An Introduction to Work Groups and Teams A Team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed

to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Characteristics of teams
1.

Purpose: Members proudly share a sense of why the team exists and are invested in accomplishing its mission and goals.

2. Priorities: Members know what needs to be done next, by whom, and by when to achieve team goals. 3. Roles: Members know their roles in getting tasks done and when to allow a more skillful member to do a certain task. 4. Decisions: Authority and decision-making lines are clearly understood. 5. Conflict: Conflict is dealt with openly and is considered important to decisionmaking and personal growth. 6. Norms: Group norms for working together are set and seen as standards for every one in the groups. 7. Effectiveness: Members find team meetings efficient and productive and look forward to this time together. 8. Success: Members know clearly when the team has met with success and share in this equally and proudly. 9. Accountability: There is mutual accountability

SKILLS

n io ct un /F al al ic on hn s c er Te rp al

l ua ut l M al

sm mb id nu div In l ua

ACCOUNTABILITY

er

Performance Results

te In

Specific Goals Common approach

Collective
Work products COMMITMENT

Fig.1 Team Basics

Personal Growth

Why groups and teams People more readily accept decisions in which they have participated People who are charged with making tough decisions experience personal stress. Groups provide social and emotional support to overcome the stress. More human resources are available for work on the task resulting in quicker and better quality of work. Increased morale from a more satisfying and effective workplace The camaraderie and support of the team; a sense of belonging Historical Perspective of groups 1. HAWTHORNE EXPERIMENTS Reduced Work Force Role of informal groups Social Bonding Value of humane leadership 2. TAVISTOCK STUDIES Long wall mining in British coal mines Self regulating groups Socio-technical systems

3. JAY GALBRAITH Lateral Relations Problem solving, task forces, Teams Matrix Organization

4. JAMES D. THOMPSON Guttman Scale Task Interdependence Sequential Pooled Reciprocal ( True SDWG) Self-Directed Work Groups The concept of a self directed team has its origins in the Socio-technical approach of management thought. This approach attempts to design work in such a way that there is Rules & procedures Schedules & plans $$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$ $$$$ $$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$ Mutual adjustment

a good fit between technical demands and the social or psychological needs of workers. Self directed work groups include members performing interrelated tasks. Self-Directed Work Groups (sometimes also called self-managing work groups) are small intact social systems whose members have authority to handle internal processes in order to generate a product or service. Such Groups have the following attributes: They are Real Groups: The group must be intact and identifiable social system. This requires that members have interdependent relations with one another, that they develop differentiated roles over time and that he group be perceived as such both by members and non members. They are Work Groups: The group must have a defined piece of work that results in a product, service that is measurable. They are self-managing: Members must have the authority to manage their own task and interpersonal processes. If the control is retained by the management then the group is self directed in name only. Values and SDWGs All organizations are driven by a set of values. There are broadly two kinds of value systems emphasized by organizations. 1. Financial Value: When a companys focus is solely on improving the its bottom line, then it is an indication of the emphasis of financial values 2. Capability Value: When a company emphasizes on the development of its employees through greater empowerment, then it is a measure of the emphasis on capability value. Capability Value in fact means achieving financial results with an empowered and satisfied workforce
Development of employees Greater ownership & empowerment Improved performance & Organizational Effectiveness

Fig 2.The capability Value framework The implementation of SDWGs or empowering people is an indication of the emphasis on Capability Value of the company. The underlying assumption behind SDWGs is that if the employees are empowered to make decisions then there would be greater ownership of the production process, which would improve performance. Technology and Interdependence: The need for a Work Group or a team-based structure depends on the level of uncertainty and technical interdependence. Uncertainty refers to the extent to which people must process information and make decisions to produce a product or service. Technical interdependence is the extent to which employees must cooperate with each other to produce a product or a service. Low
High

Interdependence
Traditional jobs Traditional Work Groups Self Directed Work Groups

