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has created what might be called an "age of specifics," Federal guidelines and court
decisions now require that the specific performance requirements of a job be based
on va/id job-related criteria.l" Personnel decisions that involve either job applicants
or employees and are based on criteria that are vague or not job-related are increasingly successfully challenged. Managers of small businesses, in which employees may
perform many different job tasks, must be particularly con cerned about writing specific job descriptions. To help alleviate the problem of employees daiming rhat a task
"s not my job," organizations ofren indude language in their job descriptions stating
that the jobholder will perform "other dutes" as needed. Notice that rhe job-dures
section in Highlights in HRM 2 contains the following language: Performs related du-
Job Design
lEARNING OUTCOME 4
Industrial engineering is the study of work cydes to determine which, if any, elements of work can be modified, combined, rearranged, or eliminated to reduce
me time needed to complete the work cyde. Time standards are then established
by recording the time required to complete each element in the work cyde, using a
sropwatch or work-sampling technique. Industrial engineering dramatically changed
how people worked around the beginning of the twentieth century and for decades
o come.
However, like organizations thernselves, the job analysis process has evolved as
eople think about ways to restructure firms to better compete as the marketplace
changes. Job design is part of rhis process. Job design, which is an outgrowth of
job analysis, focuses on restructuringjobs
to capture the talents of employees, imrove their work satisfaction, and enhance an organization's perforrnance.P Corn_ anies such as Harley-Davidson
and Banner Healrh are among the many firms
zhat have revamped their jobs to eliminate unnecessary job tasks and find better
ays of doing work.
As Figure 4.4 illustrates, the four elements examined as a part of job design are:
1. Organizational
induding
:1- Ergonomic concerns. Ergonomics is the process of studying and designing equpment and systems rhat are easy and efficient for employees to use so that their
physical well-being isn't compromised. Ergonomics will be discussed in greater detaillater in the book when we cover employee safety and health.
. Behavioral concerns that influence an ernployee's job sarisfaction.l"
We have already discussed the basic organizational and strategic concerns
=:ms try to meet as part of the job analysis process as well as how industrial
mneers such as Henry Ford and Frederick Winslow Taylor improved the
ciency of work done in organizations. What we have not yet discussed
much detail are the behavioral concerns that affect the motivation of ern= yees and their job satisfaction. This is especial1y important when you
ider the fact that people-not
machines-are
the most strategic asset
panies have today.
job design
An outgrowth 01job analysis
that improves jobs through
technological and human
considerations in arder to
enhance organization elliciency and employee job
satislaction
ergonomics
The process 01studying and
designing equipment and
systems that are easy and
efficient lar people to use
and that ensure their physlcal well-being.
PART 2
Meeting Human
Resources Requirements
Ergonomic considerations
involving human capabilities
and limitations
Many companies
willingly invest
in ergonomically
designed work
stations beca use they
protect the health
and productivity of
employees.
Ti
I
~
c-,
-;ji
----~------~---------------------------~~---~--~~
CHAPTER 4
Job Characteristics
Model: Designing
O Motivate
Employees
Jobs
lEARNING OUTCOME 5
Would you like it if your supervisor timed down to the mnute each of rhe tasks associated with your job and then asked you to adhere to those times? Would you find
rhis motivatingf Probably not. In an effort to counter the motivational problems that
occur when workers do standardized, repetitive tasks, researchers began proposing
rheories they believed could improve simultaneously the efficiency of organizations
and the job satisfaction of employeesP Perhaps the theory that best exemplifies this
esearch is the one advanced by Richard Hackman and Greg Oldharn.l'' Hackman
and Oldham's job characteristics model proposes that three psychological siates of a
jobholder result in improved work performance, internal motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover.l'' A motivated, satisfied, and productive employee. L) experiences meaningfulness of the work performed, (2) experiences responsibility for work
outcomes, and (3) has knowledge of the results of the work performed. Hackman and
Oldham believe that five core job dimensions produce the three psychological states.
