Group Dynamics, Teamwork & Decision-Making - 7 Flashcards
What is a
Group
2 or more ppl interacting interdependently to achieve a common goal
2 types of Groups
Sequential
Reciprocal
Formal groups
Established organizations to facilitate the specific achievement of organizational goals
Informal Groups
They emerge natually in response to common interests of the organizational members
Why form groups?
Means, Ends, Personal characteristics
What is meant by “Means”
Why form groups?
Groups can be an important means to accomplishing a desired outcome
Ex: Why join a union? - Bc it’s a strong voice then 1.
A MEANS to get a stronger voice
What is meant by “Ends”?
Groups can be a desirable outcome in itself
Ex: Why join a carpool? - MEANS to saving gas but ENDS in itself b/c carpool itself provides companionship, etc
What is meant by “Personal Characteristics”?
We are bringing together different ppl/perspectives that have complementary skills
Potential performance of the group increases as group size increases
General:
Typical Stages of Group Development
Groups develop through a series of stages over time
Each stage presents the members w challenges they must master in order to achieve the next stage
Groups can vary in terms of how quickly they walk through these stages
5 Stage Model of Group Development
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
A model of group development that describes how groups with deadlines are affected by their first meetings and crucial midpoint transitions
Stages of Punctuated Equilibrium Model
Phase 1
Midpoint Transition
Phase 2
What are the most important components leading to effective group structuring?
Size
Diversity
Norms/Rules
Roles
Additive Task
Size
Group performance is dependent on the sum of the performance of individual group members
Potential performance of group increases as group size increases
Disjunctive Task
Size
Group performance is dependent on the performance of the best group member
Potential performance of the group increases as group size increases
Conjunctive Task
Group performance is limited by the performance of the poorest member
As group size decreases, potential group performance increases
Equation of Actual Performance
Actual Performance = Potential Performance - Process Losses
Potential performance
Very best performance
Process Losses
Performance difficulties that result from the problems of motivating and coordinating larger groups
Motivating/Coordinating Problems
- Communication problems
- Conflict resolution problems
- Stress management problems
- Diversity management problems
What’s meant by Diversity of Group Membership
Group Structure
- Diverse groups might take longer to do their forming, storming and norming
- They sometimes perform better when the task requires cognitive, creativity-demanding tasks and problem solving rather than routine work
Norms & Rules
Norms are collective expectations that members of social units have regarding the behaviour of each other
Rules are formal usually stated & defines boundaries of what’s acceptable & expected
What are the norms we find in organizations?
- Dress Norms (Appearance)
- Reward Allocation Norms (Equity, Equality)
- Performance Norms (Can be diff between groups)
- Social Interaction (Acceptable behaviour)
Roles
Positions in a group that have a set of expected behaviours attached to them
Key Issues of Roles
Role Ambiguity
Role Conflict
Status Effect
Role Ambiguity
Key Issues of Roles
When there is a lack of clarity on the job’s goals or methods
Role Conflict
Key Issues of Roles
When group mates are facing incompatible role expectations
You are experiencing dissonance
Status Effects
Key Issues of Roles
Status barriers that inhibit the flow of communication
Consequences when we see Role issues
Job Disatisfaction, lower organizational commitment, increased stress reactions, increased turnover
Group Cohesiveness
The degree to which a group is especially attractive to its members
Factors that increase cohesiveness
- Threats and Competition
- Success
- Member Diversity
- Size
- Toughness of Initiation
What is meant by Threat and Competition
Factors that increase cohesiveness
There are winners/losers forcing groups to be more cohesive to win
What is meant by success
Factors that increase cohesiveness
Groups become more cohesive when they successfully accomplish an important goal
What is meant by Member Diversity
Factors that increase cohesiveness
In less diverse groups cohesiveness can come more quickly
More diverse is difficult but difficult binds you together
What is meant by Size
Factors that increase cohesiveness
Larger groups; more difficult to be cohesive
What is meant by Toughness of Initiation
Factors that increase cohesiveness
Groups that are tough to get into tend to be more attractive then ones easy to join
The more difficult it is to get in the group; the more you want to stay in that group
Consequences of Cohesiveness
- More participation in group activities
- More conformity
- More success
Social Loafing
The tendency to withhold physical or intellectual effor when performing a group task
Members exert less effort when working in teams than working alone
Social Loafing is an example of a process loss
Forms of Social Loafing
Free rider effect
Sucker effect
Free rider effect
When they lower their effort to get a free ride at the expense of others
Sucker effect
They lower their effort b/c of a feeling of others free riding; therefore they think this will restore equity in the group
How to counteract social loafing
Make individual performance more visible
Make sure the work is interesting
Increase feelings of indispensability (give them coaching and make them feel need)
Increase performance feedback
Reward group performance
Team
Teams were originally groups but not all groups become teams
Team is more than a group
A group becomes a team when there is:
