OB: Teams

The lecture explores the dynamics and types of teams, emphasizing their roles and interdependencies in various settings. It categorizes teams into departmental, production, leadership, self-directed, advisory, task force, virtual, communities of practice, and Skunk Works, highlighting their unique characteristics and functions. Challenges such as process losses, Brooks' law, and social loafing are discussed, alongside factors influencing team effectiveness, including trust, communication, and leadership. The lecture also delves into decision-making constraints like groupthink and conformity, offering methods like brainstorming, electronic brainstorming, and the Delphi method to enhance creativity and decision-making within teams.

• Departmental Teams: These teams form based on co-location with minimal interdependence. Historically, typing pools exemplified this, where secretaries worked independently rather than collaboratively.
• Production/Service/Leadership Teams: These teams are multi-skilled with collective goals, such as assembly line production teams or leadership teams that make decisions collectively.
• Self-Directed Teams: High interdependence and autonomy characterize these teams, which manage their own members and projects without a manager. Suitable for experienced professionals.
• Advisory Teams: Provide recommendations without authority. Quality circles in total quality management are examples, aiming to improve processes and products.
• Task Force Teams: Temporary teams for problem-solving, such as developing a new product line. They disband after completing their task.
• Virtual Teams: Operate across space, time, and sometimes organizational boundaries, using digital communication tools to collaborate.
• Communities of Practice: Informal teams bound by mutual interest, often communicating through email listservs to share solutions and advice.
• Skunk Works Teams: Multi-skilled, secretive teams focused on innovation, free from bureaucratic hierarchy, exemplified by Apple's iPod development.

"Next, we have what are called production or service or sometimes even leadership teams. These are multi-skilled teams that have a collective production in mind."

• Production, service, and leadership teams are characterized by their multi-skilled nature and collective goals.

"Self-directed teams have perhaps the highest interdependence and the most autonomy of all teams."

• Self-directed teams operate with high autonomy and interdependence, managing their own activities and resources.

"Skunk Works teams are multi-skilled teams usually located far away from others in the company, almost always free from bureaucratic hierarchy."

• Skunk Works teams are innovative and operate independently from company bureaucracy, focusing on secret projects.

• Process Losses/Coordination Costs: Developing and maintaining a team can incur high coordination costs, especially with larger teams.
• Lack of Supportive Environments: Teams need appropriate rewards, communication systems, and leadership. Individual performance-based rewards can undermine team dynamics.
• Brooks' Law: Adding more team members in a crisis can slow down progress due to increased coordination costs.
• Social Loafing: Some team members may not contribute equally, leading to others compensating for their lack of effort.

"Sometimes individuals simply perform better or faster on the task if left to do it alone."

• Individual performance can sometimes surpass team performance due to less coordination required.

"Process losses or coordination costs are simply the cost of developing and maintaining a team."

• Coordination costs can hinder team efficiency, especially with larger teams.

"Brooks' law is simply adding team members in a time of crisis so that it actually slows down the team rather than speeding it up."

• Adding team members during a crisis can increase coordination costs, slowing down the team instead of helping.

"Some team members simply do not contribute their fair share, causing other people to do more work."

• Social loafing occurs when team members don't contribute equally, burdening others with additional work.

• Social loafing is a common issue in team projects, where some members do not contribute equally.
• This imbalance can negatively affect the team's overall performance and morale.
• Conscientious members often compensate for the slackers to maintain a reasonable team performance level.

"It's a real shame that some people have to work harder than others in the team in order for the team to perform at a reasonable level."

• This quote highlights the frustration and unfairness experienced by diligent team members when others do not contribute equally.

• Effective teamwork is influenced by organizational and team environment factors.
• Team-based rewards and organizing teams around work processes enhance communication and effectiveness.
• Collaborative workspaces and appropriate organizational structures support teamwork.
• Leadership plays a crucial role in promoting and implementing teamwork within an organization.

"It's best to have at least some team-based rewards... organize team around work processes... increase the inter-team communication."

• This quote emphasizes the importance of organizational support and structure in fostering effective teamwork.

• Task characteristics, team size, and team composition are key elements in team design.
• Teams should have a manageable size to minimize coordination costs and encourage communication.
• Diversity in team composition can lead to better decision-making and stronger interpersonal relations.

"The team should be large enough to get the job done but small enough to minimize coordination cost or process losses."

• This quote explains the balance needed in team size to optimize efficiency and communication.

• Team processes include stages of development, norms, trust, and cohesiveness.
• Team norms define acceptable behaviors and help guide the team towards success.
• Trust and cohesiveness are essential for team members to feel connected and committed.

