1. UNDERSTANDING WORK GROUPS
Chapter 14

2. “Management Talk”
“Teams, training, and increased authority for workers are key elements of quality-improvement efforts…To help accomplish their objectives, teams are aided by company-trained employees, who provide skills training and serve as resources throughout all phases of the teams’ work.”
National Institute of Standards and Technology, describing its 1992 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, AT&T Network Systems Group (Lucent Technologies)

3. Objectives
Explain the difference between formal and informal work groups
Discuss group norms, group cohesiveness, and group conformity
Understand why individuals conform to group norms
Recognize the importance of work groups to an organization
Suggest ways to build effective work groups

4. Understanding Management
When Lucent Technologies spun off from its parent company, AT&T, it gained the freedom to organize its workforce differently. Most Lucent employees work in teams designed to foster efficiency, creativity, and innovation. This approach gives employees the flexibility to solve problems and invent new products. In fact, Lucent can boast of earning about two patents per working day, as well as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

5. Management Skills
Why would it be important for tam members to receive continual training?
If you were on a team responsible for inventing a communications system, what qualities would you appreciate in your team members?

6. Sec. 14.1: How Groups Behave Brainwrite/Brainstorm:
What are the pros and cons of group work?
What kinds of group work have you experienced?

7. What You’ll Learn
The differences between formal and informal work groups
Why employees join informal work groups
The factors that influence how groups behave
The meaning of “groupthink.”

8. Why is this important?
“To supervise groups effectively, managers must understand the dynamics of group behavior”

9. Groups Within Organizations
Two or more people who interact to meet a shared goal
A shared sense of purpose sets a group apart from just a gathering of people

10. Types of Groups Formal Work Groups
Exist for short or long period of time
Task Force
A single goal to resolve a problem or design a new product
Functional Group
Consists of manager and all the employees he or she supervises in an ongoing manner

11. Types of Groups Informal Work Groups
Formed voluntarily by members of an organization
Develop personal contact and interactions among people
Interest Groups
Share a purpose or concern
Women executives form a group to share ideas about issues facing women in management
The workplace is where socialization takes place and friendships emerge
Affects of Informal Work Groups
Productivity
Morale
Success of Managers
Sense of Loyalty
Work for or against organizational goals

12. Groups Within Organizations
Management does not recognize informal groups that revolve around friendship, interests, or shared working space and tasks.
An understanding of informal groups can improve managers’ work with formal work groups
Satisfaction from informal groups should be duplicated in a formal work group environment

13. Group Norms
Informal rules a group adopts to regulate the behavior of group members
Expectations of group members to improve:
Productivity levels
Operating procedures
Other work-related activities
Group norms can be written, spoken, or acted out by group members to show new members how to behave

14. Group Behavior Group Cohesiveness
Degree of attraction among group members, or who tightly knit a group is
More Cohesiveness = Greater likelihood that Group Norms will be followed
Factors affecting cohesiveness of informal work group
Size
Small work groups
Success
High Success
Status
High Status
Outside Pressures
Conflicts with management increase group cohesiveness (Us Against Them)
Stability of Membership
Long-Standing Members
Communication
Easy lines of communication in social Areas
Physical Isolation
Forces workers into close contact with each other and strengthens bonds

15. Group Behavior Group Conformity
Degree to which group members accept and follow group norms
Group seeks to control members’ behavior for two reasons:
Independent behavior can cause disagreements that threaten a group’s survival
Consistent behavior creates an atmosphere of trust that allows members to work together and socialize comfortably
Individuals conform to group norms when they are:
Similar to personal attitudes, beliefs, and behavior
Do not agree with the group’s norms but feel pressure to accept them

16. Group Behavior Group Pressure and Conformity
Group pressure can break-down a group when one member goes above and beyond the rest of the group
(Case Study) A textile employee began to produce more than the group norm of 50 units per day. After two weeks, the group started to pressure this worker to produce less, and she quickly dropped to the group’s level. After three weeks, all the members of the group were moved to other jobs except for this worker. Once again, her production quickly climbed to double the group norm.
Why would the other workers try to slow their co-worker down?
Was it fair for other workers to try to slow her down?

17. Group Behavior Groupthink
When group members lose their ability to think as individuals and conform at the expense of their good judgment
Members become unwilling to say anything against the group or any member
Groupthink members will justify any action, stereotype outsiders as enemies of the group, and pressure unwilling members to conform
Groupthink is disruptive because it affects employees’ ability to make logical decisions
Imagine that you are the new manager of a department that has succumbed to groupthink. What steps would you take to encourage individual thinking?

18. Extension Activity!!!
Have students write an opinion piece, act out a workplace situation, or design a cartoon illustrating the concept of groupthink

19. 14. 1: Chapter Summary
Organizations have two kinds of work groups, formal and informal
Informal work groups develop around friendship, shared interests, or similar work responsibilities
Informal groups have their own norms, are cohesive, and develop ways to maintain conformity

20. Sec. 14.2: Managing Formal Groups
Review the explanation formal groups and predict what role managers play in helping formal groups succeed
What qualities might be helpful to a manager in the team building process?