The five job characteristics are as fol1ows:
l. Skill variety: The degree to which ajob entails a variety of different activities, which
demand the use of a number of different skills and talents by the jobholder
~ Task identity: The degree to which the job requires completion of a whole and
Job characteristics
model
A job design theory that
purports that three psychological states (experiencing
meaningfulness of the work
performed, responsibility
for work outcomes, and
knowledge of the results of
the work performed) 01 a
jobholder result in improved
work performance, internal
motivation, and lower absenteeism and turnover
identifiable piece of work, that is, doing a job from beginning to end with a visible
outcome
3. Task significance: The degree to which rhe job has a substantial impact on the lives
or work of other people, wherher in the immediate organization or in the external
environment
Autonomy:
The degree to which the job provides substantial freedom, independence, and discretion to the individual in scheduling the work and in determining
the procedures to be used in carrying it out
5. Feedback: The degree to which carrying out the work activities required by the job
results in the individual being given direct and dear information
tiveness of his or her performance
A number of job design techniques are being used today in an effort to remake jobs
as Hackman and Oldham envisioned they could be. The techniques indude job enlargement, job rotation, and job enrichment. Job enlargement is the process of adding a greater variety of tasks to a job. Maytag, IBM, and AT &T are some of the
firms that have used job enlargement to motivate their ernployees." Job rotation is a
~rocess whereby employees rotate in and out of different jobs. Both job enlargement
and job rotation help alleviate the boredom people experience where they perform
narrow, specialized jobs. Rotating people in and out of different jobs can also help
employees who do repetitive physical tasks avoid health problems and on-rhe-job
injuries. For instance, after a number of hours on his feet, a drugstore cashier might
move ro the store's photo department and process photos while sitting down. Job
otation is also often used in work teams so members can trade off doing different
rasks as needed.
Any effort that makes work more rewarding or satisfying by adding more meaningful tasks to an ernployee's job is called job enrichment, Originally popularized
by Frederick Herzberg in the 1960s, job enrichment programs are designed to
Job enlargement
The process 01 adding a
greater variety 01 tasks to
ajobo
Job rotation
The process whereby employees rotate in and out 01
different jobs.
job enrichment
Enhancing a job by adding
more meaninglul tasks and
duties to make the work
more rewarding or satisfying
PART 2
employee
empowerment
Granting employees power
to initiate change, thereby
encouraging them to take
charge of what they do
CHAPTER 4
Employers as diverse as Home Depot, Walmart, Cigna HealthCare, Costeo, AutoZone, Disney, and Applebee's have turned
to their employees to gain a competitive edge. As a result, employees are improving the quality of products and services, reducing costs, and successfully modifying products as well as creating new ones.
At Kraft Foods, employees at the company's Sussex, Wisconsin, food plant participated in work redesign changes
and team building that increased the plant's productivity, reduced its overhead, and cut assembly time.
At Ford's factory in Wayne, Michigan, one group of employees made a suggestion saving $115,000 per year on the
purchase of gloves used to protect workers who handle sheet metal and glass. The group figured out how to have
the gloves washed so they could be used more than once.
Home Depot's Special Project Support Teams (SPST) work to improve the organization's business and information
services. Employees with a wide range of backgrounds and skills collaborate to address a variety of strategic and
tactical business needs.
American Airlines' "Rainbow Team" of gay employees brought in $192 million in annual revenue by targeting the
gay community.
job crafring
Anaturallyoccurring phenomenon whereby employees moldtheir tasks to lit
their individualstrengths,
passions, and motives betler
employee
engagement
Asituation in which workers are enthusiastic and
immersed in their work to
the degree that it improves
the performance 01 their
companies
Dejobbing
relers to a process 01
structuring organizations
not around jobs but around
projects hat are constantiy
changing.
