LECTURE

#5
GROUPS
STAGES OF GROUP DEVELOPMENT
WORK GROUP PERFORMANCE AND
SATISFACTION
GROUP STRUCTURE
TEAM
TYPES OF TEAMS
CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS
 GROUPS
• A group is defined as two or more interacting and interdependent
individuals who come together to achieve specific goals.
FORMAL GROUPS
• Formal groups are work groups that are defined by the organization’s
structure and have designated work assignments and specific tasks
directed at accomplishing organizational goals.
INFORMAL GROUPS
• Informal groups are social groups. These groups occur naturally in the
workplace and tend to form around friendships and common
interests. For example, five employees from different departments
who regularly eat lunch together are an informal group.
 EXAMPLES OF FORMAL GROUPS
• Command groups—Groups that are determined by the organization
chart and composed of individuals who report directly to a given
manager.
• Task groups—Groups composed of individuals brought together to
complete a specific job task; their existence is often temporary because
when the task is completed, the group disbands.
• Cross-functional groups—Groups that bring together the knowledge
and skills of individuals from various work areas or groups whose
members have been trained to do each others’ jobs.
• Self-managed groups—Groups that are essentially independent and
that, in addition to their own tasks, take on traditional managerial
responsibilities, such as hiring, planning and scheduling, and evaluating
performance.
 STAGES OF GROUP
DEVELOPMENT
• Five stages of group development are:
• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Adjourning.
 STAGES OF GROUP
DEVELOPMENT
1. FORMING STAGE
• The forming stage has two phases.
• The first occurs as people join the group. In a formal group, people
join because of some work assignment.
• Once they’ve joined, the second phase begins: defining the group’s
purpose, structure, and leadership. This phase involves a great deal of
uncertainty as members “test the waters” to determine what types of
behavior are acceptable. This stage is complete when members begin
to think of themselves as part of a group.
 STAGES OF GROUP
DEVELOPMENT
2. STORMING STAGE
• The storming stage is appropriately named because of the intragroup
conflict. There’s conflict over who will control the group and what the
group needs to be doing.
• During this stage, a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership and agreement
on the group’s direction emerge.
3. NORMING STAGE
• The norming stage is one in which close relationships develop and the
group becomes cohesive. There’s now a strong sense of group identity and
camaraderie. This stage is complete when the group structure solidifies,
and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations (or norms)
regarding member behavior.
 STAGES OF GROUP
DEVELOPMENT
4. PERFORMING STAGE
• The group structure is in place and accepted by group members. Their
energies have moved from getting to know and understand each other
to working on the group’s task. This is the last stage of development for
permanent work groups. However, for temporary groups—project
teams, task forces, or similar groups that have a limited task to do.
5. ADJOURNING
• In this stage, the group prepares to disband. The group focuses its
attention on wrapping up activities instead of task performance. Group
members react in different ways. Some are upbeat, thrilled about the
group’s accomplishments. Others may be sad over the loss of
camaraderie and friendships.
STAGES OF GROUP
DEVELOPMENT
 WORK GROUP PERFORMANCE AND
SATISFACTION
Internal Variables Affecting Group Performance and Satisfaction