High

Low

U n c e r t a i n t y

Enriched Jobs

Fig. 3. The Technology and interdependence link

Another aspect of a team based structure is the link between Socio-technical systems and the job characteristics model (Oldham and Hackman). This model outlines five essential job characteristics such as Skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback which have a direct bearing on the psychological states of the employee such as perceived meaningfulness of work, perceived independence and knowledge of the outcome of his work. These in turn lead to greater employee satisfaction and higher quality of performance. From Work Groups to Real Teams Semantics apart there are some key differences that distinguish between a work group and a team. Not all groups are teams though all teams are groups. Teams are not any special grouping, in fact when self directed groups are strongly performance oriented, and there is a high degree of interdependence between the constituents of the group then it expresses team behaviour. The following are the differences between an ordinary work group and a team. 1) An incremental performance need or opportunity 2) True interdependence 3) Real shared accountability. 4) Discipline both within the team and across the organization 5) More flexibility than other groups- easier to assemble, deployed, refocused and disbanded. Group Growth and Organizational Support For any group to become an empowered team organizational support is a necessary condition. The idea of self-directed work groups is to empower members to make decisions about their tasks. In order for the group to do this, the organization must extend wholehearted support to the work groups. This support can be of two types: 1. Non interference in the functioning of the group: The management does not intervene in the day to day functions of the group. This would include all areas of activity that has been delegated to the group. This would also mean standing back and allowing teams to experiment and commit mistakes.

2. Breaking down traditional barriers of hierarchy: Organizational support for the growth of the nascent SDWG is crucial in the initial stages. It is not merely sufficient to name a group as an SDWG, the delegation of authority must be clear and consistent. A flatter and less hierarchical organization with an open culture is more suited for a team-based structure than a traditional set up. The nature of reporting systems, the interfacing between the team and various organizational components are matters that require careful scrutiny.
SUPPORTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT Rewards for good performance Availability of task relevant training Clarity of task requirements and constraints

WORK TECHNOLOGY

DESIGN FEATURES Design of the group task Composition of the group Group norms about performance processes HEALTHY INTERPERSONAL PROCESSES Coordinating efforts and fostering commitment Weighing inputs and sharing Knowledge Inventing and implementing performance strategies

CRITERIA Level of effort brought to bear on the task. Amount of knowledge and skill applied to task Appropriateness of task performance strategies

WORK GROUP EFFECTIVENESS

Fig 4. Group Effectiveness Model Group Effectiveness: An effective group involves a combination of a variety of factors. The key factors as shown in figure 4 are organisational context, group design features and healthy interpersonal processes. All these three contribute to the level of effort of the employees, the amount of knowledge applied and the appropriateness of the approach of the group as a whole. While all three factors are important, the organizational support is what drives the other two to large extent.

Organizational Culture: SDWGs may involve changes in communication flows, power relationships, status hierarchies, and reward systems and work flows. The culture of the organization should be such that it supports these changes. There cannot be two diametrically opposite cultures within the organization-one that is mechanistic and bureaucratic and the other that is organic and flexible. Secondly, a culture that encourages innovation and experimentation would help the groups to develop better performance standards. Moreover, it is important to bring in a culture of a learning organization where all employees are provided opportunities to equip themselves with the requisite skills in order to perform. Teams as Mini Companies To develop the team as a mini company the following steps need to be followed: 1. Develop Clarity in Vision: As shop floor activities and individuals roles and responsibilities change, people may become uncomfortable. We need to confirm our vision and core values if we are to establish excellence in our work.
2.

Develop customer orientation: By viewing the next process as a customer every person in the organisation needs to grasp the importance of customer orientation and find ways to ensure customer satisfaction.

3.

Promote involvement of everybody: In order to address customer orientation, we need to tap into peoples creativity and emphasize customer satisfaction wh9ich may require the roles and responsibilities of people to change

4.

Increase problem solving capacity: As more responsibility is borne by each individual, in order for the organisation to be more responsive to customer demand, each individuals problem solving skill base needs to be upgraded.

5.

Provide adequate leadership: Instead of managing the situation, more leadership qualities will be required of the managers. More and more of traditional managing functions will be taken care of by peoples increased self-managing capabilities.

6.

Clarify the management support system: The management processes needs to be redefined and clarified to accommodate new thinking and values as well as individuals new roles and responsibilities.

Conducting this type of an exercise will help define the business environment in which the team operates.

Leadership Roles and Responsibilities of Team Leaders 1. Working with Middle/ Top Management Developing goals and approaches to achieving them Assuring that these goals and approaches are in harmony with the direction of the total organisation Executing plans, checking progress and reporting results with adequate explanation. Periodic summary of progress may be called the monthly or annual report 2. Working with team members Sharing of goals and approaches of achieving goals Utilising operators ideas to accomplish goals Providing necessary education and training as well as appropriate feedback as to how things are going 3. Working with Customers Practicing the idea of next process is your customer Understanding the customers requirement clearly Controlling the process to assure customer satisfaction

4. Working with suppliers Providing feedback as a customer of their service Obtaining support in accomplishing goals Receiving education and training to upgrade the level of control

Role of the team leader in a Mini company Middle/Top Management

Suppliers (people from upstream processes)

TEAM LEADER

Customers (People from downstream processes)