PART 2
to imagine a world without jobs. However, the idea might not be as far-ferched as
you think. Consider Wl.. Gore & Associates, which makes Gore-Tex fabric, surgical, aerospace, and other products. There are no bosses at Wl.. Gore or traditional
jobs per se. All employees are hired as "associares" and assigned to "sponsors" in the
functional groups in which they work. The structure has helped create a culture of
innovation within the company that has repeatedly landed it on Fortune magazine's
annuallist of the United States"'lOO Best Companies to Work For,"
LEARNING OUTCOME 6
Teamwork has already become a common structure in the workplace. Says Jim
Barksdale, the chairman and president of Barksdale Management
Corporation,
a
private investment management corporation "These days it seems as if every time a
task needs to be accomplished within an organization,
a team is formed to do it,"
Organizations of all types-Federal
Express, Hewlett-Packard,
Trek Bicydes, Calvin
Klein, and LucasFilm, producer of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films-are
using
employee teams to solve unique and complex problems and improve the collaboration
among workers and their morale./ Via teamwork, employees are reducing the costs
of their organizations, creating better goods and services, and speeding up ther delvery to the marketplace.
employee teams
An employee team can be defined as a group of individuals working together toAnemployeecontributions ward a common purpose, in which members have complementary
skills, mernbers'
techniquewherebywork
work is mutually dependent, and the group has discretion over tasks performed. Furfunctionsare structuredfor
thermore, teams seek to make members of the work group share responsibility and
groupsratherthanforindividualsandteammembers
accountability for ther group's performance. Part of the reason why employee teams
are givendiscretioninmatexist is thar employees, not managers, are dosest to the work that's actually being
ters traditionally
considered
managementprerogatives, done in an organization. Thus, they are often in a better position to see how the work
suchas processimprovecan be done better. As this chapter's srnall-business feature dearly explains, teams
ments,product orservice
that operate effectively are especially important to small businesses and firms coping
development,
andindividual
during an economic downturn as they try to survive.
workassignments
Teamwork also embraces rhe concept of synergy. Synergy occurs when the interaction and outcome of team members is greater than the sum of their individual efforts.28 Synergy in teams does not automatically happen, though. Rather, it must be
nurtured within the team environment.? Figure 4.5lists the behaviors that can help
a team develop synergy.
Teams can operate in a variety of structures, each with different strategic purposes
or functional activities. Figure 4.6 describes common team forms. They indude
cross-funcrional teams, project teams, self-directed teams, rask-Iorce teams, process~
improvement tearns, and virtual teams. Self-directed teams are often championed as
being the highest form of tearns. Also called autonomous work groups, self-managed
teams, or hgh-performance teams, they consist of groups of employees who are accountable for an entire work process or segment that delivers a product or service
to an internal or external customer. For example, in a manufacturing
environment,
a team might be responsible for a whole product such as a computer screen or a dearly
defined segment of the production process, such as the building of an engine for a
passenger caro Similarly, in a service environment, a team is usually responsible for an
entire group of products and services. Or a team might be responsible for serving clients in one particular geographical area. Typical team functions indude setting work
schedules, dealing directly with external customers, training team members, setting
CHAPTER 4
behaviors.
Listening and Clarification. Active listening is practiced. Members honestly listen to others and seek clarification
discussion points. The tea m members summarize discussions held.
Consensus. The team's members reach agreements through consensus. Proposals that are acceptable to all tea m
members are adopted, even if they not the first choice of some of the individual members. Common ground among
ideas is sought.
The members'
comments
on
are nonjudgmental
cc
improvement
and
o
N
g>
~
ID
marketing,
production,
Project Teams. A group formed specifically to design a new product or service. The members are assigned by their
managers on the basis of their ability to contribute to the team's success. The group normally disbands after the task is
completed.
Self-Directed Teams. Groups of highly trained individuals performing a set of interdependent job tasks within a natural
work unit. The tea m members rely on consensus-type decision-making to perform their work duties, solve problems, or
deal with internal or external customers.
Task Force Teams. A task force is formed by management
to immediately
'"
o
g>
Process-Improvement
Teams. A group made up of experienced people from different departments or functions. The
group is charged with improving quality, decreasing waste, or enhancing the productivity of processes that affect all
departments or functions. The members are normally appointed by management.
]
ID
~--------------------------------------------------------------------~
performance targets, budgeting, inventory management, and purchasing equipment
or services. To operate efficiently, team members generally acquire multiple skills so
that they are able to perform a variety of tasks as part of the team.
