Chapter 14 Teamwork (Managing Lateral Relationships)

Question 1

List methods for managing a team’s relationships with other teams.

Answer 1

Perform important roles such as gatekeeping, informing, parading, and probing. Identify the types of lateral role relationships you have with outsiders. This can help coordinate efforts throughout the work system.

Question 2

gatekeeper

informing

parading

probing

Answer 2

gatekeeper A team member who keeps abreast(並行して) of current developments and provides the team with relevant information.

informing A team strategy that entails（伴う） making decisions with the team and then informing outsiders of its intentions.

parading A team strategy that entails simultaneously emphasizing internal team building and achieving external visibility.

probing（徹底的に調べる） A team strategy that requires team members to interact frequently with outsiders, diagnose their needs, and experiment with solutions.

When teams have a high degree of dependence on outsiders, probing is the best strategy.

Parading teams perform at an intermediate level, and informing teams are likely to fail. They are too isolated from the outside groups on which they depend.

Informing or parading strategies may be more effective for teams that are less dependent on outside groups, for example, established teams working on routine tasks in stable external environments. But for most important work teams of the future—task forces, new-product teams, and strategic decision-making teams tackling unstructured problems in a rapidly changing external environment—effective performance in roles that involve interfacing with the outside will be vital.

Question 3

Lateral Role Relationships

Answer 3

Different teams, like different individuals, have roles to perform. As teams carry out their roles, several distinct patterns of working relationships develop:

1. Work-flow relationships emerge as materials are passed from one group to another. A group commonly receives work from one unit, processes it, and sends it to the next unit in the process. Your group, then, will come before some groups and after others in the process.流れ作業
2. Service relationships exist when top management centralizes an activity to which a large number of other units must gain access. Common examples are technology services, libraries, and clerical staff. Such units must assist other people to help them accomplish their goals.サービス系
3. Advisory relationships are created when teams with problems call on centralized sources of expert knowledge. For example, staff members in the human resources or legal department advise work teams.助言
4. Audit relationships develop when people not directly in the chain of command evaluate the methods and performances of other teams. Financial auditors check the books, and technical auditors assess the methods and technical quality of the work.監査
5. Stabilization relationships involve auditing before the fact. In other words, teams sometimes must obtain clearance from others—for example, for large purchases—before they take action.事が起こる前に監査
6. Liaison relationships involve intermediaries between teams. Managers often are called on to mediate conflict between two organizational units. Public relations people, sales managers, purchasing agents, and others who work across organizational boundaries serve in liaison roles as they maintain communications between the organization and the outside world.渉外、仲介

Question 4

accommodation

avoidance
collaboration
competing
mediator

Answer 4

accommodation A style of dealing with conflict involving cooperation on behalf of the other party but not being assertive about one’s own interests.

avoidance A reaction to conflict that involves ignoring the problem by doing nothing at all, or deemphasizing the disagreement.

collaboration A style of dealing with conflict emphasizing both cooperation and assertiveness to maximize both parties’ satisfaction.

competing A style of dealing with conflict involving strong focus on one’s own goals and little or no concern for the other person’s goals.

mediator(仲介者) A third party who intervenes to help others manage their conflict.

Different approaches are necessary at different times.105 For example, competing can be necessary when cutting costs or dealing with other scarce resources. Compromise may be useful when people are under time pressure, when they need to achieve a temporary solution, or when collaboration fails. People should accommodate when they learn they are wrong or to minimize loss when they are outmatched. Even avoiding may be appropriate if the issue is trivial or resolving the conflict should be someone else’s responsibility.