Ch.9

Chapter 9Work T eams & GroupsI. What is a “Group”? P.290A group refers to two or more people with common interests, objectives andcontinuing interaction. It is often composed of diverse (different) people. It emphasizes on individual leadership, individual accountability and individual work products.II. What is a “Team”?It is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission, performance goals, and approach. It emphasize on shared leadership, mutual accountability, and collective work products. A team in an organization is a key to enhance quality and achieve success.III. A. Characteristics of a Well-Functioning Effective Group (P.290, Table 9.1)-The atmosphere tends to be relaxed, comfortable & informal.-The group’s task is well understood and accepted by the members.-The members listen well to one another; most members participate in a good deal of task-relevant discussion.-People express both their feelings and their ideas.-Conflict and disagreement are present and centered around ideas or methods, not personalities or people.-The group is aware and conscious of its own operation & function.-Decisions are usually based on consensus, not majority vote.-When actions are decided, clear assignments are made and accepted by members of the group.B. Four Types of Group Behavior :(1)Norms of Behavior – The standards that a work group uses to evaluate thebehavior of its members. These norms may be written or unwritten,verbalized or not verbalized, implicit or explicit. Norms may specify whatmembers of a group should do, should not do. Norms can be effective ininfluencing a person’s behavior in a group.(2)Group Cohesion –The “interpersonal glue” that makes members of agroup stick together. High cohesive group usually shows good, close relationships, members enjoy job satisfaction and improve organizational productivity.(3)Social Loafing (free-rider) –The failure of a group member to contributepersonal time, effort, thoughts, or other resources to the group.(4)Loss of Individuality – A social process in which individual groupmembers lose self-awareness & its accompanying sense of accountability and responsibility for individual behavior.C. Four Stages of Group Formation :(1)Mutual Acceptance : Focus is on the interpersonal relations among themembers. Members assess one another with regard to trustworthiness, emotional comfort and evaluative acceptance.(2)Decision Making : Focus is on decision-making activities related to tasks.The group must make decisions about what task is and how to do it.(3)Motivation & Commitment : Focus on self-motivation andgroup-motivation, the execution and achievement of the task.(4)Control and Sanctions (approval) : Focus on effective, efficient unit.D. Characteristics of a Mature Group :-Clear purpose or mission-Well-understood set of norms of behavior-High level of cohesion-Clear but flexible, status structure of leader-follower relationshipsIV. Task and Maintenance Functions in Groups / Teams : (P.299, Table 9.2)(1)Task Functions : Those activities directly related to the effectivecompletion of the team’s work.Examples of those activities are :-Initiating activities-Seeking information-Giving information-Elaborating concepts-Coordinating activities-Summarizing ideas-Testing ideas-Evaluating effectiveness-Diagnosing problems(2)Maintenance Functions : Those activities essential to the effective,satisfying interpersonal relationships within a team or group.Examples of those activities are :-Supporting others-Following other s’ leads-Gatekeeping communication-Setting standards-Expressing member feelings-Testing group decisions-Consensus testing-Harmonizing conflict-Reducing tensionV. A. Quality Teams & Circles P.303(1)Quality Circles (QCs) : It is a small group of employees who workvoluntarily on company time, typically one hour per week, to addresswork-related problems. Work-related problems refer to quality control,cost reduction, production planning & techniques and even productdesign.(2)Quality Teams (QTs) : A team tha t is part of an organization’s structure &is empowered to act on its decisions regarding product & quality service.＊The Differences between Quality Teams & QCs are :-QTs are more formal than QCs-QTs are assigned & designed by top management-QTs are not voluntary & possess formal power than QCsB. Two sets of Social Benefits of teams :(1)Psychological Intimacy : Emotional & psychological closeness to otherteam or group members. It results in feelings of affection and warmth,unconditional positive regard, opportunity for emotional expression,openness, security and emotional support, & giving and receivingnurturance.(2)Integrated Involvement : It is achieved through tasks and activities. Itresults in enjoyable and involving activities, social identity andself-definition and opportunity for power and influence.VI. Empowerment (Sharing power within an organization) P.306When top manager wants to delegate work and give power to his subordinates, there are certain requirements on the subordinates :-Competence skills : They should have mastery and experience in that discipline & profession.-Process skills : They should possess negotiating skills with allies, opponents and adversaries (difficult and dangerous people).-Cooperative and helping behaviors : They should be cooperative people who are motivated to maximize the gains for everyone on the team. They shouldengage in encouraging, helpful behavior among the team members.-Communication skills : They should have communication skills that include self-expression and active listener.。