Companies are recognizing that the best people for projects are often in different
locations. As a result, firms are increasingly using virtual teams. Virtual teams utilze telecommunications
technology to link team members who are geographically
dispersed-often
worldwide across cultures and across time zones. The technology virmal teams use includes wikis, document-sharing platforms such as Google Docs, online
virtual team
A team that utilizestelecommunicationstechnologyto
link team memberswho are
geographicallydispersedoften worldwide across cultures and acrosstime zones.
PART 2
Online services
such as Skype and
iMeet allow virtual
workers to get better
acquainted with
one another and
have face-to-face
conversations across
any distance.
CHAPTER 4
Aclimate
of cooperation,
The recognition
collaboration,
Unfortunately,
not all teams succeed or operate at their full potential. Power
struggles, uncertainty about the roles members should play, a lack of resources, conflicts of interest, and personality differences are common team problems. Another
dificulty with work teams is that they alter the traditional manager-employee
relarionship. Managers sometimes feel threatened by the growing power of the tea m
and rhe reduced power of management.
Organizations
can help prevent some of rhe problems a team experiences by dererrnining how to compensate the ream's members individually and jointly for its
achievements and by having the members undergo team training. Complete training
or the team would cover the importance of skills in (1) team leadership, (2) mission/
goal serting, (3) conduct of meetings, (4) team decision-rnaking,
(5) conflict resolunon, (6) effective communication, and (7) diversity awareness.F' In addition, research
shows that teams are more effective when rhey initially establish "ground rules" for
bow they should operate and their members should behave. HRM Experience, at the
end of the chapter, presents an exercise to set team ground rules.
LEARNING OUTCOME 7
Name so me of the
jobs people do at your
school. Which of the
jobs do you think could
effectively incorporate
flexible work schedules? Which could not?
Flextime
Flextime, or flexible working hours, give employees the option of choosing daily starting and quitting times, provided they work a certain number of hours per day or week.
With flextime, employees are given considerable latitude in scheduling their work.
However, there is a 'core period" during the morning and arernoon when all employees
are required to be on the job. Flexible working hours are most common in service-type
organizations-financial
institutions, government agencies, and other organizations
wirh large clerical operatons. Sentry Insurance's Scottsdale, Arizona, office has found
rhat flextime provides many advantages for employees working in claims, underwriting,
and HR areas. At Sentry Insurance, employees work a core period from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M.
Flexible start times range from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. and end times from 3 P.M. to 7 P.M.
flextime
Flexible working hours that
permit employees the opton
01choosing daily starting and
quitting times, provided that
they work a set number 01
hours per day or week
PART 2
11\1'
::...:;....-
~-:--
,:'
:;:,
, '.
Consider each team member's strengths, goals, and relationship to the team. A good leader will not only capitalize
on what the team member has to offer, the leader will help the member realize his or her potentiaL
Appreciate each team member's gifts and contributions, and express that appreciation often.
Respect differences among team members so that conflicts can be resolved fairly and impersonally and mistakes
can be handled with grace, not blame.
Encourage team members, individually and as a group, in their efforts.
Waggoner goes on to describe the ripple effect of a healthy team environment under expert leadership: "When
the heart of each team member is encouraged first by the team leader, then the team will be poi sed to cheer on each
other. It starts at the topo And when a person feels encouraged, their outlook changes and becomes one of enthusiasm
for the cause and excitement for the team making a positive difference and being successful in its endeavors." That
kind of optimism goes a long way in the small business environment.
Sources:ChuckStinnett,Evansville Courier Press, February26, 2011, http://www.courierpress.com;RickJohnson,"TheSixPrincipiesof Effective
TeamManagement,"www.teambuildingtips.com;
Susan M.Heathfield,"Howto Builda TeamworkCulture,'http://humanresources.about.com;Craig
Wagganer,"TeamBuildingStarts withTeamMemberBuilding,"www.leadershipinstitute.com.
PTER 4
You might be thinking, "My manager wouLd never agree to a flexibLe work schedule." But that is not necessariLy so.
