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Teams and Teamwork: "Two Heads Can Be Better Than One"

Teams are important building blocks in organizations that can provide benefits like synergy but also face challenges. Effective teams require the right members, inputs, and processes like moving through stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing. Team performance depends on factors such as norms, cohesion, roles, communication networks, decision-making methods, and avoiding groupthink.

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30 views

Teams and Teamwork: "Two Heads Can Be Better Than One"

Teams are important building blocks in organizations that can provide benefits like synergy but also face challenges. Effective teams require the right members, inputs, and processes like moving through stages of forming, storming, norming, and performing. Team performance depends on factors such as norms, cohesion, roles, communication networks, decision-making methods, and avoiding groupthink.

Uploaded by

gregbaccay
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Two heads can be


better than one

Why is an understanding of teams so important?


What are the foundations of successful teamwork?
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams
MODULE GUIDE 21.1

Formal and informal groups are building blocks of


organizations.
Organizations use a variety of committees, task
forces, and cross-functional teams.
Virtual teams are increasingly common in
organizations.
Teams offer synergy and other benefits to their
members and the organization.
Teams can also suffer from common performance
problems.
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams
Team
a collection of people who regularly interact to pursue common
goals.
Teamwork
the process of people actively working together to accomplish
common goals.
Formal Group
a group that is officially recognized and supported by the
organization.
Informal Group
a group that is unofficial and emerges from relationships and
shared interests among members.
Committee
people brought together outside of their daily job assignments to
work in a small team for a specific task
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams
Types of Teams
Project Team
is convened for a specific purpose and disbands
after completing its task.
Cross-functional Team
operates with members who come from different
functional units of an organization.
Employee Involvement Team
meets on a regular basis to help achieve
continuous improvement.
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams

Types of Teams
Quality Circle Team
employees who meet periodically to discuss
ways of improving work quality.
Self-managing Teams
work team having the authority to make
decisions about how they share and complete
their work.
Virtual Teams
Work together and solve problems through
computer based interactions
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams
Benefits of Teams
Synergy
The creation of a whole greater than or equal to the sum of
its parts

Why Teams Are Good for Organizations

More resources for problem solving


Improved creativity and innovation
Improved quality of decision making
Greater commitments to tasks
Increased motivation of members
Better control and work discipline
More individual need satisfaction
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams
MANAGEMENT TIPS
Characteristics of High Performance Teams

Clear, elevating goals


Results-driven structure
Competent team members
Unified commitments
Collaborative climate
Standards of excellence
External support and recognition
Principled leadership
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams
Potential Problems With Teams
Social Loafing
the tendency of some people to avoid responsibility by
free-riding in groups.
Meetings (wasted time)
Seven sins of deadly meetings:

1. People arrive late, leave early, and dont take things seriously.
2. The meeting is too long, sometimes twice as long as necessary.
3. People dont stay on topic; they digress and are easily distracted.
4. The discussion lacks candor; people are unwilling to tell the truth.
5. The right information isnt available, so decisions are postponed.
6. Nothing happens when the meeting is over; no one puts decisions into
action.
7. Things never get better; the same mistakes are made meeting after
meeting.
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Importance Of Teams

Assessing the
maturity of a
team
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Foundations Of Teamwork
MODULE GUIDE 21.2

Teams need the right members and inputs to be


effective.
Teams must use the right processes to be effective.
Teams move through different stages of development.
Team performance is affected by norms and
cohesiveness.
Team performance is affected by task and maintenance
roles.
Team performance is affected by use of communication
networks.
Team performance is affected by use of decision-making
methods.
Team performance suffers when groupthink leads to bad
decisions.
TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Foundations Of Teamwork
Stages of Development
Forming Stage
team development, one of initial task orientation and
interpersonal testing.
Norming Stage
members of the team begin to coordinate their efforts as a
working unit and tend to operate with shared rules of
conduct.
Performing Stage
members are more mature, organized, and well
functioning.
Adjourning Stage
the final stage for temporary committees, task forces, and
project teams.
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams
Effective Teams
make use of alternative communication
networks and decision-making methods to best
complete tasks.
Group Process
The way members interact and work together to
transform inputs into outputs

TEAM EFFECTIVENESS EQUATION


Team effectiveness =
Quality of inputs x (Process gains - Process losses)
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams
Group Norms
Behaviors, rules or standards expected of team members
Cohesion
the attractiveness of the team to its members
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams
Task and Maintenance Roles
Task Activities
contribute directly to the teams performance
purpose
Maintenance Activities
support the emotional life of the team as an
ongoing social system.
Distributed Leadership
every member is continually responsible for both
recognizing when task or maintenance activities
are needed and taking actions to provide them.
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams

Communication Networks
Decentralized Communication Network
Allows all members to communicate directly with
one another. Works well for tasks that require lots
of creativity, information processing, and problem
solving.
Centralized Communication Network
Requires members to communicate with each
other via a central hub or port
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams
FOUNDATIONS OF TEAMWORK

Effective Teams

Decision Making
The process of making choices through
choosing from alternative courses of action

Groupthink
a tendency of members of highly cohesive
teams to lose their critical evaluative
capabilities and make poor decisions.

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