Week 11 - Teamwork

Question 1

define a group

Answer 1

those social aggregates that involve mutual awareness and potential mutual interaction
- two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person“

Question 2

define team

Answer 2

• a collection of individuals who share a common goal, whose actions and outcomes are interdependent, who are perceived by themselves
  and others as a social entity, and who are embedded in an organizational
  context.

Question 3

why are teams important

Answer 3

• They are ubiquitous in modern workplaces (Ancona, 1990; Hackman, 1990)
• They are critical for organisational performance
  • Understanding how they operate is key to improving team work

Question 4

what is the IPO model?

Answer 4

input - processes - outputs

Question 5

define teamwork processes

Answer 5

We define team process as members’ interdependent acts that convert inputs to outcomes through cognitive, verbal, and behavioral activities directed toward organizing task work to achieve collective goals.

Question 6

Team action and behavioural processes

Answer 6

• Team coordination and communication
• Team member competencies
• Team regulation, performance dynamics
  and adaptation

Question 7

Team interpersonal processes

Answer 7

• Team cohesion
• Team efficacy and
  group potency
• Affect, mood, and emotion
  Team conflict

Question 8

Team cognitive processes and

structures:

Answer 8

• Climate
• Team cognition
• Transactive memory
• Shared mental models
• Team learning

Question 9

define coordination

Answer 9

• managing dependancies between activities
• involving the use of strategies and behavior
  patterns aimed at integrating and aligning the actions, knowledge, and objectives of interdependent members, with a view to attaining common goals

Question 10

define implicit coordination

Answer 10

“team members anticipate the actions and needs
of their colleagues and task demands and dynamically adjust their own behavior accordingly, without having to communicate directly with each other or plan the activity

Question 11

define explicit coordination

Answer 11

the transfer of information and resources in response to requests

Question 12

what are the two components of implicit coordination

Answer 12

Anticipation: expectations and predictions of demands of the task and the actions and needs of others. Without being directly notified of these actions or needs.
Dynamic adjustment: actions taken on an ongoing basis in order
to mutually adapt their behavior.

Question 13

define culture

Answer 13

is a set of meanings that is rooted in the deeper

consciousness of organisations

Question 14

define climate

Answer 14

is a manifestation of culture that provides a snapshot of the underlying assumptions which form a culture

Question 15

how did culture and climate get developed

Answer 15

• Climate has been developed in the tradition of Lewin’s (1951) social
psychology of person/situation interaction (Glick, 1985)
• Culture has been developed from symbolic interactionism and has its roots in sociology and social anthropology (Mead, 1934)

Question 16

what is Scheins culture model

Answer 16

1- artifacts (visibal structures and processes)
2- Espoused beliefs and values (strategies, goals)
3- Underlying assumptions (unconcious taken for granted beliefs)

Question 17

how is culture measured

Answer 17

• captures employees’ SHARED perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs
about an issue (e.g. risk and safety, innovation)
• typically measured by questionnaire surveys

Question 18

what are the 4 dimensions for the concept of climate

Answer 18

1- vision
2- participative
3- task orientation
4- support for innovation

Question 19

define team conflict

Answer 19

A characteristic of social grouping that reflects the degree to which objective or subjective differences exist between group members

Question 20

what are the three types of conflict

Answer 20

1- task conflict
2- relationship conflict
3- process conflict

Question 21

what are the pros of task conflict

Answer 21

• Increased understanding of the task at
• More critical evaluation of each other’s ideas
• May enhance innovation and reduce confirmation bias
• May also support voice, task commitment and member satisfaction

Question 22

what are cons of task conflict

Answer 22

• Distraction
• Requires additional cognitive resources/ load
• May result in black and
white thinking
• May obstruct such as group
effectiveness, creativity, and
decision making

Question 23

what are the pros of relationship conflict

Answer 23

• May be less negative under some circumstances

Question 24

what are the cons of relationship conflict

Answer 24

• Heightens member anxiety
• Ego threat and hostility
• Distracts from task
• May reduce collaborative
problem solving, trust and
identification
• Harms group performance

Question 25

what are the pros of process conflict

Answer 25

• May be less negative under
some circumstances
• May facilitate re-evaluation of processes

Question 26

what are the cons of process conflict

Answer 26

• May be highly personal
• May have long term negative effects on team
functioning
• May affect emergent states
and group viability
• Distracts from task
accomplishment

Question 27

what might make a team conflict positive

Answer 27

Psychological safety refers to a shared belief held by teammates that the team is
safe for interpersonal risk taking (Edmondson,1999)

Question 28

what are the two types of team intervention

Answer 28

1- team training

2- team building

Question 29

define team building

Answer 29

• does not target skillbased competencies
• is typically done in settings that do not approximate the actual performance environment
• is not systematic in
nature

Question 30

define team training

Answer 30

• skill-focused (i.e., it is
focused on gaining specific competencies)
• typically includes a practice component
• is done in context
• is generally formal and
systematic

Question 31

define team building

Answer 31

• Team building is a planned, systematic process designed to improve the collaborative efforts of people who must work together to achieve goals
• Team building works by assisting individuals and groups to examine, diagnose, and act upon their behaviour and interpersonal
relationships