"We have Team Norms... important part of pushing the team forward making it successful."

• This quote highlights the role of team norms in guiding team behavior and promoting success.

• Team effectiveness can be measured by performance, satisfaction, and survival.
• Performance is assessed through measurable outcomes like sales or error minimization.
• Satisfaction relates to team members' well-being and their enjoyment of the team experience.
• Survival measures how long a team remains intact and functional.

"We can measure individual performance surely we can measure team performance... team member satisfaction is really important."

• This quote underscores the importance of performance and satisfaction as indicators of team effectiveness.

• Task interdependence ranges from low to high: reciprocal, sequential, and pooled interdependence.
• Reciprocal interdependence involves back-and-forth exchanges between team members.
• Sequential interdependence follows a linear process where each member's output is the next member's input.
• Pooled interdependence involves members working independently but sharing common resources.

"At the very highest level of interdependence we have reciprocal interdependence... work output travels back and forth amongst employees."

• This quote explains reciprocal interdependence, where team members rely on each other's input and feedback.

• Different sports exemplify various levels of task interdependence.
• Basketball is an example of reciprocal interdependence with constant role changes.
• Football demonstrates sequential interdependence with a clear passing sequence.
• Baseball is an example of pooled interdependence with individual contributions to a common goal.

"Basketball is a very clear example of reciprocal and football is a slightly clearer example of sequential than would be baseball."

• This quote uses sports analogies to illustrate different types of interdependence and their characteristics.

• Teams undergo stages of development that can vary in duration and recurrence.
• Understanding these stages helps in managing team dynamics and improving effectiveness.

"These are the stages of team development and every team goes through these stages."

• This quote introduces the concept of team development stages as a universal process for all teams.

• Forming Stage: Initial phase where team members learn about each other, evaluate membership, and are polite and submissive to leadership.
• Storming Stage: Characterized by interpersonal conflict as team members assert their roles and capabilities.
• Norming Stage: Development of cohesion with shared objectives and common mental models; establishment of behavioral norms.
• Performing Stage: Teams effectively coordinate and resolve conflicts to achieve goals.
• Adjourning Stage: Focus shifts to relationships as team prepares to disband or move on to new projects.

"The first stage of Team development is the forming stage... members are usually more polite at this stage and they're more likely to submit to leadership."

• Initial stage where team dynamics are explored and leadership is more readily accepted.

"The storming stage... is where interpersonal conflict tends to develop."

• Conflict arises as team members vie for roles and assert their capabilities.

"The norming stage... is where cohesion tends to develop strongest."

• Team members establish shared objectives and norms, fostering cohesion.

"The Performing stage... this is where they get the job done."

• Teams effectively work together to achieve objectives and resolve conflicts.

"The adjourning stage... members tend to focus on their relationships instead of on the tasks."

• Final stage where team members evaluate relationships as the team disbands.

• Member Similarity: Homophily, or preference for similar individuals, enhances cohesiveness.
• Team Size: Smaller teams (4-6 members) are more cohesive; large teams struggle with cohesion.
• Member Interaction: Quality and frequency of interaction build cohesiveness.
• Difficult Entry: Teams with challenging entry processes tend to be more cohesive.
• Team Success: Successful teams attract and retain members, enhancing cohesiveness.
• External Challenges: Facing common external threats strengthens team bonds.

"Member similarity... this is the degree to which people prefer to be with others who are like themselves."

• Similarity among team members enhances cohesion.

"As the size of the team gets so large cohesiveness decreases."

• Larger teams face challenges in maintaining cohesion.

"The degree of interaction... builds cohesiveness."

• Frequent and quality interactions foster team cohesion.

"When they're somewhat difficult entry to the team the team tends to be very cohesive."

• Challenging entry processes enhance team unity.

"When the team is successful people want to be a part of the team."

• Success breeds cohesion and attracts members.

"When teams face a so-called common enemy they tend to be very cohesive."

• External threats unify team members against a common challenge.

• Identification-Based Trust: Highest level, based on shared values and emotional bonds.
• Knowledge-Based Trust: Based on predictability and competence, developed over time.
• Calculus-Based Trust: Lowest level, based on deterrence and expected behavior consistency.

"At the very highest level of trust we have identification based Trust."

• Trust is rooted in shared values and emotional connections.

"Knowledge based trust... is based solely on the other party's predictability and competence."

• Trust grows from reliable and competent behavior over time.

"At the lowest level we have something called calculus based trust."

• Trust is fragile, relying on deterrence and expected behavior.

