C H A P T E R
EIGHT
.
Foundations of
Team Dynamics
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
1
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Teams at Bombardier OMC
Bombardier used a teambased approach at Outboard
Marine Corp. to transform
inefficient production methods
and solve quality problems.
Now OMC produces the
highest quality Evinrude and
Johnson engines ever made
J. Orton
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
2
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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 as a
social entity
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
3
J. Orton
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Groups versus Teams
• All teams are groups
• Some groups are just people assembled
together
• Teams have task interdependence
whereas some groups do not (e.g., group
of employees enjoying lunch together)
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
4
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Types of Teams and Groups
Permanent
Formal
Teams
Informal
Groups
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
Production team
Management team
Friendship group
5
Temporary
Task force
Skunkwork
Communities
of practice
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Why Informal Groups Exist
• Innate drive to bond
– Fulfil need for social interaction
– Social identity
• Goal accomplishment
• Emotional support
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
6
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Effectiveness Model
Organizational and
Team Environment
Team Design
• Reward systems
•Task characteristics
• Communication
systems
•Team size
•Team composition
• Physical space
• Organizational
environment
• Organizational
structure
• Organizational
leadership
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
Team Processes
•Team development
•Team norms
•Team roles
•Team cohesiveness
7
Team
Effectiveness
• Achieve
organizational
goals
• Satisfy member
needs
• Maintain team
survival
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Design Features
• Task characteristics
– Better when tasks are clear, easy to implement
– Share common inputs, processes, or outcomes
– Task interdependence
• Team size
– Smaller teams are better
– But large enough to accomplish task
• Team composition
– Members motivated/competent to perform task in a
team environment
– Team diversity
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
8
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Levels of Task Interdependence
High
A
Reciprocal
B
A
Sequential
C
B
C
Resource
Pooled
A
Low
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
9
B
C
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous Teams
Homogeneous Teams
Heterogeneous Teams
Less conflict
More conflict
Faster team
development
Longer team
development
Performs better on
cooperative tasks
Performs better on
complex problems
Better coordination
More creative
High satisfaction of
team members
Better representation
outside the team
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
10
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Stages of Team Development
Performing
Norming
Storming
Existing teams
might regress
back to an
earlier stage of
development
Forming
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
11
Adjourning
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Norms
• Informal rules and expectations team
establishes to regulate member
behaviours
• Norms develop through:
– Explicit statements
– Critical events in team’s history
– Initial team experiences
– Beliefs/values members bring to the team
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
12
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Conformity to Team Norms
100
Units
Pressed
per Hour
Day 12:
Peer
pressure
begins
75
Day 28:
Employee
has doubled
performance
50
25
0
Day 20:
Employee
begins
working alone
Day 1:
Employee
begins job
with team
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
32
36
40
Production Days
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
13
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Changing Team Norms
• Introduce norms when forming teams
• Select members with preferred norms
• Discuss counter-productive norms
• Reward behaviours representing
desired norms
• Disband teams with dysfunctional norms
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14
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Influences on Team Cohesiveness
Member
Similarity
External
Challenges
Team
Success
Team
Size
Team
Cohesiveness
Member
Interaction
Somewhat
Difficult Entry
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15
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Cohesiveness Outcomes
Trevor Pound couldn’t get
away for a planned vacation,
so other team members turned
his work area into a mini
paradise. The practical joke
illustrates how members of
cohesive teams support each
other.
J. Major, Ottawa Citizen
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
16
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Team Cohesiveness Outcomes
Members of cohesive teams:
• Want to remain members
• Willing to share information
• Strong interpersonal bonds
• Resolve conflict effectively
• Better interpersonal
relationships
J. Major, Ottawa Citizen
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
17
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Cohesiveness and Performance
Team Norms
Support
Company
Goals
Team Norms
Oppose
Company
Goals
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
Moderately
high task
performance
High task
performance
Moderately
low task
performance
Low task
performance
Low Team
Cohesiveness
High Team
Cohesiveness
18
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Trouble With Teams
• Individuals better/faster on some tasks
• Process losses - cost of developing and
maintaining teams
• Companies don’t support best work
environment for team dynamics
• Social loafing
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
19
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
How to Minimize Social Loafing
• Make individual performance more visible
– Form smaller teams
– Specialize tasks
– Measure individual performance
• Increase employee motivation
– Increase job enrichment
– Select motivated employees
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
20
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
C H A P T E R
EIGHT
.
Foundations of
Team Dynamics
McShane 5th Canadian Edition
21
Copyright © 2004 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.