Chapter 13
Groups and
Teams
PowerPoint slides by
R. Dennis Middlemist
Colorado State University
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be
able to:


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2
Describe the similarities and differences
between groups and teams.
Identify and compare different types of
groups.
Name the factors that influence group
formation and development.
©2005 Prentice Hall
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be
able to:



3
Analyze the various structural and
behavioral characteristics of groups.
Identify the advantages and disadvantages
of self-managing, cross-functional, global
and virtual work groups and teams.
Explain the differences in the various types
of team competencies
©2005 Prentice Hall
Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be
able to:


4
Distinguish between the two major types of
group conflict, and discuss their causes and
consequences
Explain how managers can help their work
groups develop into high performing teams.
©2005 Prentice Hall
Group versus Team
 Group
 A set of people, usually from 3 to 20
 Some degree of interaction and shared objectives
 Team
 A type or form of group
 Higher degree of coordinated interaction
 Stronger sense of members’ personal responsibility
for achieving specified group outcomes
 High level of members’ identification with the group
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Commonality of Goal
Team Outcomes
Team
Group
TEAMS demonstrate
enhanced:
 Coordinated interaction
 Personal responsibility for
group outcomes
 Individual identification
with group
Individuals
Degree of Interdependence and Collaboration
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.1: Individuals-to-Group-to-Team Continuum
Basic Types of Groups
Type of Group
Features
Examples
Command
(Supervisory)
One supervisor with a
number of subordinates
Relatively enduring
Membership changes
relatively slowly
Clerical units
Manufacturing assembly
units
Local sales managers
reporting to a regional
sales manager
Project/Task
Force
Temporary
Specific limited purpose
Group members are aware
of temporary nature of the
group
Product design teams
Management information
systems teams to
develop upgraded
computer systems
Team project groups in
university classes
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Adapted from Exhibit 13.2: Types of Groups
Basic Types of Groups
Type of Group
Features
Examples
Committee
Either permanent or ad hoc
Meet only periodically
Members have different
permanent jobs and/or
supervisors
Membership typically does
not represent an
employee’s highest
commitment
Budget committees
Safety committees
Promotion review
committees
Formal
Command (supervisory)
Project/Task force
Committee
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.2: Types of Groups
Basic Types of Groups
Type of Group
Features
Examples
Informal
Group not originated by the
organization
Voluntary membership
Obvious differences and
boundaries between
members and
nonmembers
Group of employees who
lunch together on
Fridays
Van pool group
The “water cooler group”
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.2: Types of Groups
Examples of Committees
Governance
Compensation
Overnight
Executive
Finance
Audit
Steering
Safety
Ethics
Disaster planning
Long-range
Public relations
planning
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.2: Types of Groups
Characteristics of Groups
and Teams
Structural Characteristics
 Size
 Social loafing: the phenomenon of reduced
effort per person in large groups
 Process costs: increasing costs of
coordination as group size increases
 Composition
 Homogeneous
 Heterogeneous or diverse
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Basic Types of Groups
Type of Diversity
Observable Attributes
 Race
 Ethnicity
 Gender
 Age
Underlying Attributes
 Values
 Skills
 Knowledge and information
 Tenure
Potential Consequences
Affective Consequences
 Satisfaction
 Identification with the group
 Conflict within the group
Cognitive consequences
 Innovation
 Amount and quality of new ideas
Communication-Related Consequences
 Decreased frequency within group
 Increased frequency outside of group
Source: Adapted from Frances L. Milliken and Luis L. Martins, “Searching for Common Threads: Understanding the Multiple
Effects of Diversity in Organizational Groups,” Academy of Management Review 21, no. 2 (1996), pp.402–423.
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Adapted from Exhibit 13.4: Examples of Diversity within Groups and Potential Consequences
Characteristics of Groups
and Teams
Structural Characteristics
 Differentiated roles
 Role ambiguity: a situation
in which the expected
behaviors for a group
member are not clearly
defined
 Role conflict: a situation in which a member of a
group faces two or more contrasting sets of
expectations
 Differentiated status
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Characteristics of Groups
and Teams
Behavioral Characteristics
 Norms: a group’s shared standards that guide
the behavior of its individual members
 Characteristics of group norms
 Usually established for the more important issues of
concern to the group
 Some apply only to certain members (like the leader),
usually based on the status or particular role of those
members
 Vary in the degree of their acceptance by group members
 Vary in how much deviation members are permitted in
following them
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Characteristics of Groups
and Teams
Behavioral Characteristics
 Norms: a group’s shared standards that guide
the behavior of its individual members
 Development of group norms
 Early behaviors
 Imported behaviors
 Critical events
 Effects of group norms
 Conformity: close adherence to the group’s
norms by the individual members
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Development of Group Norms
Members
agree on
behavior
Group
members
meet
Members observe
the behavior of
others to determine
what is appropriate
Members decide if
any past experience
can contribute
effective behaviors
Members
disagree on
behavior
Norm is established
Suggested behavior
is tolerated even
though disagree with
Dissenting member
withdraws from
group
New behavior is
suggested
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.5: Example of the Development of Group Norms
Characteristics of Groups
and Teams
Behavioral Characteristics
 Cohesion; the degree to which members
are motivated to remain in the group
 Development of group cohesion
 Strengthening interpersonal attraction among
group members
 Generating a record of high performance and
past success of the group
 Fostering competition with other groups
 Effects of group cohesion
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Effects of Group Cohesion
Positive effects
• Increased quality and
quantity of group
interactions
• Strengthened adherence to
