MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Team Management and Conflict

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Teams Defined A group of two or more people Interact regularly and coordinate their work to accomplish a common objective A group of two or more people Interact regularly and coordinate their work to accomplish a common objective

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Three Points Characterize a Team  First, at least two people must be involved.  Second, the members must interact regularly and coordinate their work.  Third, members of a team must share a common objective.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Characteristics of Effective Teams  Team members are committed.  All team members feel free to express themselves and participate in discussions and decisions.  Members trust each other.  When needs for leadership arise, any member feels free to volunteer.  Decisions are made by consensus.  As problems occur, the team focuses on causes, not symptoms.  Team members are flexible in terms of work processes and problem solving.  Team members change and grow.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Two Types of Teams  Vertical Team – sometimes called a command team or a functional team.  Composed of a manager and his or her subordinates.  May include as many as three or four levels of management.  Horizontal Team – made up of members drawn from different departments in an organization.  In most cases such a team is created to address a specific task or objective.  May disband after the objective is achieved.  Three common kinds of horizontal teams: –Task forces –Cross-functional teams –Committees

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Potential Uses For Teams Team Options Team Options Product Development Teams ? Teams ? Teams Project Teams Process Teams ? Teams Quality Teams Work Teams

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Virtual Teams Defining Characteristics  Members are distributed across multiple locations.  Membership can be extremely diverse in skills and culture.  Team members can join or depart the team in midstream.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Teams with Moderate Independence Cross-functional Product development Project

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Independent Work Teams Self-managed Work teams Self-directed Executive teams

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Steps in the Process of Team Building Step 1: Assessing feasibility. Step 2: Identifying priorities. Step 3: Defining mission and objectives. Step 4: Uncovering and eliminating barriers to team building. Step 5: Starting with small teams. Step 6: Planning for training needs. Step 7: Planning to empower. Step 8: Planning for feedback and development time. Step 1: Assessing feasibility. Step 2: Identifying priorities. Step 3: Defining mission and objectives. Step 4: Uncovering and eliminating barriers to team building. Step 5: Starting with small teams. Step 6: Planning for training needs. Step 7: Planning to empower. Step 8: Planning for feedback and development time.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Prince (1989), Parker (1990) Reported that the Typical Team Includes Roles For Task specialists Social specialists

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Roles for Task Specialists Include  The contributor, a data-driven person who supplies needed information and pushes for high team performance standards.  The challenger, a team player who constantly questions the goals, methods, and even the ethics of the team.  The initiator, the person who proposes new solutions, new methods, and new systems for team problems.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Roles for the Social Specialists Include  The collaborator, the “big picture” person who urges the team to stay with its vision and to achieve it.  The communicator, the person who listens well, facilitates well, and humanizes the work of the team.  The cheerleader, the person on the team who encourages and praises individual and team efforts.  The compromiser, the team member who will shift opinions to maintain harmony.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Team Leaders Require a Special Set of Skills Oriented toward teamwork and cooperation Create a noncompetitive atmosphere Think reasonably Positively reinforce Keep their teams focused Share leadership Encourage members to assume as much responsibility as they can handle Renew trust

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Stages of Team Development Forming Performing Storming Norming

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Forming Stage Members become aquatinted Members test behaviors Marked by a high degree of uncertainty

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Storming Stage Disagreement and conflict occur. Personalities emerge. Members assert their opinions. Disagreements may arise. Coalitions or subgroups may emerge. The team is not yet unified. Disagreement and conflict occur. Personalities emerge. Members assert their opinions. Disagreements may arise. Coalitions or subgroups may emerge. The team is not yet unified.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Norming Stage Team comes together Teams achieves unity; consensus about who holds the power It has onenessA sense of team cohesion Now focused Disagreements and conflicts resolved

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Performing Stage Begins to function and moves toward accomplishing its objectives. Team members interact well with each other. Deal with problems. Confront each other if necessary. Coordinate work.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Determinants and Results of Team Cohesiveness Small Size Frequent Interaction Clear Objectives Success Large Size Infrequent Interaction Unclear Objectives Failure High Cohesiveness Failure to Achieve Objectives Low Morale Objective Achievement High Morale Low Cohesiveness Team Factors Degree of Cohesiveness Results

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Effects of Cohesiveness and Performance Norms on Productivity B Moderate Productivity C Low-to-Moderate Productivity A High Productivity D Low Productivity Team Cohesiveness Team Performance Norms Low High Low

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Costs of Teams Power-realignmentTraining expenses Free-riding Loss of productive workers Lost productivity

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Philosophical Approaches to Conflict TRADITIONAL VIEW BeliefsReactions Conflict is unnecessary. Conflict is to be feared. Conflict is harmful. Conflict is a personal failure. Immediately stop conflict. Remove all evidence of conflict, including people.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Philosophical Approaches to Conflict BeliefsReactions BEHAVIORAL VIEW Conflict occurs frequently in organizations. Conflict is to be expected. Conflict can be positive but, more likely, it is harmful. Immediately move to resolve or eliminate conflict.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Philosophical Approaches to Conflict INTERACTIONIST VIEW BeliefsReactions Conflict is inevitable in organizations. Conflict is necessary for organizational health. Conflict is neither inherently good nor bad. Manage conflict to maximize the positive. Manage conflict to minimize the negative.

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Sources of Conflict Disagreements about role requirements Differences in objectives Work activities Values and perceptions Individual approaches Breakdowns in communication

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Analyze a Conflict Situation, Three Key Questions Who is in conflict? What is the source of conflict? What is the level of conflict?

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Conflict Situation Strategy  Avoidance  Smoothing  Compromise  Collaboration  Confrontation  Appeals to subordinate objectives  Decisions by a third party

MultiMedia by Stephen M. Peters© 2002 South-Western Circumstances in Which Managers Stimulate Conflict When team members exhibit and accept minimal performance. When people appear to be afraid to do anything other than the norm. When team members passively accept events or behavior that should motivate action.