Chapter 9

Managing Groups and

Teams
Learning Objectives

1. Recognize and understand group dynamics and

development
2. Understand the difference between groups and teams
3. Compare and contrast different types of teams
4. Understand how to design effective teams
5. Explore teams and ethics
6. Understand cross-cultural influences on teams

1-2
What Is a Group?

A group is a collection of individuals who interact with

each other to achieve common goals

Groups and teams have become an essential component of

an organization’s success

Being able to work in a group is a key skill for managers

and employees alike

1-3
Types of Groups: Formal and Informal

Informal groups are made up of two

or more individuals who are
associated with one another in ways
not prescribed by the formal
organization

A formal work group is made up of

managers, subordinates, or both
with close associations among group
members that influence the
behavior of individuals in the group
 Stages of Group Development

Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

OB Toolbox: Avoid Getting Stuck in the Storming
Phase

Normalize
conflict

Don’t rush
the group’s Be inclusive
development

Make sure
Remain
everyone is
positive
heard
Support all
group
members
The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model

Periods of stability
Change

Periods of rapid change

Time
Cohesive Groups

Common Characteristics

Collective identity

Cohesive groups are those in

Share a mutual bond which members are attached to
each other and act as one unit.

Share a sense of purpose

Work together on a common task

Establish a structured pattern of

communication
OB Toolbox: Steps to Creating and Maintaining a
Cohesive Team

Align the group with the greater organization

Let members have choices in setting their own goals

Define clear roles

Situate group members in close proximity to each other

Give frequent praise

Treat all members with dignity and respect

Celebrate differences

Establish common rituals

Fundamental Factors of Group Cohesion

Similarity

Satisfaction Stability

Support Size
Can a Group Have Too Much Cohesion?

An internal pressure to conform may arise where

some members modify their behavior to adhere
to group norms

Cohesive groups will often disapprove of

members who dare to disagree

Groupthink is a group pressure phenomenon

that increases the risk of the group making
flawed decisions

1-11
Task Commitment and Group Cohesion

Low task High task

commitment commitment
Performance
ranges
Low group Low
depending on a
cohesion performance
number of
factors
High group Low High
cohesion performance performance
Social Loafing and Collective Efficacy

Social loafing refers to

the tendency of Collective efficacy refers
individuals to put in less to a group’s perception of
effort when working in a its ability to successfully
group context perform well

“Others aren’t pulling

their weight, so why “we can do this” and
should I?” “this is a good group”
OB Toolbox: Tips for Preventing Social Loafing in
Your Group

Design and
Carefully choose
Clearly define each communicate to the
the number of
member’s tasks in entire group a
individuals you
front of the entire system for evaluating
need to get the
group each person’s
task done
contribution

Assign tasks that

Make sure
Build a cohesive are highly engaging
individuals feel that
group and inherently
they are needed
rewarding
Differences between Groups and Teams

A group is a collection of individuals but different from teams in

both scope and composition

A team is a particular type of group: a cohesive coalition of

people working together to achieve mutual goals

A team is a small number of people with complementary skills

who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals,
and approach for which they are mutually accountable
The Purpose of Assembling a Team

Accomplish larger, more complex goals, than what

would be possible for an individual working alone

Perform, get results, and achieve victory in the

workplace

Combine multiple skills or where buy-in is required

from several individuals

The best managers are those who can gather

together a group of individuals and mold them into
an effective team
Key Properties of a Team

Compensation Based
on Shared Outcomes

Collaborative Sacrifice for the

Action Common Good
 Three Major Classes of Team Tasks

Production tasks Problem-solving

include actually Idea generation tasks includes
making tasks deal with coming up with
something – creative tasks – plans for actions
constructing a brainstorming and making
building decisions
Three Types of Task Interdependence

Pooled
interdependence

Sequential
interdependence

Reciprocal
interdependence
 Team Role Typology

These 10 roles include task roles (light yellow), social roles

(medium orange), and boundary spanning roles (dark orange)
Types of Teams

• A task force is a temporary team which is asked to

address a specific issue or problem until it is
resolved
• A product development team can be temporary or
ongoing
• A cross-functional team appears in matrix
organizations where individuals from different
parts of the organization staff the team which
may be temporary or long standing in nature
Virtual Teams

• Virtual teams are teams where members are not

located in the same physical place
• Upwards of 8.4 million individuals worldwide work
virtually in at least one team
virtual teams are formed to take advantage of
distributed expertise or time
• Challenges of Virtual Teams
Building trust is difficult
If individuals in a virtual team are not fully engaged
and tend to avoid conflict, team performance can
suffer
Self-Managed Teams

Members manage themselves and do not report directly

to a supervisor

The team shares responsibility for a significant task

Each member may take turns in the leadership role

Outcomes include higher job satisfaction, increased

self-esteem, and opportunities to grow more on the job
Employee Empowerment

• Self-managed teams are empowered,

which means that they have the
responsibility as well as the authority
to achieve their goals
Team Leadership and Autonomy

Traditionally Self-managed Self-directed

Managed Teams Teams Team
• Leader resides • The team • The team
outside the managed itself makes all
team but still has a decisions
• Potential for team leader internally
low autonomy • Potential for about
low, medium, leadership and
or high how work is
autonomy done
• Potential for
high autonomy
Designing Effective Teams

Team Composition
Who Are the Best Individuals for the Team?

Team Size
How Large Should My Team Be?

Team Diversity
How Diverse Should My Team Be?
Team Norms and Contracts
Norms are
shared
expectations
about how
things Key to successful
operate team design is to
within a have clear
group or team norms, roles,
A team and expectations
contract among team
includes members
established
ground rules,
goals, and
roles
 Components of Team Contracts

How team
Team
Team Team Team performance
values
roles and decision communicatio is
and
leadership making n expectations characterize
goals
d
Meetings

Meeting
Be sure a meeting is
Preparation
Create and distribute an Send a reminder prior to
even needed agenda the meeting

Manage
Start and end the
the Meeting
Manage group dynamics Summarize the meeting
meeting on time for full participation with action items

After the meeting

Follow up on action items
A Creative Technique for Effective Meetings

Conducting
meetings standing
up saves time yet
keeps information
flowing across the
team
Photo used by permission by Jason Yip
Barriers to Effective Teams

Challenges
Dominating
Knowing Where
Team Members
to Begin

Poor
Poorly Managed
Performance of
Team Conflict
Team Members
Building Your Cohesive Team

Establish
common
objectives
Let members
Establish choose goals
common and
rituals participate
fully

Define clear
Celebrate roles and
differences responsibilitie
s

Build
Treat all familiarity
members with through close
dignity and proximity
respect
Give frequent
praise and
validate