Organizational Behavior

Module 10: Group and Team Management

Module Learning Outcomes

Discuss strategies to manage groups and teams

10.1: Describe the relationship between general group and team management with various structures and
techniques
10.2: Describe the study and theories of group and teamwork
Group and Team Management
Learning Outcomes: Group and Team Management

10.1: Describe the relationship between general group and team management with
various structures and techniques
10.1.1: Describe differences between a group and a team
10.1.2: Discuss the types of teams
10.1.3: Discuss creating effective teams
10.1.4: Describe how to turn individuals into team players
Group vs. Team
Group
Two or more individuals who are
interactive and independent, coming
together to achieve particular objectives
Team
A group that are fully committed to a
common approach; have mutual
accountability; trust and collaborate
with one another; and have synergy.
Types of Teams
Creating Effective Teams

• Context
• Composition
• Work design
• Process
Context

Adequate resources Leadership and structure

Trust Performance Evaluation &

Rewards System
Composition
• The Plant. Creative, imaginative. Solves problems.
• The Resource Investigator. Communicative.
Explores opportunities and develops contacts.
• The Coordinator. Clarifies goals, and promotes
decision-making
• The Shaper. Dynamic, challenging, thrives on
pressure. Overcomes obstacles.
• The Monitor-Evaluator. Strategic and discerning.
Sees all options and judges accurately.
• The Teamworker. Co-operative and perceptive.
Listens, builds, averts conflict.
• The Implementer. Conservative and efficient.
Turns ideas into practical actions.
• The Completer/Finisher. Conscientious. Searches
out errors, meets deadlines.
• The Specialist. Self-starting and dedicated.
Provides knowledge/skills in rare supply.
Class Activity: Which one are you?

• Get together in groups (of nine, if possible)

• Decide which role each of the members of the
group would fill
• Answer the following:
• Do you have the right combination of
people?
• Do you think that managers can always
find people with those talents?
• What would you do if you couldn’t find
those talents in your group?
Work design and process

• Work design to motivate

• Process
• Common purpose
• Specific goals
• Team efficacy
• Managed conflict levels
• Minimized social loafing
Helping individuals become team members

• Employee selection
• Training
• Rewards
Practice Question 1

What is the difference between a work group and a work team?

A. A work team exhibits high levels of individual accountability

B. A work team gets together to share information so they can get their own jobs done
C. A work group and a work team are the same thing
D. A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated efforts
Practice Question 2

An administrative team’s goal is to problem solve and then “sell” their ideas to the rest of the
organization.  Team members are usually management level. Which of the following is the best
way to describe this team?

A. High task complexity, low member fluidity

B. High task complexity, high member fluidity
C. Low task complexity, low member fluidity
D. Low task complexity, high member fluidity
Practice Question 3

When creating an effective team, what does the word “composition” refer to?

• Adequate resources, leadership and structure, trust, evaluation and rewards

• Abilities of team members, diversity of team members, personality of team members
• Common purpose, specific goals, team efficacy
• The reason why the team has come together, the work they will be doing.
Practice Question 4

Which of the following is an element managers can leverage to find individuals that would
work well on a team?

A. Collective cultures
B. Organizational hierarchy
C. Employee selection process
D. Rewards programs
Theories of Group and Teamwork
Learning Outcomes: Theories of Group and Teamwork

10.2: Describe the study and theories of group and teamwork

10.2.1: Differentiate among early team management theories
10.2.2: Differentiate among modern team management theories
10.2.3: Discuss strategies for managing teams today
Early Management Theories
Scientific Management: Frederick Winslow Taylor
Winslow Taylor determined that:
• Each task should be studied scientifically to determine the
best way to perform it.
• Workers should be carefully selected and trained to perform
the tasks.
• Managers and workers should cooperate to ensure efficient
production
• Managers should plan, and workers should be responsible
for implementing those plans.
Early Management Theories
Bureaucratic Management: Max Weber
Weber’s studies contributed:
• Hierarchal management structure
• Division of labor
• Formal selection process for new employees
• Career orientation
• Formal rules and regulations
• Impersonality
Early Management Theories
Administrative Management: Henri Fayol
In his book Fayol described basic management functions:
• Foresight
• Organization
• Command
• Coordinate
• Control
Principles he suggested to guide management behavior
• Unity of command
• Fairness and equity
• Discipline and order
• Scalar chain of command
• Teamwork and subordination of individual interests
Early Management Theories
Humanistic Viewpoint: Mary Parker Follett
• A better understanding of lateral processes
• The importance of informal processes
• Noncoercive power sharing (integration)
• Cooperation between managers and workers.
• Constructive conflict concept
Modern Management Theories

Systems Theory Contingency Theory Chaos Theory

Today’s organizations occasionally use teams and employee
participation
Practice Question 5

Organizational theory, design and structure were among those elements of organizational
behavior this individual influenced.

A. Max Weber
B. Henri Fayol
C. Frederick Winslow Taylor
D. Frederick Roethlisberger
Practice Question 6

Which of the phrases below best describes the chaos view of management?

A. Factors such as organization size, work technology and other situations affect how an
organization needs to be managed.
B. Elements such as a rigid hierarchical structure affect an organization’s ability to change
rapidly.
C. Each individual department in an organization supports a larger area, which, in turn,
supports and serves a larger area yet.
D. Managers should observe and determine the best possible method to complete tasks.
Practice Question 7

In the spectrum of organizations, where those that are highly structured and do not use teams sit
at one end, and those that are highly flexible and do use teams sit at the other, where do most
organizations fall?

• Right in the middle, just using teams for some tasks.

• At the structured end, as most companies do not have team-based structures
• At the flexible, team-based end, because companies are more competitive when they’re team
based
• They do not fall on the spectrum
Quick Review

• There are differences between a group and a team – a team brings synergy
• Types of teams include cross-functional, systems, administrative and simple work teams
• When one is putting together a team, one must consider
• Context
• Composition
• Work design
• Process
• Employee selection, training and rewards can help an individual make the jump to team
player
• Early management theories informed modern day approaches to team management
• While some organizations are rigid and some flexible, most are a mix of both and employ
teams as necessary