group norms
• Increased effectiveness in
achieving group goals
• Augmented individual
satisfaction with group
membership
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Negative effects
• Useful or creative ideas
may be ignored if they
deviate from established
norms or values
• Increased probability of
developing groupthink
• Potential decrease in
intergroup cooperation
• Counterproductive norms
may be emphasized
Adapted from Exhibit 13.6: Effects of High Levels of Group Cohesion
Formation and Development
of Groups and Teams
Influences on Formation
 Organizational goals
 Opportunities for interaction and sharing
mutual knowledge
 Psychological factors
 Security needs
 Social support
 Self-esteem needs
 Status needs
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Formation and Development
of Groups and Teams
Stages of Development
Formation
Early
development
Becoming a
group
Performing
as a team
Indicates progression
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Adapted from Exhibit 13.7: Stages of Group Development
Team Competencies
Knowledge
Skills
Attitudes
• Knowledge of team
• Adaptability and
• Team orientation
•
•
•
•
•
mission, objectives,
norms
Task sequencing
Team role
Interaction patterns
Understanding
team work skills
Teammate
characteristics
•
•
•
•
flexibility
Mutual performance
monitoring and
feedback, selfcorrection
Coordination and
task integration
Communication
Decision making
and problem solving
• Shared vision
• Team cohesion
• Mutual trust
• Importance of
teamwork
Sources: Adapted from J. A. Cannon-Bowers and E. Salas, “A Framework for Developing Team Performance Measures in Training,” in M.
T. Brannick, E. Salas, and C. Prince (eds.), Team Performance Assessment and Measurement: Theory, Methods, and Applications
(Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1997), p. 47.
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.9: Examples of Specific Team Competencies in Three Areas
Types of Team Competencies
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Specific
Content
driven
Team
contingent
Generic
Relation to Team
Relation to Task
Specific
Generic
Task
contingent
Transportable
©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.10: Types of Team Competencies
Dealing with Team Conflict
 Types of team conflict
 Task (substantive): conflict
conflict that focuses on
differences in ideas and
courses of action in
addressing the issues
facing a group
 Relationship (affective) conflict:
interpersonal differences among group
members
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Dealing with Team Conflict
 Possible causes of group conflict
 Task conflict
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Ambiguities regarding the task
Differences in goals, objectives, and perspectives among
group members
Scarcity (actual or perceived) of resources
 Relationship conflict
 Dissimilarities in the composition of the membership of the
group
 Differences in interpersonal styles of individual members
 Differences in values
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Dealing with Team Conflict
 Managing intragroup conflict
 Increase the ratio of substantive to
relationship conflict.
 Clarify and reduce task ambiguities
 Get the group to focus on goals that
emphasize the common interests of all
group members
 Avoid relationship conflicts
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Dealing with Team Conflict
 Managing intergroup conflict
 Reduce unnecessary
relational conflicts in
intergroup interaction
situations
 Increase the focus on
substantive differences
 Emphasize organization-wide goals to
increase cooperation and performance
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Characteristics of Highly
Effective Groups
• Any product or service they develop is highly desired
and valued by customers.
• Increased cooperation among members is encouraged
and achieved.
• Group membership increases individual members’
feelings of satisfaction, personal growth, and overall
well-being.
Source: J. R. Hackman (ed.), Groups That Work (and Those That Don’t): Creating Conditions for Effective Teamwork
(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990).
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.11: Characteristics of Highly Effective Groups
Ingredients Necessary for
Group Effectiveness
 Exert enough effort to accomplish its
tasks at acceptable levels of quantity and
quality
 Obtain sufficient knowledge and skills to
carry out its work
 Use appropriate strategies to apply its
effort, knowledge, and skills effectively
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Managers’ Responsibilities for
Encouraging Group Effectiveness
 Develop appropriate
group structures
 Develop appropriate
support from the
organization
 Obtain appropriate
coaching and
consultation assistance
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Enhancing Group Effectiveness
Necessary
Processes
Group Structure
POINTS OF LEVERAGE
Organizational
Context
Coaching and Consultation
Apply ample effort
Motivational structure
of group task
Organizational
reward system
Remedying coordination
problems and building group
commitment
Acquire sufficient
knowledge and
skill
Group composition
Organizational
Remedying inappropriate
education/
“weighting” of member inputs
training system
and fostering cross-training
Develop taskappropriate
performance
strategies
Group norms that
regulate member
behavior and foster
scanning and
planning
Organizational
information
system
Remedying implementation
problems and fostering
creativity in strategy
development
Source: Adapted from J. R. Hackman (ed.), Groups That Work (and Those That Don’t): Creating Conditions for Effective
Teamwork (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1990), p. 13.
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.12: Enhancing Group Effectiveness
Checklist for Leadership of Groups
How well do you:
Encourage members to learn from each other?
Recognize and praise members for their contributions?
Keep key people outside the [group] informed about its
accomplishments?
Promptly inform members about major developments that
[may] affect them?
Give [group] members authority to make [at least some]
important decisions?
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.13: A Checklist for Leaders of Groups
Checklist for Leadership of Groups
How well do you:
Openly accept and respond to feedback from [group]
members?
Review the [group’s] performance at the end of major
tasks?
Offer specific and concrete suggestions for how members
can improve?
Understand what motivates members to work hard?
Source: Adapted from G. L. Hallam, “Seven Common Beliefs about Teams: Are They True?” Leadership in Action 17 no.
3 (1997), pp. 1–4.
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©2005 Prentice Hall
Adapted from Exhibit 13.13: A Checklist for Leaders of Groups