Kelli J.

Schutte
William Jewell College
Robbins, Judge, and Vohra
Organizational Behavior
15th Edition

Copyright 2014 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd
Authorized adaptation from the United States edition of Organizational
Behavior, 15e
Understanding Work Teams
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Chapter Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
Analyze the growing popularity of teams in organizations.
Contrast groups and teams.
Compare and contrast four types of teams.
Identify the characteristics of effective teams.
Show how organizations can create team players.
Decide when to use individuals instead of teams.
Show how our understanding of teams differs in a global
context.

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Why Have Teams Become So Popular?
Great way to use employee talents
Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the
environment
Can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband
Facilitate employee involvement
Increase employee participation in decision making
Democratize an organization and increase motivation
Note: Teams are not ALWAYS effective
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Differences between Groups and Teams

Work Group
A group that interacts primarily to share information and to
make decisions to help each group member perform within
his or her area of responsibility
No joint effort required
Work Team
Generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. The
individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than
the sum of the individual inputs


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Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams
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E X H I B I T 10-1
Types of Teams
Problem-Solving Teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the
same department who meet for a few
hours each week to discuss ways of
improving quality, efficiency, and the
work environment
Self-Managed Work Teams
Groups of 10 to 15 people who take
on the responsibilities of their former
supervisors

10-5
See E X H I B I T 10-2 See E X H I B I T 10-2
Types of Teams (Continued)
Cross-Functional Teams
Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from
different work areas, who come together to accomplish a
task

Very common
Task forces
Committees

10-6
See E X H I B I T 10-2
Types of Teams (Continued)
Virtual Teams
Teams that use computer technology to tie together
physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common
goal
Characteristics
Limited socializing
The ability to overcome time and space constraints
To be effective, needs:
Trust among members
Close monitoring
To be publicized

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A Team-Effectiveness Model
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2007 Prentice Hall Inc. All rights reserved.
E X H I B I T 10-3
Caveat 1: This is a
general guide only.
Caveat 2: The model
assumes that teamwork
is preferable to
individual work.
Key Components of Effective Teams
Context
Composition
Process Variables
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Creating Effective Teams: Context
Adequate Resources
Need the tools to complete the job
Effective Leadership and Structure
Agreeing to the specifics of work and how the team fits
together to integrate individual skills
Even self-managed teams need leaders
Leadership especially important in multi-team systems
Climate of Trust
Members must trust each other and the leader
Performance and Rewards Systems that Reflect Team
Contributions
Cannot just be based on individual effort
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Creating Effective Teams: Composition
Abilities of Members
Need technical expertise, problem-solving, decision-making,
and good interpersonal skills
Personality of Members
Conscientiousness, openness to experience, and
agreeableness all relate to team performance
Allocating Roles and Diversity
Many necessary roles must be filled
Diversity can often lead to lower performance
Size of Team
The smaller the better: 5 to 9 is optimal
Members Preference for Teamwork
Do the members want to be on teams?
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Key Roles Of Teams
10-12
E X H I B I T 10-4
Creating Effective Teams: Team Processes
Commitment to a Common Purpose
Create a common purpose that provides direction
Have reflexivity: willing to adjust plan if necessary
Establishment of Specific Team Goals
Must be specific, measurable, realistic, and challenging
Team Efficacy
Team believes in its ability to succeed
Mental Models
Have an accurate and common mental map of how the work gets
done
A Managed Level of Conflict
Task conflicts are helpful; interpersonal conflicts are not
Minimized Social Loafing
Team holds itself accountable both individually and as a team
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Turning Individuals into Team Players
Selection
Make team skills one of the interpersonal skills in the hiring
process.
Training
Individualistic people can learn
Rewards
Rework the reward system to encourage cooperative efforts
rather than competitive (individual) ones
Continue to recognize individual contributions while still
emphasizing the importance of teamwork
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Beware! Teams Arent Always the Answer
Teams take more time and resources than does individual
work.
Three tests to see if a team fits the situation:
1. Is the work complex and is there a need for different
perspectives will it be better with the insights of more
than one person?
2. Does the work create a common purpose or set of goals for
the group that is larger than the aggregate of the goals for
individuals?
3. Are members of the group involved in interdependent
tasks?

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Global Implications
Extent of Teamwork
Although work teams are pervasive in India, some evidence
suggests that most Indians are individual players rather than
team players
Self-Managed Teams
Do not work well in countries with low tolerance for
ambiguity and uncertainty and a high power distance
Team Cultural Diversity and Team Performance
Diversity caused by national differences interferes with team
efficiency, at least in the short run
After about three months, the differences between diverse
and non-diverse team performance disappear
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Summary and Managerial Implications
Effective teams have common characteristics:
Adequate resources
Effective leadership
A climate of trust
Appropriate reward and evaluation systems
Composed of members with correct skills and roles
Are smaller
Do work that provides freedom, autonomy, and the chance
to contribute
The tasks are whole and significant
Has members who believe in the teams capabilities
Managers should modify the environment and select team-
oriented individuals to increase the chance of developing
effective teams.
10-17
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means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the
United States of America.

Copyright 2011 Pearson Education,
Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
10-18