Management 8e' Robbins and Coulter

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Groups

• Any number of people who
• Interact with one another
• Are psychologically aware (conscious) of one
  another
• Perceive themselves to be a group.
• Groups are small enough in size to permit each
  member to communicate with all other members on a
  face-to-face basis.
• The study of groups is important because the most
  common ingredient (component, element) of an
  organization is people, and the most common
  technique for accomplishing work is dividing
  these people into groups.

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Kinds of Groups in Organizations

• Formal groups
• Groups defined by the organizations structure
  that have designated work assignments and tasks.
• Appropriate behaviors are defined by, and
  directed toward organizational goals.
• Members in marketing departments, human
  resources, and production departments are
  examples of formal groups.

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Kinds of Formal Groups

• Command Groups
• Groups that are determined by the organization
  chart and composed of individuals who report
  directly to a given manager.
• They usually handle routine organizational
  activities.
• Task Groups
• Groups composed of individuals brought together
  to accomplish non-routine tasks.
• They can consist of people on the same
  organizational level or from different levels and
  areas in the organizational hierarchy.

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Kinds of Task Groups Committees

• Committee
• A group of individuals performing some type of
  specific activity.
• Four major reasons for establishing committees
• To allow organization members to exchange ideas.
• To generate (make) suggestions and
  recommendations.
• To develop new ideas for solving problems.
• To assist in the development of organizational
  policies.

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Kinds of Task Groups Committees

• Managers should use committees because
• Committees can improve the quality of decision
  making.
• Committees encourage the expression
  (communication) of honest opinions.
• Committees increase members participation in
  decision-making.
• Committees ensure the representation of important
  groups in the decision-making process.

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Kinds of Task Groups Committees

• Procedural steps to increase the probability that
  a committee will be successful
• The committees goals should be clearly defined
• This will focus the committees activities.
• The committees authority should be specified
• Is it to investigate, advise, recommend or
  implement decisions?
• The optimum size of the committee should be
  determined
• The ideal number for most tasks seems to be from
  5 to 10.
• A competent chairperson (leader) should be
  selected.
• A secretary should be appointed to handle
  communication.
• The agenda for the meeting should be distributed
  before the meeting takes place.
• Meetings should start on time and ending time
  should be known.

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Kinds of Task Groups Committees

• People oriented guidelines to increase the
  probability that a committee will be successful
• Rephrasing (rewording) ideas already expressed
• This ensures that people understand what has been
  said.
• Bringing all members into active participation
• The manager should spark (activate) participation
  whenever appropriate (suitable).
• Stimulating further thought by members
• The manager should encourage members to think
  ideas through (completely) carefully and
  thoroughly (well).

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Kinds of Task Groups Committees

• Groupthink
• It is the mode of thinking when the desire for
  agreement overrides (is stronger, dominates) the
  need to consider alternative solutions
• Managers should help the committee avoid
  groupthink when individual members tend to
  agree too easily on every issue, to conform to
  group opinions, and avert (avoid) conflicts.

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Kinds of Task Groups Work Teams

• Work team
• 5 to 10 employees who work together to produce an
  entire product.
• Members learn all the tasks required to produce
  the product and move from job to job.
• Work teams are usually self-managed (autonomous)
  and assume managerial duties such as scheduling
  work and vacations, and ordering materials.
• Employing work teams is a way to benefit from the
  talent and creativity of skilled employees to
  make important decisions.

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Kinds of Task Groups Work Teams

• The four stages of formal group development
• The Acceptance Stage
• It occurs after the group members begin to trust
  and accept one another.
• The Communication and Decision-Making Stage
• Once they have passed through the acceptance
  stage, group members are better able to
  communicate frankly with one another.
• The Group Solidarity Stage
• At this stage, members become more involved in
  group activities and cooperate rather than
  compete with one another.
• The Group Control Stage
• In this stage, group members maximize success by
  matching individual abilities with group
  activities by assisting one another.

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Kinds of Task Groups Work Teams

• Member traits that characterize a mature group
• Members function as a unit
• The group works as a team.
• Members participate in group effort
• Members work hard when there is something to do.
• Members are oriented toward a single goal
• Group members work for the common purpose.
• Members have the equipment, tools and skills
  necessary to attain the groups goal
• Members seek to acquire the resources they need
  to attain group objectives.
• Members ask and receive suggestions, opinions,
  and information from one another
• Group members talk to one another openly and
  frequently.

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Informal Groups

• A collection of individuals whose common work
  experience result in the development of
  interpersonal relations beyond (outside) those
  established by management.
• Kinds of Informal Groups
• Interest groups
• Informal groups that form (are created) because
  of a common concern (interest, involvement)
  members have about a specific issue.
• Friendship groups
• Informal groups that form because of the personal
  affiliation (connection, association) members
  have with one another, such as recreational
  (nonprofessional) interests, race, gender, and
  religion.

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Informal Groups

• Benefits of Informal Group Membership
• Perpetuation (continuation) of social and
  cultural values.
• Values that group members consider important.
• Status and social satisfaction.
• Feelings that people might not enjoy without
  group membership.
• Increased ease of communication among group
  members.
• Increased desirability (goodness) of the work
  environment.

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Managing Work Groups

• Sociometry
• An analytical tool managers can use to determine
  what informal groups exist within the
  organization and who their members are.
• This information on informal groups will give
  managers a complete picture of the organizations
  group structure.
• Sociograms
• Diagrams that visually (visibly) link individuals
  according to the number of times they were chosen
  by their workmates and whether the choice was
  reciprocated.
• They summarize the informal relationships among
  group members.

