Teams Flashcards
what is a formal team
- identity and set of functions derived from and contributing to the objectives of the organization
what are 4 characteristics of teams
- groups of 2 or more people
- organizational identity as a group
- shared objectives in relations to work
- well defined roles
greater productivity - better product development
- more engaged workdorce
what are organizational benefits to working in a team
- greater amount of information and knowledge available
- more education/trained workforce
- decreased human error
what are interpersonal benefits to working in teams
- sense of team identity, cohesion, unity
- awareness of common goals
- openness/opportunities to talk and share info
- greater commitment
what are some drawbacks to working in teams
- if you have the knowledge and skills, working on your own is better
- if work cannot be divided then teams are not beneficial
- there are financial costs to developing a team
what are the 3 components of the model of team performance
- inputs: Group composition (knowledge, skill abilities, demographic, personalities) Organizational context (culture, resources, info, training, reward systems, task design) >
- Group processes: Roles, communication, conflict, trust, decision making, process loss >
- Outputs: Productivity, innovation, member mental health, member growth, group viability
what are 4 types of teams
- problem solving resolution
- creative
- tactical
- ad hoc
What is the objective, dominant feature, process emphasis and example of problem resolution teams
- O: Resolve complex problems
- F: Trust
- P: Focus on issues
- Ex: CDC
What is the objective, dominant feature, process emphasis and example of creative teams
- O: Create something new/different/innovative/appealing
- F: Autonomy
- P: Exploration of opportunities and alternatives
- Ex: EA sports
What is the objective, dominant feature, process emphasis and example of tactical team
- O: Solve a specific problem
- F: Clarity
- P: directive, highly focused tasks, role clarity,
- Ex: emergency response
What is the objective, dominant feature, process emphasis and example of an ad hoc team
- O: Variable; specific to task
- F: Limited time span
- P: mix btwn problem solving and tactical
Define Primary and secondary team processes
- P: the task itself
- S: Team processes
Define shared mental models
- a common understanding of the task and the objectives
Define implicit coordination
- pre-existing knowledge which supports performance
Define shared situational awareness
- dynamic, compatible picture of the situation
What are 7 skill based competencies ie. what members do
- adaptability, performance monitoring and feedback, leadership, interpersonal skills, coordination skills, communication skills, decision making skills
What are 4 attitude based competencies ie what members feel
- attitude towards team members, mutual trust, collective orientation, cohesion
How does conscientiousness relate to teams
- conscientiousness and agreeableness increase team performance via functionality
What type of team is good when a specific team and task competency must be met
- context driven team; tactical
What type of team is good when a specific team and general competency must be met
- contingent; creative team
What type of team is good when a general team and task competency must be met
- transportable; ad hoc
What type of team is good when a general team and specific task competency must be met
- task contingent; problem resolution
What are some KSAs for context driven teams (tactical)
- K: cue strategy association, team specific role responsibilities
- S: Organization, flexibility, mission analysis
- A: team morale, shared vision
What are some KSAs for team contingent teams (creative)
- K: team mate characteristics, team mission objectives
- S: Conflict resolution, assertiveness
- A: Team cohesion, mutual trust
What are some KSAs for transportable teams (Ad Hoc)
- K: Teamwork
- S: Cooperation, information exchange
- A: Collective orientation, belief in the importance in teamwork
What are some KSAs for task contingent teams (problem solving)
- K: Procedures for tasks, task sequencing
- S: Planning, mutual performance monitoring
- A: Task specific teamwork attitude
differentiate characteristics of homogeneous and diverse teams
H: Less conflict, faster team development, performs better on cooperative tasks, better coordination, high satisfaction of team members, more opportunity for negative social processes, demographic homogeneity increases performance, psychological homogeneity decreases performance
- D: More conflict, longer team development, performs better on complex tasks, more creative, information diversity increases performance, value diversity decreases performance
How do team members negotiate roles
- team members write down what they want others to do more or less of as well as tasks that should remain unchanged
- requests are posted and then negotiations are made
What are good tasks for teams
- decision making, innovation, creativity, flexibility, tasks requiring large knowledge base, complex tasks, tasks that can be subdivided
What tasks are not good for teams
- tasks that do not require interdependency among people, operational expertise is limited to few people, work is simple/mundane/repetitious, consistency is important, single experts are required to make decisions, stability is more important than flexibility
How does the need for a team change base on the level of task interdependence
- As interdependence increases, the need for teams increases
what steps should be taken to improve team functioning
- increase implicit coordination via cross training
- ensure roles are clear
- properly train leaders
- train for problem identification
- teach goal setting
how can teams identify problems
- interviews, focus groups, surveys
what is responsibility charting
- listing decisions to be made, pinpoint who’s responsibility each decision is, who must be informed…
what are 6 key motivators for teams
- purpose, challenge, camaraderie, responsibility, growth, leadership
define role
- a set of behaviours that people are expected to perform
what is the role of a leader
- overall responsibility for performance
what is the role of the shaper
sets objectives/priorities
what is the role of the worker
turns concepts into procedures
what is the role of the creator
creates new ideas
what is the role of the resource investigator
- reports on idea development and resources
what is the role of the monitor-evaluator
- analyses problems
what is the role of the team facilitator
- supports strengths/compensates for weaknesses
what is the role of the completer-finisher
- searches for things to do
what are some interpersonal processes that occur in teams
- communication, conflict, cohesion and trust
what are some postives/negatives regarding virtual teams
- positives: increased ability to contribute, less social stratification, greater level of cultural intelligence
- negatives: not useful for high time pressure tasks, low cohesion, unable to manage people you can’t see
what is the benefit of conflict
- greater elaboration on a view when dealt with in a positive environment
define cohesion and what characteristics increase it
- motivation to remain with the group
- increased by: external challenges, team success, member similarities…
what is group think
- goal of keeping the group together Is placed above the reasonable decision leading to a decrease in performance
define trust
- belief that there is no control over someone’s behavior but that they will act in a way that benefits you
what are the three levels of trust
- calculus based trust: they will face sanction
- Knowledge based trust: predictability/competence
- Identification based trust
what are the 5 team development stages
- forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning
how can norms of a group be changed
- act early in the life of the team
- use explicit statements from leaders
- discuss counterproductive norms
- reward desired behavior
what are 3 factors which explain the majority of variance in team decision making (based on the multi-level theory)
- team informity: degree to which team members have information
- staff validity: average of the teams ability to make decisions
- dyadic sensitivity: ability of team to listen to different inputs and the leader to manage the process
what is process loss
- when aspects of group processes interfere with performance
what is production blocking
- the fact you cannot put ideas forward when other people are talking
- solution: brainstorm individually and then come together as a group
describe 3 types of social loafing
- free riding: lets everyone else do the work
- sucker effect: doesn’t want to be the one left doing the undesirable work
- felt dispensability: doesn’t feel needed or listened to
how can social loafing be minimized
- make individual performance more visible
- increase employee motivation
what personality factors can lead to process loss
- shyness, egocentricity, lack of communication skills, cultural differences, dominant personalities
what other factors may lead to process loss
- status, gender, hierarchies
- risky shift in group environments
- diffusion of responsibility leads to less effort
- satisficing: going with first idea that reached consensus rather than the best idea
- group think
what challenges do teams in healthcare face
- hierarchal structures
- professional turfs
- liability laws
- fee for service
- shortage of resources
- lack of inter-professional education
what outcome and process measures can be considered when looking at team outputs
- outcome: task accuracy, timeliness, latency, quality, productivity
- process measures: how long can a team function, do they cooperate, are team members mentally/physically healthy
