Organizational behavior Team development Prof.

simran mistry Semester i 2010-2011

Compiled by: Rahul parekh, 123 Vinay shivdasani, 139 Sunami paigankar, 173 Akash parekh, 174 Viral sanghvi, 175

INDEX

Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 5 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 6 7

Topic Introduction to Teams Popularity of Teams Group V/s Team Types of Teams Problem Solving Teams Self- Managed Teams Cross- Functional Teams Virtual Teams Creating effective Teams Context Composition of Team Work Design Process Variables Case Study Bibliography

Page No. 3 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 12 14 14 17

INTRODUCTION TO TEAMS Teams are groups of people with a predetermined purpose of achieving a goal or set of goals, through the use of collective efforts, resources and collective responsibility for the results achieved. It is a group of people organized to work together, interdependently and cooperatively to meet the needs of their customers/ clients by accomplishing a purpose and goals. Teams are created for both long term and short term interaction. A product development team, an executive leadership team, and a departmental team are long lasting planning and operational groups. Short term teams might include a team to develop an employee on boarding process, a team to plan the annual company party, or a team to respond to a specific customer problem or complaint. POPULARITY OF TEAMS Twenty-five years ago, when companies like W. L. Gore, Volvo, and General Foods introduced teams into their production process, it made news because no one else was doing it. Today, it's just the opposite. It's the organization that doesn't use teams that has become newsworthy. Currently, 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies have half or more of their employees on teams. And 68 percent of small U.S. manufacturers are using teams in their production areas. The evidence suggests that teams typically outperform individuals when the tasks being done require multiple skills, judgment, and experience. Management has found that teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than are traditional departments or other forms of permanent groupings. Teams have the capability to quickly assemble, deploy, refocus, and disband.

GROUPS VERSUS TEAMS: THE DIFFERENCE Work Group- It is a group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each group member perform within his or her area of responsibility. Work groups have no need or opportunity to engage in collective work that requires joint effort. So their performance is merely a summation of each group members individual contribution. There is no positive synergy that would create an overall level of performance that is greater than the sum of the inputs. Example of a Work Group- In a car manufacturing concern, a group is assigned the responsibility of assembly of a car. So, one person would be responsible for the interiors of the car, the other person would look after fitting the outer body and tires, another would supervise painting and varnishing of the car. Work Team- A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. It is a group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs. Example of a Work Team- At Lowe Lintas, an advertising agency, the creative and the brand strategy department members came together to handle the account for HULs Pepsodent. They brainstormed and deliberated as to what essentials of the product should be communicated in the TV commercial. The creative artists put forth their ideas which the strategy fellows validated with statistics and data deduced from market research on consumer buying behavior. And thus, the Shahrukh Khan and the kid brushing his teeth in the bathroom ad came into being.

TYPES OF TEAMS Teams can do a variety of things. They can make products, provide services, negotiate deals, coordinate projects, offer advice, and make decisions. In this section we'll describe the four most common types of teams one is likely to find in an organization: Problem-Solving Teams In problem-solving teams, members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes and methods can be improved. Rarely, however, are these teams given the authority to unilaterally implement any of their suggested actions. They are groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and the work environment. One of the most widely practiced applications of problem solving teams are Quality Circles. Corporate Example: Canon encourages employees to get together and brainstorm about manufacturing of better quality products, cost cutting, speedy delivery of products etc. Employees from within or across departments meet and discuss issues like inventory control, JIT, new product designs with a view to better the current systems and to eliminate waste. These suggestions are put forth by the employees to the management. Canon provides awards to these teams; these awards are intended to show management's appreciation for the efforts and the results of the quality circle/team.

SelfWork

Managed Teams

Problem solving teams were on the right track but they didn't go far enough in getting employees involved in work-related decisions and processes. This led to experimentation with truly autonomous teams that could not only solve problems but implement solutions and take full responsibility for outcomes. Self- managed work teams are groups of employees (10-15 in number) who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors. This includes, planning, scheduling of work, assigning tasks to members, collective control over the pace of work, making operative decisions, taking action on problems etc. Corporate Example: There are around 100 self-managed work teams at GE's (General Electric) locomotive engine plant in Grove City, Pennsylvania. Generally, most of the decisions regarding maintenance, work scheduling, and equipment purchases are made by these teams. Not only are the teams self-managing, they have unprecedented authority and transparency. Everyone knows how much money everyone else makes, because employees are paid according to his or her skill... This plant has no time clock. Workers leave to go to their kids' band concerts and Little League games. CEO John Welch of GE preaches the power of empowerment; Welch, who once had an autocratic reputation, states, "The idea of liberation and empowerment for our work force is not enlightenment - it's a competitive necessity."