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Managing Work Groups

• Homans Model
• According to Homans, the informal group develops
  (is created) to provide satisfaction and growth
  for its members. The sentiments (friendships),
  interactions, and activities (interests) within
  an informal group are caused by the sentiments,
  interactions and activities that prevail (exist)
  in the formal group (team, department, functional
  area).

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Teams

• Team
• A group whose members influence one another
  toward the accomplishment of an organizational
  objective.
• Types of Teams
• Problem-solving teams
• Self-managed work teams
• Cross-functional teams

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Types of Teams

• Problem-solving Team
• Employees from the same department and functional
  area who are involved in efforts to improve work
  activities or to solve specific problems.
• Self-managed Team
• A group of skilled employees who operate without
  a manager, perform specified activities and have
  some traditional (managerial) responsibilities
  such as hiring, planning and scheduling, and
  performance evaluations.

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Types of Teams

• Cross-functional Team
• A work team composed of people from different
  functional areas of the organization marketing,
  finance, human resources, and operations, for
  example who are all focused on a specified
  objective.
• E.g. teams established to choose and implement
  new technologies, teams formed to improve
  marketing effectiveness, teams established to
  control product costs.

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Stages of Team Development

• Forming
• Members join and begin the process of defining
  the groups purpose, structure, and leadership.
• Storming
• Intragroup conflict occurs as individuals resist
  control by the group and disagree over
  leadership.
• Norming
• Close relationships develop as the group becomes
  cohesive and establishes its norms for acceptable
  behavior.

• Performing
• A fully functional group structure allows the
  group to focus on performing the task at hand.
• Adjourning
• The group prepares to disband and is no longer
  concerned with high levels of performance.

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Stages of Group Development
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Team Effectiveness

• Effective teams are those that come up with
  innovative ideas, accomplish their goals, and
  adapt to change when necessary. Their members
  are highly committed to both the team and
  organizational goals.

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Team Effectiveness

• People-related steps to build an effective team
• Trying to make the teams work satisfying.
• Developing mutual trust among team members and
  between the team and management.
• Building good communication from management to
  the team as well as within the team.
• Minimizing unresolved conflicts and power
  struggles within the team.
• Dealing effectively with threats toward and
  within the team.
• Building the perception (feeling) that jobs of
  team members are secure (protected, liable to
  continue).

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Team Effectiveness

• Organization-related steps to build an effective
  team
• Building a stable (sound) overall organization or
  company structure that team members view as
  secure (not failing).
• Becoming involved in team events and
  demonstrating interest in team progress and
  functioning.
• Properly rewarding and recognizing teams for
  their accomplishments.
• Setting stable (fixed) goals and priorities for
  the team.

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Team Effectiveness

• Task-related steps to build an effective team
• Developing clear objectives, directions and
  project plans for the team.
• Providing proper technical direction and
  leadership for the team.
• Establishing autonomy for the team and
  challenging work within the team.
• Appointing experienced and qualified team
  personnel.
• Encouraging team development.
• Building visibility within the organization for
  the teams work.

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Team Effectiveness

• Effectiveness and Trust
• Trust is belief in the reliance (support,
  assistance), ability, and integrity of another.
  Unless team members trust one another, the team
  leader, and management, managers may find that
  building an effective work team is impossible.

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Team Effectiveness

• Strategies managers can use to build trust within
  groups
• Communicate often to team members
• Keeping members informed, explaining decisions
  sharing info.
• Show respect for team members
• Show members that they are valued by delegating
  tasks to them, listening to feedback from the
  group and acting on it.
• Be fair to team members
• They must receive the rewards they have earned.
• Be predictable
• Managers must be consistent in their actions.
  Team members should be able to forecast
  management decisions.
• Demonstrate competence
• Managers must show they able to diagnose problems
  and have the skill to implement solutions to
  those problems.

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Characteristics of Effective Teams
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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 1/3

• Groups (slide 2)
• Define group.
• Why should managers study groups?
• Kinds of Groups in Organizations (slides 38)
• What is a formal group?
• Define command group.
• What is a task group?
• Define committee.
• Why should managers use committees?
• What procedural steps can increase the
  probability that committees will be successful?
• What people oriented guidelines can increase the
  probability that committees will be successful?

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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 2/3

• Kinds of Groups in Organizations (slides 914)
• Define groupthink.
• Define work team.
• Discuss the stages of formal group development.
• What member traits characterize a mature group?
• Define informal group.
• What is an interest group?
• What is a friendship group?
• What are important benefits of group membership?
• Managing Work Groups (slides 15, 16)
• Define sociometry.
• What is a sociogram?
• Discuss Homanss ideas on how informal groups
  develop.

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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 3/3

• Teams (slides 1720, 22)
• Define team.
• What is a problem-solving team?
• Discuss self-managed teams.
• What is a cross-functional team?
• What is forming?
• Discuss storming.
• What is norming?
• What is performing?
• Discuss adjourning.
• Discuss the performance of an effective team.

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C H A P T E R R E V I E W 4/3

• Teams (slides 2327)
• What people-related steps can help build an
  effective team?
• What organization-related steps can help build an
  effective team?
• What task-related steps can help build an
  effective team?
• What is the relationship between team
  effectiveness and trust?
• What strategies can be used to build trust in
  groups?