Effective Groups and Teamwork Chapter Nine Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, 3/e

9-2 Fundamentals of Group Behavior Currently, organizations increasingly rely on groups and teams for decision making and work performance

9-3 Formal and Informal Groups Group - two or more freely interacting people with shared norms and goals and a common identity -Compare it with passengers in a train or audience in a theater Two kinds of group -Formal group - formed by the organization -Informal group - formed by friends

9-4 Functions of Formal Groups Organizational Functions 1. Accomplish complex, interdependent tasks that are beyond the capabilities of individuals 2. Generate new or creative ideas and solutions 3. Coordinate interdepartmental efforts. 4. Provide a problem-solving mechanism for complex problems requiring varied information and assessments 5. Implement complex decisions 6. Socialize and train newcomers

9-5 Functions of (Formal) Groups Individual Functions 1. Satisfy the individual’s need for affiliation. 2. Develop, enhance, and confirm the individual’s self-esteem and sense of identity. 3. Give individuals an opportunity to test and share their perceptions of social reality. 4. Reduce the individual’s anxieties and feelings of insecurity and powerlessness. 5. Provide a problem-solving mechanism for personal and interpersonalproblems.

9-6 Tuckman’s Five-Stage Theory of Group Development Figure 9-1

9-7 Group Development Process Stage 1: Forming Individuals come together to make a group Group members tend to be uncertain and anxious about their fitness in the group and the group’s goals Mutual trust is low

9-8 Group Development Process Stage 2: Storming Time to test leader and other members Individuals try to determine how they fit into the power structure Procrastination (delay) may occur

9-9 Group Development Process Stage 3: Norming Questions about authority, power, and operating rules are resolved through group discussion Group cohesiveness are created - “we feeling” binding group members together

9-10 Group Development Process Stage 4: Performing Group activities focused on solving task problems Climate of open communication, strong cooperation, and lots of helping behavior

9-11 Group Development Process Stage 5: Adjourning Work is done; Objectives accomplished Time to move on to other things Members may feel sense of loss -May need rituals celebrating “the end” and “new beginnings”

9-12 Roles -Expected behaviors for a given position Two kinds of roles -Task roles Task-oriented group behavior Keep the group on track -Maintenance roles Relationship-building group behavior Keep the group together -The specific roles may be distributed among the group members

9-13 Task and Maintenance Roles

9-14 Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity Role Episodes Role Expectation Role PerceptionRole Performance Role AmbiguityRole Conflict Role Ambiguity : One is not sure what is his/her role Role Conflict : Two or more roles are in conflict High Role Ambiguity and high Role Conflict Low Job satisfaction, Low Performance

9-15 Norms -Shared attitudes, opinions, feelings, or actions that guide social behavior -Members need to follow the norms -Otherwise, one may experience ostracism (rejection by other group members) -Conformity Milgram Experiment, Stanford Prison Experiment Kinds of norms -Performance norms, attendance norms, language norms, clothing norms, etc

9-16 How Norms are Developed 1.Explicit statements by supervisors or influential co-workers 2.Critical events, which led to either success or failure, in the group’s history 3.Primacy (the first behavior pattern) 4.Carryover behaviors from past situations in other group

9-17 Why Norms are Enforced Help the group or organization survive Clarify or simplify behavioral expectations Help individuals avoid embarrassing situations Clarify the group’s or organization’s central values and/or unique identity However, the disadvantage of conformity due to strict norms should be also recognized

9-18 Teams Team -Small group with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for common purpose, goals, and approach Usually less than 10 members Cross-functionalism: Specialists from different areas Common commitment to collective performance Usually has more delegated power EX: TFT (task force team), Self-managed production team, etc -Task groups that have matured to the performing stage according to the Tuckman’s five-stage model

9-19 Teams A group becomes a team when: Leadership becomes a shared activity Accountability shifts from strictly individual to both individual and collective The group develops its own purpose or mission Problem solving becomes a way of life, not a part-time activity Effectiveness is measured by the group’s collective outcomes and products

