MGT 201 : CHAPTER 10
Understanding Work Teams
Why Have Teams Become So Popular?
• Over the last decade we have seen the use of teams
grow rapidly in organizations. There are a number of
reasons why this is true.
• However, teams are not always effective and so it is
important to take a look at how to deploy teams
effectively.
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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
Differences Between Groups and Teams
• Group : 1. a group can be defined as two or more
individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have
come together to achieve particular objectives.
• 2. A work group is a group that interacts primarily to
share information and make decisions to help each
member perform within his or her area of responsibility.
• 3. Work groups have no need or opportunity to engage in
collective work that requires joint effort. So their
performance is merely the summation of each group
member’s individual contribution.
• Team :
• 1. A work team , on the other hand, generates positive
synergy through coordinated effort.
• 2. Their effort will be mutual
• 3. Performance will be collective
Comparing Work Groups and Work Teams
Types of Team
• problem-solving teams,
• Self managed work teams,
• cross-functional teams , and
• virtual teams
Problem-Solving Teams
• In the past, teams were typically composed of 5 to 12 employees
from the same department who met for a few hours each week to
discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work
environment.
• These problem-solving teams rarely have the authority to
implement any of their suggestions.
• Problem-solving teams only make recommendations.
Self-Managed Work Teams
• Some organizations have gone further and created teams that not
only solve problems but implement solutions and take responsibility
for outcomes.
• Self-managed work teams are groups of employees (typically 10 to
15 in number) who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and
take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors.
• Typically, these tasks are planning and scheduling work, assigning
tasks to members, making operating decisions, taking action on
problems, and working with suppliers and customers.
Self-Managed Work Teams
• Fully self-managed work teams even select their own members and
evaluate each other’s performance
• Supervisory positions take on decreased importance and are
sometimes even eliminated.
• But research on the effectiveness of self-managed work teams has
not been uniformly positive
Self-Managed Work Teams
• Self-managed teams do not typically manage conflicts well.
• When disputes arise, members stop cooperating and power struggles
ensue, which leads to lower group performance
• Moreover, although individuals on these teams report higher levels of
job satisfaction than other individuals, they also sometimes have
higher absenteeism and turnover rates
Cross-Functional Teams
• Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from
different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task
• Need to give an example. For that read book!
Cross-Functional Teams
• Cross-functional teams are an effective means of allowing people
from diverse areas within or even between organizations to exchange
information, develop new ideas, solve problems, and coordinate
complex projects.
• Their early stages of development are often long, as members learn
to work with diversity and complexity.
• It takes time to build trust and teamwork, especially among people
from different backgrounds with different experiences and
perspectives.
Virtual Teams
• Virtual teams use computer technology to unite physically dispersed
members and achieve a common goal.
• They collaborate online—using communication links such as wide-
area networks, videoconferencing, or e-mail—whether they’re a room
away or continents apart.
• Virtual teams face special challenges. They may suffer because there
is less social rapport and direct interaction among members.
• For virtual teams to be effective, management should ensure that
• (1) trust is established among members (one inflammatory remark in
an e-mail can severely undermine team trust),
• (2) team progress is monitored closely (so the team doesn’t lose sight
of its goals and no team member “disappears”), and
• (3) the efforts and products of the team are publicized throughout the
organization (so the team does not become invisible).
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
Beware! Teams Aren’t Always the Answer
• Teamwork takes more time and often more resources
than individual work.
• Teams have increased communication demands, conflicts
to manage, and meetings to run.
• So, the benefits of using teams have to exceed the costs,
and that’s not always the case.
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 beneficial for all?
3. Are members of the group involved in interdependent and
collaborative tasks?
