Chapter
4
Project Organization
Groups and Teams
1
Groups, Teams and
Organizational Effectiveness
• Group
Two or more people who interact with each other to
accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs.
• Team
A group whose members work intensely with each
other to achieve a specific, common goal or
objective. All teams are groups but not all groups
are teams.
• Teams often are difficult to form.
• It takes time for members to learn how to work
together.
2
Groups’ and Teams’ Contributions to
Organizational Effectiveness
Figure 14.1
3
Groups and Teams as
Performance Enhancers
• Performance Enhancement
Making use of the synergy from employees in a
group producing more or better output than
employees working separately.
• Bounce ideas off one another.
• Correct each other’s errors.
• Bring more new ideas to bear on problems
• Accomplish projects beyond the scope of individuals
Managers should build autonomous empowered
groups composed of members of complementary
skills and knowledge.
4
Groups and Teams and
Responsiveness to Customers
• Responsiveness to Customers
Difficult to achieve given the many constraints.
• Safety issues, regulations, costs.
Cross-functional teams can provide the wide variety
of skills needed to meet customer demands.
• Teams consist of members of different departments.
5
Teams and Innovation
• Innovation
The creative development of new products, new
technologies, new services, or new organizational
structures
• Individuals rarely possess the wide variety of skills
needed for successful innovation.
• Team members can uncover each other’s flaws and
balance each other’s strengths and weaknesses
• Managers should empower the team and make it
accountable for the innovation process.
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Groups and Teams as Motivators
• Members of groups, and particularly teams,
are often better motivated and satisfied than
individuals.
• Team members are more motivated and satisfied
than if they were working alone.
• Team members can see the effect of their contribution
to achieving team and organizational goals.
• Teams provide needed social interaction and help
employees cope with work-related stressors.
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The Types of Groups and Teams in Organizations
Source:
Figure 14.2
8
The Types of Groups and Teams
• Formal Group
A group that managers establish to achieve
organization goals.
• Informal Group
A group that managers or nonmanagerial
employees form to help achieve their own goals or
to meet their own needs.
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The Types of Groups and Teams
Type of Team
Top-management
team
A group composed of the CEO, the president,
and the heads of the most important
departments
Research and
development team
A team whose members have the expertise
and experience needed to develop new
products
Command groups
A group composed of subordinates who
report to the same supervisor, also called a
department or unit,
Task forces
A committee of managers or nonmanagerial
employees from various departments or
divisions who meet to solve a specific,
mutual problem; also called an “ad hoc”
committee
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The Types of Groups and Teams (cont’d)
Type of Team
Self-managed work
team
A group of employees who supervise their
own activities and monitor the quality of the
goods and services they provide.
Virtual team
A team whose members rarely or never meet
face to face and interact by using various
forms of information technology such as
email, computer networks, telephone, fax and
video conferences.
Friendship group
An informal group composed of employees
who enjoy each other’s company and
socialize with each other.
Interest group
An informal group composed of employees
seeking to achieve a common goal related to
their membership in an organization.
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Group Dynamics
• Group Dynamics
The characteristics and processes that affect how a
group or team functions.
Group size affects how a group performs.
• Normally, small groups (2 to 9 members) interact
better and tend to be more motivated.
• Larger groups can be used when more resources are
needed and division of labor is possible.
Group tasks impact how a group interacts.
• Task interdependence shows how the work of one
member impacts another; as interdependence rises,
members must work more closely together.
12
Group Dynamics: Interdependence
• Task Interdependence Types
Pooled
• Members make separate, independent contributions
to group such that group performance is the sum of
each member’s contributions.
Sequential
• Members perform tasks in a sequential order making
it difficult to determine individual performance since
one member depends on another.
Reciprocal
• Work performed by one group member is mutually
dependent on work done by other members.
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Types of Task
Interdependence
Figure 14.3
14
Group Leadership
• Effective leadership is a key ingredient in high
performing groups, teams, and organizations.
• Formal groups created by an organization
have a leader appointed by the organization.
• Groups that evolve independently in an
organization have an informal leader
recognized by the group.
15
Stages of Group Development
• Forming
Group members get to know each other and reach
common goals.
• Storming
Group members disagree on direction and
leadership. Managers need to be sure the conflict
stays focused.
• Norming
Close ties and consensus begin to develop between
group members.
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Stages of Group Development
• Performing
The group begins to do its real work.
• Adjourning
Only for task forces that are temporary.
Note that these steps take time!
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The Stages of Group Development
Figure 14.4
18
Group Dynamics
• Group Norms
Shared guidelines or rules that most group
members follow.
Groups may set their working hours, behavior rules,
and output quotas.
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Group Cohesiveness
• Group Cohesiveness
The degree to which members are attracted or loyal
to the group.
Increases in group cohesiveness causes:
• Participation in the group to increase which helps get
members actively involved, but too much involvement
can waste the group’s time.
• Conformity to group norms to increase, although with
too much conformity, group performance can suffer.
• Group goal accomplishment to increase in
importance which can result in the group becoming
more focused on itself than the organization.
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Sources and Consequences of
Group Cohesiveness
Figure 14.6
21
Factors Leading to Group Cohesiveness
Factor
Group Size
Smaller groups allow for high cohesiveness;
Low cohesiveness groups with many
members can benefit from splitting into two
groups.
Managed Diversity
Diverse groups often come up with better
solutions.
Group Identity
Encouraging a group to adopt a unique
identity and engage in competition with
others can increase cohesiveness.
Success
Cohesiveness increases with success;
finding ways for a group to have some small
successes increases cohesiveness.
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