Managing groups n What is a group/team? n Which are the different types of groups? n How to evaluate team effectiveness? n Which factors affect group effectiveness?

What is a team? n A team is a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish a specific objective.

Which are the different types of groups? n Formal vs. informal groups. n Formal u Horizontal and vertical teams (see Exh. 16.2). n Informal u When can they play a negative role in the organization?

Measures of team effectiveness.

Which factors affect team effectiveness? n Depends on team characteristics and team processes.

Team characteristics n Group size n Member roles n Group norms n Group cohesiveness

Group size

Member roles n Task specialist role n Socioemotional role n Member roles can be viewed as existing in a continuum (Shortell-Table 6.2). n Teams must be well-balanced: satisfy social needs and accomplish the team’s task.

Harcourt Brace & Company. Team Member Roles Task Specialist Role Nonparticipator Role Socioemotional Role Dual Role High High Low Low Member Task Behavior Member Social Behavior

Group norms n Informal. n Relate to day-to-day behavior and employee output and performance.

Group cohesiveness n Is group cohesiveness good or bad?

Groupthink n Mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, and when the members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.

Techniques to diminish groupthink n Devil’s advocate n Multiple advocacy n Brainstorming n Strive for group heterogeneity.

Team processes/Stages of team development (Exh. 16.5) n The five stages usually occur in sequence. u Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning. u Not all groups go through all stages n Managers need to consider the stage of team development in establishing group expectations.