Lecture 8: Groups and Teams Flashcards
The five stages of group development
- Forming - members feels much uncertainty
- Storming - lots of conflict between members of the group
- Norming - members have developed close relationships and cohesiveness
- Performing - the group is finally fully functional
- Adjourning- in temp groups, characterised by concern with wrapping up activities rather than performance
Properties of Group performance
- Diversity
- Norms
- Roles
- Status
- Size
- Cohesiveness
Roles (Group Property)
Role
- A set of expected behaviour patterns attributed to someone occupying in a given position in a social unit
Norms (Group Property)
Acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by the group’s members
Classes of norms:
- Performance norms
- Appearance norms
- Social arrangement norms
- Allocation of resources norms
Status (Group Property)
A socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others - it differentiates group members
Group Size (Group Property)
Issues with group size
Social Loafing
- The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than when working individually
Cohesiveness (Group Property)
Degree to which group members are attracted to each other and are motivated to stay in the group
Diversity (Group Property)
Diversity in the group’s membership - the degree to which members of the group are similar to, or different from, one another
Groupthink
- Situations where group pressures for conformity deter the group from critically appraising unusual, minority or unpopular views
- Hinder performance
Groupshift
- When discussing a given set of alternatives and arriving at a solution, group members tend to exaggerate the initial positions that they hold.
- Causes a shift to more conservative or more risky behaviour
Work group
A group that interacts primarily to share info and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility
Work team
Generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. The individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of individual inputs
Types of teams
- Problem solving teams
- Self-managed work teams
- Cross-functional teams
- Virtual teams
Problem solving teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work environment
Cross-functional teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level but from different work area, who come together to accomplish a task
Virtual teams
Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal
Team effectiveness model
- Context
- Composition
- Process
Context (TEM)
Adequate resources
- Needs the tools to complete the job
Effective leadership and structure
- Agreeing to the specifics of work and how the teams fits together to integrate individual skills
- Even self managed teams need leaders
- Leadership especially important in multi-team systems
Climate of trust
- Members must trust each other and the leader
Performance and rewards systems that reflect team contributions
Composition (TEM)
Abilities of members
- High ability members perform better when the tasks are complex and require more thought
Personality of members
- Conscientiousness, openess to experience and agreeableness all relate to team performance
Allocating roles and diversity
-Many necessary roles must be filled
- Diversity can often lead to lower performance
Size of team
-The smaller the better: five to nine is optimal
Member’s preference for teamwork
Process (TEM)
Commitment to a common purpose
- Create a common purpose that provides direction
- have reflexibility: willing to adjust plan if necessary
Establishment of specific team goals
- Must be specific, measurable, realistic and challenging
Team efficacy
- team believes in its ability to succeed
Mental Models
- have an accurate and common mental map of how the work gets done
A managed level of conflict
Minimised social loafing
