McShane/Von Glinow Chapter 10 I/M
Part 3 Team Processes
Chapter 9 Developing High-Performance Teams
9developing high-performance teamsLearning Objectives
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
Identify the characteristics of self-directed work teams.
Describe the four conditions in sociotechnical systems theory
for high-performance SDWTs.
Summarize three challenges to the implementation of SDWTs.
Distinguish virtual teams from conventional teams.
Explain why virtual teams have become so popular in
organizations.
Describe the role of communication systems, task structure, team
size, and team composition in virtual team effectiveness.
Summarize the three levels of trust in teams.
Outline the four types of team building.
Identify three reasons why team building tends to fail.
Chapter Glossary
collective self-regulation Team-based structure in which
employees in the primary work unit have enough autonomy to manage
the work process.
joint optimization The balance that is struck between social and
technical systems to maximize an operations effectiveness.
self-directed work teams (SDWTs) Cross-functional work groups
organized around work processes, that complete an entire piece of
work requiring several interdependent tasks, and that have
substantial autonomy over the execution of those tasks.
sociotechnical systems (STS) theory A theory stating that
effective work sites have joint optimization of their social and
technological systems, and that teams should have sufficient
autonomy to control key variances in the work process.
team building Any formal activity intended to improve the
development and functioning of a team.
virtual teams Teams whose members operate across space, time,
and organizational boundaries and linked through information
technologies to achieve organizational tasks.
dialogue A process of conversation among team members in which
they learn about each others mental models and assumptions, and
eventually form a common model for thinking within the team.
Chapter Synopsis
Self-directed work teams (SDWTs) complete an entire piece of
work requiring several interdependent tasks and have substantial
autonomy over the execution of these tasks. Sociotechnical systems
theory (STS) is the template typically used to determine whether
SDWTs will operate effectively. STS identifies four main conditions
for high-performance SDWTs.
First, SDWTs must be a primary work unit, that is, they are an
intact team that makes a product, provides a service, or otherwise
completes an entire work process. Second, the team must have
collective self-regulation, meaning that that must have sufficient
autonomy to manage the work process. Third, high-performance SDWTs
have control over key variances. This refers to the idea that teams
control the disturbances or interruptions that create quality
problems in the work process. Fourth, STS states that a balance
must be struck between the social and technical systems to maximize
the operation's effectiveness.
Sociotechnical systems theory has been widely supported since
its origins in the 1950s. However, it is not very helpful at
identifying the optimal alignment of the social and technical
system. Moreover, SDWTs face several barriers to implementation.
These high-performance teams tend to operate best in cultures with
low power distance and high collectivism. Supervisors often resist
SDWTs because of fears that empowering teams will remove the power
of supervisors. Supervisors must also adjust from their traditional
hands-on command-and-control style to hands-off facilitators.
Employees oppose SDWTs when they worry that they lack the skills to
adapt to the new work requirements. Labour unions sometimes oppose
SDWTs because of the risk of higher stress and the need to removing
job categories that unions have negotiated over the years.Virtual
teams are teams whose members operate across space, time, and
organizational boundaries and are linked through information
technologies to achieve organizational tasks. Their main
distinction with conventional teams is that virtual teams are not
co-located and that they rely on information technologies rather
than face-to-face interaction.
Virtual teams are becoming more common because information
technology and knowledge-based work makes it easier to collaborate
from a distance. Virtual teams are becoming increasingly necessary
because they represent a natural part of the knowledge management
process. Moreover, as companies globalize, they must rely more on
virtual teams than co-located teams to coordinate operations at
distant sites.
Several elements in the team effectiveness model stand out as
important issues for virtual teams. High-performance virtual teams
require a variety of communication media, and virtual team members
need to creatively combine these media to match the task demands.