1. The individual abilities of the group’s members

2. The size of the group
3. The level of conflict
4. The internal pressures on members to conform to the group’s
norms
 CONDITIONS AFFECTING GROUP
PERFORMANCE
• External (Organizational) • Internal Group
Conditions Variables
• Overall strategy • Individual competencies and
• Authority structures traits of members
• Formal regulations • Group structure
• Available organizational • Size of the group
resources • Cohesiveness and the level of
• Employee selection criteria intragroup conflict
• Performance management • Internal pressures on
(appraisal) system members to conform o the
group’s norms
• Organizational culture
• General physical layout
GROUP PERFORMANCE AND
SATISFACTION MODEL
 GROUP STRUCTURE
• Work groups aren’t unorganized crowds. They have an internal
structure that shapes members’ behavior and influences group
performance.
• The structure defines
1. Roles
2. Norms
3. Conformity
4. Status systems
5. Group size
6. Group cohesiveness
 GROUP STRUCTURE
1. ROLE
• A role refers to behavior patterns expected of someone occupying a
given position in a social unit. In a group, individuals are expected to
do certain things because of their position (role) in the group. These
roles are generally oriented toward either getting work done or
keeping group members happy.
2. NORMS
• All groups have norms—standards or expectations that are accepted
an shared by a group’s members. Norms dictate things such as work
output levels, absenteeism, promptness, and the amount of
socializing on the job
 GROUP STRUCTURE
3. CONFORMITY
• Individuals conform in order to be accepted by groups.
• Group pressures can have an effect on an individual member’s
judgment and attitudes.
• The effect of conformity is not as strong as it once was, although still a
powerful force.
• Groupthink
• The extensive pressure of others in a strongly cohesive or threatened
group that causes individual members to change their opinions to
conform to that of the group.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
4. STATUS SYSTEMS
• Status is a prestige grading, position, or rank within a group.
• Status may be informally conferred by characteristics such as
education, age, skill, or experience. Anything can have status value if
others in the group evaluate it that way.
• Status is also formally conferred, and it’s important for employees to
believe that the organization’s formal status system is congruent—
that is, the system shows consistency between the perceived ranking
of an individual and the status symbols he or she is given by the
organization.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
5. GROUP SIZE
• Group size affects performance and satisfaction, but the effect
depends on what the group is supposed to accomplish.
• Small groups: Complete tasks faster than larger groups. Make more
effective use of facts.
• Large groups : Solve problems better than small groups. Are good for
getting diverse input. Are more effective in fact-finding.
• Social Loafing: The tendency for individuals to expend less effort
when working collectively than when work individually.
 GROUP STRUCTURE
6. GROUP COHESIVENESS
• Group cohesiveness is the degree to which members are attracted to
a group and share the group’s goals.
• Cohesiveness is important because it has been found to be related to
a group’s productivity. The relationship between cohesiveness and
effectiveness is complex. A key moderating variable is the degree to
which the group’s attitude aligns with its goals or with the goals of the
organization. The more cohesive the group, the more its members will
follow its goals.
The Relationship Between Cohesiveness
and Productivity
 TURNING GROUPS INTO TEAMS
• Without a doubt, team-based work is a core feature of today’s
organizations. And teams are likely to continue to be popular.
• Research suggests that teams typically outperform individuals when
the tasks being done require multiple skills, judgment, and
experience.
• Organizations are using team-based structures because they’ve found
that teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than
are traditional departments or other permanent work groups.
• Teams have the ability to quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and
disband.
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORK TEAMS
AND WORK GROUPS
• Work teams differ from work groups and have their own unique
traits.
• Work groups interact primarily to share information and to make
decisions to help each member do his or her job more efficiently and
effectively. There’s no need or opportunity for work groups to engage
in collective work that requires joint effort.
• On the other hand, work teams are groups whose members work
intensely on a specific, common goal using their positive synergy,
individual and mutual accountability, and complementary skills.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WORK TEAMS
AND WORK GROUPS
 TYPES OF WORK TEAMS
• Teams can do a variety of things. They can design products, provide
services, negotiate deals, coordinate projects, offer advice, and make
decisions.
• The four most common types of work teams are:
1. Problem-solving teams
2. Self-managed work teams
3. Cross-functional teams
4. Virtual teams
 PROBLEM-SOLVING TEAMS
• When work teams first became popular, most were problem-solving
teams, which are teams from the same department or functional area
involved in efforts to improve work activities or to solve specific
problems.
• Members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes and
methods can be improved.
• However, these teams are rarely given the authority to implement any
of their suggested actions.
• Although problem-solving teams were helpful, they didn’t go far
enough in getting employees involved in work-related decisions and
processes.
 SELF-MANAGED WORK TEAM
• The shortcoming of problem solving work team is led to another type
of team, a self-managed work team, which is a formal group of
employees who operate without a manager and are responsible for a
complete work process or segment.
• A self-managed team is responsible for getting the work done and for
managing themselves, which usually includes planning and scheduling
of work, assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace
of work, making operating decisions, and taking action on problems.
• An estimated 30 percent of U.S. employers now use this form of
team; among large firms, the number is probably closer to 50 percent.
Most organizations that use self-managed teams find them to be
effective.
 CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM
• Cross-functional team is defined as a work team composed of
individuals from various functional specialties.
• The concept of cross-functional teams is even being applied in health
care.
• The hospital credits cross-functional team care approach for reducing
errors, shortening the amount of time patients spent in ICU, and
improving communication between families and the medical staff.
 VIRTUAL TEAM
• A team that uses technology to link physically dispersed members in
order to achieve a common goal.
• In a virtual team, members collaborate online with tools such as
wide-area networks, videoconferencing, fax, e-mail, or Web sites
where the team can hold online conferences.
• Virtual teams can do all the things that other teams can—share
information, make decisions, and complete tasks; however, they lack
the normal give-and-take of face-to-face discussions. That’s why
virtual teams tend to be more task-oriented especially if the team
members have never met in person.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE
TEAMS
• Research on teams provides insights into the characteristics typically
associated with effective teams. The characteristics of effective team are as
follows:
1. CLEAR GOALS
High-performance teams have a clear understanding of the goal
to be achieved. Members are committed to the team’s goals, know what
they’re expected to accomplish, and understand how they will work together
to achieve these goals
2. RELEVANT SKILLS
Effective teams are composed of competent individuals who
have the necessary technical and interpersonal skills to achieve the desired
goals while working well together. This last point is important because not
everyone who is technically competent has the interpersonal skills to work
well as a team member.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE
TEAMS
3. MUTUAL TRUST
Effective teams are characterized by high mutual trust
among members. That is, members believe in each other’s ability,
character, and integrity. But as you probably know from personal
relationships, trust is fragile. Maintaining this trust requires careful
attention by managers.
4. UNIFIED COMMITMENT
Unified commitment is characterized by dedication to the
team’s goals and a willingness to expend extraordinary amounts of
energy to achieve them. Members of an effective team exhibit intense
loyalty and dedication to the team and are willing to do whatever it
takes to help their team succeed.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE
TEAMS
5. GOOD COMMUNICATION
Not surprisingly, effective teams are characterized by good
communication. Members convey messages, verbally and nonverbally,
between each other in ways that are readily and clearly understood.
Also, feedback helps guide team members and correct
misunderstandings.
6. NEGOTIATING SKILLS
Effective teams are continually making adjustments to
whom does what. This flexibility requires team members to possess
negotiating skills. Because problems and relationships regularly change
within teams, members need to be able to confront and reconcile
differences.
 CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE
TEAMS
7. APPROPRIATE LEADERSHIP
Effective leaders can motivate a team to follow them through
the most difficult situations. By clarifying goals, demonstrating that change is
possible by overcoming inertia, increasing the self-confidence of team
members, an helping members to more fully realize their potential.
Increasingly, effective team leaders act a coaches and facilitators.
8. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SUPPORT
Internally, the team should have a sound infrastructure which
means proper training, a clear and reasonable measurement system that
team members can use to evaluate their overall performance, an incentive
program that recognizes and rewards team activities, and a supportive
human resource system. Externally, managers should provide the team with
the resources needed to get the job done.
CHARACTERISTIC OF EFFECTIVE
TEAMS