9-20 Team Building Team building – experiential learning aimed at better internal functioning of groups -Experiential learning techniques Marine corps drilling, trust building exercises, conflict role-play, competitive games -Strive for greater cooperation, better communication, and less dysfunctional conflict

9-21 Types of Teams Two particular types of teams -Self-managed teams -Virtual teams Self-managed teams – groups of employees granted administrative oversight for their work -Administrative oversight involves delegated activities such as planning, scheduling, monitoring, and staffing -Team members become their own boss -Often called (semi)autonomous work groups -Managerial resistance is possible(job security issue)

9-22 Are Self Managed Teams Effective? Research results show that: -Have a positive effect on productivity -Have a positive effect on specific attitudes relating to self-management(e.g., responsibility, control) -No significant effect on general attitudes (JS, OC) -No significant effect on absenteeism or turnover

9-23 Virtual Teams Virtual team - group members in different locations to conduct business as a team with the help of information technology (Ex: Software development team) - It is not a real team in the sense that the team members don’t meet face-to- face - But, it operates like a real team by connecting distributed members via internet, , videoconferencing, groupware, etc. (* groupware: software that facilitates interaction among group members)

9-24 Research Insights (virtual teams) Virtual groups formed over the Internet follow a group development process similar to that of face-to-face groups -Meaningful face-to-face contact during early phases of group development process is essential Internet communication create more work and yield poorer decisions than face-to-face meetings Inspirational leadership has a positive impact on creativity in electronic brainstorming groups

9-25 Research Insights (virtual teams) Inspirational leadership has a positive impact on creativity in electronic brainstorming groups Some of traditional face-to-face elements are needed for the virtual teams, too Successful use of groupware requires training and hands-on experience

9-26 Threats to Group and Team Effectiveness Groups or teams are not always advantageous -Two potential problems Groupthink Social Loafing Groupthink -Janis -A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action -Leads to poor decision making

9-27 Groupthink Symptoms of groupthink -Invulnerability: An illusion that breeds excessive optimism and risk taking -Inherent morality: A belief of self-righteousness -> ignore ethical implications of one’s action -Rationalization: Ignore new information violating pet assumptions -Stereotyped views of opposition: Underestimate opponents -Self-censorship: Stifles critical debate -Illusion of unanimity: Silence interpreted to mean consent -Peer pressure: Loyalty of dissenters is questioned -Mindguards: Self-appointed protectors against adverse information

9-28 Groupthink How to prevent groupthink -Each member should be assigned the role of critical evaluator voicing objections and doubts -Top management should not use policy committee to rubber-stamp decisions already made -Different groups with different leaders should explore the same policy questions -Subgroup debates and outside experts should be used to introduce fresh perspectives -Someone should be given the role of devil’s advocate when discussing major alternatives -Once a consensus has been reached, everyone should be encouraged to rethink their position to check for flaws

9-29 Social Loafing -Decrease in individual effort as group size increases -Ringelmann’s rope-pulling exercise 3 persons -> 2 ½ times the average individual performance 8 persons -> less than 4 times the solo rate Reasons -Equity of effort: “Everyone else is goofing off, so why shouldn’t I?” -Loss of personal accountability: “I’m lost in the crowd, so who cares?” -Motivational loss due to sharing of rewards: “Why should I work harder than the others when everyone gets the same rewards?” -Coordination loss as more people perform the task: “We’re getting in each other’s way.”

Social Loafing Situational factors increasing social loafing -The task was perceived to be unimportant, simple, or not interesting -Group members thought their individual output was not identifiable -Group members expected their coworkers to loaf 9-30

9-31 Social Loafing How to prevent social loafing -Make it sure the task is challenging and perceived as important -Make each member personally accountable for identifiable portions of the group’s task(Individuation) Division of work Peer ratings of others’ performance