CHAPTER 15

Effective Groups
and Teams

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 Learning Objectives
1. Explain why groups and teams are key
contributors to organizational effectiveness.
2. Identify the different types of groups and teams
that help managers and organizations achieve
their goals.
3. Explain how different elements of group
dynamics influence the functioning and
effectiveness of groups and teams.
4. Explain why it is important for groups and teams
to have a balance of conformity and deviance
and a moderate level of cohesiveness.
5. Describe how managers can motivate group
members to achieve organizational goals and
reduce social loafing in groups and teams.
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 Groups, Teams and
Organizational Effectiveness (1 of
2)

Group
• Two or more people who interact
with each other to accomplish
certain goals or meet certain
needs
Team
• A group whose members work
intensely with each other to
achieve a specific, common goal or
objective
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 Groups, Teams and
Organizational Effectiveness (2 of
3)

Two characteristics distinguish

teams from groups
1. Intensity with which team
members work together
2. Presence of a specific, overriding
team goal or objective

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 Groups’ and Teams’
Contributions to Organizational
Effectiveness

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s.
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 Groups and Teams as
Performance Enhancers (1 of 2)
Advantage of synergy
• People working in a group are able to
produce more or higher-quality
outputs than would have been
produced if each person had worked
separately.
• “The whole is more than the sum of
its parts.”

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 Groups and Teams as
Performance Enhancers (2 of 2)
Factors that contribute to synergy
in groups include the ability of
group members to:
• bounce ideas off one another
• correct one another’s mistakes
• bring a diverse knowledge base to
bear on a problem
• accomplish work that is too vast for
any one individual to achieve
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 Groups and Teams and
Responsiveness to Customers
Responsiveness to customers
• This is difficult to achieve given the
many constraints such as safety
issues, regulations, costs.
• Cross-functional teams can provide
the wide variety of skills needed to
meet customer demands.
• Cross-functional teams consist of members of
different departments.

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 Teams and Innovation

Innovation
• Innovation is the creative
development of new products, new
technologies, new services, or new
organizational structures
Individuals rarely possess the wide
variety of skills needed for successful
innovation.
Team members can uncover each
other’s flaws and balance each
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 Groups and Teams as
Motivators
Members of groups, and particularly
teams, are likely to be more
satisfied than individuals.

Team members can see how their

efforts and expertise directly
contribute to the achievement of
team and organizational goals, and
they feel personally responsible for
the outcomes or results of their
work.
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 Figure 15. 2 Types of Groups
and
Teams in Organizations

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 Types of Groups and Teams (1 of 3)

Formal group
• A group that managers establish to
achieve organizational goals
Informal group
• A group that managers or
nonmanagerial employees form to
help achieve their own goals or to
meet their own needs

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 Types of Groups and Teams (2 of 3)

Type of Team Description

Top-management team A group composed of the CEO, the president, and the
heads of the most important departments
Research and A team whose members have the expertise and
development team experience needed to develop new products
Command groups A group composed of subordinates who report to the
same supervisor, also called department or unit
Task forces A committee of managers or non managerial employees
from various departments or divisions who meet to solve
a specific, mutual problem; also called an “ad hoc”
committee

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 Types of Groups and Teams (3 of 3)

Type of Team Description

Self-managed work team A group of employees who supervise their own activities
and monitor the quality of the goods and services they
provide
Virtual team A team whose members rarely or never meet face-to-face
and interact by using various forms of information
technology, such as email, computer networks, telephone,
fax, and video conferences
Friendship group An informal group composed of employees who enjoy
each other’s company and socialize with each other
Interest group An informal group composed of employees seeing to
achieve a common goal related to their membership in an
organization

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 Keys to Effective
Self-Managed Teams
Give the team enough responsibility and
autonomy to be truly self-managing.
The team’s task should be complex
enough to include many different steps.
Select members carefully for their
diversity, skills, and enthusiasm.
Managers should guide and coach, not
supervise.
Analyze training needs and be sure
training is provided.
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 Group Size (1 of 3)

Advantages of small groups

1. Interact more with each other
and easier to coordinate
2. More motivated, satisfied, and
committed
3. Easier to share information
4. Better able to see the importance
of their personal contributions
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 Group Size (2 of 3)

Disadvantage of small groups

• Have fewer resources available to
accomplish their goals

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 Group Size (3 of 3)

