Chapter 7 - Team Dynamic Flashcards
What are groups of 2 or more people who interact and influence each other, are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organizational objectives, and perceive themselves as a social entity within an organization?
Teams
What are the 3 characteristics of a team?
- Team permanence
- Skill diversity
- Authority dispersion
What refers to how long that type of team exists?
Team permanence
What refers to the degree that decision-making responsibility is distributed throughout the team or is vested in one or a few members of the team?
Authority dispersion
List 4 reasons why informal groups exist
- Humans are social animals
- Individuals define themselves by the group affiliation
- They accomplish personal objectives that cannot be achieved by individuals working alone
- We are comforted by the presence of others and are motivated to be near them during stressful times
Why are teams not always as effective as individuals working alone?
Process losses
What are resources expended toward team development and maintenance rather than the task?
Process losses
Does process losses include time and energy?
Yes
What type of tasks do process losses make teams less effective at?
Tasks that are performed alone
When are process losses amplified?
When more people are added or replace others on the team
What are the 2 reasons why process losses are amplified when more people are added to the team?
- New team members consume time and effort figuring out how to work well with other team members
- Current team members divert their attention to accommodating and integrating the new members
Why do process losses continue to increase after the new members have been integrated?
A larger team requires more time for coordination and conflict resolution
What occurs when people exert less effort when working in teams than when working alone?
Social loafing
When is social loafing higher?
When individual performance is hidden or difficult to distinguish from the performance of others
When does individual performance tend to be hidden?
When very large teams produce a single output
List 5 ways to reduce social loafing
- Make team member’s contribution more visible
- Enriching the job
- Make the work and team goals more important and valued
- Increase the extent to which members value team work
- Make team progress fair
What represents all conditions beyond the team’s boundaries that influence it effectiveness?
The organizational and team environment
List the 5 key components of organizational and team environment
- Rewards
- Communication
- Organizational structure
- Organizational leadership
- Physical space
What is viewed as a resource pool that either supports or inhabits the team’s ability to function and achieve its objectives?
The organizational environment
List the 5 key components of team processes
- Team development
- Team norms
- Team cohesion
- Team trust
- Team interaction
List the 3 key components of team effectiveness
- Accomplish tasks
- Satisfy member needs
- Maintain team survival
What are 2 environmental conditions that generate drives for change within teams?
- External competition
2. Changing social expectations
What does task complexity demand?
Teamwork
What does complex work require?
Skills and knowledge beyond one person’s abilities
What is the main benefit of well-structured tasks?
Coordinating is easier
List the 3 key components of team design
- Task characteristics
- Team size
- Team composition
In what 4 instances is the task characteristic component of team design better?
- When tasks are complex but more structure
- When coordination is required
- When there is higher task interdependence
- When members share processes, goals, and outcomes
What is the extent to which team members must share materials, information, or expertise in order to perform their jobs?
Task interdependence
Which level of interdependence occurs when an employee or work unit shares a common resource with others employees or work unit?
Pooled interdependence
Which level of interdependence does the output of one person become the direct input for another person or unit?
Sequential interdependence
Which level of interdependence does the work output get exchanged back and forth among individuals?
Reciprocal interdependence
What is the highest level of task interdependence?
Reciprocal interdependence
What are the 3 benefits of small teams?
- They have less process loss and social loafing
- Members feel more engaged
- There is a greater sense of responsibility
Which component of team design deals with the Five Cs model?
Team composition
List the 5 Competencies in the Five Cs model
- Cooperating
- Coordinating
- Communicating
- Comforting
- Conflict resolving
What do effective team members possess?
The 5 Competencies in the Five Cs model
What is diversity an important dimension of?
Team composition
List 3 advantages of diverse teams
- They bring multiple perspectives to problem-solving
- They have a broader knowledge base
- They provide better representation of team constituents
List the 3 disadvantages of diverse teams
- They tend to develop more slowly
- They are more prone to faultlines
- They have a greater risk of dysfunctional conflict