WORK GROUPS
AND
WORK TEAMS
CH. 13
Prevalence of Groups and
Teams
Humans are social animals
Groups have been a staple of modern
human civilization since we were hunter-
gatherers
Teams are becoming increasingly prevalent
within the workplace
Teams are prevalent within the modern work
environment
Organizations are shifting from individual
focused to team focused work tasks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyQykCXQx24
Work Groups
Work Group (Shaw, 1981)
› 2 or more people
interact with one another
influence one another
4 Main Criteria that determines “Groupness” (Aamodt)
See themselves as a unit
Group must provide rewards to all members
Corresponding effects
Must share a common goal
Why People Join Groups
Assignment
Most common reason for joining groups in the workplace
Physical Proximity
Form groups with people who live or work nearby
E.g., Intramural teams on campus (most live in same dorms or have
classes together)
Affiliation
Join groups to be near and talk to other people
Identification
Join groups out of a desire to identify with that particular group
Emotional Support
E.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, Weight Watchers
Assistance/help
E.g., Study groups, alliances (on reality TV shows)
Common Interests
E.g., Clubs at school (Circle K, Psych club, Greek organizaitons)
Common goals
E.g., Political parties
Group Life Cycle
(Tuckman, 1965)
Forming
› Team members get to know one another
› Everyone is on their good behavior
› Group clarifies its mission
Storming
› Disagreement and frustration set in
Norming
› Group members work at easing tension
› Acceptance of team member norms and team leader (if there is
one)
Performing
› Goals get accomplished through task related behaviors (team
processes)
Group Behavior
Norms
› Unwritten rules of observable behavior
accepted by group members
› Strong influence on behavior
› Not all norms apply to everyone or every team
member
What are some factors that
affect group performance?
Factors affecting group
performance
Group Cohesiveness (liking, trust,
commitment, pride)
○ Associated with greater levels of:
Productivity and efficiency
Decision Quality
Member satisfaction
Member interaction
Employee courtesy
What are some factors that may
affect group cohesiveness?
Factors Affecting Group
Cohesiveness
Group Homogeneity
Homogenous
Heterogenous
Slightly Heterogenous
Stability of Membership
Isolation
Outside Pressure
Group Size
Group Status
Group Size
Smaller is best for cohesiveness
Perform better and more satisfied
BUT small groups are not always best
Performance depends on task type
Additive tasks- larger groups are best
Conjunctive tasks- smaller groups are best
Disjunctive tasks- larger groups are best
Examples of Tasks Types
Task Type Group Activity
Typing
Relay Race
Additive Bowling Team
Car washing
Assembly line
Conjunctive
Hiking
Problem Solving
Disjunctive Brain Storming
Golf Tournament
22
Other influences of
performance:
Group ability & confidence
Personality
Openness to experience
Emotional stability
If task is physical: conscientiousness, extraversion, &
agreeableness
Communication structure
Best types of communication depends on group (p. 484)
Group Roles
Member roles must be either:
○ task oriented – offer new ideas, plan activities, find new info
○ social oriented – encourage cohesiveness and participation
○ NOT individual oriented- discourage group activity----seldom
lead to increased performance
Influence performance
Presence of Others:
Social Facilitation (with simple/learned tasks)
› Presence of others physiological arousal
increase performance
Social Inhibition (with complex/new tasks)
› Presence of others physiological arousal
decreased performance
Performance
in the
Zajonc’s motivational analysis of social facilitation (1965)
Presence of
Others 9
Social interference
Social facilitation
occurs for complex
occurs on simple tasks
tasks that require
that require dominant
nondominant
responses
responses
Dominant Task
requires Social Performan
responses facilitation
dominant ce gain
Presenc increase
and responses
e of
others nondominan Task
t requires Performan
responses Social
nondomina ce loss
decrease interference
nt
responses
Performance in the Empirical Examples:
Presence of Others Zajonc’s Cockroach
Study
140
Speed in
seconds 120
100
80
Coactin
60 g
40
20
0
Simple Complex
Type of Maze
Presence of others
Social Loafing
Social loafing investigates effect on personal performance
when people work together
○ People sometimes work less hard when working
together on a task
○ 3 Theories
1. Realize the individual efforts will not be noticed
2. Free-rider theory- when things are going well, a group
member realizes that his effort is not necessary and does
not work as hard
3. Sucker effect theory- people avoid performing highly in
order to not be “played for a sucker”
Presence of others
Individual Dominance
Group think
Critical thinking is not done because of desire for
cohesiveness (social pressure for conformity is
strong)
Group and Performance
Decision Making
Negative Consequences of Groupthink
› limits discussion to few alternatives
› highly selective in gathering and attending to information
› solution initially favored, never reanalyzed or evaluated
› group fails to reexamine alternatives originally cast aside
› expert opinion is not sought
Solutions to Groupthink
› appoint devil's advocate
› encourage critical evaluation
› leader should not state preference initially
› discuss what is happening outside of group
› invite external sources and ideas into group (experts)
When should we work as
a group vs. as
individuals?
