UNDERSTANDING WORK GROUPS

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Chapter 14

• UNDERSTANDING WORK GROUPS

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Management Talk

• Teams, training, and increased authority for
  workers are key elements of quality-improvement
  effortsTo help accomplish their objectives,
  teams are aided by company-trained employees, who
  provide skills training and serve as resources
  throughout all phases of the teams work.
• National Institute of Standards and Technology,
  describing its 1992 Malcolm Baldrige National
  Quality Award winner, ATT Network Systems Group
  (Lucent Technologies)

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Objectives

• Explain the difference between formal and
  informal work groups
• Discuss group norms, group cohesiveness, and
  group conformity
• Understand why individuals conform to group norms
• Recognize the importance of work groups to an
  organization
• Suggest ways to build effective work groups

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Understanding Management
When Lucent Technologies spun off from its parent
company, ATT, it gained the freedom to organize
its workforce differently. Most Lucent employees
work in teams designed to foster efficiency,
creativity, and innovation. This approach gives
employees the flexibility to solve problems and
invent new products. In fact, Lucent can boast
of earning about two patents per working day, as
well as the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award.
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Management Skills

• Why would it be important for tam members to
  receive continual training?
• If you were on a team responsible for inventing a
  communications system, what qualities would you
  appreciate in your team members?

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Sec. 14.1 How Groups Behave

• Brainwrite/Brainstorm
• What are the pros and cons of group work?
• What kinds of group work have you experienced?

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What Youll Learn

• The differences between formal and informal work
  groups
• Why employees join informal work groups
• The factors that influence how groups behave
• The meaning of groupthink.

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Why is this important?

• To supervise groups effectively, managers must
  understand the dynamics of group behavior

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Groups Within Organizations

• Two or more people who interact to meet a shared
  goal
• A shared sense of purpose sets a group apart from
  just a gathering of people

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Types of Groups

• Formal Work Groups
• Exist for short or long period of time
• Task Force
• A single goal to resolve a problem or design a
  new product
• Functional Group
• Consists of manager and all the employees he or
  she supervises in an ongoing manner

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Types of Groups

• Informal Work Groups
• Formed voluntarily by members of an organization
• Develop personal contact and interactions among
  people
• Interest Groups
• Share a purpose or concern
• Women executives form a group to share ideas
  about issues facing women in management
• The workplace is where socialization takes place
  and friendships emerge
• Affects of Informal Work Groups
• Productivity
• Morale
• Success of Managers
• Sense of Loyalty
• Work for or against organizational goals

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Groups Within Organizations

• Management does not recognize informal groups
  that revolve around friendship, interests, or
  shared working space and tasks.
• An understanding of informal groups can improve
  managers work with formal work groups
• Satisfaction from informal groups should be
  duplicated in a formal work group environment

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Group Norms

• Informal rules a group adopts to regulate the
  behavior of group members
• Expectations of group members to improve
• Productivity levels
• Operating procedures
• Other work-related activities
• Group norms can be written, spoken, or acted out
  by group members to show new members how to
  behave

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Group Behavior

• Group Cohesiveness
• Degree of attraction among group members, or who
  tightly knit a group is
• More Cohesiveness Greater likelihood that Group
  Norms will be followed
• Factors affecting cohesiveness of informal work
  group

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Group Behavior

• Group Conformity
• Degree to which group members accept and follow
  group norms
• Group seeks to control members behavior for two
  reasons
• Independent behavior can cause disagreements that
  threaten a groups survival
• Consistent behavior creates an atmosphere of
  trust that allows members to work together and
  socialize comfortably
• Individuals conform to group norms when they are
• Similar to personal attitudes, beliefs, and
  behavior
• Do not agree with the groups norms but feel
  pressure to accept them

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Group Behavior

• Group Pressure and Conformity
• Group pressure can break-down a group when one
  member goes above and beyond the rest of the
  group
• (Case Study) A textile employee began to produce
  more than the group norm of 50 units per day.
  After two weeks, the group started to pressure
  this worker to produce less, and she quickly
  dropped to the groups level. After three weeks,
  all the members of the group were moved to other
  jobs except for this worker. Once again, her
  production quickly climbed to double the group
  norm.
• Why would the other workers try to slow their
  co-worker down?
• Was it fair for other workers to try to slow her
  down?

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Group Behavior

• Groupthink
• When group members lose their ability to think as
  individuals and conform at the expense of their
  good judgment
• Members become unwilling to say anything against
  the group or any member
• Groupthink members will justify any action,
  stereotype outsiders as enemies of the group, and
  pressure unwilling members to conform
• Groupthink is disruptive because it affects
  employees ability to make logical decisions
• Imagine that you are the new manager of a
  department that has succumbed to groupthink.
  What steps would you take to encourage individual
  thinking?

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Extension Activity!!!

• Have students write an opinion piece, act out a
  workplace situation, or design a cartoon
  illustrating the concept of groupthink

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14. 1 Chapter Summary

• Organizations have two kinds of work groups,
  formal and informal
• Informal work groups develop around friendship,
  shared interests, or similar work
  responsibilities
• Informal groups have their own norms, are
  cohesive, and develop ways to maintain conformity

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Sec. 14.2 Managing Formal Groups

• Review the explanation formal groups and predict
  what role managers play in helping formal groups
  succeed
• What qualities might be helpful to a manager in
  the team building process?

