University:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Course:
15.992 | S-Lab: Laboratory for Sustainable Business
Academic year:

2023
Views:

370

Pages:

29
Author:

Marvin Harrington

Chapter 12 Managing Teams What Would You Do?      Cigna’s Customer Service Centre has slow response times You are contemplating eliminating separate departments and setting up customer-service teams Advantages include reduced call times, reduced costs, and increased customer and employee satisfaction Disadvantages include possible employee complaints and increased turnover What should you do? Learning Objectives: Why Work Teams? After reading the next two sections, you should be able to: 1. explain the good and bad of using teams 2. recognize and understand the different kinds of teams The Good and Bad of Using Teams Advantages of teams include increased customer satisfaction    product and service quality speed and efficiency of product development employee satisfaction The Good and Bad of Using Teams Disadvantages of teams include:     initially high turnover social loafing legal risk groupthink When to Use Teams Use teams when …  there is a clear purpose  the job requires people to work together  team-based rewards are possible  ample resources are available  teams have required authority to get the job done When Not to Use Teams Don’t use teams when …      there is no clear purpose the job can be done by individuals independently rewards are for individual performance required resources are not available management will monitor and control the work Kinds of Teams   Authority, the key dimension Special kinds of teams Autonomy, the Key Dimension Autonomy, discretion that workers have over work, varies from low to high across types of groups:  Traditional work groups  Employee involvement groups  Semi-autonomous work groups  Self-managing teams  Self-designing teams Special Kinds of Teams Cross-functional teams Virtual team Project team Learning Objectives: Managing Work Teams After reading the next two sections, you should be able to: 3. understand the general characteristics of work teams 4. explain how to enhance work team effectiveness Work Team Characteristics      Team norms Team cohesiveness Team size Team conflict Stages of team development Team Norms     Informally agreed-on standards that regulate team behaviour Develop over time Clarify expectations Can have positive and/or negative outcomes Team Cohesiveness   The extent to which team members are attracted to a team and motivated to remain in it Cohesive teams:    retain their members promote cooperation achieve high levels of performance What Really Works Cohesion and Team Performance Team Performance Team Performance with Interdependent Tasks What Really Works Team Performance with Independent Tasks Team Size     Very large or very small teams may not perform as well as moderately sized teams The right size for most teams is between six and nine members Teams that are too large might suffer from minority domination Teams that are too small may lack diversity of skills and knowledge Team Conflict  C-type conflict    cognitive conflict focuses on problem-related differences of opinion A-type conflict   affective conflict emotional, personal disagreements How Teams Can Have a Good Fight       Work with more, rather than less, information Develop several alternatives to enrich debate Establish common goals Inject humour into the workplace Maintain a balance of power Resolve issues without forcing consensus Stages of Team development Enhancing Work Team Effectiveness     Setting team goals and priorities Selecting people for teamwork Team training Team compensation and recognition Setting Team Goals and Priorities    Team goals increase team performance Goals clarify team priorities Challenging team goals regulate team effort Requirements for Stretch Goals to Motivate Teams     A high degree of autonomy Empowered with control resources Structural accommodation Bureaucratic immunity Selecting People for Teamwork  Individualism-collectivism   Team level   degree to which a person believes that people should be self-sufficient and loyal to one’s self rather than a team average level of ability, experience or other factor on a a team Team diversity  variances in ability or other factors on a team Team Training   Need for training often underestimated Various types of training needed     interpersonal skills decision-making and problem-solving skills technical skills leadership Team Compensation and Recognition   The level of reward must match the level of performance Three methods:    skill-based pay gainsharing nonfinancial rewards Top Ten Problems Reported by Team Leaders 1. Confusion about roles and what they should do differently 2. Feeling they’ve lost control 3. Not knowing what coaching or empowering means 4. Having personal doubts about the efficacy of the team concept 5. Uncertainty about how to deal with employees’ doubts about teams Top Ten Problems Reported by Team Leaders 6. Confusion about when a team is ready for responsibility 7. Confusion about how to share responsibility and accountability 8. Concern about promotional opportunities 9. Uncertainty about strategic aspects of leader’s role 10. Not knowing where to turn for help with team problems What Really Happened? Cigna’s Customer Service Centre teams  Initially high turnover  Employees felt there were fewer opportunities for promotion  Eventually turnover decreased, costs dropped and quality increased  Customer satisfaction increased