Chapter 13: Teams in Organizations

Question 1

What is a Team?

Answer 1

Interdependent collection of individuals who work togehter.

Question 2

Three ways in how a team can work;

Answer 2

1. Pooled: Everyone works independently and resuls are combined.
2. Sequential: Output of previous tasks are needed to perform the next task. They build on each other.
3. Reciprocal: Output of each task is neede to perfomr the other task. All team mebmers use each other out and input. So not one way liek sequential.

Question 3

Main characterisics of a team

Answer 3

• Interdependent tasks
• Common goals
• Shared responsibilty
• Recognized as a team

Question 4

Quality Circles

Types of teams

Answer 4

• To increase productivity or product quality
• 6-12 employees (team leader, and associates)
• No formal authority

Question 4

Why use team in organizations?

Answer 4

• Faster
• More innovation and creativity
• Better integration of the information
• More flexibility
• Learn from each other

Question 5

Project teams

Types of teams; ad hoc committe, task force

Answer 5

• To execute a project or solve specific problems
• Mostly cross-functional
• Clear deadlines
• Decision-making autonomy

Question 6

Autonomous Work Groups

Type of teams

Answer 6

• Control over a variety of its function
• Self-managing
• Focus on human and technical components

Question 7

Virtual Teams

Type of teams

Answer 7

• Members in different locations (all over the world)
• Collaboration via computers and other technologies.
• Virtual-collaboration behaviors
• Virtual socialization skills
• Virtual-communication skiils

Question 8

Input - Process - Output Model

Team effectiveness

Answer 8

Enables understanding of how teams perform & how to maximize performance.

Question 9

Team inputs

Answer 9

Organizational context;
- Reward and training system
- Physical environment
- Managerial support
- Technology

Taks characteristics;
- Variety of skills
- Autonomy
- Meaningful and important
- Performance feedback

Team structure/composition;
- Characteristics of team members

Question 10

Types of diversity

Team input

Answer 10

• Demographical diversity (surface-level)
• Psychological diversity (deep-level)

Question 11

Consequences of diversity

Answer 11

• Positive effects: better decision-making and idea generation
• Negative effects: lower commitment, absenteeism, withdrawal, poor communication.

Over time:
- negative effects of demogrpahic diversity decrease.
- positive effects of psychological diversity increase.

Question 12

Social loafing

Answer 12

Reduced motivation and performance in groups that occurs when there is a reduced feeling of individual accountability or reduced opportunity for evaulation of individual performance.

Question 13

Group polarization

Risky-shift phenomenon

Answer 13

Tendency for groups to amek more extreme decisions than those made by individuals.

Question 14

Leadership and diversity in teams

Answer 14

• Clarity on: Roles, responsibilities, decision making
• Emphasize interdependence and sharedness of team performance.
• Understanding and challenge steorotypes
• Manage conflicts
• Demonstrate consistency of treatment
• Value the member’s uniqueness

Question 15

Shared mental models

Input variables

Answer 15

• Ideas are compatible
• Same explanations and expectations
• Alignment
• Implicit coordination

Question 16

How do you get shared cognitions?

Answer 16

• Team coordination training
• Cross-training
• Guided team self-correction training
• Team leader training

Question 17

Norms

Process Variables

Answer 17

• Informal, mostly unwritten rules
• Explicit agreements, old habits, first behavior patterns after the formation of the team.
• Part of team development

Question 18

Team development

Process Variables

Answer 18

The order is dependent upon the team and context.
1. Tuckman: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning.
2. Gersick: Puncctuated, Equilbrium.

Question 19

Communication & Coordination

Process variables

Answer 19

The Ringelmann Effect: Ft < F1 + F2 +F3
Process losses, Lack of coordination

Question 20

Problems in team processes - Social loafing

Answer 20

Lack of effort.
Remedies:
- Increase task difficulty
- Enhance the uniqueness of the individual contribution.
- Set collective goals.

Question 21

Cohesion

Process variables

Answer 21

• Desire to remain in the team and commit to the team goals
• Characterized by stability, satsifaction, pride, solidarity, strong norms, and social pressure.

Question 22

Problems in team processes: Groupthink

Process Variables

Answer 22

• The disire to research consensus in more important than the realistic judgement of alternatives (possible actions).
• Past Groupthink Fiascos: Bay of Pig Invasion, 1961

Question 23

Symptoms of Groupthink

Answer 23

Interpersonal pressure;
-Self-censorship
-Illusion of unanimity
-Pressure to conform
Overestimation of the group (power and morality)
- Illusion of invulnerability
- Illusion of morality

Lack of open-discussion
- Rationalizing of negative feedback
- More extreme stereotyping of competitors

Question 24

Groupthink Remedy

Answer 24

• The devils advacate
• Anonymous protest
• Subgrup opponents

Stimulate constructive conflict.

Question 25

Team outputs

Answer 25

Team performance;
- The best individual outperforms on cognitive and decision-making tasks.
- Enhanced (especially) creativity and innovation.
Wellbeing and satisfaction of team members:
- Participation, task variety, task significance
- Self-esteem
- Positive interactions