ITM Bridging Topic 10 – Managing Teams: Introduction To Management, Assignment, KU, Singapore

Learning Objectives

LO 1 Discuss how teams can contribute to an organization’s effectiveness

LO 2 Distinguish the new team environment from that of traditional work groups

LO 3 Summarize how groups become teams

LO 4 Explain why groups sometimes fail

LO 5 Describe how to build an effective team

LO 6 List methods for managing a team’s relationships with other teams

LO 7 Identify ways to manage conflict

Teams & Work Group Environment

Teams :

• A small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, a set of performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Work Group :

• Members of a work group are held accountable for individual work, but they are not responsible for the output of the entire work group

Benefits of Teams

1) . Costs and productivity – In teams, fewer supervisors are needed, thus cost
savings. Companies can also expand the capabilities of team members &
reduce the total no. of employees needed, thus increased productivity

2). Quality improvements – Teams can work like quality circles and strive for
continuous improvement to improve quality in products and services

3). Speed – In a team, when one member is on vacation or medical leave, the
other members can respond to customer queries, thus speed is maintained.

4). Innovation – Two or more brains are better than one, thus teams are more
innovative

Types of Teams

Project Teams :

•  Work full-time on a specific project that Project Teams has a beginning and an end

Parallel Teams:

• Focus on a problem or issue that requires only part-time commitment from team members

Transnational/ Virtual Teams:

• Interact electronically on problems that require a part-time commitment from team members

Self-Managed Teams

• Responsible for producing an entire product, component or service
• Team members need technical skills, management skills & Interpersonal skills

Types of Teams

Managing Team Performance

Stages of Team Development

• Forming
  -Team members attempt to lay the ground rules for what types of behavior are
  acceptable.
• Storming
  -Hostilities and conflict arise, and people jockey for positions of power and status.
•  Norming
  -Team members agree on their shared goals, and norms and closer relationships develop.
• Performing
  -Team members channels its energies into performing its tasks.
• Adjourning
  -Disband. Disperse as a group.

The Role of the Team Leader

• Provide feedback to team members
• Express shared vision
• Support team members

Role of Team Members

Taskfacilitating:

•  Direction giving, information seeking, information giving, coordinating, summarizing

Relationship building:

•  Supporting, harmonizing, tension relieving, energizing, facilitating

Behavioral dimensions

Cohesiveness
Norms
Cooperation
Interdependence
Trust

Types of Interdependence

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Team Performance Problems

Free riders – Working less hard and being less productive when in a team.

The non-conforming high performer – A self centered person who wants to do all the work and may want to take all the credit and reward

Lack of rewards for teamwork – If there are lack of rewards, the entire team may not be motivated to achieve goals

Team Management Skills

•  Conflict management
  -Functional conflict (Take-in and give out)
  -Dysfunctional conflict(Bad conflict)

Conflict Handling Styles

Negotiation

• Win-win style
•  Win-lose style

Superordinate goals

•  Higher-level goals taking priority over specific individual or group goals.

Tutorial: Group Discussion Questions

1. Define teams in organisations?
2. Explain the major difference between teams and workgroups.
3. In contemporary organizations, there are several possibilities of team structures. Discuss FOUR
(4) types of teams with an example each.