Cross-Functional

Teams

Employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task are called Cross-Functional teams. These teams can be formulated to tackle a problem at hand, to better organization processes or sometimes, to meet the needs of a client effectively, employees from different verticals of an organization like Operations, Marketing, HR, Finance can be put together into a team. Such teams are an effective means for allowing people from diverse areas within an organization to exchange information, develop new ideas and solve problems, and coordinate complex projects. Corporate Examples: Toyota strongly encourages cross- functional teams wherein employees across functional roles, products, processes (assembly, equipment maintenance and repair, materials logistics, training, system redesign, administration, etc.) come together and analyze the problem at hand. The problem can vary from reducing lead time, making production more flexible, devising innovative product designs etc. The teams follow a set methodology: (i) They chalk out what they expect to happen (by specifying the design). (ii) Each time they do work, see that what they had expected has actually occurred (by testing with each use). (iii) And, when there is a difference between what had actually happened and what was predicted, solve problems while the information is still fresh. This has resulted in tremendous improvement in quality, productivity, and efficiency at Toyota plants. At IBM, in the E-business strategic solutions division; there exist cross-functional teams who cater to the clients needs. In this approach, the cross-functional teams offer a wide range of services including development of a client's business strategy, recommendations on marketing and branding strategy and techniques, interactive design and application development based on the deep knowledge and experience of IBM

Global Services. The team comprises strategists, web designers and IT architects who deliver solutions for all sectors. Virtual teams Teams that use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal are Virtual Teams. The three primary factors that differentiate virtual teams from face-to-face teams are: (1) the absence of para verbal and nonverbal cues; (2) limited social context; and (3) the ability to overcome time and space constraints. Virtual Teams can do all the things that other teams doshare information, make decisions, complete tasks. And they can include members from the some organization or link an organization's members with employees from other organizations (i.e., suppliers and joint partners). Finally, virtual teams are able to do their work even if members are thousands of miles apart and separated by a dozen or more time zones. It allows people to work together who might otherwise never be able to collaborate. Virtual teams often suffer from less social rapport and less direct interaction among members. They aren't able to duplicate the normal give and take of face-to-face discussion. Corporate Example: Boeing-Rocketdyne is a U.S. producer of liquid fueled rocket engines. They formed a virtual team named SLICE, Simple Low-Cost Innovative Concepts Engine. The objective of the virtual team was to decrease the cost of rocket engines by 100 times. The SLICE team consisted of eight members including a project team leader, concept designer, lead engineer, combustion analyst, thermal analyst, manufacturability engineer, CAD specialist, and stress analyst. There were no team norms, and they only met in person on the last day of the project. As a result of the virtual team, production cost was decreased from $4.5 million to $47,000.

Virtual Team

CREATING EFFECTIVE TEAMS

The key components making up effective teams can be subsumed into four general categories which are as follows: 1. Context

The four contextual factors that appear to be most significantly related to team performance are the presence of adequate resources, effective leadership, a climate of trust, and a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions. Adequate Resources- As such, all work teams rely on resources outside the group to sustain it. And a scarcity of resources directly reduces the ability of the team to perform its job effectively."Perhaps one of the most important characteristics of an effective work group is the support the group receives from the organization." This support includes timely information, technology, adequate staffing, encouragement, and administrative assistance. Corporate Example: General Motors is very supportive to its teams. It provides the team all the encouragement and support it requires to function effectively. The management insists that the design engineers spend 1 full day every 3 months to assemble the car they helped design. Leadership and Structure - Team members must agree on who is to do what and ensure that all members contribute equally in sharing the workload. In addition, the team needs to determine how schedules will be set, what skills need to be developed, how the group will resolve conflicts, and how the group will make and modify decisions. Agreeing on the specifics of work and how they fit together to integrate individual skills requires team leadership and structure. Example: In India, there exists an excellent example of an approach to creating and externally leading superb teams of scientists and engineers, as demonstrated by A.P.J Abdul Kalam at ISRO and DRDL. At ISRO, he focused on creating an environment conducive to team work, integrating people, balancing hands-on and hands-off styles,

emphasizing effective communication and taking responsibility for team failure. At DRDL, he exemplified management by participation. He participated in designing a viable program for the teams ,created self-managed teams with support mechanisms, reorganizing teams for renewal, and augmenting their strength as well as team performance. Climate of Trust - Members of effective teams trust each other. And they also exhibit trust in their leaders. Interpersonal trust among team members facilitates cooperation, reduces the need to monitor each others behavior, and bonds members around the belief that others on the team wont take advantage of them. Also, faith and trust in the leaders vision drives them to perform even better. Corporate Example: The inspiring vision of Apples charismatic co-founders and CEO Steve Jobs is to make state of the art technology easy for the people to use. Through this vision , he inspires motivates , and leads employees to develop products such as McIntosh computers, Ipod music players and Iphone. Performance Evaluation and Reward Systems- So in addition to evaluating and rewarding employees for their individual contributions, management should consider group-based appraisals, profit sharing gain sharing, small-group incentives, and other system modifications that will reinforce team effort and commitment. Corporate Example: For instance, Xerox Canada creates a "Wall of Fame" to honor members of its well performing teams.

