1. Industrial and Organizational Psychology Work Groups and Work Teams Copyright Paul E. Spector, All rights reserved, March 15, 2005

2. Working Together Most people do not work in isolation but work with other employees with whom they interact Work Group: Collection of people who interact and share common or interrelated task goals. Work Team: Work group with –Common task goals and objectives –Coordinated effort –Specified roles Work group members may or may not work on the same tasks. –Sales groups may work completely independently, each person with his or her own territory. Work team members work together to accomplish the common tasks.

3. Group/Team Concepts Roles: Specialization of function within positions –Formal: position title and description define with job analysis –Informal: Emergent behavior in group Status –Power & influence, prestige, respect –Partially inherent in role Norms –Expected & accepted behavioral standards –Productivity norms –Dress norms

4. Group/Team Concepts 2 Group Cohesiveness: Attraction of group members toward staying in group –High cohesive groups –Lower turnover –Stronger adherence to norms (homogenizer of behavior) –Greater satisfaction –Greater group influence Team Commitment –Strength of an individual’s involvement in team and acceptance of team goals Team Mental Model –Shared understanding of task by team members Process Loss –Effort/time spent by team members on non-task activities

5. Group Performance Individual tasks in work groups: co-acting effects –Social facilitation Competition and arousal (audience) –Social inhibition Distraction Group processes Arousal Group tasks: interdependence of group effort –Assembly line: Performance = f(poorest individual) –Additive: Performance = f(sum of individuals)

6. How Does Group Compare To Individuals? Social Loafing –Identifiability reduces social loafing Brainstorming (creative task) –Group inhibits individual performance Additive task (Kravitz and Martin, 1986) rope pull Number of peoplePredicted force of pullActual force of pull 111 221.86 443.08 883.92

7. Group Diversity Differences among people in a group –Cognitive diversity Knowledge, skill and values –Demographic diversity Age, ethnicity, gender, nationality Effects on –Job performance –Job satisfaction –Organizational commitment Positive effects when tasks require cooperation Negative effects when tasks don’t require cooperation

8. Group Interventions How should we work with groups? –to increase productivity –to increase satisfaction –to make work more meaningful Increase cohesiveness –Encourage formation of work groups –Allow socialization, on & off the job –Assign group tasks –Give group rewards –Allow employees to select coworkers Make group and organizational goals compatible –Group rewards –Profit sharing –Participation

9. Autonomous Work Teams In factory setting self ‑ managed work team has broad control –Makes entire product –Job rotation frequent and controlled by group –Groups can design, develop and purchase own tools –No quality inspectors (done by group) –Few direct supervisors –Supervisors as coaches –Participative Effectiveness –Performance similar to traditional factory –Greater job satisfaction –Needs fewer managers/supervisors

10. Team Building Planned activities designed to improve team functioning –Better communication –Better task performance –Less conflict Three characteristics –Planned –Conducted by a facilitator or consultant –Existing work team Effects inconsistent –Sometimes positive and sometimes no effects