Managing Work Teams Chapter 17

Learning Objectives Explain the importance of work teams. Identify four types of work teams. State the meaning and determinants of team effectiveness. Describe the internal team processes that can affect team performance. Explain how to diagnose and remove barriers to poor team performance.

Work Teams and Other Groups A group is two or more individuals who come into personal and meaningful contact on a continuing basis. A group is two or more individuals who come into personal and meaningful contact on a continuing basis. A work team consists of a small numbers of employees with complementary skills who collaborate on a project, are committed to a common purpose, and are jointly accountable for performing tasks that contribute to achieving an organization’s goals. A work team consists of a small numbers of employees with complementary skills who collaborate on a project, are committed to a common purpose, and are jointly accountable for performing tasks that contribute to achieving an organization’s goals.

Terms for Work Teams (adapted from Figure 17.1) Empowered teams Autonomous work groups Crews Self-managing teams Cross-functional teams Quality circles Project teams Task forces High-performance teams Emergency response teams Committees Councils

Work Teams and Other Groups (cont.) An informal group consists of a small number of individuals who frequently participate in activities and share feelings for the purpose of meeting their mutual needs.

Increase innovation and creativity Improve speed of product development and other tasks Increase quality of goods and services Reduce costs

Types of Work Teams A problem-solving work team consists of employees from different areas of an organization whose goal is to consider how something can be done better. Quality Circles Task Forces

Types of Work Teams (cont.) A functional work team includes members from a single department who have the common goal of considering issues and solving problems within their area of responsibility and expertise. A multidisciplinary work team consists of employees from various functional areas and sometimes several organizational levels who collectively work on specific tasks. A self-managing work team consists of employees who work together daily to make an entire product or deliver an entire service.

Members of a Self-Managing Work Team (adapted from Figure 17.2) Other team leaders and managers Communications team Software team Budget team Recognition and compensation team Training team Self-managing team -Participate in selection of new members -Train new members -Order supplies and obtain other needed resources -Communicate with suppliers and customers -Set goals -Schedule work -Design work processes

Effectiveness Criteria Effectiveness criteria measure the outcomes achieved by individual members and the team as a whole. Team Preparedness For Future Satisfaction of Individual Members Team Processes Team Performance CC ohesiveness TT rust MM anaging conflict DD ecision making II nnovation QQ uality SS peed CC ost  Trust in team  Ability to adapt to change WW ith team process WW ith team members WW ith own development

Effectiveness Criteria for Work Teams (adapted from Figure 17.3) Team Effectiveness Task completionTeam developmentStakeholder satisfaction AccuracyTeam cohesivenessCustomer satisfaction with team’s procedures and outputs SpeedTeam flexibilityTeam satisfaction with team’s outputs and outputs CreativityTeam preparedness for Satisfaction of other team’s with new tasksthe team’s procedures and outputs Cost Individual Effectiveness Task PerformanceRelationships with othersPersonal development SpeedIncreased understanding of Develop competencies (teamwork, other perspectivescommunication, strategic action, global awareness, planning, and administration, and self-awareness) AccuracyBuild other’s trust in youDevelop network of colleagues within and outside the organization CreativityNew friendshipsGain technical knowledge and skills Efficiency

Effectiveness Determinates Effectiveness is determined by three main sets of influences; the external context in which the team operates, team design, and internal team processes.

A Model of Work Team Functioning (adapted from Figure 17.4) Team Design - Team Size - Team Location Effectiveness Criteria - Team - Individual Internal Processes - Development stages - Feelings - Behavioral Norms External Context CultureReward System Team Training Member Selection

Internal Team Processes  Work teams may develop along:  Development of the work team over time, personal feelings, and behavioral norms  a continuum of maturity, which ranges from low or immature (e.g., inefficient and ineffective) to high or mature (e.g., efficient and effective) AND  a continuum of time together, which ranges from start (e.g., the first team encounter) to end (e.g., the point at which the team adjourns)

The Development of Work Teams (adapted from Figure 17.5) Degree of Maturity Time Together High Low StartEnd End or recycle End or recycle End or recycle End or recycle Forming Adjourning Performing Norming Storming

 Rules of behavior that are widely shared and enforced by members of a work team  Norms may specify:  How much work to do  How customers should be treated  Importance of high quality  What members should wear  What kinds of jokes are acceptable  How members should feel about the organization  How they should deal with their managers, and so on

EE xists When Three Criteria Have Been Met  There is a performance standard of appropriate behavior for team members  Members must generally agree on the standard  Members must be aware that the team supports the particular standard through a system of rewards and punishments

 Free rider: a team member who isn’t contributing fully to team performance but still shares in team rewards PP eer pressure to conform is great AA highly directive leader presses for a particular interpretation of the problem and course of action NN eed exists to process a complex and unstructured issue under crisis conditions GG roup is isolated  Groupthink: an agreement-at-any-cost mentality that results in ineffective work team decision making and may lead to poor solutions; Likelihood increases when:

 Productive controversy: when team members value different points of view and seek to draw them out to facilitate creative problem solving FF ocus on issues rather than people DD efer decisions until issues and ideas are explored FF ollow procedures that equalize sharing of power and responsibility MM anagers can help shape norms

 Internal Processes  External System: Member selection Team training Team designCulture Reward system

Causes of Poor Team Performance: Team Design  Team Size  For innovative decision making, ideal work team is probably between five and nine members (continued)  If large teams required, consider use of subteams  With large teams be aware of backlash through clique lobbies

 Team size—large team size tends to have the following effects  Demands on leader time and attention are greater; leader becomes more psychologically distant from the team members  Team’s tolerance of direction from the leader is greater and team’s decision making becomes more centralized  Team atmosphere is less friendly, communications are less personal, more cliques form within the team  Team’s rules and procedures become more formalized  Likelihood of some members being free riders increases

 Team proximity PP roximity to other work teams and members of the organization  Team members’ proximity to each other II deal proximity among teams depends on work being done  Virtual teams often create special challenges

 Differences in societal cultures  Language differences  Weak or poor organizational culture

II ncompatible personality traits among members  Traits of agreeableness and conscientiousness needed  Communication and teamwork competencies needed

Causes of Poor Team Performance: Team Training  Poor or no team training  Leadership development for managers or team leaders needed  Team training needed for:  how to manage meetings  how to support disagreement  how to commit to a decision  how to use group-based technologies

(continued)  Choices in Designing Reward Systems for Work Teams How can nonmonetary rewards be used to recognize excellent team performance? What portion of a person’s total monetary rewards should be linked to performance of the team (versus the performance of the individual or the business unit)? If rewards are to be linked to results, which effectiveness criteria should be used to evaluate team results? Individual results?

CC hoices in Designing Reward Systems for Work Teams (cont’d) How should rewards be distributed among the members of a team? Should they all receive equal rewards? If not, on what basis should people receive differential rewards? Who should be responsible for the allocation of rewards among team members: team members, a team leader, someone outside the team? For global teams, how should cultural differences among members of the team and the pay systems used in different countries be addressed?

Causes of Poor Team Performance Team Design Team Size Team Location Virtual Work Team Information Technology Culture Team Member Selection Team Training Reward Systems

Examples of Tasks Performed in Self-Managing Work Teams (from Figure 17.6) Level of Team Self-Management Degree of Managerial Competencies Required Moderate High Monitor spending Arrange work and vacation schedules Monitor team performance Cross-train team members Dismiss members Discipline members Allocate monetary rewards Select suppliers Appraise member performance Share leadership tasks Select new members Select effectiveness criteria to measure Determine team budget Determine production/service schedules Purchase equipment and supplies