4 - Teams and Leadership

Question 1

What is a team?

Answer 1

Interdependent collection of individuals who work together toward a common goal and who share responsibility for specific outcomes for their organisations

Question 2

Name the factors that affect team performance

Answer 2

Inputs; environment, task characteristics, team members

Processes; norms, communication and coordination, cohesion, decision-making

Question 3

Explain the Inputs that affect team performance

Answer 3

Environment; resources and support team receives from organisation affects performance. Training, managerial support increase satisfaction and performance.

Task Characteristics; type of task (divisible vs unitary). teams motivated by tasks that require variety of skills, provide autonomy, are meaningful and important and provide performance feedback

Team Members; personality predictors of teamwork (agreeableness and conscientiousness = ratings and work completed), cognitive ability predictors (increase=better)

Question 4

Explain the Processes that affect team performance

Answer 4

Norms; violation to production norms are very serious, what time day starts/ends.

Communication & Coordination; important especially when task is interdependent and dynamic. Effective groups minimise coordination losses. Increase accountability of team and increase individual evaluation.

Cohesion; associated with good team performance

Decision-Making; good for larger pool knowledge and checking each others errors. Good when demonstratable right answers

Question 5

What is a norm?

Answer 5

Informal and sometimes unspoken rules that teams adopt to regulate members’ behaviour

Question 6

What is cohesion?

Answer 6

Degree to which team members desire to remain in the team and are committed to the goals.

Question 7

What is the Illusion of Group Effectivity?

Answer 7

Experience-based belief that we produce more and better ideas in groups than alone.

Question 8

Why don’t groups do better than the best member?

Answer 8

Process Loss
Failure to Share Unique Information
Group Polarisation
Groupthink

Question 9

What is Process Loss?

Answer 9

Aspects of group interaction inhibit good decision-making

Question 10

What is meant by failure to share unique information when groups are working together?

Answer 10

Most group discussion focuses on shared information, even when each may posess lots of unshared information

Question 11

What is group polarisation and why does it occur?

Answer 11

Groups shift toward more extreme version of members’ initial viewpoint.

Why?

• Persuasive arguments; with slight bias, you will hear more favourable arguments for that side.
• Social comparison; when members realise the group is leaning in one direction, they may seek accepting by also moving further into that direction

Question 12

What is Groupthink and what are it’s conditions?

Answer 12

Decision-making in which maintaining group cohesiveness and solidarity is more important than considering the facts in a realistic manner.

Conditions

• Groups under stress
• Directive leader
• Illusion of unamity

Question 13

How can we improve group decision-making?

Answer 13

• Leader doesn’t reveal wishes
• Devil’s advocate use
• Authentic dissent
• Have rules and processes (i.e. writing decision first, encouraging participation and inviting outsiders)

Question 14

What is leadership?

Answer 14

The process whereby an individual influences group members in a way that gets them to achieve some sort of group goal that he or she has identified as important.

Question 15

Name the theoretical approaches to leadership

Answer 15

• Universalist Theories
• Trait Theories
• Behavioural Theories
• Power and Influence Approach
• Contingency Theories
• Transformational and Charistmatic Leadership

Question 16

Explain the Universalist Theory of leadership

Answer 16

Universalist theories of leadership suggest that there are certain personal attributes common to all leaders.

The Great man/woman theory is an example of a Universalist theory, which suggests that leaders are born, not made.

Question 17

Explain the Trait Theory of leadership

Answer 17

The Trait approach is another example of a Universalist theory, which suggests that some traits are shared by effective leaders.

E.g. high energy, emotioinal maturity, tolerance for stress, intelligence (perceived), self-confidence, motivation, integrity, the Big 5

Question 18

Explain the behavioural theory of leadership

Answer 18

Emphasise what leaders actually do and the relationship of this behaviour to leader effectiveness.

Initiative Structure vs. Consideration behaviours; consideration more strongly related to satisfaction and initiating more related to performance

Question 19

Explain the Power and Influence Approach theory to leadership

Answer 19

Types of Power; reward (holidays, money), coercive (punish), legitimate (respected), expert (subordinates belief), referent (personal qualities)

Leader-Member Exchange Theory; leadership based upon mutual influence between leader and members of group.

• Leaders differentiated from subordinates due to their competence and skill, extent to which they can be trusted and motivation to assume greater responsibility.
• In group and out-group of subordinates.
• Theory expanded to include exchanges between co-workers

Question 20

Explain the contingency theory of leadership

Answer 20

Effective leadership depends on a match between characteristics of the leader and the situation.

Path-Goal Theory

• Behaviour that leader should exhibit (path) to attain a desired outcome (goal)
• Four main styles; directive (specific guidelines), supportive (demonstrate concern for well-being), participative (wants to hear ideas and involves everyone), achievement orientated (set challenging goals)
• Leaders need all these styles but when each style is used depends on the situation

Question 21

Explain the transformational and charistmatic theories of leadership

Answer 21

Transformational; influencing major changes in the attitudes and assumptions of organisation members and building commitment for major changes. Provide intellectual and individualised stimulation.

Charismatic; follower perception that leader possesses exceptional characteristics and is somehow unique and larger than life.

Question 22

What is the Big 5 in terms of personality?

Answer 22

Extroversion
Conscientiousness
Openness to Experience
Emotional Stability
Agreeability

Question 23

What are the points of convergence among theoretical approaches to leadership according to Yukl (1994)?

Answer 23

Importance of;

• Influencing and motivating
• Maintaining effective relationships
• Making decisions