides them with strong existing norms so they may be able to skip over the ‘norming’ stage.
Explain The punctuated equilibrium model.
Group development can be divided into 2 distinct phases that are ‘punctuated’ by a transition from
- relatively unfocused and task-unrelated activity to
- highly focused and goal-directed activity.
- > this transition always occurs at the mid-point of a group’s life span.
Explain what is developing team identity and developing team mental models and coordinating routines.
- Developing Team Identity - When members of the group view the group as an insider not an outsider.
- Developing mental models and coordinating routines- When members share the same mental models and have habitual routines together.
Define Role.
A set of behaviours that people are expected to perform because they hold certain positions in a team and organisations.
Define Team Building.
A process that consists of formal activities intended to improve the development and functioning of a work team.
Do team-building interventions improve team development and effectiveness?
Most effective:
- employees receive training on specific team competencies, such as coordination, conflict resolution and communication.
- Activities that identify and address specific weaknesses within the team.
- Ongoing reflection on the team’s work experiences and willingness to experiment with just-in-time learning for team development.
Define Norms.
The informal rules and share expectations that groups establish to regulate the behaviour of their members.
Define Team Cohesion.
The degree of attraction people feel towards the team and their motivation to remain members.
What are factors that influence team cohesion?
- Member similarity - people are attracted to people similar to them.
- Team size - smaller teams (Y)
- Member Interaction - regular contact.
- Somewhat difficult entry - ‘elite’ team, more prestige it confers on its members and the more they tend to value their membership.
- Team Success
- External competition and challenges - threat from external competitor or friendly competition from other teams
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Chapter 5 - Foundations of employee motivation0
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Chapter 3 - Perceiving Oursleves And Others In Organisations15
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Chapter 1 - Introduction to the field of OB23
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Chapter 2 - Individual Behaviour, personality and values48
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Chapter 7 - Decision making and Creativity36
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Chapter 8 - Team Dynamics41
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Chapter 11 - Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace15
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Chapter 13 - Designing organisational structure16