When vaLued empLoyees make reasonabLe scheduLing requests, managers often try to accommodate empLoyee proposaLs. Here are some proven strategies for securing different types of flexibLe work hour arrangements.
Investigate. Look into simiLar arrangements others have made within your company or industry. Research your
company's poLicy on flexibLe scheduLes. Be reaListic by providing a scheduLe that wiLLfit the demands of your
organization.
Be Professional. Treat your request as a business proposal. Be positive and assume a "can-do" attitude. Be serious and present the proposaL as a benefit to both you and your company. Present your idea as a "win-win"
arrangement.
Write It Out. Submit your request for a flexibLe work hour arrangement in a weLL-organized, detaiLed written
proposal.
Promote Yourself. ExpLain your vaLue to your organization. Have others speak to your abiLities-especiaLLy those in
authority. Ask to be evaLuated based on your quantity and quaLity of work rather than on the hours you actuaLLy
spend on the job.
Anticipate Questions. Be prepared for potentiaL probLems and have specific answers on how to deaL with these issues. For exampLe, how you wiLLcommunicate or coordinate with other empLoyees.
Propose a Review. Propose review dates to evaLuate your new flexibLe scheduLe. ContinuaLLy assess how you work
with others and your manager.
Source: Adapted from Julie Shields, "Showing How to Flex It,"
Incentive 178,
Flextime provides both employees and employers with several advantages. By alwing employees greater flexibility in work scheduling, employers can reduce some
of the traditional causes of tardiness and absenreeism.I" Employees can adjust their
work to accommodate their particular lifestyles and, in doing so, gain greater job satsfaction. Employees can also schedule ther working hours for the time of day when
:hey are most productive. In addition, variations in arrival and departure times can
elp reduce traffic congestion at the peak commuting hours, so employees spend less
zime on the road.
Besides being a good employee recruiting tool, flextime allows organizations that
want to improve their service to customers or clients to extend their operating hours.
Qwest, a telecommunications
company, uses flextime to keep its business offices open
"- r customers who cannot get there durng the day. Research demonstrates that flexzime can have a positive impact on the performance measures of reliability, quality,
and quantity of employee work.
There are, of course, several disadvantages to flextime. First, it is not suited to some
jobs. Ir is not feasible, for example, when specific workstations must be staffed at all
times. Second, it can create problems for managers in communicating
with and insrructing employees. There can be drawbacks for employees too. In some organizarions in which executives are expected to show up at the office early in the morning
PART 2
Flextime is a popular
policy among workers
beca use it gives
them greater control
over how they spend
their time on and off
the job.
and not leave untl after the sun has set, employees who work flexible schedule s might
have a harder time advancing to top posirions.
Compressed
Workweek
Under the compressed workweek, the number of days in the workweek is shortened by lengthening the number of hours worked per day. This schedule is best
illustrated by the four-day, forty-hour week, gene rally referred to as 4/10 or 4/40.
Employees workirig a four-day workweek might work ten hours a day, Monday
. through Thursday. Although the 4/10 schedule is probably the best known, other
compressed arrangements include reducing weekly hours to thirty-eight or thirtysix hours or scheduling eighty hours over nine days (9/80), taking one day off every other week.
Several examples illustrate this popular work arrangement. At AVT, a software
company in Tucson, Arzona, all general workers work four ten-hour days, with workers choosing rhe day they would like off. The organization's information technology
employees, working swing and midnight shifts, work four nine-hour days. Working
one less hour is comparable to offering a pay differential. In comparison, employees at
Nahan Printing, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, work three twelve-hour shifrs, while ernployees at the publishing company Marcel Dekker in New York Cty are employed
on a Monday-rhrough-Thursday
office schedule with employees working a total of
thirty-eight hours. At Marcel Dekker, employees are given the option of starting their
workdays between 7:30 A.M. and 9:30 A.M.
