1. 1 Introduction to Groups and Teams OS 386 October 15, 2002 Fisher

2. 2 Agenda Review basic concepts about teams Individual research paper reminder Provide mid-semester feedback

3. 3 Don ’ t forget about individuals! Teams are comprised of individuals Concepts we have studied so far in this course still apply Learning Personality Motivation Feedback Job design

4. 4 What is a team? A group of people who Interact and influence each other Are accountable for achieving common objectives Perceive themselves as a social identity 80% of Fortune 500 organizations have at least half of their employees on teams (Center for Study of Work Teams, Univ. of North Texas, 2000)

5. 5 Key factors for teams Interdependence Low: additive goals High: skill dispersion Need for collaboration Common goals

6. 6 Why do we use teams? General philosophy – synergy The whole is greater than the sum of the parts Exchange of ideas, improve creativity Cross-functional teams More natural feedback Flexibility Desirable work characteristics (autonomy, enrichment)

7. 7 Are teams always better than individuals? Not appropriate for all work functions or tasks Examples – look at different sports Baseball Hockey Bowling

8. 8 Are teams always better than individuals? Need certain conditions for teamwork to be effective Internal factors: Communication, leadership, conflict resolution External factors: Rewards, delegation of power, support Culture change is important

9. 9 For example … Consider a product development team derailed by external forces. The team had effective: Leadership Communication Conflict resolution But managers could not agree on design direction, and kept providing conflicting instructions

10. 10 Teams have downsides Process loss Team development Adding new team members Scheduling meetings Social loafing Exerting less effort than when working alone Ways to minimize social loafing Groupthink

11. 11 Teams vary on many attributes Autonomy Duration Frequency of interactions Proximity of team members Cross-functional vs. specialized

12. 12 Small group discussion What are the characteristics of a “ good ” or “ effective ” team? Consider factors such as Team members Structure Performance Outcomes

13. 13 Individual Research Paper Due October 31 at beginning of class Cover your subtopic related to the team research question Guidance posted on my web site Use of different sources, journal and magazine suggestions APA style for references Grading criteria I ’ m happy to meet with you to discuss progress or issues

14. 14 Mid-semester feedback My opinion In spite of large class size, discussion is going fairly well Need wider variety of exercises Your opinion What do you like about the class so far? If it were up to you, what would you change?

15. 15 Key learning points Teams have many potential benefits Synergy, creativity, feedback, enriched work Effective teamwork requires certain conditions Team characteristics Organizational characteristics Teams can also have drawbacks Social loafing, process loss

16. 16 For next class Topic: Team development and performance Finish reading Ch. 8 What are the stages of team development? Complete Team Roles assessment on page 255 in the textbook