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In devil’s advocacy, someone is assigned to play the role of critic to voice possible
Chapter 13 – Groups & Teams: Increasing Cooperation, Reducing Conflict
1. Are the product development teams at Wooga more of a group or a team?
Explain your rationale.
The product development teams at Wooga resemble a team. Each team is
2. What does Wooga do to promote cooperation and cohesiveness among its
product development teams?
First, it starts with hiring. It is interested in hiring great people that can work well
3. To what extent are Wooga’s teams subject to groupthink? Does the company do
anything to prevent groupthink among its development teams?
There is no specific highlight on how Wooga is preventing groupthink, but each
game team is led by a product lead that has the final decision for the team.
4. What is your opinion about the company’s view of not paying performance
bonuses? What are the pros and cons?
Paying performance bonuses may indeed spur competition instead of
collaboration between teams, which could hurt cooperation within Wooga.
MANAGEMENT IN ACTION: Wooga Effectively Utilizes Teams When Creating
Game Apps
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5. What is your biggest takeaway about teams based on this case?
It is important that teams have a sense of “we–ness” and collaborate together in a
cohesive fashion. Sometimes we push so hard for teams to be cohesive from
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.
When Employees Smoke Marijuana Socially: A Manager’s Quandary
You work in a state where it is illegal to smoke marijuana, and your employer has a
zero-tolerance policy regarding the use of drugs. You also are a supervisor at a
telephone call center and have very positive relationships with members of your work
team and your manager. A friend of yours, Christina, is also a supervisor, and her
younger brother, Blake, is a member of your work team.
Although Blake is a member of your work team, his friends are not. You don’t really feel
any need to tell management about these people smoking pot because you have never
noticed their being impaired at work. If the company found out that you knew about
As a supervisor, what would you do?
1. I would not tell the vice president of human resources about Blake’s drug use.
He’s doing a good job and I have not seen any impairment.
Drug use off company premises, without impairment during work hours, is the
concern of law enforcement and not an individual employee, whether or not a
2. I would tell the vice president of human resources about the incident in which I
observed Blake smoking marijuana. I need to honor the company’s directives
about a zero-tolerance policy on drug use.
The company’s directives about a zero-tolerance policy on drug use is to be
LEGAL/ETHICAL CHALLENGE
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3. I would talk to Blake. I would explain my predicament and then ask him about
the frequency of his drug use. If Blake promised to stop smoking marijuana, I
would not tell the vice president of human resources about the incident.
Having a discussion about the frequency of drug use is a personal discussion,
4. Invent other options. Discuss.
In this case it may be wise to just look the other way. However, these types of
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Group Exercise #1: Identifying Task and Maintenance Roles within
Groups
Objectives
• To enhance understanding of task and maintenance roles.
• To examine how task and maintenance roles influence group effectiveness.
Introduction
Group effectiveness is a function of the extent to which group members display a variety
Instructions
1. Prepare a role assignment for the six students who will be participating in this
exercise. On a note card or small piece of paper write one task or maintenance role
2. Conduct a short lecture on task and maintenance roles and explain their overall
purpose. Task roles: getting the work done – a task role, or task-oriented role,
3. Arrange six chairs in a circle in front of the classroom and ask the class for 6
volunteers to work on a short group project. Have the volunteers come up front and
4. Give each role player a few seconds to study their role and then read the group’s
assignment to the entire class. The group’s assignment is as follows.
Group Assignment: Using your assigned roles, as a group and speaking aloud come
up with a plan to promote a new student-run organization. This organization is called
GROUP EXERCISES
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5. Tell the rest of the class that you want them to try and identify which group members
6. Begin the exercise and stop it after 15 minutes.
7. Begin to process the exercise by asking the class to discuss which group members
were exhibiting which task and maintenance roles. Record the class’s observations
Questions for Discussion
1. To what extent was there agreement about who was providing task and
maintenance roles? What does this level of agreement indicate about group
dynamics?
2. Ask students to evaluate the effectiveness of this group. Why was the group
effective or ineffective?
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Task and Maintenance Roles
Description
Suggests new goals or ideas
Clarifies key issues
Clarifies pertinent values
examples or exploration of implications
Pulls together ideas and suggestions
Keeps group headed toward its stated goal
Performs routine duties
documenting discussion and outcomes
Promotes greater understanding through
Description
Fosters group solidarity by accepting and
praising various points of view
Mediates conflict through reconciliation or
humor
Helps resolve conflict by meeting others
halfway
Evaluates the quality of group processes
Records and comments on group
Serves as a passive audience
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Group Exercise #2: Empathy: The Misunderstood Skill
Objective
• To present and practice a three-step approach for being empathetic.
Introduction
In the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch says to his daughter Scout: “If
you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks.
Instructions
1. Present the following information about empathy and the three-step approach to
being empathetic:
Empathy: The Misunderstood Skill
• When a person becomes defensive, we need a tactic or skill to diffuse the emotional
response and translate the conversation to a problem-solving focus. This skill is
empathy.
The Difference Between Sympathy, Empathy and Apathy
• Sympathy: sameness of feeling; a feeling of approval of or agreement with an idea.
“You poor thing, I know just how you feel, I had my report rejected, too.”
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The Three-Step Process of Using Empathy to Influence Behavior
1) Label the emotion – You seem annoyed about…
2. Use the following scenario to practice the three-step approach to empathy. Read
the scenario and ask students to write an empathetic response.
Practice Scenario
Why are you giving me such a hard time about being five minutes late for our team
meeting? Give me a break! You know that I have responsibilities at home and it is hard
Sample answer:
It seems like you are overwhelmed with all the activities and responsibilities on your
plate. I also sense that you are angry about my pointing out that you were late for our
3. Break the class into groups and distribute the following scenarios to each one. Ask
each student to write an empathetic response using the three-step process for each
scenario. Once done, ask students to share and critique each other’s answers.
