H10 - UNDERSTANDING WORK TEAMS
1.Slaying teamwork
You may not think a rock band can teach us about effective teams. But effective teamwork is one
of the reasons the band has become so successful. If there were problems or decisions had to be
made, they communicated openly with each other and voted. Even though their option was not
chosen, at least all opinions were heard.
2.Why have teams become so popular?
Teams are everywhere. Hiring teams ensures that more talents can be used in the organization.
Managers have found teams to be more flexible and responsive to change compared to
departments or permanent groups. They can get together, refocus and break up quickly. Another
explanation for the popularity of teams is that they are an effective way for managers to
democratize the organization and increase employee motivation. The fact that organizations use
many teams does not necessarily mean that they are always effective.
3.Differences between groups and teams
Group = two or more individuals who interact and depend on each other and have come together
to achieve a certain objective.
Working group = a group that interacts to share information and make decisions that provide
help for each member performing in his or her field of responsibility.
- Working groups have no need or opportunity to do collective work that requires joint efforts.
Their performance is thus equal to the sum of all individual contributions.
Work team = a group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is better than the
sum of the individual inputs.
A work team generates positive synergy through coordinated efforts. This ensures the better
performance.
Management is looking for a positive synergy so that performance will increase. Using teams
creates one potential that outputs will increase with no increase in inputs. There is potential, but
calling a group a team will not immediately lead to an increase in performance. Effective teams
have several characteristics in common.
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,4.Types of teams
4.1.Problem-solving teams
Groups of 5 to 12 employees from the same department who meet for a few hours every week to
discuss how the quality, efficiency and working environment can be improved.
They share ideas on how work processes and methods can be improved, but rarely have the
authority to implement their suggestions as well. They may only give recommendations.
4.2.Self-managed work teams
Groups of 10 to 15 employees who jointly assume the responsibilities of their previous
supervisors. Take responsibility and form solutions to the outcomes.
These teams may not only solve problems but also implement the solutions and take
responsibility for the outcomes.
Most common tasks: planning, assigning tasks to members, making functional decisions,
addressing problems, working with suppliers and customers.
The managerial positions can then be reduced in importance and even eliminated.
The research on these teams is not all positive: It is not that they automatically resolve conflicts
properly.
- Higher job satisfaction
- More absenteeism and turnover (negative)
Inconsistent research suggests that the effectiveness of self-managed teams depends on the
strength and content of the team's standards, the type of tasks they are given, and the reward
system (can have an impact on the team's performance).
4.3.Cross-functional teams
Employees of roughly the same hierarchical level, but from different fields of activity, come
together to perform a task. Ex: Starbucks. It is very widely used. All the major car companies
Toyota, Honda, BMW, FORD… use this form to coordinate complex projects.
An effective way for employees from different areas in an organization (or even between
organizations) to be able to share information, develop new ideas, solve problems and coordinate
complex projects.
Difficult to manage: They take a lot of time in the beginning because the employees have to learn
to work with diversity and complexity. It takes a while to build trust and teamwork. Especially for
people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
4.4.Virtual teams
Teams using computer technology to bring together members who are physically dispersed to
achieve a common goal. Video meetings, e-mail...
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,Challenges:
- Less social and direct interaction between members. Feeling of being isolated. Especially
when members have not yet met each other, virtual teams are more task-oriented and
share less social and emotional information.
- They are less satisfied with the group interaction process than face-to-facet teams. Low
levels of virtuality result in higher information sharing. But at a high level this will lead to
less sharing of information with each other.
To be effective, management must ensure that:
- There is trust between the members
- The team's progress is closely monitored (so that no one 'disappears' and the goals
remain clear)
- The team's efforts and products are published throughout the organization
4.5.Multiteam systems
A collection of 2 or more teams that depend on each other and that have a common goal. It's a
team of teams.
As tasks become more complex, the size of the team usually increases. Increasing members in a
team is not that good and that is why multi-team systems are used.
Example: In a car accident. First, an emergency medical services team that takes the injured
person to hospital. Then an emergency team that provides medical care and then a recovery
team. Despite All of them being technically independent from each other, the activities they do
are dependent. The success of one team depends on the success of the other team.
5.Creating effective teams
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, In considering the team effectiveness model, keep in mind 2 points:
1. Teams differ in shape and structure. You should not apply the predictions of the model too
rigidly to all teams. You have to use the model as a guide.
2. The model assumes that teamwork is preferred over individual work.
The key components of effective teams can be listed in four general categories:
1. The resources and other contextual influences make teams effective
2. Composition of the team
3. Work design
4. Process variables reflect the things that happen in a team that affect the effectiveness of
a team
What do we mean by the effectiveness of a team in this model? Usually it is about objective
measures of team productivity, manager's ratings of team performance, and various measures of
member satisfaction.
5.1.Context: What factors determine whether teams are successful
The four contextual factors most related to team performance are:
1. The presence of adequate resources: The main characteristic of an effective team is the
support they receive from the organization (e.g. information, good tools, good personnel
selection, encouragement and administrative assistance).
2. Effective leadership and structure: It must be ensured that all members contribute
equally to the workload. The division of work needs leadership and structure. There is
certainly a role for leaders in self-managed teams. The members of the team often take
over responsibilities from the manager. But the manager's job then changes outside
(instead of within) manage the team.
Leadership is especially important in multi-team systems (systems in which different teams
coordinate their efforts to produce a desired outcome).
3. A climate of trust: Members of effective teams must trust each other. They also show
confidence in their leader. This allows for better cooperation, there is less need to monitor
each other's behavior, and it is believed that others on the team will not take advantage of
each other. They will also take more risks and expose vulnerabilities. Trust is also the
basis of leadership. One will only accept the goals and decisions of the leader if one trusts
the leader.
4. Performance evaluation and reward systems: In addition to evaluating and rewarding
individual employee contributions, management should review group-based assessments,
profit-sharing, gain-sharing, small-group incentives, and other system modifications that
reinforce the team's efforts and commitment.
5.2.Team composition:
1. Skills of members: Part of a team's performance depends on knowledge, skills and abilities
of the individual members. To perform effectively, the team needs three types of skills:
people with technical expertise, people with problem-solving and decision-making skills,
and people with good interpersonal skills. The right mix is necessary. Teams do not need
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