Virtual teams operate better with structured rather than complex
and ambiguous tasks. They usually cannot maintain as large a team
as is possible in conventional teams. Members of virtual teams
require special skills in communication systems and should be aware
of cross-cultural issues. Virtual team members should also meet
face-to-face, particularly when the team forms, to assist team
development and cohesiveness.
Trust is important in team dynamics, particularly in virtual
teams. Trust occurs when we have positive expectations about
another partys intentions and actions toward us in risky
situations. The minimum level of trust is calculus-based trust,
which is based on deterrence. Teams cannot survive with this level
of trust. Knowledge-based trust is a higher level of trust and is
grounded on the other partys predictability. The highest level of
trust, called identity-based trust, is based on mutual
understanding and emotional bond between the parties. Most
employees join a team with a high level of trust, which tends to
decline over time.
Team building is any formal activity intended to improve the
development and functioning of a work team. Four team-building
strategies are role definition, goal setting, problem solving, and
interpersonal processes. Some team building events succeed, but
companies often fail to consider the contingencies of team
building.
PowerPoint Slides
Canadian Organizational Behaviour includes a complete set of
Microsoft PowerPoint files for each chapter. (Please contact your
McGraw-Hill Ryerson representative to find out how instructors can
receive these files.) In the lecture outline that follows, a
thumbnail illustration of each PowerPoint slide for this chapter is
placed beside the corresponding lecture material. The slide number
helps you to see your location in the slide show sequence and to
skip slides that you dont want to show to the class. (To jump ahead
or back to a particular slide, just type the slide number and hit
the Enter or Return key.) The transparency masters for this chapter
are very similar to the PowerPoint files.
Lecture Outline (with PowerPoint slides)
Developing High-Performance Teams
Slide 1
Self-Directed Work Teams at TRW Canada
Slide 2
Self-Directed Work Teams Defined
Slide 3developing high-performance teams
TRW Canada relies on self-directed work teams (SDWTs). TRW teams
are completely responsible for operating the companys 20 production
processesself-directed work teams (SDWTs)
Self-directed work teams defined
Formal groups that complete an entire piece of work requiring
several interdependent tasks and have substantial autonomy over the
execution of these tasks.
Attributes of SDWTs
Slide 4Attributes of Self-Directed Work Teams
1. Complete an entire piece of work May be a product, a service,
or part of a larger product or service
2. Assign tasks to members
The teamnot supervisorsassign tasks
The team plans, organizes, and controls work activities with
little or no direct involvement from a supervisor
3. Control work, inputs, flow, and output
May have total authority to make all decisions
4. Are responsible for correcting problems
Teams maintain their own quality and logistical control
5. Receive team-level feedback and rewards
Recognizes and reinforces the team is responsible
May also receive individual feedback and rewards
Sociotechnical Systems at Celestica
Slide 5
Sociotechnical Systems Theory and SDWTs
Sociotechnical Systems at Celestica
Celestica adopted sociotechnical systems (STS) as its template
for corporate renewal. The Toronto-based computer manufacturer
assigned self-directed work teams to each work process and
identified key variances that the teams control in those processes.
STS doubled productivity and increased job satisfaction
Effective work sites have joint optimization of their social and
technological systems and teams should have sufficient autonomy to
control key variances in the work processthat impact quality,
quantity and the cost of the product or service.
Sociotechnical Systems Conditions
Slide 6Sociotechnical Systems CONDITIONS FOR HIGH-PERFORMANCE
teams
1. Primary work unit
Teams should make an entire product/service or similarly
complete an entire work process
Fairly independent form other work units
2. Collective self-regulation
Team has autonomy to divide up work among its members as well as
how to coordinate that work
Provides ability to respond more quickly and effectively to the
environment
Increases motivation through empowerment
3. Control key variances
Control the quantity and quality of output in the work process
for factors within their control
4. Joint optimization
Balance the social and technical systems to maximize the
operations effectiveness
Companies can control how they introduce technology i.e.
technology is flexible enough to support a semi-autonomous,
team-based structure
Problem team-oriented technological system not always most
efficient (e.g. Volvos Kalmar and Uddevalla plants)
Challenges to SDWTs
Slide 7
challenges to self-directed work teams
Cross-cultural issues
More difficult to implement in high power distance cultures
employees more comfortable when supervisors give direction e.g.