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What Youll Learn

• The importance of formal work groups
• How managers can influence group cohesiveness and
  conformity
• Methods of encouraging teamwork in formal groups
• The characteristics of successful group leaders

Why is this Important?
Formal work groups are an important way of
organizing work and managers must help them
succeed.
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The Importance of Formal Work Groups

• Groups have more knowledge and information than
  individuals
• Ease the process of communicating and solving
  problems
• Creates more efficiency
• Managing groups effectively will enable a company
  to
• Improve production
• Maintain a competitive edge (advantage)
• Managers must overcome cultural and gender
  differences

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Influencing Work Groups

• Hawthorne Effect giving special attention to a
  group of employees changes the employees
  behavior
• Job factor variance
• Employee pay
• Supervision
• Lighting
• Length of rest periods
• Number of hours worked

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Building Effective Work Groups

• Managers are responsible for developing shared
  values and group loyalty in formal work groups
• Linking-Pin Concept
• Since managers are members of overlapping groups,
  they link formal work groups to the total
  organization
• Managers improve communication and ensure that
  organizational and group goals are met
• Managers themselves are the linking pins

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Building Effective Work Groups

• Team Building
• Process of establishing a cohesive group that
  works together to achieve its goals
• Managers can encourage teamwork by
• Selecting group members carefully
• Creating a positive work environment
• Building Trust
• Increasing Group Cohesiveness

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Building Effective Work Groups

• Creating Groups
• Identify qualified people
• Make the group attractive to these individuals
• Increase of pay
• Job Satisfaction
• Benefits that are provided just like an informal
  work group
• Consider office layout and physical factors
  affecting groups ability to work together
  successfully

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Building Effective Work Groups

• Youve got to pick a few people and really trust
  them.
• - Bill Gates, Microsoft
• Building Trust
• Sharing responsibility and making decisions
  together
• Trust enables members to stick to the group norms
• Managers must
• Have faith in employees
• Recognize the interests of the organization, the
  group, and the employees
• Become personally involved, take a real interest
  in group members, share information, and exhibit
  honesty
• What kinds of managerial problems might arise if
  employees lose confidence or trust in a manager?

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Building Effective Work Groups

• Influencing Group Cohesiveness and Conformity
• Managers can affect formal group performance
  levels to those individuals who are highly
  competitive and eager to succeed by
• Keeping groups small
• Selecting group members carefully
• Finding a good personality fit between new and
  old employees
• Developing an office layout that improves
  communication
• Creating clear goals
• Inspiring group competition
• Rewarding groups rather than individuals
• Isolating groups from each other

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Building Effective Work Groups

• Whether on the court or off, what I call for in
  my people is full awareness and attention.
• Phil Jackson, Former Coach of the 6-time NBA
  Champion Chicago Bulls
• Jacksons approach teaches individuals
• To value the needs of the team
• To surrender their egos so that the end result is
  bigger than the sum of its parts

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Quality Circles

• A group of employees from a single work unit
  (such as a department) who share ideas on how to
  improve quality
• Encourage employees in decision making
• Membership is usually voluntary
• Members share a common bond performing similar
  tasks
• Encourages communication and trust among members
  and managers
• Inexpensive way to provide employees with
  training while giving them a sense of control
  over their work lives
• May solve problems that have been around for
  years
• Me becomes Us in a good quality circle

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Groups and Leaders

• Informal groups select a leader most capable of
  satisfying the groups needs
• Gaining Acceptance
• Managers assigned to formal work groups must work
  to gain acceptance as leaders
• What makes a good teacher, makes a good manager?
• Know their subject well
• Communicate information effectively
• Treat students with respect
• Make fair judgments

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Groups and Leaders

• Encouraging Participation
• Managers encourage participation and shared
  responsibility, acting more like a coach than a
  manager
• How does one encourage team spirit?
• Provide the group with a shared vision
• Lead by example (Attitude and Performance)
• Encourage group to listen and support all members
• Function within a cohesive group

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14. 2 Chapter Summary

• Formal work groups often lack the loyalty and
  shared values that characterize informal groups,
  so managers work hard to encourage participation
• Managers can build effective teams by selecting
  the right candidates, building trust, and
  encouraging group cohesiveness
• In order to be good team leaders, managers must
  be accepted by the group, understand how to
  provide a vision, and lead by example

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Speech Skills

• You have been a member of many formal and
  informal groups in your life. Examples of such
  groups may include a youth group, a sports team,
  co-workers at a summer or part-time job, or
  neighborhood friends. Some of the groups have
  been effective and some have not. Think about
  the most effective and ineffective groups you
  have been in. Prepare a brief presentation
  describing the characteristics of each group.

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Assessing Team Skills

• Within the class, organize team to compete in a
  paper airplane contest where each team will
  compete for distance and flight time. Have each
  group select a captain, then work together to
  create cohesiveness. Methods may include
  practicing together, engaging in a group
  activity, or sharing personal information. Keep
  record of the methods your group uses. Once the
  contest has been completed, compare your methods
  and results with those of the other teams. What
  methods did the winning team use that have made
  them successful?

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Assessing Academic Skills

• You are a manager at a family-oriented restaurant
  chain. In the past year, two new restaurants
  have opened in the area. Both of them have done
  poorly, despite good locations. You must put
  together a task force to find ways to boost the
  new restaurants revenues. Decide where you
  would find people for the task force. Then
  compose a memo for senior management presenting
  your proposal and explaining your reasons for
  choosing these employees.