Essentials of Organizational Behavior

Fourteenth Edition, Global Edition

Chapter 11
From Groups to Teams

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After studying this chapter you should be
able to:
1. Analyze the growing popularity of teams in
organizations.
2. Contrast groups and teams.
3. Contrast the five types of team arrangements.
4. Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
5. Explain how organizations can create team
players.
6. Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.

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Why Are Teams So Popular?
• Increased competition has forced companies to
restructure to compete more efficiently
• Teams:
– Better utilize employee talents
– Are more flexible and responsive to change
– Democratize and motivate

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Groups and Teams
• Work group: Interacts primarily to share
information and to make decisions to help one
another perform within each member’s area of
responsibility
• Work team: Generates positive synergy through
coordinated effort; individual efforts result in a
level of performance that is greater than the sum
of those individual inputs

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Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams

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Four Types of Teams

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Problem-Solving Teams
• Members often from the same department
• Share ideas or suggest improvements
• Rarely given authority to unilaterally implement
any of their suggested actions

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Self-Managed Work Teams
• 10-15 employees in highly related jobs
• Team takes on supervisory responsibilities:
– Work planning and scheduling
– Assigning tasks
– Operating decisions/actions
– Working with customers
• May select and evaluate members
• Effectiveness is dependent on the situation

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Cross-Functional Teams
• Members from same level, but diverse areas,
within and between organizations
• Exchange information
• Develop new ideas and solve problems
• Coordinate complex projects
• Development may be time consuming due to
complexity and diversity

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Virtual Teams
• Computer technology ties dispersed team
together
• Managing virtual teams:
– Ensure trust is established among members
– Monitor progress closely
– Publicize the efforts and products of the team
throughout the organization

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Multiteam Systems
• Collections of two or more interdependent teams
that share a superordinate goal
– A ‘team of teams’
• Can be the best choice

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Creating Effective Teams

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Context Factors in Team Success
• Presence of adequate resources
• Effective leadership and structure
• Climate of trust in the team
• Performance evaluation and reward system that
reflects team contributions

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Team Composition and Success
• Abilities of members
– High-ability
– Adaptability
• Personality of members
– Conscientious and
open-minded
• Allocation of roles
• Diversity of members
– Organizational
demography
• Cultural differences
• Size of teams
• Member preferences

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Potential Team Member Roles

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Team Process and Success (1 of 2)

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Team Process and Success (2 of 2)
1. Common plan and purpose
2. Specific goals
3. Team efficacy
4. Team identity
5. Team cohesion
6. Mental models
7. Conflict levels
8. Social loafing

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Turning Individuals into Team Players
• Selection: Need employees who have the
interpersonal as well as technical skills
• Training: Workshops on problem-solving,
communications, negotiation, conflict-
management, and coaching skills
• Rewards: Encourage cooperative efforts rather
than individual ones

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Teams Aren’t Always the Answer
• Complexity of Work: Can the work be done
better by more than one person?
• Common Purpose: Does the work create a
common purpose or set of goals for the people in
the group that is more than the aggregate of
individual goals?
• Interdependence: Are the members of the group
interdependent?

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Implications for Managers
• Effective teams have adequate resources, effective
leadership, a climate of trust, and a performance
evaluation system that reflects team contributions.
• Effective teams tend to be small.
• Effective teams have members who believe in the team’s
capabilities, are committed to a common plan and
purpose, and have an accurate shared mental model of
what is to be accomplished.
• Select individuals who have the interpersonal skills to be
effective team players; provide training to develop
teamwork skills; and reward individuals for cooperative
efforts.
• Do not assume that teams are always needed.
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