Mexico
May be more difficult to implement in cultures with high
individualism and low collectivism employees less comfortable
collaborating and working interdependently
Management resistance
Concerned about losing power and jobs
Difficult to become hands-off facilitatorstend to slip back into
command-oriented supervision
Solutions
-- education and training
-- transfer people who cant adjust
Employee and labour union resistance
Employees concerned about new roles and skills required
Labour unions concerned about:
-- increased stress for employees
-- reversal of rules and reduction in union rights
Virtual Teams Defined
Slide 8
Why Virtual Teams?
Slide 9VIRTUAL TEAMS
Teams whose members operate across space, time, and
organizational boundaries and are linked through information
technologies to achieve organizational tasks
Why Companies Form Virtual Teams
Increasingly possible because:
-- Information technologies have made it easier to communicate
with and coordinate people at a distance i.e. Internet, intranets,
instant message, virtual whiteboards etc.
-- Shift from production-based to knowledge-based work: work can
be exchanged using information technology Increasingly necessary
because of:
-- Knowledge management knowledge is the currency of competitive
advantage so organizations need to seek this knowledge wherever it
is available
-- Globalization coordinate operations globally
High-Performance Virtual Teams
Slide 10
High-Performance Virtual Teams (cont)
Slide 11
Features of high performance virtual teams
Based on the team effectiveness model in Chapter 8, the
following key design issues apply to virtual teams:
Team Environment
Virtual teams need several communication channels available to
offset lack of face-to-face communication e.g. e-mail for routine
tasks, videoconferencing for more complex situations
Team Tasks
Operate best with structured tasks that require only moderate
levels of task interdependence
Team Size
Team size issues are amplified because of limited opportunities
for face-to-face communication and social bonding
Team Composition
Team members require special skills in communication
More likely to include people from across cultures so members
require awareness of cross-cultural issues
Team Processes
Team development and cohesiveness are particular concerns
recommend that virtual team members have some opportunity to meet
face to face e.g. when the team is formed
Team Trust
Higher level of team trust required for virtual teams than for
other teams due to unique conditions
Trust Defined
Slide 12
Three Levels of Trust
Slide 13
Three Levels of Trust (cont)
Slide 14
TEAM TRUST
Trust occurs when we have positive expectations about another
partys intentions and actions toward us in risky situations
Three levels of trust:
1. Calculus-based trust
-- minimal level
-- belief that the other party will deliver because punishments
will be administered if they fail
-- least stable, thus easily broken
--cannot sustain a teams relationship
2. Knowledge-based trust
-- grounded on other partys predictability developed through
communication and past experience
-- relatively stable
3. Identification-based trust
-- based on social identity
--involves mutual understanding and emotional bond
-- each party thinks, feels, and responds like the other
-- high performance teams exhibit this level of trust
-- Most robust of the three types of trust
Dynamics of trust in teams
Popular misconception that team members build trust from a low
level when they first join the team
Recent studies reveal that people tend to join a team with a
high level of trust however, this trust is fragile because it is
based on assumptions vs. experience
Trust tends to decrease rather than increase particularly
challenging in virtual teams because communication is important to
sustain trust
Team Building at Ericsson Cyberlab
Slide 15
Team Building
Slide 16TEAM BUILDING
Employees at Ericsson Cyberlab in Singapore climbed over rock
walls, inched across planks, scaled cargo nets, and performed other
daunting tasks to improve team dynamicsAny formal intervention
directed toward improving the development and functioning of a work
team
Accelerates the development of team norms reshape team norms or
strengthen cohesiveness
Applied to new teams but is more common among existing teams
that have regressed to earlier stages of team development
Best applied when the team experiences high turnover or members
have lost perspective on roles and team objectives
Types of Team Building
Slide 17Types of Team Building
Role definition
clarifies roles and expectations; create common mental
models
Team goals
clarifies the teams performance goals, increases motivation to
achieve goals, establish feedback
Decision processes
examines the teams problem-solving and task-related
decision-making processes; improve team decision-making and
interpersonal processes
Interpersonal processes
try to build trust and open communication by resolving
misconceptions
e.g. wilderness team building, paintball wars
Dialogue process of conversation among team members in which
they learn about each others mental models and assumptions and
eventually form a common model for thinking within the team
Making Team Building Effective
Slide 18Is Team Building Effective?