Team Members

Benefits of running a mini company 1. People develop a sense of ownership 2. By focussing on certain subjects as a group, people learn to work as a team effectively 3. Developing a mission, customer supplier chart etc. will help people to focus clearly on the objectives 4. Target setting and progress reports will help clarify the management process for everybody 5. By sharing these processes as a group people can check and balance the process easily 6. By putting things on paper, more things will be clarified leading to greater commitment from everybody 7. By having the mini companies focus on customer orientation cross functional linkages can be established

8. By having many people go through this process, more weaknesses will be exposed thereby identifying areas of improvement 9. As more checks and balances are done, there will be less redundant effort 10. As each teams plans and progress is shared, the total organisation can more easily develop goal congruence Leading is a challenging and different role from classical line management. It requires a combination of good leadership principles and management skills coupled with a flexible style that leans heavily toward participation and cooperative relationships. A team leader must work with his or her team to create and build team performance. Team member sensitivity to the management style, task knowledge, and interpersonal skills of the team leader will significantly impact their perspective of the team and their role in it. A consistently autocratic team leader can quickly negate most of the gains from team empowerment and collaboration.

Manthan 2004 Manthan2004 was a great success I am not praising our batch but telling the feedback of the delegates which I personally took, being a delegate coordinator at the end of the event, it is not that they were praising all the way, they also gave ideas about can we do much better in terms of organizing a event at this scale. But end of the day they appreciated our effort. Not just on the corporate front but also in comparison with the other B-Schools events it had everything right from Quiz to Online Paper Contest & Khoj to Creativity workshop. And if we compare the strength of batch we are much less still we managed to do a good job. So what made the event a SUCCESS the answer is simple its the TEAM that worked and not an individual; though small in number, with complementary skills & committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which we hold ourselves mutually accountable; we did it. Manthan Inc. Structure: CORE COMM

COMM & DESIGN

MARKETING

SESSIONS

ALUMNI

LOGISTIC & VENUE MGT

STUDENT EVENTS

DELEGATES MARKETING

A flatter and less hierarchical set up with an open culture was suited for a team-based structure than a traditional set up. We started working as a Self-Directed Work Groups which were divided with respect to different responsibilities handled & whose members had authority to handle internal processes in order to generate an event.

Members have interdependent relations with one another, Had a defined piece of work that results in a product (event) that is measurable.

Members had the authority to manage their own task and interpersonal processes. If the control was retained by the CORE COMM then the group would have been self directed in name only.
Development of members Greater ownership & empowerment Improved performance & Organizational Effectiveness

In the above set up, people were empowered to take decisions, empowering people is an indication of the emphasis on Capability Value of the company. Empowered members took their decisions and hence there was greater ownership of the process, which improved performance. From SDWGs to TEAM:

When we started the momentum was low but as we approached the event dates we started working in a more organized fashion and started setting deadlines for all our activities (budget, freezing sessions, freezing venue etc.) hence became strongly performance oriented

We also divided our work among the committees of the group and sequenced the activities to be carried out, which provided much needed course to the activity. Hence degree of interdependence increased.

We also shared high degree of accountability which was shown by the sheer number of meetings we had. I did not believe it but we became much more disciplined in terms of our commitment to Manthan as we approached the event date.

We started to expresses Team behavior in a true sense. Where Team Leader played an important role in coordinating the entire process.
TISS

SPONSORS

TEAM LEADER (Core Comm.)

PARITICIPANTS

TEAM MEMBERS

I have tried to analyze why was Manthan Team Effective? Effectiveness model to it.
SUPPORTIVE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT Clarity of job responsibilities Coordination with all committees Facilitate whenever required Synchronization of activities

By applying Group

WORK TECHNOLOGY

DESIGN FEATURES Tailor made the group task Composition of the group wrt to personal choices of activities Division of work and adherence to the commitment

CRITERIA Huge effort to put in the short time Appropriate information seeking to perform given task Setting deadlines MANTHAN TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

HEALTHY INTERPERSONAL PROCESSES Coordination in efforts Taking inputs from all the members Weekly meetings Group presentations of progress

The above analysis gives us the impression of how Manthan 2004 worked just like a Company, which had everything in it right from > Organization Strategy >Organization Structure, >Organization Culture, > Leadership,>Goal Setting, >Budget making, >Decision making,>Scheduling, >Procuring,>Dispatching, > Logistic Management, > Marketing, > Customer orientation, & > Customer Relationship Management

This all provided a clear case of learning, showing transformation of Self Directed Work Groups to Team. Which in turn worked in a entrepreneur style to achieve the final goal.