Advantages of large groups

• More resources at their disposal to achieve
group goals
• Enables managers to obtain division of
labor advantages
Disadvantages of large groups
• Problem of communication and
coordination
• Lower level of motivation
• Members might not think their efforts are
really needed
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 Group Tasks (1 of 3)

Task interdependence
• Degree to which the work performed
by one member of the group
influences the work performed by
other members
• Frequent and repeated interaction =
greater familiarity = higher levels of
information sharing, work
coordination, and joint decision
making
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 Figure 15.3 Types of Task
Interdependence

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 Group Tasks (2 of 3)

Pooled task interdependence

• The task interdependence that exists
when group members make separate
and independent contributions to
group performance

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 Group Tasks (3 of 3)

Sequential task interdependence

• Exists when group members must
perform specific tasks in a
predetermined order
• Assembly line production
Reciprocal task interdependence
• Exists when the work performed by
each group member is fully
dependent on the work performed by
other group members
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 Group Roles (1 of 2)

Group role
• A set of behaviors and tasks that a
member of a group is expected to
perform because of his or her
position in the group
Role Making
• Taking the initiative to modify an
assigned role by assuming additional
responsibilities

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 Group Roles (2 of 2)

• In cross-functional teams, members

are expected to perform roles in their
specialty.
• Managers should clearly describe
expected roles to group members
when they are assigned to the group.
• Role-making occurs as workers take
on more responsibility in their roles as
group members.
• Self-managed teams may assign the
roles to members themselves.
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 Group Leadership

• Effective leadership is a key ingredient

in high performing groups, teams, and
organizations.
• A manager may appoint a member of a
group who is not a manager to be
group leader or chairperson (formal
leaders).
• Group or team members may choose
their own leaders, or a leader may
emerge naturally as group members
work together to achieve group goals
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 Figure 15.4 The Stages of Group
Development

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 Stages of Group Development (1
of 2)

Forming
• Group members get to know each other and
reach common understanding.
Storming
• Group members experience conflict
because some members do not wish to
submit to demands of other group
members.
Norming
• Close ties and consensus begin to develop
between group members.
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 Stages of Group Development (2
of 2)

Performing
• The real work of the group
accomplished
Adjourning
• Only for task forces that are
temporary
• Group is dispersed

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 Example – Furman University
Orientation
Like many universities, Furman
engages freshman in
orientation activities.
This includes many activities in the
residential halls.
Many are forming and storming
activities.

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 Group Norms (1 of 2)

Group norms
• Shared guidelines or rules for
behavior that most group members
follow

Managers should encourage members

to develop norms that contribute to
group performance and the
attainment of group goals.

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 Group Norms (2 of 2)

Conformity and deviance

• Members conform to norms to obtain
rewards, imitate respected members,
and because they feel the behavior is
right.
• When a member deviates, other
members will try to make them
conform, expel the member, or
change the group norms to
accommodate them.
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 Figure 15.5 Balancing
Conformity and Deviance in
Groups

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 Group Cohesiveness

Group cohesiveness
• The degree to which members are
attracted to their group
Three major consequences
• Level of participation
• Level of conformity to group norms
• Emphasis on group goal
accomplishment

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 Figure 15.6 Sources and
Consequences of Group
Cohesiveness

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 Factors Leading to Group
Cohesiveness
Factor Description
Group Size Smaller groups allow for high cohesiveness; low
cohesiveness groups with many members can benefit
from splitting into two groups.
Managed Diversity Diverse groups often come up with better solutions.
Group Identity Encouraging a group to adopt a unique identity and
engage in competition with others can increase
cohesiveness.
Success Cohesiveness increases with success; finding ways for
a group to have some small successes increases
cohesiveness.

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 Motivating Group Members to
Achieve Organizational Goals
Members should benefit when the
group performs well—rewards can
be monetary or in other forms, such
as special recognition.

Individual compensation is a
combination of both individual and
group performance.

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 Reducing Social Loafing in
Groups
Social loafing
• The tendency of individuals to put
forth less effort in a group than
individually
• Results in possibly lower group
performance and failure to attain
group goals

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 Figure 15.7 Three Ways to
Reduce Social Loafing

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 Video: Zappos

Explain the role of teams and

teamwork at Zappos.
How has the leadership style at
Zappos contributed to the success
of the company?

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