Results mixed on team building -- some successful, but just as
many fail
Problems
Introduced without diagnosis of the teams needs (e.g.
problem-solving, interpersonal processes) broad brush approach
Used as a quick fix, needs to be ongoing
Need to make team building part of the job not an event
Needs to occur on-the-job, not just away from the workplace
Transparency Masters
Transparency 9.1: Self-Directed Work Teams Defined
Transparency 9.2: Attributes of SDWTs
Transparency 9.3: Sociotechnical Systems Conditions
Transparency 9.4: Challenges to SDWTs
Transparency 9.5: Virtual Teams Defined
Transparency 9.6: Why Virtual Teams?
Transparency 9.7: High-Performance Virtual Teams
Transparency 9.8: High-Performance Virtual Teams (cont)
Transparency 9.9: Trust Defined
Transparency 9.10: Three Levels of Trust
Transparency 9.11: Three Levels of Trust (cont)
Transparency 9.12: Team Building
Transparency 9.13: Types of Team Building
Transparency 9.14: Making Team Building Effective
Solutions to Discussion Questions
1.How do self-directed teams differ from conventional teams?
Entire piece of work. In contrast to many conventional teams,
SDWTs complete an entire piece of work whether its a product, a
service, or part of a larger product or service.
Team assigns tasks. SDWTs assign tasks that individual team
members perform as contrasted to conventional teams in which
supervisors assign tasks.
Authority. SDWTs control most work inputs, flow, and outputs in
contrast to conventional teams where supervisors traditionally
coordinate and plan tasks.
Corrects work flow problems. SDWTs are responsible for
correcting work flow problems as they occur. In contrast to
conventional teams, SDWTs maintain there own quality and logistical
controls.
Team level feedback and rewards. In contrast to many
conventional teams, SDWTs receive team-level feedback and rewards
in addition to individual feedback and rewards that may be
available.
2.Advanced Telecom Ltd. has successfully introduced
self-directed work teams (SDWTs) at its operation throughout
Canada. The company now wants to introduce SDWTs at its plants in
Singapore and Mexico. What potential cross-cultural challenges
might Advanced Telecom experience as it introduces SDWTs in these
countries?
The textbook indicates that various forms of employee
involvement, including self-directed work teams, have been
introduced around the world. However, it also acknowledges that
SDWTs and other high-involvement practices are better suited to
some cultures than to others.
SDWTs would be adopted most readily in cultures with high
collectivism. People with a collectivist value appreciate and
support their membership in the group to which they belong.
Consequently, they work more comfortably discussing their ideas
with co-workers. In contrast, individualistic people may be less
comfortable with employee involvement because of their preference
to work alone. In this respect, the company would not have much
problem with SDWTs in Singapore and Mexico because both cultures
are more collectivist than individualist.
SDWTs also work better in low power distance cultures. Power
distance refers to the extent that people accept unequal
distribution of power in a society. Employees with low power
distance usually want to be involved in corporate decisions,
whereas those in high power distance cultures prefer having
supervisors give them directions and answers. There may be some
difficulty with SDWTs in Singapore and Mexico because both cultures
traditionally have a high power distance. However, both cultures
are probably moving away from extremely high power distance (a
trend in many countries), so it is doubtful that this would be a
serious concern.
