Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
CHAPTER
10
UNDERSTANDING
GROUPS AND
MANAGING
WORK TEAMS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
10-1. Define group and describe the stages of group development.
10-2. Describe the major concepts of group behavior.
10-3. Discuss how groups are turned into effective teams.
10-4. Discuss contemporary issues in managing teams.
Management Myth
Myth: Teams almost always outperform employees working individually.
Truth: Teams can be very effective devices for accomplishing tasks, but one size does not fit all.
For tasks that demand leaps in creative thinking, individuals will often outperform teams.
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Teaching Notes: When I talk to students about teams, I always get mixed reactions. Some
students like to (split) work with other students; others would rather do projects and assignments
by themselves. One of the main differences between teams at work and school is the effort that
goes into the task. You may get some interesting responses by asking the following questions:
1. When you work on projects with other students, on average, how much time is spent talking
and coordinating with other students?
2. Most projects are assigned at the first part of the semester and are usually due at the end.
Given this sort of timeline, when do students start to meet and work on their projects?
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
I. WHAT IS A GROUP AND WHAT STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT DO GROUPS GO
THROUGH?
A. What is a Group?
1. A group is two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come
together to achieve specific goals.
2. Formal groups are work groups that are defined by the organization’s structure and
have designated work assignments and specific tasks directed at accomplishing
organizational goals.
3. Exhibit 10-1 provides some examples of formal groups.
a) Command groups—groups that are determined by the organization chart and
composed of individuals who report directly to a given manager.
b) Task groups—groups composed of individuals brought together to complete a
specific job task; their existence is often temporary because when the task is
completed, the group disbands.
c) Cross-functional teams—groups that bring together the knowledge and skills
of individuals from various work areas or groups whose members have been
trained to do each others’ jobs.
d) Self-managed teams—groups that are essentially independent and that, in
addition to their own tasks, take on traditional managerial responsibilities, such
as hiring, planning and scheduling, and evaluating performance.
4. Informal groups are social groups that occur naturally in the workplace and tend to
form around friendships and common interests.
B. What Are the Stages of Group Development?
1. Most teams find themselves in a continual state of change.
2. There’s a general pattern to most teams’ evolution – forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning. (See Exhibit 10-2.)
3. Forming is characterized by a great deal of uncertainty about the group’s purpose,
structure, and leadership.
a) This stage is complete when members think of themselves as part of a group.
4. The storming stage is one of intragroup conflict.
a) There is resistance to the control that the group imposes on individuality and
conflict over who will control the team.
b) When complete, there will be relatively clear leadership within the team.
5. The norming stage is one in which close relationships develop and members begin
to demonstrate cohesiveness.
a) There is now a stronger sense of team identity and camaraderie.
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
b) It is complete when the team structure solidifies and members have assimilated
a common set of expectations of appropriate work behavior.
6. The fourth stage is performing.
a) The structure is fully functional and accepted by team members.
b) For permanent teams, performing is the last stage of their development.
7. For temporary teams, there is an adjourning stage where the team prepares for its
disbandment.
8. Some researchers argue that the effectiveness of work units does increase at
advanced stages.
a) Although generally true, what makes a team effective is complex.
9. Under some conditions, high levels of conflict are conducive to high group
performance.
10. Teams do not always proceed clearly from one stage to the next.
a) Sometimes several stages are going on simultaneously.
11. It is better to think of these stages as a general framework.
a) Groups are dynamic entities and managers need to know the stage a group is
in.
II. FIVE MAJOR CONCEPTS OF GROUP BEHAVIOR
A. Introduction
1. To understand group behavior, the concepts of roles, norms and conformity, status
systems, group size, and group cohesiveness will be explored.
B. Roles
1. A role refers to behavior patterns expected of someone who occupies a given
position in a social unit.
2. Individuals play multiple roles, adjusting their roles to the group to which they
belong at the time.
3. An individual who’s confronted by divergent role expectations experiences
role conflict.
A Question of Ethics
Too much information can sometimes be a bad thing. In this example, a coworker shares with
his team how he prepares for a 20-mile bike race that includes shaving his entire body to
reduce aerodynamic drag. After hearing this, another team member said, “Why, why, why do
we need to go there? This is information about a coworker, not someone I really consider a
friend, and now it’s forever burned in my brain.”
Discuss This:
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
What benefits/drawbacks arise from sharing information like this?
What are the ethical implications of sharing such personal information in the
workplace?
Teaching Tips:
I think you will find that younger college students have been exposed to a lot of suggestive and
potentially offending behavior by the time they are in their early twenties. With exposure to
hundreds of television channels, social networking, the Internet, and YouTube, there is
probably not much that they haven’t seen. One of the keys to exploring this type of dynamic at
work is what people perceive as the line between their work and personal roles. Some students
may have black and white views of what’s work and what’s personal. Other students may see
these distinctions as shades of gray.
