Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
C H A P T E R N I N E
Group Processes and
Work Teams 9
Lecture Outline
Groups at Work: Their Basic Nature
What Is a Group?
Types of Groups
The Basic Building Blocks of Group
Dynamics
Roles: The Hats We Wear
Norms: A Group’s Unspoken Rules
Status: The Prestige of Group
Membership
Cohesiveness: Getting the Team
Spirit
Individual Performance in Groups
Social Facilitation
Social Loa+ng
Teams: Empowered Work Groups
What is a Team?
Impressive Claims About Team
Performance
What Is It About Teams That May
Make Them E.ective?
How Successful Are Teams?
Potential Obstacles to Team
Success
Guidelines for Developing
Successful Teams
A Cautionary Note: Developing
Successful Teams Requires
Patience
The concepts of groups and teams are introduced in
the chapter. A group is a collection of two or more
interacting individuals with a stable pattern of
relationships between them. Four characteristics are
associated with the de+nition of groups: social
interaction, stability, common interests, and
recognition as a group. Formal and informal groups
are de+ned and explained. Formal groups are created
by the organization for a speci+c purpose. Informal
groups formed by members for social purposes or
common interests. There are four basic building
blocks of groups examined in the chapter: (1) roles,
(2) norms, (3) status, and (4) cohesiveness. Two
phenomena occur in groups. Social facilitation is the
tendency for people to perform better in the
presence of another. Social loa+ng is found when
members are pooling their e.orts toward an additive
task. Each individual’s performance seems to be less
than when that task is done alone. Teams are
di.erentiated from groups. Members of teams have
complementary skills and are committed to a
common purpose. They are typically organized
around processes rather than functions; own the
product, process, or service on which they work; have
a variety of skills and knowledge; are involved in
company decision making; and have a great deal of
autonomy. There are several di.erent types of teams
in work organizations. These include: work teams,
improvement teams, temporary or permanent teams,
self-managed work teams, cross-functional teams,
and virtual teams. The chapter examines recent
research on the e.ectiveness and productivity of
teams. The chapter concludes with obstacles to team
performance and suggestions for making teams
e.ective.
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 46
ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1. GROUPS AT WORK: THEIR BASIC NATURE
A. What is a group?
1. A group is a collection of two or more interacting individuals with a
stable pattern of relationships between them who share common goals
and who perceive themselves as being a group
a. Elements of groups:
1. Social interaction ― members of a group must have
some in?uence on each other
i. Stable structure
ii. Common interests or goals
iii. Recognition as being a group ― individuals
involved must perceive themselves as a group
B. Types of groups
1. Formal groups
a. Formal group ― created by the organization and are
intentionally designed to direct members toward some
important organizational goal
b. Command group ― group determined by connections
between individuals who are a formal part of the organization
c. Task group ― group composed of individuals with special
interest or expertise regardless of their positions
d. Standing committee ― permanent structures
e. Ad hoc committee ― temporary structures
2. Informal groups
a. Informal group ― develops naturally among an organization’s
personnel without any direction from the management of the
organization
b. Interest group – can unite workers at di.erent levels of the
organization
c. Friendship group – may extend beyond the workplace
2. THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS OF GROUP DYNAMICS
A. Roles: the hats we wear
1. Roles ― the typical behaviors that characterize a person in a social
context
a. Role incumbent – the person holding the role
b. Role expectations – the behaviors expected of the role
incumbent
c. Role di'erentiation – members play di.erent roles
i. Task-oriented role
ii. Socio-emotional role
iii. Self-oriented role
B. Norms: a group’s unspoken rules
1. Norms ― agreed upon informal rules that guide group members’
behavior
a. Injunctive norms – re?ect people’s views about what
constitutes appropriate and inappropriate behavior
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 47
i. Prescriptive norms ― dictate the behaviors that
should be performed
ii. Proscriptive norms ― dictate speci+c behaviors that
should be avoided
C. Status: the prestige of group membership
1. Status ― the relative social position or rank given to groups or group
members by others
a. Formal status ― di.erentiate between the degrees of formal
authority given employees by an organization
i. Status symbols ― job title, perks, luxurious working
conditions
b. Informal status ― prestige accorded individuals with certain
characteristics that are not formally recognized by the
organization
2. In,uence ― the capacity to a.ect others in some fashion
D. Cohesiveness: getting the team spirit
1. Cohesiveness ― strength of group members’ desires to remain part
of their groups
2. Determinants of cohesiveness:
a. Severity of initiation
b. External threat
c. Group size
d. History of success
3. Cohesiveness can be problematic.
a. Group’s goals are contrary to the organization’s goals
3. INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE IN GROUPS
A. Social facilitation: working in the presence of others
1. Social facilitation - tendency for the presence of others to enhance
an individual’s performance at times and to impair it at other times
a. Presence of others increases performance when the task is well
known
b. Presence of others decreases performance when the task is
unfamiliar
B. Social loa+ng: “free riding” when working with others
1. Additive tasks are those where each person’s contribution can be
added together with another’s
2. Social loa-ng ― the more individuals who are contributing to an
additive task, the less each individual’s contribution tends to be
3. Overcoming social loa+ng:
a. Make each performer identi+able
b. Make work tasks more important and interesting
c. Reward individuals for contributions to the group’s performance
d. Threaten punishment
4. TEAMS: EMPOWERED WORK GROUPS
A. What is a team?
1. Team ― group whose members have complementary skills and are
committed to a common purpose or set of performance goals for which
they hold themselves mutually accountable
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 48
a. Organized around work processes rather than functions
b. “Own” the product, service, or processes
c. Members are trained in several di.erent areas and in a variety
of skills
i. Cross-training ― involves e.orts to learn the jobs
performed by one’s team members
ii. Shared mental models ― common understanding
regarding how their team operates, including how people
are expected to work together and who does what at
particular points in time
d. Members are empowered to govern themselves
e. Support sta. and responsibilities are built in
f. Involved in making company-wide decisions
Self-Assessment Exercise Are You Ready For Some Teamwork?
Students should consider the following upon completion of the exercise.
1. What was you score and how did it compare to those of others in your class?
2. How well do you believe this questionnaire describes your readiness to work in
teams?
3. What does this questionnaire reveal about the particular factors that would keep you
from working well in teams? What do you think can be done to overcome these
barriers?
B. Types of teams
1. Work teams and improvement teams
a. Work teams ― primarily concerned with work done by the
b. Improvement teams ― primarily oriented toward increasing
2. Temporary and permanent teams
a. Temporary teams – established for a speci+c project with a
b. Permanent teams – remain intact as long as the organization
3. Work groups and self-managed work teams
a. Work groups ― leaders make decisions on behalf of group
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 49
b. Virtual teams ― operate across space, time, and
Winning
Practices
“Virtual Troops” Usher Girl Scouts into the Digital Era
Use Winning Practices Case for class discussion.
C. Impressive claims about team performance
D. What is it about teams that may make them e.ective?
1. Teams must coordinate their e.orts in order to accomplish team goals.
a. Peer-based normative control – the desire to be part of a
E. How successful are teams? Considering the evidence:
1. Highly regarded in companies where they have been used
F. Potential obstacles to team success: Why some teams fail
1. Lack of cooperation
G. Guidelines for developing successful teams
1. Provide training in team skills
a. Team building – formal e.orts directed toward making teams
2. Compensate team performance
a. Gainsharing – rewarding teams for developing procedures that
lead to savings as a result of improved performance
You Be the Consultant Suggested Answers
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 50
1. What would you tell the company president about the overall record of teams – both
successful and unsuccessful - in being able to improve organizational performance?
Student answers will vary. Key points are presented in bullet form.
2. The company president notes that the current employees tend to have relatively
poor skills and are generally disinterested in acquiring new ones. Will this be a
problem when it comes to using teams? Why or why not?
3. The company president tells you that several people in the company ― including
some top executives ― are a bit concerned about relinquishing some of their power
to teams. Is this likely to be a problem, and if so, what can be done to help alleviate
it?
©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 51