Managers cite the following reasons for implementing compressed workweek
schedules:
Recruitment
Coordinating
schedules
CHAPTER 4
Job Sharing
The arrangement whereby two part-tirne employees perform a job that otherwise
would be held by one full-time employee is called job sharing. Job sharers usually work
rhree days a week, "creating an overlap day for extended face-to-face conferencing,"
Their pay is rhree-fitths of a regular salary. Employers note that without job sharing
two good employees might otherwise be lost. Notable companies with job sharing
programs include Sprint, American Express, Lotus Development Company, Carter
Howley Hale Sto res, and Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation's largest health maintenance organizations.
Job sharing is suited to the needs of families in which one or both spouses desire
to work only parr-time.f" Ir is suired also ro the needs of older workers who want to
phase into retirement by shortening their workweek. For rhe employer, the work of
pan-time employees can be scheduled to conform to peaks in the daily workload. Job
sharing can also limit layoffs in hard economic times. A final benefit is that employees engaged in job sharing have time off during the weekro accommodate personal
needs, so they are les s likely to be absent.
Job sharing do es have several problerns, however. Employers may not want to employ two people to do the work of one because the time requiredto orient and train
a second employee constitutes an added burden. Additionally, managers may find it
more difficult to supervise two employees, particularly when one job sharer is not
dependable, job sharers cannot effectively work together, or they simply distrust one
another.42 The key to makingjob
sharing work is good communications
between
partners, who can use a number of ways to stay in contact-phone
calls, written updates, e-rnail, and voice mail.
Telecommuting
Globalization
and technology are drastically changing the "Furure of Work," thar
is, how we do our jobs and the offices we do them in. Telecommuting
is the use
of smart phones, personal computers, and other communications
technology to
do work traditionally done in the workplace.P Telecommuting
is increasing in the
United States. Many people work at home on some days and in the office on orher
days. The practice is fairly common in California, where commute times are long.
A survey by the Hudson Group, a global consulting firrn, found thar most workers
believe that telecommuting
at least some of the time is the ideal work situation.
Both managers
and HR professionals
note the following
advantages
of
relecommuting.t"
Increased flexibility for employees-a
better work/life
balance
Reduced absenteeism
Retention
quit
daily commuting
telecommuting
Use ot personal computers,
networks, and other communications technology such as
tax machines to do work in
the home that is traditionally
done in the workplace
PART 2
Meeting Human
Resources Requirements
Select responsible employees. Employees who are self-starters, motivated, and trustworthy and who can work
independently are ideal candidates. Establish employee feedback procedures and performance review methods for
evaluating employees.
Begin a formal training programo The training for both telecommuters and managers should include any technical
aspects of the equipment or software used to facilitate telecommuting and relationship factors such as how and
when to contact the oftice or the availability and location of support facilities.
Keep telecommuters informed. Physical separation can make telecommuters feel isolated and invisible. Department
and staft updates, including telecommuters on project teams, requiring their attendance at meetings, and "chat
room" discussions can keep telecommuters "in the loop."
Productivity,"
Occupational
can be
level it should produce. The information a job analysis coUects serves many HRM functions, including a
firrns workflow and design ofjobs, its legal compliance
efforts, and the recruitment, selection, training and
developmenr, performance appraisal, and compensation of employees. To comply with the law, human resources decisions must be based on criteria objectively
collected by analyzing rhe requirements of each job.
CHAPTER 4
LEARNING OUTCOME 2
LEARNING OUTCOME 5
In the job characteristics model,
fivejob factors affect ernployees' satisfaction: job skill
job
job
job
job
analysis
characteristics
crafting
description
job
job
job
job
design
enlargement
enrichment
rotation
model
job specification
position analysis questionnaire
(PAQ)
task inventory analysis
telecommuting
virtual team
PART 2
LEARNING OUTCOME 1
Place yourself in the position
of general manager of a service department. How
might formally written job requirements help you
manage your work unir?
LEARNING OUTCOME 2
Discuss the various merhods by
which job analysis can be completed. Compare and
contrast these methods, noting the pros or cons of
each.
LEARNING OUTCOME 3
LEARNING OUTCOME S
The job characteristics model
has five components that enhance employee jobsskill variety, task identity, rask significance, auto norny, and feedback. Give an example illustrating how
each component can be used to improve the organization and the job of the employee. (Suggestion:
Consider your present or a recent job to answer this
question.)
