1. MODULE 21
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
“Two heads can
be better than
one”
• Why is an understanding of teams so important?
• What are the foundations of successful teamwork?
2. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
MODULE GUIDE 21.1
Formal and informal groups are building blocks of
organizations.
Organizations use a variety of committees, task
forces, and cross-functional teams.
Virtual teams are increasingly common in
organizations.
Teams offer synergy and other benefits to their
members and the organization.
Teams can also suffer from common performance
problems.
3. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
Team
a collection of people who regularly interact to pursue common
goals.
Teamwork
the process of people actively working together to accomplish
common goals.
Formal Group
a group that is officially recognized and supported by the
organization.
Informal Group
a group that is unofficial and emerges from relationships and
shared interests among members.
Committee
people brought together outside of their daily job assignments to
work in a small team for a specific task
4. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
Types of Teams
Project Team
is convened for a specific purpose and disbands
after completing its task.
Cross-functional Team
operates with members who come from different
functional units of an organization.
Employee Involvement Team
meets on a regular basis to help achieve
continuous improvement.
5. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
Types of Teams
Quality Circle Team
employees who meet periodically to discuss
ways of improving work quality.
Self-managing Teams
work team having the authority to make
decisions about how they share and complete
their work.
Virtual Teams
Work together and solve problems through
computer based interactions
6. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
Benefits of Teams
Synergy
The creation of a whole greater than or equal to the sum of
its parts
Why Teams Are Good for Organizations
• More resources for problem solving
• Improved creativity and innovation
• Improved quality of decision making
• Greater commitments to tasks
• Increased motivation of members
• Better control and work discipline
• More individual need satisfaction
7. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
MANAGEMENT TIPS
Characteristics of High Performance Teams
Clear, elevating goals
Results-driven structure
Competent team members
Unified commitments
Collaborative climate
Standards of excellence
External support and recognition
Principled leadership
8. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Importance Of Teams
Potential Problems With Teams
Social Loafing
the tendency of some people to avoid responsibility by
free-riding in groups.
Meetings (wasted time)
Seven sins of deadly meetings:
1. People arrive late, leave early, and don’t take things seriously.
2. The meeting is too long, sometimes twice as long as necessary.
3. People don’t stay on topic; they digress and are easily distracted.
4. The discussion lacks candor; people are unwilling to tell the truth.
5. The right information isn’t available, so decisions are postponed.
6. Nothing happens when the meeting is over; no one puts decisions into
action.
7. Things never get better; the same mistakes are made meeting after
meeting.
10. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Foundations Of Teamwork
MODULE GUIDE 21.2
Teams need the right members and inputs to be
effective.
Teams must use the right processes to be effective.
Teams move through different stages of development.
Team performance is affected by norms and
cohesiveness.
Team performance is affected by task and maintenance
roles.
Team performance is affected by use of communication
networks.
Team performance is affected by use of decision-making
methods.
Team performance suffers when groupthink leads to bad
decisions.
11. TEAMS AND TEAMWORK
Foundations Of Teamwork
Stages of Development
Forming Stage
team development, one of initial task orientation and
interpersonal testing.
Norming Stage
members of the team begin to coordinate their efforts as a
working unit and tend to operate with shared rules of
conduct.
Performing Stage
members are more mature, organized, and well
functioning.
Adjourning Stage
the final stage for temporary committees, task forces, and
project teams.
12. FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK
Effective Teams
Effective Teams
make use of alternative communication
networks and decision-making methods to best
complete tasks.
Group Process
The way members interact and work together to
transform inputs into outputs
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS EQUATION
Team effectiveness =
Quality of inputs x (Process gains - Process losses)
14. FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK
Effective Teams
Group Norms
Behaviors, rules or standards expected of team members
Cohesion
the attractiveness of the team to its members
15. FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK
Effective Teams
Task and Maintenance Roles
Task Activities
contribute directly to the team’s performance
purpose
Maintenance Activities
support the emotional life of the team as an
ongoing social system.
Distributed Leadership
every member is continually responsible for both
recognizing when task or maintenance activities
are needed and taking actions to provide them.
17. FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK
Effective Teams
Communication Networks
Decentralized Communication Network
Allows all members to communicate directly with
one another. Works well for tasks that require
lots of creativity, information processing, and
problem solving.
Centralized Communication Network
Requires members to communicate with each
other via a central hub or port
19. FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK
Effective Teams
Decision Making
The process of making choices through
choosing from alternative courses of action
Groupthink
a tendency of members of highly cohesive
teams to lose their critical evaluative
capabilities and make poor decisions.
Notes de l'éditeur
It took many years before management caught on to teams. Now teams are an important part of management theory and practice.
Cross functional teams used to be the domain of large companies with large projects. Now they are used extensively in organizations of all sizes.
There are probably as many informal groups in an organization as there are formal groups.
A project team can be a form of cross-functional team if the team members come from different functional units as they often do.
Quality circle teams originated in Japan. Interesting enough, in was an American named Deming that introduced the concept to the Japanese. Thanks to the internet, virtual teams are becoming common place.
Teams are also good learning organizations. They learn from each other by working together.
A team is an organization. The same principals apply.
Poorly planned and managed meetings are a major drain on an organization. They not only waste time, they also demotivate employees.
As you can see, teams take a lot of effort but they are worth it if done properly and for the right reason.
Not all teams adjourn. In the case of project teams, a good team may pick up another project.
With today’s communication technology, it is possible for teams to stay in touch no matter where they are located.
Getting a good start by addressing each of the Inputs is very critical to team success.
Team norms are likely to established by team leaders or team members depending on the cohesiveness of the team.
Some people tend to be more task oriented while others are more maintenance oriented. The team members will take on the roles for which they are best suited.
A person who is strong in both areas may become the overall team leader.
The internet makes centralized network more difficult to justify and costly to implement.
Communication policies can create any of these situations via the internet.
Groupthink can be a serious problem. A team can get so cohesive that no one is permitted to question its judgment.