MGMT 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Problem Solving, Stereotype, Social Loafing
1. Drivers of team performance and the characteristics associated with team excellence
2. Differentiate between project teams, self managed work teams, hot groups, cross functional
teams and virtual teams
3. Explain the dynamics of roles and norms in groups
4. Describe the five stages of group development
5. Identify factors that influence team performance
6. Explain the communication processes that enable teams to function effectively
Nature of teams:
• Teams are essential
• Advantages of teams
• Productivity
• Accuracy
• Greater commitment
• Greater enthusiasm
Formal and informal groups:
• Two major categories of team or work groups: formal and informal
• A formal group:
• Established by management
• Regulated through formal processes
• In informal group:
• Not formally established within organisational structure
• Meets regularly about work
• Communicates through informal channels
Effective team performance:
A group or team in an organisation consists of two or more people who work together to fulfil a
particular task or to achieve a goal.
A teams role is to:
• Make decisions
• Make plans
• Achieve goals
• Reflect on and assess its own performance
• Review and revise plans
Characteristics of team excellence:
• Clear and inspiring shared goals
• Results-driven structure
• Competent team members
• Unified commitment
• Collaborative climate
• Standards of excellence
• External support and recognition
• Principled leadership
Types of work teams:
• Project teams
• Self managed work teams: autonomous, semi-autonomous
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• Hot groups (speed, flexibility, creativity)
• Cross functional teams
• Virtual teams
Virtual teams:
• Physically dispersed
• Information technology: synchronous (at the same time) e.g phone calls, asynchronous (at
different times) e.g. emails
• Unique competencies
• Integration to create value
• Quality communication: familiarity, relationships, trust
• Shared understanding of goals, work, group processes
Stages of group development:
1. Forming - orientation phase
• Getting to know you, ice breaking stage
• Attempt to identify what tasks they should be working on
• Begin to develop a sense of the groups independence
• Task (job orientated) and socio-emotional (interpersonal) roles may be unclear
• Why? Is the most common question asked
2. Storming - conflict phase
• Conflicts over leadership, control and influence - who's in charge?
• Misunderstandings about:
• Role and style behaviour and norms
• Conflicting goals
• Poor feedback and listening
• Ineffective group decision making
• Problem solving processes
3. Norming - emergence phase
• Formal and informal norms emerge
• Cohesion begins to develop
• Opinions are now stated more readily and are received in a less defensive manner
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Nature of teams: teams are essential, advantages of teams, productivity, accuracy, greater commitment, greater enthusiasm. Formal and informal groups: two major categories of team or work groups: formal and informal, a formal group, established by management, regulated through formal processes. In informal group: not formally established within organisational structure, meets regularly about work, communicates through informal channels. A group or team in an organisation consists of two or more people who work together to fulfil a particular task or to achieve a goal. A teams role is to: make decisions, make plans, achieve goals, reflect on and assess its own performance, review and revise plans. Characteristics of team excellence: clear and inspiring shared goals, results-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, principled leadership. Types of work teams: project teams, self managed work teams: autonomous, semi-autonomous, hot groups (speed, flexibility, creativity, cross functional teams, virtual teams.