21. What You’ll Learn Why is this Important?
The importance of formal work groups
How managers can influence group cohesiveness and conformity
Methods of encouraging teamwork in formal groups
The characteristics of successful group leaders
Why is this Important?
“Formal work groups are an important way of organizing work and managers must help them succeed.”

22. The Importance of Formal Work Groups
Groups have more knowledge and information than individuals
Ease the process of communicating and solving problems
Creates more efficiency
Managing groups effectively will enable a company to:
Improve production
Maintain a competitive edge (advantage)
Managers must overcome cultural and gender differences

23. Influencing Work Groups
Hawthorne Effect – giving special attention to a group of employees changes the employees’ behavior
Job factor variance
Employee pay
Supervision
Lighting
Length of rest periods
Number of hours worked

24. Building Effective Work Groups
“Managers are responsible for developing shared values and group loyalty in formal work groups”
Linking-Pin Concept
Since managers are members of overlapping groups, they link formal work groups to the total organization
Managers improve communication and ensure that organizational and group goals are met
Managers themselves are the “linking pins”

25. Building Effective Work Groups
Team Building
Process of establishing a cohesive group that works together to achieve its goals
Managers can encourage teamwork by:
Selecting group members carefully
Creating a positive work environment
Building Trust
Increasing Group Cohesiveness

26. Building Effective Work Groups
Creating Groups
Identify qualified people
Make the group attractive to these individuals
Increase of pay
Job Satisfaction
Benefits that are provided just like an informal work group
Consider office layout and physical factors affecting group’s ability to work together successfully

27. Building Effective Work Groups
“You’ve got to pick a few people and really trust them.”
- Bill Gates, Microsoft
Building Trust
Sharing responsibility and making decisions together
Trust enables members to stick to the group norms
Managers must:
Have faith in employees
Recognize the interests of the organization, the group, and the employees
Become personally involved, take a real interest in group members, share information, and exhibit honesty
What kinds of managerial problems might arise if employees lose confidence or trust in a manager?

28. Building Effective Work Groups
Influencing Group Cohesiveness and Conformity
Managers can affect formal group performance levels to those individuals who are highly competitive and eager to succeed by:
Keeping groups small
Selecting group members carefully
Finding a good personality fit between new and old employees
Developing an office layout that improves communication
Creating clear goals
Inspiring group competition
Rewarding groups rather than individuals
Isolating groups from each other

29. Building Effective Work Groups
“Whether on the court or off, what I call for in my people is full awareness and attention.”
Phil Jackson, Former Coach of the 6-time NBA Champion Chicago Bulls
Jackson’s approach teaches individuals:
To value the needs of the team
To surrender their egos so that the end result is bigger than the sum of its parts

30. Quality Circles
A group of employees from a single work unit (such as a department) who share ideas on how to improve quality
Encourage employees in decision making
Membership is usually voluntary
Members share a common bond – performing similar tasks
Encourages communication and trust among members and managers
Inexpensive way to provide employees with training while giving them a sense of control over their work lives
May solve problems that have been around for years
“Me” becomes “Us” in a good quality circle

31. Groups and Leaders
Informal groups select a leader most capable of satisfying the group’s needs
Gaining Acceptance
Managers assigned to formal work groups must work to gain acceptance as leaders
What makes a good teacher, makes a good manager?
Know their subject well
Communicate information effectively
Treat students with respect
Make fair judgments

32. Groups and Leaders Encouraging Participation
Managers encourage participation and shared responsibility, acting more like a coach than a manager
How does one encourage team spirit?
Provide the group with a shared vision
Lead by example (Attitude and Performance)
Encourage group to listen and support all members
Function within a cohesive group

33. 14. 2: Chapter Summary
Formal work groups often lack the loyalty and shared values that characterize informal groups, so managers work hard to encourage participation
Managers can build effective teams by selecting the right candidates, building trust, and encouraging group cohesiveness
In order to be good team leaders, managers must be accepted by the group, understand how to provide a vision, and lead by example

34. Speech Skills
You have been a member of many formal and informal groups in your life. Examples of such groups may include a youth group, a sports team, co-workers at a summer or part-time job, or neighborhood friends. Some of the groups have been effective and some have not. Think about the most effective and ineffective groups you have been in. Prepare a brief presentation describing the characteristics of each group.

35. Assessing Team Skills
Within the class, organize team to compete in a “paper airplane contest” where each team will compete for distance and flight time. Have each group select a captain, then work together to create cohesiveness. Methods may include practicing together, engaging in a group activity, or sharing personal information. Keep record of the methods your group uses. Once the contest has been completed, compare your methods and results with those of the other teams. What methods did the winning team use that have made them successful?

36. Assessing Academic Skills
You are a manager at a family-oriented restaurant chain. In the past year, two new restaurants have opened in the area. Both of them have done poorly, despite good locations. You must put together a task force to find ways to boost the new restaurants’ revenues. Decide where you would find people for the task force. Then compose a memo for senior management presenting your proposal and explaining your reasons for choosing these employees.