Week 7 - teams Flashcards
What is a team?
A group of people using their complementary skills to achieve a common purpose for which they are collectively accountable
What is team efficacy?
A teams shared perspective that it can effectively achieve their specific task
What is team potency?
the extent to which members of a team believe they can be effective across tasks or contexts
- individual members must have confidence in their own abilities and their other team members abilities
What other external factors influence team efficacy?
- Group design (task structure, group composition, group goals and norms)
- The task in general
- Organisational context (reward system, training system, information system)
- management
- Team interaction processes and emergent states
What is ‘team processes’
- Transactional state
- Basically means how you turn your inputs into outputs (how you turn your work into the goal/task)
- “Acts that convert inputs to outcomes through cognitive, verbal and behavioural activities directed towards the desired goal.”
What is ‘emergent states?’
- Emotive state
- Not just the transactional part of group work (which is team processes) but instead everything else that comes with it
- ‘Cognitive, motivational and affective states as opposed to the nature of member interaction’
- kind of like the emotional feeling of the group (example - a group with low / high cohesion is a emergent state)
What are the three team competencies?
- Attitude based competencies
- Skill based competencies (behavioural)
- Knowledge-based competencies (cognitive)
What are attitude based competencies?
- Trust
- Team cohesion
- psychological safety
What are skill based competencies?
- Coordination
-Communication - Conflict resolution
- Decision making
What are team roles?
set of tasks or expectations associated with a position in a team
example - team leader
What are knowledge based competencies?
- Situation awareness
- Shared mental models
What is Belin’s Team Role Model model
- Social Roles
- Coordinator
- Team worker
- Investigator - Thinking Roles
- Plant
- Monitor evaluator
- specialist - Action Roles
- Implementor
- Completer finisher
- Shaper
What is ‘the plant’ role
- A thinking role
strengths: creative, imaginative and free thinking. Generates ideas and solves difficult problems
weaknesses: Ignores details and too preoccupied to communicate efficiently
What is the ‘monitor evaluator’ role?
- A thinking role
strengths: sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately
weaknesses: lacks drive and ability to motivate others. Can be overly critical
What is the ‘specialist’ role
- A thinking role
strengths: single-minded and dedicated. Provides knowledge in a rare supply
weaknesses: contributes on a narrow front and dwells on technicalities
What is the ‘completer finisher’ role?
- An action role
strengths: painstaking, conscientious and anxious. Searchers out errors. Polishes and perfects
weaknesses: included to worry undly and reluctant to delegate
What is the ‘implementor’ role?
- An action role
strengths: practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organises work that needs to be done
weaknesses: somewhat inflexible, slow to respond to new possibilities
What is the ‘Shaper’ role?
- An action role
Strengths: challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive to overcome obstacles
weaknesses: prone to provocation and may offend peoples feelings.
What is the ‘coordinator’ role?
- A social role
strengths: mature, intelligent. Identifies talent. Clarifies goals and delegates effectively.
weaknesses: can be seen as manipulative and offload their work
What is the ‘team worker’ role?
- A social role
strengths: cooperative, perceptive and diplomatic, listens and averts friction.
weaknesses: avoids conflict and indecisive in crunch time situations
What is the ‘resource investigator’ role?
- A social role
Strengths: outgoing, enthusiastic and communicative. Explores opportunities and develops contacts.
weaknesses: overoptimistic. Loses interest after intial excitement has passed.
Is Belbin’s model valid?
Technically no. There is no consistent evidence for Belbin model and the nine roles however there is research to show that the nine roles do exist there just not as scientifically stable as we would like them to be.
What are homogenous teams?
low diversity teams (much of the same type of people)
What are heterogenous teams
high diversity teams
Why should we have diversity in teams?
social justice - minorities have been excluded from some sectors and this is just wrong
performance: diversity improves team performance
What is the diversity consensus dilemma?
Diversity can expand available skills and perspectives which increases task performance
however…
diversity can increase coordination difficulties which results in decreased task performance and trouble finding consensus.
What is Tuckman’s five stage model?
Forming - acquainted
Storming - conflict
Norming - unity/roles established
Performing - become productive goal-oriented
What is the forming stage of Tuckmens five stage model?
- Members get acquainted (polite, guarded)
- Discover expectations
- Evaluate value of membership
- Defer to existing authority
- Test boundaries of behaviour
What is the storming stage of Tuckmens five stage model?
- Experience interpersonal conflict
- Members question one another more pointedly
- Compete for team roles
- Influence goals and means
- Begin to establish norms
What is the norming stage of Tuckmens five stage model?
- Unity is established
- Establish roles, standards, relations
- Agree on team objectives
- Form mental models
- Develop cohesion – trust increases
What is the performing stage of Tuckmens five stage model?
- Become productivity/goal oriented, committed
- Coordinate efficiently
- Build high levels of cooperation and trust
- Resolve conflicts quickly
What are the limitations of Tuckmens model?
- the model doesn’t specify how long each stage is
- Doesn’t tell us what is necessary to ‘complete’ a stage
- Implies teams go through the stages in a linear way which may not be the case
- other cultures may perceive these stages differently.
What is team cohesion?
The attractivness of the group to its members, together with their motivation to remain part of the team.
What are the three components of cohesiveness?
- Members are attracted to the group
- Members want to remain part of the group
- Members want to maintain positive relationships with other group members
What group level factors help build cohesiveness?
- Members have similarities
- past successes
- small enough group to allow face to face interaction
- frequent interaction of members
What environmental factors help build cohesiveness?