LEARNING OUTCOME 6
Figure 4.6 shows the different
forms of employee teams. Provide an example of
where each type of team can be used. How do teams
create synergy?
LEARNING OUTCOME 7
Whar argumenr
might
make for not allowing the
employees to work from
would be technologically
makes use of technological
Zappos
execut ive s
company's call center
horne? Afrer all, this
feasible, and Zappos
potential.
CHAPTER 4
Professional trainers understand that setting ground rules for teams helps them operate successfully. Ground rules-or
team norms-are agreed-on formal rules that guide the behavior of a group's member. Ground rules simply state how
memhers want to he treated and how members agree to treat others. Ground rules help teams maintain order, pro mote
positive behavior, and can be used to correct undesirable actions.
Assignment
1.
2.
3.
Divide your class into teams. Working within your team, select what you helieve are the ten most important norms
for team behavior.
From the following Behavior List, have each team member silently select two lists of ten items each of the hehaviors they believe most critical for a team success. The first list of ten items (your A list) is considered the most
important for group conducto The second list (the B list) consists of behaviors that are desirahle.
Have the memhers of your team select a finallist of ten items from both lists. These will hecome your tearn's final
norms. During your discussion, items can he modified or combinad to meet your team's specific needs.
Behavior List
While working in our team, individuals should:
1. Do their fair share of the work.
2. Check to ensure that everyone clearly understands what is to he done.
3. Encourage planning, including short-range agendas as well as long-range goals.
4. Encourage open and candid opinions about issues.
5. Listen willingly and carefully to other people's ideas, even if those people have a different viewpoint.
6. Prepare thoroughly before meetings.
7. Make team members feel at ease during discussions.
8. Encourage memhers to ask questions when they do not clearly understand tasks or procedures.
9. Outline the pros and cons of decisions faced by the team.
10. Follow through on task assignments.
11. Help other mernbers when they need assistance.
12. Treat all team members as equals.
13. Paraphrase or restate what someone else says in order to check its meaning.
14. Openly voice opinions and share ideas.
15. Be flexible in arranging meeting schedules.
16. Compliment others for things they have said or done.
17. Be willing to meet whenever it is necessary to discuss a problem.
18. Bring conflicts to the attention of the team and deal with them directly.
19. Express enthusiasm about what the team is doing.
20. Encourage hudgeting of the tearn's time.
21. At the end of a meeting, have members restate their own responsihilities to check for agreement.
22. Be serious about the team's work.
23. Arrive on time for regularly scheduled meetings.
24. Be willing to listen to other team rnernbers' ideas.
25. Get the tearn's approval on important matters before proceeding.
PART 2
Companies
Learning to Be
Flexible
After Bangalore-based
Chitra Iyengar decided to adopt a child, she became serious
about a adopting a flexible work schedule after an encounter with her manager at
IBM India who said: "1 do not care whether you sit in the park or at home. 1 am concerned with your deliverables," For Iyengar, it was eye-opening to realize that work
did not mean a place she went to, bur something that she did.
In recent years, many firms like IBM India have taken to offering a flexible work
schedule alternative to many of their employees, a benefit that offers positive outcomes
to employees and employers alike. Flex-time allows workers to choose their own start
and end times, as long as rhey put in the required number of hours following any lrnits placed by the employer. Susan M. Heathfield, ahuman resources and management
development consultant, writes that flex-time enables employees to achieve a better
work-life balance and to work when rhey're at their optimal best, which reduces stress
and burnout. For employers, Hex-rime typically reduces absenteeism and turnover,
and helps employers attract the best candidates for job openings.
Of course, individual managers may struggle with the logistics of flex-time, which
is why Dawn Rosenberg McKay, a career planning expert, says that managers and
employees must work together to devise a realistic plan that balances the company's
objectives with indviduals' needs. Done well, flex-time can ensure that all employees
are available at peak times and that the office is manned during all operating hours
and days of the week. Thus, ir is probably useful to document the details of a flextime program and to evaluar how well the program is working from time to time.
