CH 13 Flashcards
Group
(1) two or more freely interacting individuals who (2) share norms, (3) share goals, and (4) have a common identity
*individual accountability in which memebers contribute independently
Team
a small group of people working together with a common purpose, performance goals, and mutual accountability
*requires mutual accountability in which members work together to produce results
What are different types of teams?
- work
- project
- cross-functional
- self-managed
- virtual
Work teams
- members share clear purpose
- teams are permanent
- members must give complete commitment
ex: hockey team
Project teams
- solve particular problems or complete specific tasks
- meet once or work together for years
- members can be from the same or different departments or functional areas
ex: completing team project for class
Cross-functional teams
- designed to include members from different areas within an organization, such as finance, operations, and sales.
- serves any purpose
- can be work or project teams
- assignments are short or long term
ex: surgical teams
Self-managed teams
- groups of workers who are given administrative oversight for their task domains
- positive impact on productivity, innovation, and employee’s autonomy, achievement, and satisfaction
*common responsibilities: work scheduling, customer interaction
*least common responsibilities: hiring, firing
Virtual teams definition and benefits
*composed of members in different geographic locations who use technology to work together and achieve common goals
*benefits:
1) the ability to tap a more diverse, global candidate pool
2) reduced commuting, travel, and real estate expenses
3) reduced work-life conflicts and increased productivity for employee
Virtual teams drawbacks and strategies to comeback
drawbacks
1. physical distance (time zones, local laws and holidays)
2. social distance (harder to establish trust)
3. 24/7 accessibility (creates role overload)
strategies
1. adapt your communications
2. have fun
3. build trust
4. encourage feedback and communication
5. coordinate the transfer of work
6. select individuals who can thrive
7. care about team members outside of work
Groupthink
A cohesive group’s blind unwillingness to consider alternatives. This occurs when group members strive for agreement among themselves for the sake of unanimity and avoid accurately assessing the decision situation
Norms
general guidelines or rules of behavior that most group or team members follow
* they point out the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behavior
* unwritten and rarely discussed openly
Roles
socially determined expectations of how individuals should behave in a specific position
Formal group
a group assigned by organizations or its managers to accomplish specific goals
*permanent or temporary
*people are assigned based on skills and organization’s requirements
ex: division, department, work group, committee, task force
Informal group
AKA affinity or employee resource group
a group formed by people whose overriding purpose is getting together for friendship or a common interest
ex: friends who get together for lunch, “alumni group,” bowling team
Tuckman’s 5 stages model
- forming
*getting oriented and acquainted
*high uncertainty
*mutual trust is low - storming
*emergence of individual personalities and roles and conflicts within the group - norming
*conflicts are resolved, close relationships develop, and unity and harmony emerge - performing
*members concentrate on solving problems and completing the assigned task - adjourning
* members prepare for disbandment
Conflict
a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party
Personality conflicts
- Interpersonal opposition based on personal dislike, disagreement, or
differing styles. - Personality clashes, competition for scarce resources, time pressure,
communication failures.
Intergroup conflicts
- Inconsistent goals, ambiguous jurisdictions (when boundaries are
unclear), and status differences. - “We versus them.”
Multicultural conflicts
Frequent opportunities for clashes between
cultures in the global economy
