VIRTUAL TEAMS

• These are teams that work together and solve problems through computer-based interactions.

• What are some benefits?

• Drawbacks?

VIRTUAL TEAMS

• Virtual teams should begin with social messaging that allows members to exchange information about themselves to personalize the process

• Members should be given clear roles so they can focus while working alone and know what others are doing.

• Members must join and be a part of the team with positive attitudes that support a willingness to work hard to meet team goals.

SELF-MANAGING WORK TEAMS

• Members of a self-managing work team are given the power to decide how they do their jobs and share their work.

• They plan and schedule their own work, they train members in different tasks, set and attain their own goals.

• Sometimes, these teams can even hire and fire who they want.

SELF-MANAGING WORK TEAMS

• Members are held collectively accountable for performance results.

• Members have discretion in distributing tasks within the team.

• Members have discretion in scheduling work within the team.

• Members are able to perform more than one job on the team.

• Members train one another to develop multiple job skills.

• Members evaluate one another’s performance contributions.

• Members are responsible for the total quality of team products.

• PARTICIPATION IS VERY IMPORTANT

HOW TEAMS WORK

• Effective teams achieve high levels of task performance, membership satisfaction, and future viability.

• They are open systems. The way members interact and work together to transform inputs

into outputs

-Communication-Decision making

-Norms-Cohesion-Conflict

Organizational Setting- Resources-Technology-Structures-Rewards-Information

Nature of task-Clarity -Complexity

Team Size-Number of members

Membership Characteristics-Abilities-Values-Personalities-Diversity

Group Process

Accomplishment of desired outcomes

-Task performance-Member satisfaction

-Team viability

Team Effectiveness

Inputs

Throughputs Outputs

Feedback

GROUP INPUTS

• The nature of the task affects how well a team will be able to complete a job.

• If a task is clearly defined, it is easier to combine work efforts.

• If a task is complex, more information needs to be exchanged and there is more intense interaction.

• Organizational setting also affects how team members relate to each other. -Technology, resources, structures, rewards, and information are going to affect that.

• Team size will impact relationships. Too big, and relationships struggle. Too small, and you lose out on problem-solving skills.

• An even-number could result in ties for voting.

GROUP PROCESS

• Group process is the way that team members work together to accomplish tasks.

• This includes communication, decision making, conflict resolution, etc.

• The Team effectiveness Equation is:

Team effectiveness = quality of inputs + (process gains – process losses)

TEAM DIVERSITY

• This could relate to values, personalities, experiences, demographics, cultures, or anything else.

• The more similar the membership, the easier it is to manage relationships.

• The more complex the diversity, the greater mix of ideas, perspectives, and experiences. This helps with problem-solving.

• DIVERSE TEAMS TEND TO BE MORE CREATIVE THAN HOMOGENOUS ONES.

STAGES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT

• There are 5 stages in the life cycle of any team

• 1. FORMING – Orientation and interpersonal testing

• 2. STORMING – Stage of conflict over tasks and working as a team

• 3. NORMING – Consolidation around task and operating agendas

• 4. PERFORMING – Stage of teamwork and focused task performance

• 5. ADJOURNING – Stage of task completion and disengagement

Very poor Very good

1. Trust among members 1 2 3 4 5

2. Feedback mechanisms 1 2 3 4 5

3. Open communications 1 2 3 4 5

4. Approach to decisions 1 2 3 4 5

5. Leadership sharing 1 2 3 4 5

6. Acceptance of goals 1 2 3 4 5

7. Valuing diversity 1 2 3 4 5

8. Member cohesiveness 1 2 3 4 5

9. Support for each other 1 2 3 4 5

10. Performance norms 1 2 3 4 5

Where you DON’T want to be Where you DO want to be

NORMS AND COHESIVENESS

• A norm is a behaviour, rule, or standard that members are expected to follow. When they are violated, there should be sanctions, up to and including being kicked out.

• Teams that have positive performance norms tend to do better.

• Managers are there to develop norms that achieve objectives. How do they do this?

NORMS AND COHESIVENESSAct as a positive role modelReinforce the desired behaviors with rewardsControl results by performance reviews and regular feedback

Train and orient new members to adopt desired behaviorsRecruit and select new members who exhibit the desired behaviorsHold regular meetings to discuss progress and ways to improve

Use team decision-making methods to reach agreement.

NORMS AND COHESIVENESS• Cohesiveness is the degree to which members are attracted to and motivated to remain part of a team.

• People in highly cohesive teams value membership and want to keep relations with other members.

Low performanceStrong commitments to negative norms

Low to moderate performanceWeak commitments to negative norms

Low performanceWeak commitments to positive norms

High performanceStrong commitment to Positive norms

TeamCohesiveness

Performance Norms

NORMS AND COHESIVENESS

• Managers must:

• 1. Induce agreement on team goals

• 2. Increase membership homogeneity

• 3. Increase interactions among members

• 4. Decrease team size

• 5. Introduce competition with other teams

• 6. Reward team rather than individual results

• 7. Provide physical isolation from other teams.