Types of Groups in Organizations

Type of Formal or Established Degree of Group Informal by Permanence Example

Command Formal Organization Permanent Hierarchical Group

Task Formal Organization Temporary Task Force Permanent Self Managed

Work Team Cross functional

TeamsCommittees

Interest Informal Individuals Temporary Support Group Permanent Union

Friendship Informal Individuals Permanent Social Groups“Teams” = Task Groups

Organizational Groups as Linking Pins

Types of Teams Used

.7

.6

.5

.4

.3

.2

.1 0

Process Parallel Project PartnershipTeams Teams Teams Teams

69% 67%

48%

17%

= % of respondents

Survey of 243 employers by the Hay Consulting Group, 1997, Bulletin to Management

A Model of Team Functioning

Team Characteristicsand Processes

TeamOutcomes

OrganizationalContext

Stages of TeamDevelopment

Team Characteristics & Processes

Status StructureAscribed vs. Achieved StatusIdiosyncratic Credits

Communication Structure

SociogramTask vs. Social Communication

Role Structure

Norm Structure

Cohesiveness

Positive and Negative Group Norms

Norms Positive Negative

Performance Continuous Improvement Just do the minimum

Teamwork Work together to better It’s a dog-eat-dog the organization world.

Leadership Management really Management is out cares about employees. is out to get as much

work out of us aspossible.

Org. Pride Talk up the company Run down the as a great place to work. Company.

Factors affecting cohesiveness

Increasing Cohesiveness Decreasing Cohesiveness

Agreement on goals Disagreement on goals

Frequency of interaction Group size

Personal attractiveness Unpleasant intra-group experiences

Inter-group competition Intra-group competition

Favorable evaluation Domination by one individual

Stages of Team Development

Norm Level ofStage Development Role of Leader Cohesion

Forming Membership Heavy dependence Lowon leader to setgoals, etc.

Storming Influence Leader’s influence Lowis questioned.

Norming Affection Leader willing to High orwork for good of Lowthe team.

Performing Growth/ High interpersonal skills HighPerformance dedicated to group.

Organizational Context and Team Performance

Team Performance = f(team ability, motivation, opportunity)

The Organization affects each of these factors:Ability: The organization sets up the team.

The organization supports the team through•information•technical assistance•resources•authority

Motivation: The org. sets the goals for the team.The org. establishes the reward system.

Opportunity: The org. context must provide the opportunityfor the team to perform.

Interaction of Team Development & Org. Context

Team Organizational ContextDevelopment Unfavorable Favorable

Under-developed

Developed

Nonfunctional Underfunctional Teams Teams

TemporarilyFunctional

Teams

FullyFunctional

Teams

Team Outcomes

Individual

Organization

Positive Negative

Need Fulfillment Waste of timeProblem solving/task Interpersonal conflict accomplishment and stressCommunication Constraint on behavior

Social Loafing

Improved decision making Contradictory performance and problem solving normsIncreased acceptance and Costly commitment to decisionsFacilitates implementation Inter-team conflictMember control Resistance to changePromotes creativity and Groupthink innovation Escalation of commitment

Avoiding GroupthinkAvoiding Groupthink•Make every group member a “critical evaluator”

•As leader, avoid seeming partial to one course of action

•Create subgroups to work on same problem & share results

•Have members talk over their ideas with “outsiders”

•Bring in outside experts to observe and comment on group

•Have one member assume the role of “devil’s advocate”

•Hold a second chance meeting to review the “final” decision

Escalation of CommitmentEscalation of Commitment

•Continuing to support an unsuccessful action, even whenill-advised

•“Throwing good money after bad”

•An increased commitment to a previous decision in spiteof negative feedback

Why do people do this?

Reasons for escalation of commitmentReasons for escalation of commitment

To save face – Individuals & groups do not like to

admit that their decision making

was flawed “Crowd Psychology” – Competitive situations give

rise to more escalation

To try to recoup “Sunk Costs” – Flawed logic

Sunk costs are not recoverable

Avoiding escalationAvoiding escalation

•Try to set limits on you or your team’s commitment toa decision ahead of time and then stick to it.

•Don’t follow other individuals or teams (avoidimitation or crowd psychology)

•Stop to periodically assess exactly why you or your teamis continuing with a course of action. Stay vigilant to avoid “creeping commitments” to previouslychosen courses of action.

Group Decision Making TechniquesGroup Decision Making Techniques

OrdinaryCriteria Groups Brainstorming NGT Delphi

# ideas Low Medium High High

Quality of ideas Low Medium High High

Conflict Potential High Low Medium Low

Time/Cost Medium Low Low High

Task Orientation Low High High High

Sense of Accomplishment High to Low High High Medium

Commit. To Solution High n.a. Medium Low

Cohesiveness High High Medium Low

Should I use individuals or teams?Should I use individuals or teams?

Individuals do better IF:When the problem has a single correct answer

When the solution requires a long train of complex, interrelated steps

Teams do better when:the problem is suitable to a division of labor AND group members have diverse & relevant skills

the ultimate resolution of the problems depends on

the acceptance of others

the goal is to produce new, original or creative ideas

Tips for Using Teams

•Establish clear, reasonable goals for the team•Have a specific reason for putting someone on a team•Keep the size of each team reasonable•Recognize the potential impacts (+&-) of diversity on team functioning.•Recognize that teams do not automatically become high performers.•Teams are not independent entities.•Don’t expect too much too soon.•Recognize the downside of teams. (They are not a panacea.)