For Iyengar, a career-oriented person who loves to work, it took a lot of effort initially to adjust to the program, but now she is quite happy with the benefits, notng,
"Flexi-work s a definte enabler in my life,"
Questions
1. What are the pros and cons of flexible schedules from an employee's perspectver
2. What considerations should an employer take into account when designing a flextime work schedule:'
3. What can HR managers do to help facilitate flexible work schedules in their
organzations
Source: Saumya Bhattacharya, "Look Ma, No Clock," Business Today, (February 24, 2011), http:/ /
businesstoday.in; Susan M. Hearhfield, Advantages and Disadvantages of Flexible Work Schedules,
http://humanresources.about.com;
Dawn Rosenberg McKay, "Flextime: An Alternative Work Arrangement," http://careerplanning.about.com.
Virtual leams
in Action:
Building Ihe
F-35 Fighter
CHAPTER 4
Countries, including Italy, Australia, Canada, Turkey, India, and Israel, have contributed toward development costs of the programo
The success of the mega project hinges greatly on intricate teamwork and the cooperation of countless individuals. For example, more than 80 suppliers worked at
187 locations worldwide to build components for the fighter. A seventy-five member
technology group at Lockheed's aeronautics division linked the suppliers along with
the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marines to Britain's Defense Ministry to track progress
and make midstream design and production changes. Individuals working at more
rhan 40,000 computer stations collaborated to get the first plan e airborne in just four
years. Speaking of the teamwork involved, Mark Peden, vice president for informanon systems at Lockheed Aeronautics, said, "It's the true virtual connection,"
Teams working both nationally and internationally were connected as if team
mernbers were working in the same room. Teams communicated via their computers while looking at shared documents, carried on e-rnail chats, and used electronic
whiteboards on which geographically separated tea m members could draw pictures
or charts, in real time, as others watched and responded. The Internet was designed
to allow people from different companies with incompatible computing systems to
interface on websites that speak a common language.
Questions
1. What advantages did Lockheed Martin gain by using virtual teams? Explain.
2. Identify and discuss potential problems with using virtual teams-for
exarnple,
interpersonal, technical, or geographical concerns.
3. Discuss the characteristics that virtual team mernbers should possess.
4. What specific training should virtual teams receive?
"Self- Presentaron
Techniques,"
Resources Model
Performance,"
to
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HR Glossary," Times
7.Interview
for "Senior
Aeademy of Management
sis techniques
hensive informarion
86,
corn.
ac-
htrp:/ /timesascent.in.
tak Hamid
in more compre-
ro
Comperency-Based,"
Personnel
Re-
325-346,
DOl:
10.1108/0048348101103052.
14. Chaprer 3 discusses rhe Uniform Guidelines
6. Fredenick
Klinger,
P. Morgeson,
Melinda
Fe r r ar a , and
Kelly Delaney-
S. Mayfield,
Michael
Philip
A. Campion,
Resouree Management,
2nd ed.
PART 2
Cusromization:
Meeting Hurnan
A Socio-eechnical Syseems
Perspecrve,"
Pedersen,
and Mia
48, no.
5 (2009): 871.
Endangered-bur
Requirernents
Robert
Virtual Teamwork,"
23. Michael Hammer, "The Process Audr," Harvard Business Review 85, no. 4 (April2007):
111.
24. Richard E. Wilmot and Robert Galford,
to Trust," Communication
Do a
Information
of American
through che
Performance
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icy of Organizaeional
31. O.C. Ferrell, Geoffrey Hirt, and Linda Ferrell, Introduction to Business (Burr Ridge, Ill:
32. Laura A. Hambley, Thornas A. O'Ned, and
enrichment,
on job
Ern-
Cornmunicarion
Medium
37. "Employers
52, no. 4
12.
Willing ro Negotiate
Salary,"
of Management
artide
(April2007):
Communications of the
herp:/ /www.businessweek.com/.
Management
"A Commitment
Resources
Seyle and
on Tearn Inrerac-
44. http://www.
wikiped
i p. org/ wiki /
telecommuting.
45. Tony Bradley, "Another Good Reason to
Work from Home," Globe and Mail (Febru-
como