Leading Teams

Question 1

team

Answer 1

a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish a specific goal

Question 2

advantages of effective teams

Answer 2

• creativity and innovation
• improved quality
• speed of response
• higher productivity and lower costs
• enhanced motivation and satisfaction

Question 3

drawbacks of teamwork

Answer 3

• some tasks are better performed by individuals than teams
• artificial if no meaningful common purpose
• ineffective if not consistent with the organisational culture, strategy and reward system
• can be time consuming and prone to conflict
• teams may be no better than individuals (groupthink, social loafing etc)

Question 4

types of teams

Answer 4

• functional teams
• cross-functional teams
• self-managed teams
• virtual teams

Question 5

functional teams

Answer 5

a team composed of a manger and his or her subordinates

Question 6

cross-functional team

Answer 6

a team composed of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different areas of expertise

Question 7

self-managed team

Answer 7

a team that consists of multi-skilled employees who rotate jobs to produce an entire product or service often led by an elected team member

Question 8

virtual team

Answer 8

a team that uses computer technology and groupware so that geographically distant members can collaborate on projects and reach goals

Question 9

things effective virtual leaders do

Answer 9

• use technology to build relationships
• shape culture through technology
• monitor progress and rewards

Question 10

team characteristics

Answer 10

• size
• diversity
• member roles

Question 11

size

Answer 11

teams need to be large enough to incorporate the diverse skills needed to complete a task,enable members to express good and bad feelings, and aggressively solve problems. However, they also should be small enough to permit members to feel an intimate part of the team and to communicate effectively and efficiently. In general, as a team increases in size, it becomes harder for each member to interact and influence the others.

Question 12

diversity

Answer 12

because teams require a variety of skills, knowledge and experience, diverse teams are generally more effective. Diversity in terms of functional area and skills, thinking styles and personal characteristics is often a source of creativity. In addition, diversity may contribute to a healthy level of disagreement that leads to better decision making.

Question 13

member roles

Answer 13

• task specialist

- socio-emotional.

Question 14

task specialist role

Answer 14

a role in which the individual devotes personal time and energy to helping the team accomplish its task. They often display the following behaviours:

• initiate ideas
• give opinions
• seek information
• summarise
• energise

Question 15

socio-emotional role

Answer 15

a role in which the individual provides support for team members’ emotional needs and social unity. They display the following behaviours:

• encourage
• harmonise
• reduce tension
• follow
• compromise

Question 16

stages of team development

Answer 16

• forming
• storming
• norming
• performing
• adjourning

Question 17

forming

Answer 17

the stage of team development characterised by orientation and acquaintance

Question 18

storming

Answer 18

the stage of team development in which individual personalities and roles, and resulting conflicts, emerge

Question 19

norming

Answer 19

the stage of team development in which conflicts developed during the storming stage are resolved and team harmony and unity emerge

Question 20

performing

Answer 20

the stage of team development in which members focus on problem solving and accomplishing the team’s assigned task

Question 21

adjourning

Answer 21

the stage of team development in which members prepare for the team’s disbandment

Question 22

team cohesiveness

Answer 22

the extent to which team members are attracted to the team and motivated to remain in it

Question 23

determinant of team cohesiveness

Answer 23

several characteristics of team structure and context influence cohesiveness. First is team interaction. When team members have frequent contact, they get to know one another, consider themselves a unit and become more committed to the team. Second is the concept of shared goals. If team members agree on purpose and direction, they will be more cohesive. Third is personal attraction to the team, meaning that members have similar attitudes and values and enjoy being together

two factors in the team’s context also influence cohesiveness. The first is the presence of competition. When a team is in moderate competition with other teams, its cohesiveness increases as it strives to win. Finally, team success and the favourable evaluation of the team by outsiders add to cohesiveness. When a team succeeds in its task and others in the organisation recognise the success, members feel good and their commitment to the team will be high

Question 24

consequences of team cohesiveness

Answer 24

morale is higher in cohesive teams because of increased communication among members, a friendly team climate, maintenance of membership because of commitment to the team, loyalty, and member participation in team decisions and activities. High cohesiveness has almost uniformly positive effects on the satisfaction and morale of team members

moreover, a friendly, positive team environment contributes to productivity, as well as member satisfaction

Question 25

life talk

Answer 25

discussing such outside interests as families, vacations, house buying, and clothing

Question 26

troubles talk

Answer 26

complaining about such sources of discomfort or dissatisfaction as limited resources, challenging client or annoying manager, preferably in a jocular tone

Question 27

the power of life talk and troubles talk

Answer 27

life talk and troubles talk are rituals that enhance team cohesiveness by surfacing similarities of experiences, by creating shared moments and by enhancing the team mood

Question 28

teams norms

Answer 28

a standard of conduct that is shared by team members and guides their behaviour

Question 29

types of conflict

Answer 29

• task conflict

- relationship conflict

Question 30

task conflict

Answer 30

conflict that results from disagreements about the goals to be achieved or the content of the tasks to be performed.

Question 31

relationship conflict

Answer 31

conflict that results from interpersonal incompatibility that creates tension and personal animosity among people

Question 32

balancing conflict and cooperation

Answer 32

a healthy level of conflict helps to prevent groupthink. Thus, a degree of conflict leads to better decision making because multiple viewpoints are expressed. However, conflict that is too strong, that is focused on personal rather than work issues or that is not managed appropriately can be damaging to the team’s morale and productivity. Too much conflict can de destructive, tear relationships apart and interfere with the healthy exchange of ideas and information. A moderate amount of conflict that is managed appropriately typically results in the highest levels of team performance

Question 33

styles to handle conflict

Answer 33

• dominating style
• avoiding style
• compromising style
• accomodating style
• collaborating style

Question 34

dominating style (my way)

Answer 34

reflects assertiveness to get one’s own way, and should be used when quick, decisive action is vital on important issues or unpopular opinions, such as during emergencies or cost cutting

Question 35

avoiding style (no way)

Answer 35

reflects neither assertiveness, or cooperativeness. It is appropriate when an issue is trivial, when there is no chance of winning, when a delay to gather more information iris needed or when a disruption would be costly

Question 36

compromising style (halfway)

Answer 36

reflects a moderate amount of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. It is appropriate when the goals on both sides want to split the difference, or when people need to arrive at temporary or expedient solutions under time pressure

Question 37

accomodating style (your way)

Answer 37

reflects a high degree of cooperativeness, which works best when people realise that they are wrong, when anise is more important to others than oneself, when building social credits for use in later discussions and when maintaining harmony is especially important.

Question 38

collaborating style (our way)

Answer 38

reflects a high degree of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The collaborating style enables both parties to win, although it may require substantial bargaining and negotiation. The collaborating style is important when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised, when insights from different people need to be merged into an overall solution and when the commitment of both sides is needed for a consensus.

Question 39

negotiation

Answer 39

involves people engaging in give-and-take discussions and considering various alternatives to reach a joint decision that is acceptable to both parties.

Question 40

types of negotiation

Answer 40

• integrative negotiation

- distributive negotiation

Question 41

integrative negotiation

Answer 41

a collaborative approach based on a win-win assumption, whereby the parties want a creative solution that benefits both sides of the conflict

• fosters trust and positive long-term relationships

Question 42

distributive negotiation

Answer 42

a competitive and adversarial approach on which each party strives to get as much as it can, usually at the expense of the other party

• does not lead to positive long-term relationships

Question 43

rules for reaching a win-win solution

Answer 43

• separate the people from the problem
• focus on interests, not current demands.
• listen and ask questions.
• insist that results be based nonobjective standards.