2. Composition

The composition of the team includes the following: Abilities of Members - To perform effectively, a team requires three different types of skills. First, it needs people with technical expertise. Second, it needs people with the problem-solving and decision-making skills to be able to identify problems, generate alternatives, evaluate those alternatives, and make competent choices. Finally, teams need people with good listening, feedback conflict resolution, and other interpersonal skills." Corporate Example: Senior product scientist Syed Abbas and Albert Post and technology team manager Laurie Coyle functioned as a high-ability team in developing Unilevers new Dove nutrium bar soap. In solving the complex problems involved in product innovation, the intelligent members of Unilevers research and teams have advanced science degrees, the ability to think creatively and the interpersonal skills needed to perform effectively with other team members. Size of Teams- The president of AOL Technologies says the secret to a great team is: Think small. Ideally, your team should have seven to nine people. When teams have excess members, cohesiveness and mutual accountability declines, social loafing increases, and more and more people do less talking relative to others. So in designing effective teams, managers should try to keep them under 10. If a natural working unit is larger and you want a team effort, consider breaking the group into subteams Corporate Example: Motorola normally has small teams of 7-9 employees. A core team was constituted to develop a new cell phone. The team constituted a project manager and eight people from engineering, product design, manufacturing, marketing and finance. Member Flexibility - Teams made up of flexible individuals have members who can complete each other's tasks. This is an obvious plus to a team because it greatly improves its adaptability and makes it less reliant on any single member. So selecting

members who themselves value flexibility, then cross- training them to be able to do each other's job should lead to higher team performance over time Personality: Personality has a significant influence on individual employee behaviour. This can also be extended to team behaviour. Specifically, teams that rate higher on performance are high on levels of conscientiousness and openness to experiences. Corporate Example: Johnson & Johnson when creating teams for drug development lay a lot of emphasis on EI (emotional intelligence) as it has found it to be the biggest predictor of team success for them in the past. Allocating roles: Teams have different needs, and people should be selected for a team to ensure that all the various roles are filled. Successful work teams have people to fill all these roles and have selected people to play these roles based on their skills and preferences. Managers need to understand the individual strengths that each person can bring to a team, select members with their strengths in mind, and allocate work assignments that fit with members preferred styles. Corporate Example: At Harley Davidson, when teams are formed to work on new product designs, team members are allocated roles such as Creator (initiating innovative ideas), Organizer (provides the structure to the team), Adviser (encourages searching and looking for more information) etc. Diversity: Many of us hold the optimistic view that diversity should be a good thingdiverse teams should benefit from different perspectives and do better. Corporate Example: Many team members share common demographic of age at Yahoo!, where more than half of the employees are age 34 or younger. Young team members of Yahoo!s one search team grew up during the information revolution, well educated and are results driven.

3.

Work Design Effective teams need to work together and take collective responsibility to complete significant tasks. They must be more than a "team-in-name-only." The work design category includes variables like freedom and autonomy, the opportunity to use different skills and talents, the ability to complete a whole and identifiable task or product, and working on a task or project that has a substantial impact on others. The evidence indicates that these characteristics enhance member motivation and increase team effectiveness. These work- design characteristics motivate because they increase members sense of responsibility and ownership over the work and because they make the work more interesting to perform. Corporate Example: At Hero Honda, the production managers in addition to their daily responsibilities are given the autonomy to ascertain quality problems if any, in the line assemblies. They are also empowered to take corrective action on their own to mitigate quality issues so that defects reduce and line assemblies are optimized.

4.

Process Variables These include member commitment to a common purpose, establishment of specific team goals, team efficacy, a managed level of conflict, and minimizing social loafing. Common Purpose: An effective team has a common plan and purpose that provides direction, momentum, and commitment for members. This purpose is a vision, or master plan. Its broader than specific goals. Corporate Example: Employee teams at New balance share the common purpose of continuously improving their work processes . In the companys stitching department, they share the purpose of quality improvement of the team to develop a cross training program so that all the members could learn and perform each others jobs skills.