- Degree of isolation (contact with one another is necessary)
- External threats
- Favourable self evaluation of group
- rewards
What organisational factors help build cohesivness?
- Physical conditions
- technology
- group design
What is team trust?
A shared psychological state among team members comprising willingness to accept vulnerability based on positive expectations of a specific other or others.
Linked to cooperation, quality of communication,
engagement, & performance It is a conscious choice to trust people until they prove to be non-trustworthy
How is trust restored?
- Attribution
- social equilibrium
- structural processes
What is attribution (when discussing how trust is restored)
Attribution (negative info must be displaced by positive)
–> Sincere and timely explanations or justifications
What is social equilibrium (when discussing how trust is restored)
o Social equilibrium (social interplay rather than cognitive)
o Established rules contravened
o Norms must be reinstated/reaffirmed
o Apology/promise to change
o Demonstrate behavioural change (demonstrate a significant loss)
What is structural processes (when discussing how trust is restored)
o Change structures/systems so doesn’t happen again
What are the different ways we can make group decisions?
- Lack of response - present ideas without discussion;
agree on first acceptable one - Authority rule - leader decides
- Minority rule - one assertive/powerful minority decides
- Majority rule - e.g. voting
- Unanimous - everyone agrees
- Consensus - differing views, but all agree to
support decision
What are the Steps to achieving consensus/unanimity.
- Encourage participation by everyone
- Consider others’ opinions, reactions, & points of view
◦ be flexible in considering different options
◦ try to integrate ideas where possible - Don’t prioritise avoiding (constructive) conflict
◦ discuss disagreements to inform later opinions
◦ don’t use coin tosses to avoid conflict
◦ don’t change your mind just to reach agreement
What is social loafing?
◦ Spreading responsibility may reduce individual performance
◦ Each individual’s contribution is less critical
◦ Sometimes reacting to perceived unfairness of group processes
What is the response/ how can you resolve social loafing?
◦ Indispensability - assign unique roles and tasks to each member
Fairness - set up fair group processes that involve everyone
◦ Identifiability - make team members accountable for their actions. Example - reports on progress, with evidence
What is conflict?
incompatible activities, that is, the actions of one person…interfere, obstruct, or in some ways get in the
way of the actions of another
What is interpersonal conflict? (in sources of conflict)
when two interacting people have incompatible needs, goals, values, or approaches
What is intragroup conflict? (in sources of conflict)
when two or more people have incompatible needs, goals, values, or approaches for team goals, activities, leadership or processes
What is intergroup conflict? (in sources of conflict)
◦ When two or more teams have incompatible requirements for resources, tasks, processes, or information
◦ e.g., departments in the same organization; management and unions
What is role ambiguity (in sources of conflict)
People aren’t sure of their roles
What is Role overload/underload (in sources of conflict)
Too much/too little expected of team member
What are the types of conflict?
Task conflict
relationship conflict
What is Task conflict (also called substantive conflict)
◦ may arise over task outcomes or processes
◦ Sometimes positive: small amounts may increase innovation
What is relationship conflict?
◦ negative judgements about people’s personal styles, values, tastes
◦ is almost always negative
What are the Psychological bases for conflict
Attribution theory (biases)
Correspondent inference bias (“fundamental attribution error”)
Actor-observer effect
Social exchange theory
Equity theory
what is Attribution theory (biases) (in psychological bases for conflict)
explanations for why people act the way they do
What is Correspondent inference bias (in psychological bases for conflict)
We tend to attribute behaviours of others relatively more to
personal factors than to situational factors
What is the Actor-observer effect (in psychological bases for conflict)
◦ We tend to attribute behaviours of others relatively more to personal factors, but our own behaviours relatively more to situational factors
What is Social exchange theory (in psychological bases for conflict)
Perceived unfair balance of rewards and costs in relationship
What is equity theory (in psychological bases for conflict)
Lack of distributive justice
◦ perceived unfair allocation of resources
Lack of procedural justice
◦ perceived unfair process for allocation of resources
◦ perceived unfair opportunities for views to be heard and
considered
When can conflict be positive?
- Conflicts are task-related
- Conflicts are not (or do not become) about relationships
- Task-related conflicts should be at most moderate (not strong)
- Each party’s initial position/view is sub‐optimal
i.e., there is a better solution that the conflict might uncover - Trust and psychological safety are high
- Parties take a problem-solving approach to conflict
◦ Positive effects are restricted to innovation and decision quality in that setting
◦ not considering longer-term effects, e.g., for later interactions
◦ not considering other effects, e.g., for participants’ health and wellbeing
What are the conflict management styles
Accommodating/ Yielding
-You want to prevent chances of conflict escalating
-Your position is weak (e.g., the other party has more power)
-Increases expectation you will yield in future conflicts
Compromising
-Time pressure
-Similar power and lack of trust
-Makes the search for more
creative and valued options less likely
Competing/Forcing
-You have strong convictions about an issue
-Pressing time constraints
-You have greater power
-May damage longer-term relationships
-Impasse if others adopt same style
Collaborating/ Problem-solving
-There is trust between parties
-Issues are complex
-The other party can gain advantage from information
Avoiding/Withdrawal
-You have high uncertainty about how to respond
-Conflict is generating heightened emotions
-Conflict unresolved
-Increase frustration in other party
Tjosvold, Wong, & Chen’s (2014) conflict management model
Express - Each person/party communicates their needs, ideas, feelings, expectations
understand - Ask questions to gain more information and deepen knowledge of other views
integrate - Discussion to incorporate people’s views and needs, and to identify solutions that meet all people/parties, at least to some degree
agree - Communicate public acceptance of the solution and discuss implementation
