What are Teams?
Groups of two or more people
Exist to fulfill a purpose
Interdependent -- interact and influence each other
Mutually accountable for achieving common goals
Perceive themselves to be a team
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
2
Many Types of Teams
Permanence
• How long that type of team usually exists
Skill differentiation
• Degree of skill/knowledge diversity in the team
Authority differentiation
• Degree that decision-making responsibility is
distributed throughout the team or centralized
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
3
Informal Groups
Groups that exist primarily for the benefit of their members
Reasons why informal groups exist:
1. Innate drive to bond
2. Social identity
3. Goal accomplishment
4. Emotional support
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
4
Team Advantages/Challenges
Advantages
1. Make better decisions, products/services
2. Better information sharing
3. Increase employee motivation/engagement
Challenges
1. Process losses
2. Brook’s Law
3. Social loafing
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
5
Team Effectiveness Model
Team States
• Norms
Organizational and Team
Environment
• Rewards
• Communication
• Org structure
• Org leadership
• Physical space
• Cohesion
• Team Efficacy
• Team Trust
Team Design
• Accomplish tasks
•Task characteristics
• Satisfy member needs •Team size
•Team composition
Team Processes
• Team development
• Team norms
• Team cohesiveness
• Team trust
Time and Team Development
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
Team
•
Effectiveness
6
• Maintain team survival Organization/Team Environment
Organizational and Team Environment
• Rewards
• Communication
• Org structure
• Org leadership
• Physical space
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
7
Best Tasks for Teams
Complex tasks divisible into specialized roles
2. Well-structured tasks – easier to coordinate
3. Higher task interdependence
1.
• Team members must share materials, information, or
expertise to perform their jobs
• Teams are usually better because high interdependence • But teams less effective if task goals differ – use other coordinating mechanisms
Canadian OB 9e: McShane/Steen/Tasa
8
Best Tasks for Teams
Team Design
•Task characteristics
•Team size
•Team composition
Teams better for tasks that are:
• sufficiently complex (require teamwork)
• can be divided into more specialized roles
requiring frequent coordination
• well-structured (easier to coordinate)
Teams preferred with higher task interdependence • Extent that employees need to share materials,