Specific goals: Successful teams translate their common purpose into specific, measurable, and realistic goals. The way the goals lead individual to clear communication. They also help teams to maintain their focus on getting results. Corporate Example: Hasso Plattner, co-founder of the German software firm SAP, motivates employees by setting stretch goals. Plattner set a shockingly optimistic goal of 15% annual growth for SAPs software license revenue. Employees responded by achieving an even higher growth rate of 18%. For Plattner, setting stretch goals is a way to inject entrepreneur energy into the 35 year old company. Team efficacy: Effective teams have confidence in themselves. They believe they can succeed. This is called as Team efficacy. Two ways in which the management can increase team efficacy is: a) b) Small successes Training Small successes helps to build team confidence. Training will help the members to improve their technical and interpersonal skills. Corporate Example: At Hewlett Packard, team culture is strongly promoted. Teams are created from across functional areas to develop new products or to re engineer products and success of the teams is appreciated by the management and they are assigned with more projects. Conflict levels: Conflict on team isnt necessarily bad. Teams that are completely void of conflict are likely to become apathetic and stagnant. So conflict can actually improve team effectiveness. But not all types of conflict. Relatinship conflicts-those based on interpersonal incompatibilities, tension, and animosity towards others-are almost always dysfunctional. However, on teams performing non- routine activities, disagreements among members about task content is not detrimental. In fact, it is often beneficial because it reduces the likelihood of groupthink.

Corporate Example: Personal variables such as personality differences can be the source of conflict among co-workers. To reduce conflict resulting from personality differences, Vertex pharmaceuticals teaches employees how to identify other peoples personality type and how to communicate effectively with them. By training employees to work harmoniously in spite of personality difference, Vertex hopes to eliminate unproductive conflict that impedes innovation. Social loafing: Members can engage in social loafing and coast on the groups effort because their individual contributions cant be identified. Effective teams undermine this tendency by holding themselves accountable at both the individual and team levels. Successful teams make members individually and jointly accountable for the teams purpose, goals and approach.

CASE STUDY Metron Ltd. is a pan India company. It constitutes a large team to work on a new product. There are around 20 members in the team, most of them being from different functional departments and locations. Team members hardly know each other. Some of them have never met before. Most of the work of the team is to be carried out virtually. There is a team leader, but he does not assign clear roles to the team members. Members communicate mostly through e-mails. In conference calls, members speak their part and switch off. The leader also does not sum up at the end of the conference call. Members are often blunt and rude to each other, and they do not seek to acquire new knowledge. Members do not post their work, and no member knows what the other member is doing. Questions 1) What are the problem areas in this team? 2) What suggestions can you give to make this team a successful one? 1) The problem areas in this team can be classified as follows:
i.

Lack of Leadership: The team leader has not assigned clear roles and tasks to the team members which is the foremost thing a leader is required to do. Additionally, he does not summarize what has been discussed during conference calls which can prove to be very confusing for team members as to what is the consensus that has been arrived at and hence what is the future course of action that needs to be undertaken. Neither does he follow up with members to check if the work is being done, nor does he take the initiative to resolve conflicts amongst team members. He does not do anything to maintain discipline and decorum within the team.

ii.

Lack of clarity of goals: Team members are confused as to what is expected out of them. There is a lot of chaos and roles and responsibilities have not been assigned. This is adversely affecting the teams performance as there is no direction or goal that they

can work towards achieving. Also, since members dont post their work, they are working in isolation and there is no knowledge sharing, exchange of ideas or synergy being created out of different ideas and opinions of the team members.
iii.

Lack of Cohesiveness in the group: Few members of the team have not met each other. And since there is no personal interaction, there is lack of empathy and understanding amongst the team members, which is the foundation for any successful team. Members being from different backgrounds and different mind sets are not receptive to others viewpoints resulting in conflicts within the team. 2) The suggestions that we recommend to make this team a successful one are as follows:

i.

Training should be given to the leader: The leader should be trained so as to set goals, tasks and deadlines for the team. Work and roles should be appropriately allocated to the team members depending upon their competencies. He should continuously monitor and supervise the work done by the members. He should ensure that the team is functioning in a cohesive manner and should act as a mediator to minimize conflicts. Additionally, he should continuously motivate and urge his team members to perform better.

ii.

An interactive session for the team members: A Team Meet should be organized so that members get an opportunity to understand each other better. Interactive games, ice breaker sessions can be conducted to facilitate team bonding. This will improve their inter-personal skills and enable them to share a better relationship with each other. This will indirectly improve the performance of the team.

iii.

More transparency in work processes: The members of their team should document and post all discussions via emails, conferences etc on a common forum so that there is more transparency and all members are aware of the work done by others. This will enable them to give their comments and feedback about the work done by each other leading to positive synergy and collaboration within the team. This would also ensure

commitment from the team members as they would be more involved in the decision making process. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Stephen Robbins: Organizational Behaviour Ronald. R. Sims: Managing Organizational Behaviour John Newstorm: Organizational Behaviour at Work www.afaqs.com www.citehr.com www.docstoc.com