C. Norms
1. Norms are acceptable standards that are shared by the group’s members.
2. Norms may be related to effort and performance.
3. Formal dress codes are also norms.
D. Conformity
1. Conformity is adjusting one’s behavior to align with the group’s norms.
2. Wanting to be accepted make us susceptible to conformity pressures.
3. See From Past to Present box for more information on conformity studies.
From the Past to the Present
Does the desire to be accepted as a part of a group leave one susceptible to conforming to the
group’s norms? Will the group exert pressure that’s strong enough to change a member’s attitude
and behavior? According to the research by Solomon Asch, the answer appears to be yes. Asch’s
study involved groups of seven or eight people who sat in a classroom and were asked to
compare two cards held by an investigator. One card had one line; the other had three lines of
varying length. As shown in Exhibit 10-4, one of the lines on the three-line card was identical to
the line on the one-line card. The difference in line length was quite obvious; under ordinary
conditions, subjects made errors of less than 1 percent. The challenge was whether the
individuals would conform based on group behaviors. The tendency, as Asch showed, is for
individual members to go along with the pack. To diminish the negative aspects of conformity,
managers should create a climate of openness in which employees are free to discuss problems
without fear of retaliation.
Discuss This:
DOES the desire to be accepted as a part of a group leave one susceptible to conforming
to the group’s norms? WILL a group exert pressure that’s strong enough to change a
member’s attitude and behavior? Discuss.
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
What can you use from this discussion to help you be a better manager?
E. Status systems
1. Status is a prestige grading, position, or rank within a group. As far back as
scientists have been able to trace human groupings, they’ve found status
hierarchies.
2. Status systems are a significant motivator with behavioral consequences when
individuals see a disparity between what they perceive their status to be and what
others perceive it to be.
3. People need congruency – equity between perceived ranking of an individual and
the status symbols he or she has to avoid surprises in expectations.
F. Group Size
1. Small groups complete tasks faster than larger ones, figuring out what to do and
getting the job done.
2. Large groups are better at problem solving, finding facts, and gaining diverse
input.
3. Dispersion of responsibility encourages individuals to slack off; a behavior
referred to as social loafing.
4. When the results of the group can’t be attributed to any single person, the
relationship between an individual’s input and the group’s output is clouded. In
such situations, individuals may be tempted to become “free riders” and coast on
the group’s efforts.
G. Group Cohesiveness
1. Group cohesiveness, the degree to which members are attracted to one another
and share the group’s goals.
2. Highly cohesive groups are more effective than those with less cohesiveness.
3. See Exhibit 10-3 for research on group cohesiveness and productivity.
a) The more cohesive a group, the more its members will follow its goals. If
these goals are favorable, a cohesive group is more productive than a less
cohesive group.
III. HOW ARE GROUPS TURNED INTO EFFECTIVE TEAMS?
A. Are Work Groups and Work Teams the Same?
1. A work group interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions that
will help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility.
a) Work groups have no need to engage in collective work that requires joint
effort.
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
2. A work team refers to groups whose members work intensely on a specific
common goal using their positive synergy, individual and mutual accountability,
and complementary skills.
3. Exhibit 10-5 highlights the main differences between work groups and work teams.
4. Management is looking for that positive synergy that will increase performance.
a) The extensive use of teams creates the potential for an organization to generate
greater outputs with no increase in (or even fewer) inputs.
5. Nothing inherently magical in the creation of work teams guarantees that this
positive synergy, and its accompanying productivity, will occur.
B. What are the Different Types of Work Teams?
1. The four most common forms of teams in an organization are problem-solving,
self-managed, cross-functional, and virtual teams.
2. Problem-solving teams: members from the same department or functional area
that share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes and methods can be
improved.
3. A self-managed work team is a formal group of employees that operates without
a manager and is responsible for a complete work process or segment that delivers
a product or service to an external or internal customer.
4. A cross-functional team consists of employees from about the same hierarchical
level but from different work areas in the organization.
5. Virtual teams are teams that use technology to link physically dispersed members
in order to achieve a common goal.
Technology and the Manager’s Job – Keeping Connected: IT and Teams
Work teams need information to do their work. Technology has enabled greater online
communication and collaboration for teams of all types. For example, the Internet was originally
a way of connecting scientists and researchers. Search engines help find information while wikis,
blogs, and virtual reality games share information.
Today, online collaborative tools have given work teams more efficient and effective ways to get
work done. In this breakout, we can see how Toyota uses IT to help improve the way work teams
get their work done.
Discuss This:
What challenges do managers face in managing teams that must rely on IT to
communicate?
Using Exhibit 10-6, discuss how the four major components of team effectiveness would
affect and be affected by a team’s use of IT.
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
C. What Makes a Team Effective?
1. Teams differ in form and structure.
2. The model in Exhibit 10-6 assumes that managers have already determined that
teamwork is preferable to individual work.