• Time: Limited time can hinder the ability to organize and make effective decisions.
• Conformity to Peer Pressure: Suppressing dissenting opinions due to team norms can limit decision quality.
• Evaluation Apprehension: Fear of negative evaluation by peers can stifle contributions and hinder decision-making.

"We need time to organize and time to coordinate when we are trying to make a decision."

• Time constraints can limit effective decision-making.

"Conformity to peer pressure... suppresses opinions that oppose team norms."

• Peer pressure can stifle valuable dissenting opinions.

"Evaluation apprehension... the fear of being negatively evaluated by others."

• Fear of judgment can prevent team members from contributing ideas.

• Evaluation apprehension is the fear of being judged negatively by others, which can inhibit individuals from expressing ideas or asking questions.
• This apprehension is detrimental in team environments where members evaluate each other, affecting performance appraisals.
• It limits the ability of teams to make effective decisions due to fear of judgment.

"That's evaluation apprehension. This is particularly problematic in a team-based scenario where team members evaluate each other later."

• Evaluation apprehension can lead to poor team dynamics and decision-making as individuals hold back ideas to avoid negative judgment.

• Group polarization refers to the tendency of groups to make more extreme decisions than individuals would alone.
• It is similar to mob mentality, where blame is diffused among members, leading to riskier decisions.
• The collective nature of groups allows for blame diffusion, resulting in more extreme actions.

"They make a much riskier decision because they can diffuse or spread the blame for the eventual poor decision that they make."

• Group polarization can lead to decisions that individuals might not make alone, as the group setting provides a sense of shared responsibility.

• Groupthink is the tendency to prioritize consensus over decision quality, often resulting in poor decisions.
• Symptoms include excessive cohesion, strong group identity, isolation from outsiders, and external threats.
• It is exacerbated by opinionated leaders and recent team failures, and it thrives in environments lacking clear guidance.

"Groupthink is bad. It's always bad. It's bad, bad, bad."

• Groupthink undermines decision quality by valuing agreement over critical evaluation of ideas.

• The Edsel car by Ford is a classic example of groupthink, where team members did not challenge poor design decisions due to the car's association with the Ford family.
• The Watergate scandal is another example, where a need for consensus led to illegal activities.

"This was a car that was championed by the Ford family. How dare you go against a car design that is named after the son or grandson of the founder?"

• Historical examples illustrate how groupthink can lead to significant failures by suppressing dissent and critical thinking.

• Constructive conflict involves debating different perceptions while focusing on the task, not personal differences.
• It aims to generate better ideas by leveraging diverse perspectives, though it can easily devolve into personal attacks.

"Constructive conflict is something that we seek to have. We want conflict of this sort within our teams."

• Constructive conflict encourages healthy debate, leading to more robust solutions through collaborative problem-solving.

• Brainstorming is a team-based method for generating creative solutions without criticism.
• It encourages free expression of ideas, allowing members to build on each other's thoughts.
• Key challenges include evaluation apprehension and production blocking, where simultaneous idea sharing can hinder contribution.

"The idea is that even if I offer a really weird or potentially invalid solution, it may spur a thought in another team member's mind."

• Brainstorming fosters creativity by eliminating judgment and encouraging the free flow of ideas.

• Electronic brainstorming uses software to share ideas non-verbally, allowing anonymity and reducing evaluation apprehension.
• It enables participants to contribute ideas simultaneously, overcoming production blocking.

"The ideas are then posted on a common screen in a random fashion. No one knows whose idea is associated with whom."

• Electronic brainstorming enhances idea generation by preserving anonymity and allowing simultaneous input.

• The nominal group technique is a structured decision-making process involving silent idea generation, round-robin sharing, and ranking solutions.
• It minimizes criticism and debate, focusing on idea clarification and prioritization.

"Individuals describe their solutions to the group in a round robin fashion. There's no criticism or debate of the solutions at this time."

• This technique facilitates balanced participation and objective evaluation of ideas.

• The Delphi method involves gathering input from experts who do not meet face-to-face, using a central convener to synthesize ideas.
• It is time-consuming and expensive but allows for comprehensive expert analysis and iterative refinement of solutions.

"It involves the pooling of the collective knowledge of various experts who do not meet face to face."

• The Delphi method leverages expert insights for complex problem-solving, ensuring thorough consideration of diverse perspectives.

• The Devil's Advocate approach involves critiquing ideas to uncover oversights and improve decision quality.
• It can be uncomfortable but is effective in challenging assumptions and enhancing creativity.

"The Devil's Advocate job is to punch holes in the ideas offered by others and then explain why the idea will not work."

• By intentionally challenging ideas, this approach helps identify weaknesses and fosters more robust solutions.