Groups and Teams Types and Characteristics

CHAPTER SEVEN – Groups and Teams I. TYPES OF GROUPS AND TEAMS Groups are two or more persons who interact with one another such that each person influences and is influenced by each other person. Coworkers may work side by side on related tasks—but if they do not interact, they are not a group. Teams are an interdependent collection of at least two individuals who share a common goal and share accountability for the team’s as well as their own outcomes. A. Workgroups Workgroups are formal groups established by the organization to do its work. Workgroups include command (or functional) groups and affinity groups (as well as teams). A command group is relatively permanent and is characterized by functional reporting relationships such as having both a group manager and those who report to the manager. Command groups are usually included in the organization chart. Affinity groups are relatively permanent collections of employees from the same level in the organization who meet on a regular basis to share information, capture emerging opportunities, and solve problems. B. Teams Organizations also use a wide variety of different types of teams. The most common types of teams are summarized in Table 7.1. Each type of team is composed of different members and responsible for different types of tasks. C. Informal Groups Whereas formal groups and teams are established by an organization, informal groups are formed by their members and consist of friendship groups, which are relatively permanent, and interest groups, which may be shorter-lived. II. GROUP PERFORMANCE FACTORS The five basic group performance factors are composition, size, norms, cohesiveness, and informal leadership. A. Group Composition B. Group Size C. Group Norms D. Group Cohesiveness E. Informal Leadership IV. MANAGING TEAMS The ongoing management of teams requires additional insights. These include understanding the benefits and costs of teams, promoting effective performance in teams, and identifying and developing teamwork competencies. A. Understanding Benefits and Costs of Teams 1. Enhanced Performance 2. Reduced Costs 3. Other Organizational Benefits 4. Employee Benefits 5. Costs of Teams B. Promoting Effective Performance 1. Top-Management Support 2. Understanding Time Frames 3. Changing Organizational Rewards C. Teamwork Competencies V. EMERGING TEAM OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES A. Virtual Teams Some Questions to Think About As You Study Chapter 7 ● What is it important to study about groups and teams in organizations? ● Know the difference between a group and a team ● What is synergy and how can it help a group? ● When is it appropriate to use teams? ● What things should you consider when forming/composing a group/team? ● What are the two types of conflict and what are examples of each? ● What is social loafing and what impact can it have in groups/teams? o How can you reduce social loafing? ● What CWBs increase/decrease in group scenarios? ● What can managers/leaders do to increase group/team effectiveness? Chapter Eight – Decision Making and Problem Solving I. THE NATURE OF DECISION MAKING A. Types of Decisions A programmed decision recurs often enough for decision rules to be developed. Such a decision is called a nonprogrammed decision, and it requires problem solving. B. Decision-Making Conditions Under a condition of certainty, the manager knows the outcomes of each alternative. Under a condition of risk, the decision maker cannot know with certainty what the outcome of a given action will be but has enough information to estimate the probabilities of various outcomes. The decision maker who lacks enough information to estimate the probability of outcomes (or perhaps even to identify the outcomes at all) faces a condition of uncertainty. II. THE RATIONAL APPROACH TO DECISION MAKING A. Steps in Rational Decision Making B. Evidence-Based Decision Making III. THE BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO DECISION MAKING A. The Administrative Model B. Other Behavioral Forces in Decision Making 2. Intuition 3. Escalation of Commitment 4. Risk Propensity and Decision Making 5. Ethics and Decision Making 6. Prospect Theory and Decision Making IV. GROUP DECISION MAKING IN ORGANIZATIONS A. Group Polarization