- Strong sense of shared commitment
- When there is synergy that develops such that the group’s efforts are greater than the sum of its parts
Collective efficacy
You see it in a team when ppl believe in each other
Team reflexivity
Belief in adaptability / circular relationships
Types of Teams
Process-improvement teams
Self-managed teams
Cross-functional
Virtual Teams
Process-improvement teams
They are put together to figure out ways of improving product
E.g. Teams to improve efficiency of producing a product/service
Self-managed teams
Same as autonomy
E.g. Teams w full, reduced or no supervision
Cross functional teams
Team w people from functional areas of expertise
E.g. Team w ppl from HR, marketing, accounting, etc
Virtual Teams
Team that spans the globe
Factors critical to success of self-managed work teams
Task
Group Composition
Support
Tasks
Factors critical to success of self-managed work teams
Challenge
Complexity
Interdependence (Sequential & Reciprocal)
Group Composition
Factors critical to success of self-managed work teams
Stability (Trust & understanding)
Size (Keep coordination & loafing to a minimum)
Expertise
Diversity (members need to be similar enough to work together; diverse enough to bring multiple perspectives & skills to group)
Support
Factors critical to success of self-managed work teams
Training
Reswards (Make sure rewards r tied to team’s accomplishments)
Management (Have to be seen as non-threatening but rather supportive/helpful)
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
Composition
Superordinate goals
Physical proximity
Autonomy
Rules and procedures
Leadership
Composition
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
Making sure when you form ur team you get the right ppl
Superordinate goals
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
Outcomes that can only be achieved through collaboration
Physical proximity
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
Notion of closeness
Autonomy
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
How much decision making power r we giving functional areas of expertise
Rules and procedures
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
Having basic decisions and framework to decrease conflict due to differences
Leadership
Factors critical to success of Cross Functional Teams
Do we have good team leaders in place that have both ppl & tasks skills
Advantages of Virtual Teams
Around the clock (team never stops)
Reduced travel cost/time (No need to get to office)
Larger talent pool (No need for relocation)
Challenges of Virtual Teams
Trust (harder to build)
Miscommunication
Isolation
Management issues
Lessons of Virtual Teams
Recruitment
Training
Personalization
Leadership
Why use groups in decision making?
- Decision quality
- Decision acceptance and commitment
- Diffusion of responsibility
Decision quality
Why use groups in decision making?
Groups or teams can make higher quality decisions then individuals
They generage more ideas & evaluate better
Diffusion of responsibility
Why use groups in decision making?
Ability of members to share the burden of the negative consequences of a poor decision
(can be good or bad)
Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
- Time
- Conflict
- Domination
- Groupthink
Time
Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
- Not quick or efficient as individuals
- Process losses can arise bc of the time its taking/debating/arguing/co-ordination issue
- Group size increase; time becomes more of a problem bc more has to be looked at
Conflict
Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
Political wrangling : when you have multiple group members; increase conflict; conflict over difference of opinion; conflict bc u cant find zone of agreement
Domination
Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
- When meetings are dominated by individual or small coalition
- If there is a dominant voice / decision maker, you might have a problem
Group think
Disadvantages of Group Decision Making
When group becomes too cohesive, then it’s passed the pt of productivity; squashes creativity
Why does Groupthink develop?
- Cohesivenes
- Concern for approval (want other members to like them)
- Isolation of the group (get person isolated, then brainwash; cult like behaviour)
Symptoms of groupthink
- Unfavourable stereotypes of outsiders (members criticise other ppl on the outside)
- Pressure for conformity
- Self-censorship (You avoid voicing opinions to the group)
Approaches to Improving Decision-Making
- Devil’s advocate
- Whistle blowing
- Encouraging outliers/earning idiosyncratic credits
- Disruptors
How to improve decision making
Stimulate and manage controversy
How do groups handle risk?
Risky Shift
Conservative Shift
Risky Shift
How do groups handle risk?
The tendency for groups to make riskier decisions than the average risk initially advocated by their individual members
Diffusion of responsibility for a bad decision encourages the group to take greater chances/risk
Conservative Shift
How do groups handle risk?
The tendency for groups to make less risky decisions than the average risk initially advocated by their individual members
Why does it happen?: We become (in a group) more cautious when members are doing checks on each other
Contemporary Approaches to Improving Decision Making
- Evidence-Based Management
- Crowdsourcing
- Analytics and Big Data
Evidence Based Management
Contemporary Approaches to Improving Decision Making
Making decisions through explicit use of evidence from multiple sources
Crowdsourcing
Contemporary Approaches to Improving Decision Making
Outsourcing aspects of a decision process to a large collection of ppl
Analytics & Big Data
Contemporary Approaches to Improving Decision Making
Finding meaningful patterns in large data sets
DESIGN THINKING - methodology: How do we take data sets and make intelligent decisions
