1. Chapter 9
Top Performance through
Empowerment, Teamwork, and
Communication
2. Learning Goals
1 Describe why and how organizations 5 Describe the factors that cause
empower employees. conflict in teams and how to manage
conflict.
2 Distinguish among the five types of teams
in the workplace. 6 Explain the importance and process
of effective communication.
3 Identify the characteristics of an effective
team and summarize the stages of team 7 Compare the different types of
development. communication.
4 Relate cohesiveness and norms to 8 Explain external communication and
effective team performance. how to manage a public crisis.
3. Empowering Employees
s Empowerment - giving employees authority and
responsibility to make decisions about their work
without traditional managerial approval and control
s Sharing information and decision-making authority
s Keeping them informed about company’s financial
performance
s Giving them broad authority to make workplace
decisions
4. Linking Rewards to Company
Performance
s Employee Stock Ownership Plans
s 13 million workers at 10,500 companies participate.
s Gives employees ownership, leading to potential
profits as the value of their firm increases and
motivating them to work smarter and harder.
s Stock Options
s Right to buy a specified amount of company stock at
a given price within a given time period.
s Being offered more and more to employees at all
different levels.
s 1/3 of all options go to the top five executives
at a firm.
6. Teams
s A team is a group of employees who are
committed to a common purpose, approach, and
set of performance goals.
s Mutually responsible and accountable for
accomplishing objectives.
s Ability to work on teams often emphasized during
the hiring process.
s Work teams are groups of people with
complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose.
s Two-thirds of U.S. firms currently use work teams.
8. Team Characteristics
s Team Size
s Can range widely, but most have fewer than 12
members.
s Ideal size is often six or seven members.
s Team Level and Team Diversity
s Team level - average level of ability, experience,
personality, or any other factor on a team.
s Team diversity - variances or differences in ability,
experience, personality, or any other factor on a team.
10. Team Cohesiveness & Norms
s Team cohesiveness is the extent to which team
members feel attracted to the team and motivated
to remain part of it.
s Increases when members interact frequently, share
common attitudes and goals, and enjoy being
together.
s Cohesive teams quickly achieve high levels of
performance and consistently perform better.
s Team norms are the informal standards of conduct
shared by team members that guide their behavior.
s Can be positive or negative.
11. Team Conflict
s Conflict - when one person or group’s needs do not
match those of another, and attempts may be made
to block the opposing side’s intentions or goals.
s Cognitive conflict focuses on problem-related differences
of opinion.
s Reconciling these differences strongly improves team
performance.
s Affective conflict refers to the emotional reactions that
can occur when disagreements become personal rather
than professional.
s Team leaders should facilitate good communication so
that teammates respect each other and work
cooperatively.
12. Importance of Effective
Communication
s Communication is the meaningful exchange of
information through messages.
s Managers spend 80 percent of their time in
direct communication with others.
s Company recruiters rate
effective communication as the most important
skill they’re looking for in hiring new college
graduates.
14. Cultural Context
s Communication in low-context cultures tends to
rely on explicit written and verbal messages.
s U.S., Switzerland, Germany, Austria
s Communication in high-context cultures depends
not only on the message itself but also on the
conditions that surround it, including nonverbal
cues, past and present experiences, and personal
relationships between the parties.
s Japan, Latin America, India
16. Listening
s Cynical listening: Receiver of a message feels
that the sender is trying to gain some advantage
from the communication.
s Offensive listening: Receiver tries to catch the
speaker in a mistake or contradiction.
s Polite listening: Receiver listens mechanically to
be polite rather than to communicate.
s Active listening: Requires involvement with the
information and empathy with the speaker’s
situation; the basis for effective communication.
17. Formal Communication
s Flows within the chain of command
s Downward communication
s Upward communication
s Open and honest communication is key
18. Open Communication
s With open communication, employees feel
free to express opinions, offer suggestions,
and even voice complaints.
s 7 Characteristics of Open Communication:
s Employees are valued
s High level of trust exists
s Conflict is invited and resolved positively
s Creative dissent is welcomed
s Employee input is solicited
s Employees are well-informed
s Feedback is ongoing
19. Informal Communication
s Informal communication is to carry
messages outside formally authorized
channels.
s The grapevine is an internal channel
that passes information from unofficial
sources.
20. Nonverbal Communication
s Nonverbal communication transmits
messages through actions and behaviors.
s Gestures, posture, eye contact, tone and
volume of voice, and even clothing choices are
all nonverbal actions that become
communication cues.
s Have a far greater impact on communications
than many people realize.
21. External Communication
s External communication is a meaningful exchange
of information to major audiences: customers,
suppliers, firms, general public, government officials
s Every communication with customers should
create goodwill.
s Communication during crisis:
s Respond to crisis quickly.
s Put top company management in front of the press.
s Stick to the facts.
s When you don’t know, offer to find out.
s Never say “no comment.”
s Speak to your audience.
