Teams And Teamwork

Question 1

What is a team?

Answer 1

A team is a unit of 2 or more people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and expectations, for which they hold themselves accountable

Lussier + achua 2001

Question 2

Groups vs teams

Answer 2

. Teams are often used interchangeably
. Team is a group that possesses extra, positive features
. “A group turns into a team once it has organised itself to fulfil a purpose” (Buchanan and huczynski,2010)
. All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams
. Teams share missions and collective responsibility , commitment in group may not be as strong
. Teams have mutual accountability groups emphasise individual accountability

Question 3

Sharing common value and cooperating

Answer 3

. When one of those changes people often no longer belong
. Teams can only succeed or fail collectively

*most teams have fewer than us members

Question 4

Sundstorm et al 1990

5 dimensions

Answer 4

Each team type is differentiated along 5 dimensions:

1. Degree of differentiation from other units how similar or different this team is from others in the organisation
2. Degree of coordination - how closely the team needs to work with other work units in the organisations
3. Degree of technical specialisation- do members need to apply specialist technical skills, or they draw upon members experiences and problem solving abilities
4. Work cycles - how much time does the team need to achieve its aims
5. Typical outputs - what does the team actually produce

Question 5

Typology allows you to catergorise teams in order to aid improvement

Typology teams :

Answer 5

Advice teams
Action teams
Project teams
Production teams

Question 6

Advice

Answer 6

A team created primarily to provide a flow of information to management to be used in its own decision making

Question 7

Action teams

Answer 7

. Execute brief performance, that are repeated under new conditions
. Members are specialised in terms of knowledge/skills

Question 8

Project teams

Answer 8

. Bring together people from different areas to accomplish a specific task
. Limited time frame

Question 9

Production teams

Answer 9

. Consists of individuals who share a production goal

. Perform day-to-day, core operation

Question 10

Working in a Team

Answer 10

. An understanding of, and commitment to group goals on the part of all team members
. Getting the very best out people whilst recognising organising are co-operative systems
. Crucial during periods of change

Question 11

Teamwork and organisations

Answer 11

. Team is crucial to organisational performance
. Teams must be balanced – this can be achieved by:
. Recruitment employees who help balance the team
. Job design and work organisation are reviewed
. Good, open, honest communications are maintained
. Team performance is regularly reviewed
. Interpersonal conflict is dealt with promptly
. Team development is carefully planned
. Team performance is adequately rewarded

Question 12

Are teams always good ?

Allen and Hecht,2004

Answer 12

. The romance of teams
. Teams fulfil psychological, social and political needs
. Teams make people more satisfied, faster confidence
. Teams fit with attractive ideals of empowerment, participation and democracy
. Faith in effectiveness that isn’t supported by research

Question 13

Naquin and tynan 2003

Answer 13

. Teams are innapropriate and ineffective in certain situations
. Teams continue to be used uncritically in organisations
. Balance between being a team member and standing out as an individual

Question 14

Advantages of a team

Answer 14

. Achieve synergy 
. Total output execs sum of input 
. Mutual support, better decisions 
. Continuous improvement + innovation
. Increase job satisfaction 
. Satisfy needs such as affiliation, security, self-esteem, self- fulfilment 
. Links to retention

Question 15

Disadvantages of a team

Answer 15

. Pressure to conform 
. Social loafing 
. Group think
. Too cohesive 
. Cliques 
. Change in own goals

Question 16

Team effectiveness

Lussier and achua 2001

. Defined as the achievement of 4 performance outcomes

Answer 16

1. Innovation/adaptation: can rapidly respond to needs and changes
2. Efficiency: team can attain goals with fewer resources
3. Quality: achieve superior results and exceed expectations
4. Employee satisfaction: teams ability to maintain commitment and enthusiasm by meeting the personal needs of its members

Question 17

Hackman 1990 - 3 hurdles each team must overcome to achieve effectiveness

Answer 17

1. Expand sufficient effort to achieve the task (motivation)
2. Bring sufficient knowledge and skill to the task (composition)
3. Use processes that are appropriate for the task and setting (processes)

Question 18

Determinants of effectiveness team decisions

Answer 18

1. Team size and composition
2. Members status
3. Team cohesiveness
4. Traits and values of team members
5. Quality and leadership

Question 19

Problem team members

Answer 19

Talker 
Wanderer 
Bored 
Arguer
Silent

Question 20

Organisations role in creating effective teams

Answer 20

. Top management 
Unconditional support 
. Info and resources 
. Flexible task structure 
. Appropriate size 
. Right mix of people 
. Defined mission and goals 
. Team leadership 
. Feedback 
. Identify and build on strengths 
. Develop ability to anticipate and deal with change

Question 21

Decision making in teams

Advantages and disadvantages

Answer 21

Adv: pooling of ideas, diffusion of responsibility, members understand and buy into decisions made, higher value of commitment

Negs: timescales, team decisions could be inferior- trying to balance too much, team priorities vary from organisations, poor compromise - worse decision