Nominal Group &
Interacting Group
Groups and Performance:
Brainstorming
Brainstorming
Generate ideas without being critical or judgmental in any way – ideas will be
evaluated later
○ Teams tend to create fewer ideas than an equal number of individuals
○ Also rated as less creative when generated as group versus the individual
level
Why the poor performance?
Social loafing
Social matching
Evaluation apprehension
Solution
› Individual generation of ideas (maybe with computer) followed by sharing of
ideas and continued generation of ideas as a group
› Devil’s Advocate
7
•concentrated
Interaction •continuous
What is a team?
• performance/outcome
focused
Goals • collective shared goals rather
than only individualistic ones
Teams are • tightly coupled dependencies
“extreme” Inter- • member’s have interlocking
dependence abilities, skills…assembly line
groups, for each vs all members interacting
of the qualities • clearly defined specific roles
and norms
of a typical Structure • explicit lines of authority
group are communication are
exhibited, to an
• cohesive
extreme degree, Unity • collective efficacy
in a team
Work Groups & Teams:
The Difference
Work Team
› 2 or more people
› Actions are interdependent and coordinated
› Each member has specific role(s)
› Common goals and objectives
A team is a always a work group, but a
work group is not always a team
Work Groups Teams
Individual accountability Individual and mutual accountability
Come together to share information Frequently come together for
and perspectives discussion, decision making,
problem solving, and planning.
Focus on individual goals Focus on team goals
Produce individual work products Produce collective work products
Define individual roles, Define individual roles,
responsibilities, and tasks responsibilities, and tasks to help
team do its work; often share and
rotate them
Concern with one's own outcome Concern with outcomes of everyone
and challenges and challenges the team faces
Purpose, goals, approach to work Purpose, goals, approach to work
shaped by manager shaped by team leader with team
members
4 Types of Teams
1. Work teams:
Manage themselves, assign jobs, plan and
schedule work, make work-related
decisions, and solve work-related
problems. Produce goods, services or
increase the quality and cost
effectiveness of a system
Types of Teams
2. Parallel Teams:
Representatives from different departments from 1
organization.
3. Project teams:
Formed to produce one-time outputs (e.g., creating a
new product, hiring, etc). Temporary.
4. Management Teams:
Coordinate, manage, advice, and direct employees
and teams.
Teams do not always
work
The team is not a team
Excessive meeting requirements
Lack of empowerment
Lack of skill
Distrust of team process
Unclear objectives
Group & Team Conflict
Conflict:
The psychological and behavioral reaction
to a perception that anther person is
either keeping you from reaching a goal,
taking away your right to behave in a
specific way, or violating the
expectancies of a relationship
Group & Team Conflict
Key word in this definition = perception
Conflict is often the result of one person’s
misperception of another’s intentions,
behaviors, or goals.
Two types of conflict
Dysfunctional conflict
○ Lessens productivity
Functional conflict
○ Moderate levels of conflict that increase
friendly competition and stimulate new ideas
Why does conflict occur?
Competition for resources
Task interdependence
Jurisdictional ambiguity
Communication barriers
How do people handle conflict?
Ignore it through withdrawal (postpones it, doesn’t
solve it)
Accommodating (giving in)
Forcing Style (win at all costs)
Collaborating (win-win)
Bargain for an agreement (compromise)
Ask for third-party help
* Pages 492-497
Resolving a Conflict
Prior to Conflict
Training and policies
When Conflict first occurs
Use personal skills
Co-operative problem solving
Third party intervention
Mediation (reach agreement)
Arbitration (choose sides)
Questions on Ch. 13?