• Assume you are answering as the teaching assistant and a student enters your
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Maria’s cell phone goes off during the middle of your lecture. You politely remind
her to turn off her phone. She responds: “I know I should turn off my cell phone,
4. Feedback and coaching: Pair up the students and have them critique each person’s
responses. Reconvene as a class.
Questions for Discussion
1. Did you find it hard to provide empathetic responses? Why or why not?
2. What step was the most difficult?
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Group Exercise #3: What is Your Preferred Conflict-Handling Style?
Objective
• To give students a chance to apply and evaluate the effectiveness of five different
conflict-handling styles.
Introduction
Conflict occurs when one party perceives its interests are being opposed or set back by
another party. Certain situations produce more conflict than others. Knowing the
Instructions
1. Students should remain at their desks.
You decide to throw a party and invite all of your friends, many of these friends don’t
know one another very well. You are confident this is going to be a good party. Once
3. Have each student briefly write what he or she would do in this situation as the host
of the party.
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Questions for Discussion
1. What was the group’s preferred solution? What type of conflict-handling style
does it represent?
2. Generate a response for this situation based on using each of the five core
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Can Office Friendships Work?
Teaching Objective: Consider the pros and cons of how office relationships affect
individuals and organizations.
Summary: Many people make friends at work and see friendship as a valuable benefit
of their jobs. Managers often view work friendships as problematic, but they can benefit
Questions:
1. How can work friendships benefit an organization?
Answer: Work friends make up informal groups, and these can be as valuable
2. How can office friendships cause negative conflict in organizations?
Answer: Friends at work can cause conflict by immature behavior such as
3. Do you think work friendships are more likely to foster or hinder groupthink?
Answer: Whether work friendships are more likely to encourage or discourage
Additional videos directly related to the textbook can be found in the Connect
Instructor’s Manual.
VIDEO CASE
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Students may complete the “Working in Teams: Cross Functional Dysfunction”
Manager’s Hot Seat exercises in Connect for this chapter.
I. Introduction
Cross-functional teams pose unique challenges to team leaders and members.
II. Learning Objectives
1. To assess students’ understanding of a team and how it develops.
2. To identify strategies for improving group cohesiveness.
III. Scenario Description:
Overview: The Executive Director of Operations has assigned Joe Tanney the
role of Team Leader for a high priority project. The task is to generate a proposal
for streamlining the antiquated blueprint generation process. Each office is at
Profile:
• Joseph Tanney is the Senior Account Manager and architect at Wolinsky
& Williams, a very large international architecture firm with over 400
MANAGER’S HOT SEAT
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References: The references included in the DVD are:
• Types of Groups and Teams (PPT 15-3)
Back History: W & W has been expanding at leaps and bounds over the past
eight years or so. The growth has been spectacular and hurried – they have not
always taken the time to implement change in the most efficient fashion, nor
These four account managers have been asked to get together by senior
management to generate a proposal for streamlining the antiquated blueprint
generation process. Each office is at different stages of computerization, with
different teams preferring different technologies for particular tasks. This makes
everything more complex – from collaboration to revisions to cost and time
management etc.
Scene Set-up: The group gathers to go over Joe’s agenda regarding the team
project.
Scene Location: W & W conference room
The Meeting – Summary: Joe begins the meeting describing the project and
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Afterthoughts – Summary: Joe was annoyed that only Cheng had a copy of
the agenda for the meeting. He also wanted to have everyone commit to and
understand the next steps before leaving the meeting. In retrospect, Joe thinks
Dossier: The specific artifacts included in the DVD are:
1. Tanney’s Meeting Agenda
IV. Discussion Questions:
The References and related Discussion Questions may be found in PowerPoint slides
15-1 to 15-9.
Learning Objective #1: To assess students’ understanding of a team and how it
develops.
1. What type of team is this team? How do you know? See PPT 15-3.
This is a formal team because the senior management has assigned these
2. What stage of group development is this team in? See PPT 15-4.
1. Cheng is off subject. What should Joe do?
A. Interrupt
B. Hear him out
C. Let Cheng lead
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Joe needs to understand the concerns of his team members. This will
2. Joe is frustrated. He should:
A. Cool down
B. Refocus group
C. Cancel meeting
3. What should Joe have done before, during, and after the meeting to ensure the
commencement of the project is successful?
Joe should have, and did, send out an agenda. He may have talked to each
team member individually to understand their perspective on being assigned to
Learning Objective #2: To identify strategies for improving group cohesiveness.
1. What factors of group cohesiveness were present in this team? See PPT 15-7.
3. Joe dismisses Rosa. He acted:
A. Appropriately
B. Rudely
C. In humor
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He maintained Rosa’s self-esteem by noting that he appreciated her
4. The team is not proactive. Joe should:
A. Insist they focus
B. Assign tasks
C. Continue as is
Students’ answers will vary. This should provide an opportunity to discuss
2. What should Joe do now to ensure the team’s effectiveness and ultimate
success? Use the Model of Team Effectiveness (PPT 15-9) to support your
answer.
Students should use the items in the model as a guide for suggesting specific
5. Simon feels the project is futile. Joe should:
A. Find out why
B. Debate Simon
C. Ignore him
Simon makes comments that seem to undermine the value of the project.
6. Simon is leaving. Joe should:
A. Stop him
B. Email him tasks
C. Say goodbye
Chapter 13 – Groups & Teams: Increasing Cooperation, Reducing Conflict
Because Simon is a senior member of the team, it would probably not be