3.A chicken processing company wants to build a processing plant
designed around sociotechnical systems principles. In a traditional
chicken processing plant, employees work in separate
departments---cleaning and cutting, cooking, packaging, and
warehousing. The cooking and packaging processes are controlled by
separate work stations in the traditional plant. How would the
company change this operation into more around a sociotechnical
systems design?
Several social and technical changes are necessary to transform
this plant into a sociotechnically-designed operation. These are
the key conditions to apply sociotechnical systems theory.
Primary work unit. Employees should be regrouped around work
processes (producing sausages, canned meats, etc.) rather than
their current organization into functional departments. If
necessary, this may mean that one group operates the entire plant.
However, it is more likely that a few product areas would be
formed.
Joint optimization. The new plant must arrange the technology so
that it supports a team environment. For example, the work stations
should be redesigned around the new organization of employees.
Thus, cooking and packaging stations might be combined for each
product group (or for the entire production activity).
Collective self-regulation. STS advocates a team-based structure
in which employees in the primary work unit have sufficient
autonomy to manage the work process. The team should be able to
decide how to divide up work among its members as well as how to
coordinate that work. This means that they must receive more
information about their work activities (such as quality control
data) and have the right to make decisions affecting their work
process.
Controlling key variances. STS says that productivity improves
when the work team has control over key variances. These variances
represent the disturbances or interruptions that occur in a work
process. By controlling these factors, work teams control the
quantity and quality of output in the work process. Thus, the new
design must give employee control over the elements in the process
that affect quality and productivity. For example, chicken
processing employees would control the operation of machinery, the
packaging process, and so on.
4.What can organizations do to reduce management resistance to
self-directed work teams?
One of the challenges or barriers that face SDWTs is management
resistance. Supervisors and even higher level managers are often
the main sources of resistance to the transition to self-directed
work teams. Their main concern is losing power when employees gain
power through empowered teams. Some are concerned that their jobs
will lose value or even that their jobs will no longer be
required.
In order to reduce management resistance to SDWTs, organizations
need to provide a reasonable level of job security to supervisors
and managers. If addition, the organization needs to provide
training and development to support supervisors and managers in
making the transition from hands on supervision to coaches and
facilitators. This type of high-involvement culture will also need
to be reinforced through organizational changes including adapting
managerial performance criteria to sustain the required behaviour
changes.
5.Why are virtual teams becoming increasingly necessary?
Knowledge management. Knowledge has become the currency of
competitive advantage, so organizations need to seek out this
knowledge wherever it may reside. Virtual teams are a natural part
of the knowledge management process because they encourage
employees to share and use knowledge when geography limits more
direct forms of collaboration.
Globalization. Globalization is the other reason why virtual
teams are increasingly necessary. Globalization has become the new
reality in many organizations. Companies are opening businesses
overseas, forming tight alliances with companies located elsewhere,
and serving customers who want global support. These global
conditions require a correspondingly global response in the form of
virtual teams, which coordinate these operations.
6.Suppose the instructor for this course assigned you to a
project team consisting of three other students who are currently
taking similar courses in Ireland, Singapore, and Brazil. All
students speak English and have similar knowledge of the topic. Use
your knowledge of virtual teams to discuss the problems that your
team might face, compared with a team of local students who can
meet face to face.
Students can suggest a variety of potential problems with this
virtual team. One of the main problems that virtual teams
experience is in the team development process. Without face-to-face
contact (i.e. media richness), team development may be slower.
Research on virtual teams confirms that some face-to-face contact
improve team dynamics.
Another problem is that the communication process would be
limited mainly to e-mail or Web-based discussion sites (eg. team
rooms). This can slow down the communication flow and increase the
risk of flaming. Moreover, since Singapore and Ireland have
considerably different time zones than Canada, the communication
may be delayed by half of a day. Thus, last minute deadlines become
a problem.
