1. Types of Groups in Organizations
Type of Formal or Established Degree of
Group Informal by Permanence Example
Command Formal Organization Permanent Hierarchical
Group
Task Formal Organization Temporary Task Force
Permanent Self Managed
Work Team
Cross functional
Teams
Committees
Interest Informal Individuals Temporary Support Group
Permanent Union
Friendship Informal Individuals Permanent Social Groups
“Teams” = Task Groups

2. Organizational Groups as Linking Pins

3. Types of Teams Used .7.6.5.4 .3 .2 .1 69% 67% = % of respondents 48%
69% % .3 .2 .1
= % of respondents
48%
17%
Process Parallel Project Partnership
Teams Teams Teams Teams
Survey of 243 employers by the Hay Consulting Group, 1997, Bulletin to Management

4. A Model of Team Functioning
Organizational
Context
Team
Characteristics
and Processes
Team
Outcomes
Stages of Team
Development

5. Team Characteristics & Processes
Status Structure
Ascribed vs. Achieved Status
Idiosyncratic Credits
Communication Structure
Sociogram
Task vs. Social Communication
Role Structure
Norm Structure
Cohesiveness

6. Positive and Negative Group Norms
Norms Positive Negative
Performance Continuous Improvement Just do the minimum
Teamwork Work together to better It’s a dog-eat-dog
the organization world.
Leadership Management really Management is out
cares about employees. is out to get as much
work out of us as
possible.
Org. Pride Talk up the company Run down the
as a great place to work. Company.

7. Factors affecting cohesiveness
Increasing Cohesiveness Decreasing Cohesiveness
Agreement on goals Disagreement on goals
Frequency of interaction Group size
Personal attractiveness Unpleasant intra-group
experiences
Inter-group competition Intra-group competition
Favorable evaluation Domination by one
individual

8. Stages of Team Development
Norm Level of
Stage Development Role of Leader Cohesion
Forming Membership Heavy dependence Low
on leader to set
goals, etc.
Storming Influence Leader’s influence Low
is questioned.
Norming Affection Leader willing to High or
work for good of Low
the team.
Performing Growth/ High interpersonal skills High
Performance dedicated to group.

9. Organizational Context and Team Performance
Team Performance = f(team ability, motivation, opportunity)
The Organization affects each of these factors:
Ability: The organization sets up the team.
The organization supports the team through
information
technical assistance
resources
authority
Motivation: The org. sets the goals for the team.
The org. establishes the reward system.
Opportunity: The org. context must provide the opportunity
for the team to perform.

10. Interaction of Team Development & Org. Context
Team Organizational Context
Development Unfavorable Favorable
Nonfunctional Underfunctional
Teams Teams
Under-developed
Developed
Temporarily
Functional
Teams
Fully
Functional
Teams

11. Team Outcomes Positive Negative Individual Organization
Need Fulfillment Waste of time
Problem solving/task Interpersonal conflict
accomplishment and stress
Communication Constraint on behavior
Social Loafing
Improved decision making Contradictory performance
and problem solving norms
Increased acceptance and Costly
commitment to decisions
Facilitates implementation Inter-team conflict
Member control Resistance to change
Promotes creativity and Groupthink
innovation Escalation of commitment
Individual
Organization

12. Avoiding Groupthink Make every group member a “critical evaluator”
As leader, avoid seeming partial to one course of action
Create subgroups to work on same problem & share results
Have members talk over their ideas with “outsiders”
Bring in outside experts to observe and comment on group
Have one member assume the role of “devil’s advocate”
Hold a second chance meeting to review the “final” decision

13. Escalation of Commitment
Continuing to support an unsuccessful action, even when
ill-advised
“Throwing good money after bad”
An increased commitment to a previous decision in spite
of negative feedback
Why do people do this?

14. Reasons for escalation of commitment
To save face – Individuals & groups do not like to
admit that their decision making
was flawed
“Crowd Psychology” – Competitive situations give
rise to more escalation
To try to recoup “Sunk Costs” – Flawed logic
Sunk costs are not recoverable

15. Avoiding escalation
Try to set limits on you or your team’s commitment to
a decision ahead of time and then stick to it.
Don’t follow other individuals or teams (avoid
imitation or crowd psychology)
Stop to periodically assess exactly why you or your team
is continuing with a course of action. Stay vigilant
to avoid “creeping commitments” to previously
chosen courses of action.

16. Group Decision Making Techniques
Ordinary
Criteria Groups Brainstorming NGT Delphi
# ideas Low Medium High High
Quality of ideas Low Medium High High
Conflict Potential High Low Medium Low
Time/Cost Medium Low Low High
Task Orientation Low High High High
Sense of Accomplishment High to Low High High Medium
Commit. To Solution High n.a Medium Low
Cohesiveness High High Medium Low

17. Should I use individuals or teams?
Individuals do better IF:
When the problem has a single correct answer
When the solution requires a long train of complex, interrelated steps
Teams do better when:
the problem is suitable to a division of labor AND group members have diverse & relevant skills
the ultimate resolution of the problems depends on
the acceptance of others
the goal is to produce new, original or creative ideas

18. Tips for Using Teams
Establish clear, reasonable goals for the team
Have a specific reason for putting someone on a team
Keep the size of each team reasonable
Recognize the potential impacts (+&-) of diversity
on team functioning.
Recognize that teams do not automatically become
high performers.
Teams are not independent entities.
Don’t expect too much too soon.
Recognize the downside of teams.
(They are not a panacea.)