Essentials of Organizational Behavior 13e Stephen P. Robbins & Timothy A. Judge Chapter 5 Personality and Values Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 5-1 Chapter 10 Understanding Work Teams Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. After studying this chapter you should be able to: 1. Analyze the growing popularity of teams in organizations. 2. Contrast groups and teams. 3. Contrast the five types of teams. 4. Identify the characteristics of effective teams. 5. Show how organizations can create team players. 6. Decide when to use individuals instead of teams. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-3 Why Are Teams So Popular? ◼Increased competition has forced companies to restructure to compete more efficiently ◼Teams: ◼Better utilize employee talents ◼Are more flexible and responsive to change ◼Democratize and motivate Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-4 Groups and Teams ◼ Work group: Interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help one another perform within each member’s area of responsibility ◼ Work team: Generates positive synergy through coordinated effort; individual efforts result in a level of performance that is greater than the sum of those individual inputs Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-5 Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-6 Four Types of Teams Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-7 Problem-Solving Teams ◼ Members often from the same department ◼ Share ideas or suggest improvements ◼ Rarely given authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-8 Self-Managed Work Teams ◼ 10-15 employees in highly related jobs ◼ Team takes on supervisory responsibilities: ◼Work planning and scheduling ◼Assigning tasks ◼Operating decisions/actions ◼Working with customers ◼ May select and evaluate members ◼ Effectiveness is dependent on the situation Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-9 Cross-Functional Teams ◼Members from same level, but diverse areas within and between organizations ◼Exchange information ◼Develop new ideas and solve problems ◼Coordinate complex projects ◼Development may be time consuming due to complexity and diversity Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-10 Virtual Teams ◼Computer technology ties dispersed team together ◼Special challenges ◼Less social rapport and direct interaction ◼Difficulty dispersing information ◼Determining communication level Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-11 Multiteam Systems ◼Collections of two or more interdependent teams that share a superordinate goal ◼A ‘team of teams’ ◼Can be the best choice Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-12 Creating Effective Teams Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-13 Context Factors in Team Success ◼Presence of adequate resources ◼Effective leadership and structure ◼Climate of trust in the team ◼Performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-14 Team Composition and Success ◼Abilities of members ◼Technical expertise ◼Problem-solving ◼Interpersonal ◼Personality of members ◼Conscientious and open-minded ◼ Allocation of roles ◼ Diversity of members ◼ Organizational demography ◼ Size of teams ◼ Member preferences Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-15 Team Process and Success Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-16 Team Process and Success ◼Common plan and purpose ◼Specific goals ◼Team efficacy ◼Common mental models ◼Low levels of conflict ◼Minimized social loafing Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-17 Turning Individuals into Team Players ◼Selection: Need employees who have the interpersonal as well as technical skills ◼Training: Workshops on problemsolving, communications, negotiation, conflict-management, and coaching skills ◼Rewards: Encourage cooperative efforts rather than individual ones Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-18 Teams Aren’t Always the Answer ◼ Complexity of Work: Can the work be done better by more than one person? ◼ Common Purpose: Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for the people in the group that is more than the aggregate of individual goals? ◼ Interdependence: Are the members of the group interdependent? Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-19 Implications for Managers ◼ Effective teams have common characteristics. ◼ Effective teams tend to be small. ◼ Effective teams have members who believe in the team’s capabilities and are committed to a common plan and purpose. ◼ Select individuals who have the interpersonal skills to be effective team players, provide training to develop teamwork skills, and reward individuals for cooperative efforts. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-20 Keep in Mind… ◼ Proper selection of members increases likelihood of effective teams ◼ Teams should be constructed based on ability, skill, and applicable member traits given the situation ◼ Non-personal conflicts can lead to better team decisions Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-21 Summary 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Analyzed the growing popularity of teams in organizations. Contrasted groups and teams. Contrasted the five types of teams. Identified the characteristics of effective teams. Showed how organizations can create team players. Decided when to use individuals instead of teams. Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-22 Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Inc. 10-23