3. Four key components of effective teams include the context, the team’s
composition, work design, and process variables.
4. Four contextual factors appear to be most significantly related to team
performance.
a) Adequate resources can include timely information, proper equipment,
encouragement, adequate staffing, and administrative assistance.
b) Agreeing on the specifics of work and how all the team members’ individual
skills fit together requires team leadership and structure.
c) Members of effective teams trust each other.
d) The final contextual factor of an effective team is a performance evaluation
and reward system where team members have to be accountable both
individually and jointly.
5. Team composition factors include team member abilities, personality, role
allocation, and diversity, size of teams, member flexibility, and member
preferences.
a) Part of a team’s performance depends on its members’ knowledge, skills, and
abilities.
b) Personality significantly influences individual behavior.
c) There are nine potential roles that work team members often can play.
(See Exhibit 10-7.)
d) Team diversity is another factor that can influence team effectiveness.
e) Size of teams can impact effectiveness. Generally, the most effective teams
have five to nine members.
f) Team member preferences need to be considered.
6. How Does Work Design Affect Team Effectiveness?
a) Important work design elements include autonomy, using a variety of skills,
being able to complete a whole and identifiable task or product, and working
on a task or project that has a significant impact on others.
7. What Team Processes Are Related To Team Effectiveness?
a) An effective team has a common plan and purpose. This common purpose
provides direction, momentum, and commitment for team members.
b) Teams also need specific goals that facilitate clear communication and help
teams maintain their focus on getting results.
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Chapter 10 – Understanding Groups and Managing Work Teams
c) Team efficacy describes when teams believe in themselves and believe they can
succeed. Effective teams have confidence in themselves and in their members.
d) Effective teams need some conflict that is managed.
e) Effective teams work to minimize the tendency for social loafing.
D. How Can a Manager Shape Team Behavior?
1. The three most popular ways include proper selection, employee training, and
rewarding the appropriate team behaviors.
2. What role does selection play?
a) When hiring team members, the organization should ensure that applicants can
fulfill team roles.
(1) Some job applicants lack team skills.
(2) If team skills are woefully lacking, don’t hire that candidate.
(3) A candidate who has some basic team skills but needs more refinement can be
hired on a probationary basis and be required to undergo training.
3. Can individuals be trained to be team players?
a) Performing well in a team involves a set of behaviors, and new behaviors can
be learned.
b) People who were raised on the importance of individual accomplishment can
be trained to become team players.
c) Training specialists can conduct exercises that allow employees to experience
the satisfaction that teamwork can provide.
d) The workshops offered usually cover such topics as team problem solving,
communications, negotiations, conflict resolution, and coaching skills.
e) Employees are reminded of the importance of patience, because teams take
longer to do some things—such as make decisions—than do employees acting
alone.
4. What role do rewards play in shaping team players?
a) The organization’s reward system needs to encourage cooperative efforts rather
than competitive ones.
b) Promotions, pay raises, and other forms of recognition should be given to
employees who are effective collaborative team members.
(1) Individual contribution is balanced with selfless contributions to the team.
(2) Examples, training new colleagues, sharing information with teammates,
helping resolve team conflicts, and mastering new skills in which the team is
deficient.
c) Managers cannot forget the inherent rewards that employees can receive from
teamwork.
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(1) Work teams provide camaraderie.
(2) It’s exciting and satisfying to be an integral part of a successful team.
IV. WHAT CURRENT ISSUES DO MANAGERS FACE IN MANAGING TEAMS?
A. What’s involved with Managing Global Teams?
1. Today’s organizations are global and work is increasingly done by teams. (See
Exhibit 10-8.)
2. Team composition factors affect managing a global team.
a) Managers need to recognize team members’ abilities, skills, knowledge, and
personality, plus they need to be familiar with and clearly understand the
cultural characteristics of the groups and the group members they manage.
3. Team structure affects managing a global team.
a) Differences in managing global teams include conformity, status, social
loafing, and cohesiveness.
b) Are conformity findings generalizable across cultures? Research suggests
Asch’s findings are culture-bound.
c) Social loafing has a Western bias and is consistent with individualistic cultures
like the U.S. and Canada.
d) Cohesiveness is another group structural element where managers may face
special challenges. In a cohesive group, members are unified and “act as one.”
4. Team processes that global teams use to do their work can be particularly
challenging for managers. The working language and managing conflict can be
particularly difficult.
B. When are Teams Not the Answer?
1. Three tests measure whether teams should be used.
a) First, can the work be done better by more than one person? Task complexity
would be a good indicator of a need for different perspectives.
b) Second, does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for the people
in the group that’s more than the sum of individual goals?
c) The final test to assess whether teams or individuals are better suited for doing
work is to look at the interdependence of the individuals. Using teams makes
sense when there’s interdependence between tasks; when the success of
everyone depends on the success of each person and the success of each person
depends on the others.
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