McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 9 Foundations of Team Dynamics

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-2 Teamwork In the Securities Industry Paul Tramontano (2nd from left) and other professionals in the securities industry have formed teams to better serve clients. Tramontano heads a 12-person team (called the Topeka Wealth Management Group) at Citigroup’s Smith Barney.

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-3 What are Teams? Groups of two or more people Exist to fulfill a purpose Interdependent -- interact and influence each other Mutually accountable for achieving common goals Perceive themselves as a social entity

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-4 Groups versus Teams All teams are groups Some groups are just people assembled together Teams have task interdependence whereas some groups do not (e.g., group of employees enjoying lunch together)

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-5 Many Types of Teams Departmental teams Production/service/ leadership teams Self-directed teams Advisory teams Skunkworks Task force (project) teams Virtual teams Communities of practice

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-6 Why Rely on Teams Compared with individuals working alone, teams tend to: –Make better decisions –Make better products and services due to more knowledge and expertise –Increase employee engagement

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-7 Why Informal Groups Exist 1.Innate drive to bond 2.Social identity –We define ourselves by group memberships 3.Goal accomplishment 4.Emotional support

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-8 Team Effectiveness Defined Fulfills objectives assigned to the team Fulfills satisfaction and well-being of team members Maintains team’s survival

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-9 Team Effectiveness Model Task characteristics Team size Team composition Team Design Achieve organizational goals Satisfy member needs Maintain team survival Team Effectiveness Team development Team norms Team roles Team cohesiveness Team Processes Organizational and Team Environment Reward systems Communication systems Physical space Organizational environment Organizational structure Organizational leadership

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-10 Team’s Task and Size Task characteristics –Better when tasks are clear, easy to implement –Share common inputs, processes, or outcomes –Task interdependence Team size –Smaller teams are better –But large enough to accomplish task

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-11 Levels of Task Interdependence Sequential Pooled Reciprocal Resource ABC ABC A BC High Low

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-12 Gourami session in Asia -- Courtesy of Shell International Ltd Shell Looks for Team Players Shell holds the 5-day Gourami Business Challenge in Europe, North America, and Asia to observe how well the university students work in teams. One of the greatest challenges is for students from different cultures and educational specializations to work together. Gourami session in U.S.A. -- Courtesy of Shell U.S.

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-13 Team Composition 1.Motivation –To perform task –To work cooperatively the team 2. Competencies –Skills and knowledge to perform the task –Ability to work effectively with each other 3.Homogeneous or heterogeneous, depending on task requirements Gourami session in Asia -- Courtesy of Shell International Ltd Gourami session in U.S.A. -- Courtesy of Shell U.S.

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-14 Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous Teams Less conflictLess conflict Faster team developmentFaster team development Performs better on cooperative tasksPerforms better on cooperative tasks Better coordinationBetter coordination High satisfaction of team membersHigh satisfaction of team members More conflictMore conflict Longer team developmentLonger team development Performs better on complex problemsPerforms better on complex problems More creativeMore creative Better representation outside the teamBetter representation outside the team Homogeneous Teams Heterogeneous Teams

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-15 Existing teams might regress back to an earlier stage of development Forming Storming NormingPerforming Adjourning Stages of Team Development

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-16 Team Norms Informal rules and expectations team establishes to regulate member behaviors Norms develop through: –Initial team experiences –Critical events in team’s history –Experience/values members bring to the team

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-17 Changing Team Norms Introduce norms when forming teams Select members with preferred norms Discuss counter-productive norms Reward behaviors representing desired norms Disband teams with dysfunctional norms

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-18 Production Days UnitsPressed per Hour Conformity to Team Norms Day 12: Peer pressure begins Day 20: Employee begins working alone Day 1: Employee begins job with team Day 28: Employee has doubled performance

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-19 Team Roles Role -- set of behaviors people are expected to perform in certain positions –Formally assigned or informally acquired based on personality preferences Belbin’s Team Role Model –Nine team roles -- all needed for optimal team performance –People choose preferred role based on their personality –Some roles more important at particular stages

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-20 Photo: Robert Hirtie. Courtesy of Atlantic Business Magazine & Lighthouse Publishing Team Cohesiveness at Lighthouse The staff at Lighthouse Publishing is a highly cohesive group that successfully keeps its much larger competitors off-guard. This cohesiveness has particularly come through when faced with new and unexpected challenges, such as new products or machine breakdowns.

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-21 Team Cohesiveness Defined The degree of attraction people feel toward the team and their motivation to remain members Calculative -- members believe the team will fulfill goals and needs Emotional -- team is part of person’s social identity Photo: Robert Hirtie. Courtesy of Atlantic Business Magazine & Lighthouse Publishing

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-22 Increasing Team Cohesiveness MemberSimilarity TeamSize MemberInteraction Somewhat Difficult Entry Team Success ExternalChallenges Influences on Team Cohesiveness

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-23 Team Cohesiveness Outcomes 1.Want to remain members 2.Willing to share information 3.Strong interpersonal bonds 4.Resolve conflict effectively 5.Better interpersonal relationships

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-24 Team Norms Support Company Goals Team Norms Oppose Company Goals High Team Cohesiveness Low Team Cohesiveness Cohesiveness and Performance Low task performance Moderately high task performance Moderately low task performance High task performance

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-25 The Trouble With Teams Individuals better/faster on some tasks Process losses - cost of developing and maintaining teams Companies don’t support best work environment for team dynamics Social loafing

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 9-26 How to Minimize Social Loafing Make individual performance more visible –Form smaller teams –Specialize tasks –Measure individual performance Increase employee motivation –Increase job enrichment –Select motivated employees

McGraw-Hill/Irwin© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 9 Foundations of Team Dynamics