Virtual teams can create problems with cohesiveness because the
team members do not know each other and have limited contact. This
weakens some of the benefits that face-to-face teams experience if
they become cohesive (such as mutual support, motivation to work
for the team, etc.). Of course, not all face-to-face student teams
are cohesive!
7.What can virtual teams do to sustain trust among team
members?
A common misconception is that team members build trust from a
low level when they first join a team. According to recent studies,
the opposite is actually more likely to occur. People typically
join a virtual or conventional team with a high levelnot a low
levelof trust in their new team-mates.
Declining trust is particularly challenging in virtual teams.
Research identifies clear communication among team members is an
important condition for sustaining trust. Virtual teams will need
several communication channels available in order to off-set lack
of face to face communication. In addition, team processes
including virtual team development will require some face to face
interaction, particularly when the team forms.
8.Team building activities have become more popular as companies
increasingly rely on teams to get the work done. What problems may
arise that could lead to ineffective team building results?
Studies suggest that some team building activities are
successful, but just as many fail to build high-performance teams.
One problem is that corporate leaders assume team-building
activities are general solutions to general team problems. No one
bothers to diagnose the teams specific needs (e.g. problem solving,
interpersonal processes) because the team-building intervention is
assumed to be a broad-brush solution. In reality, there are
different types of team-building activities for different team
needs. This mismatch can potentially lead to ineffective team
building.
Another problem is that corporate leaders tend to view
team-building as a one-shot medical inoculation that every team
should receive when it is formed. In truth, team building is an
ongoing process, not a three-day jumpstart. Some experts suggest,
for example, that wilderness experiences often fail because they
rarely include follow-up consultation to ensure that team learning
is transferred back to the workplace.
Last, we must remember that team building occurs on the job, not
just on an obstacle course or in a national park. Organizations
should encourage team members to reflect on their work experiences
and to experiment with just-in-time learning for team
development
Photo Caption Critical Thinking Questions
Jabil Circuits
Q: What advantages and potential problems would Jabil Circuits
have with its team-based organizational structure?
A: One advantage of the team-based organization is that it is
usually more responsive and flexible to environmental changes. This
structure also can reduce costs and increase employee satisfaction
because teams empower employees and reduce reliance on a managerial
hierarchy. A cross-functional team structure improves communication
and cooperation across traditional boundaries. With greater
autonomy, this structure also allows quicker and more informed
decision making. One concern with team-based structures is that
they can be costly to maintain due to the need for ongoing
interpersonal skills training. Teamwork potentially takes more time
to coordinate than formal hierarchy during the early stages of team
development. Employees may experience more stress due to increased
ambiguity in their roles. Team leaders also experience more stress
due to increased conflict, loss of functional power, and unclear
career progression ladders
Celestica Inc.
Q: To what extent has Celestica applied the four STS conditions
necessary for successful self-directed work teams?
A: Celestica applied most of the sociotechnical conditions.
First, they formed primary work units teams of employees who make a
product or complete a work process. Second, this photo caption
suggests that these teams are semi-autonomous. They are
self-directed, so they have sufficient autonomy to manage the work
process. Third, Celestica focussed on the key variances in these
work processes. In other words, teams are aware of the disturbances
or interruptions that occur in a work process, and how they can
improve quality by managing those key variances. The only element
of sociotechnical systems theory that is not explicitly mentioned
in this photo caption is joint optimization. It is not clear
whether Celestica balanced the social and technical system. The
fact that study teams mapped work process flows suggests that some
joint optimization occurred, but this information is
speculative.
Ambient Designs Virtual Teams
Q: What conditions are needed to make Ambient Designs virtual
team work effectively?
A: The answer to this question comes from the team effectiveness
model. Students should identify the main organisational and team
environment conditions, as well as team design and team processes,
that make teams of any kind more effective. This section of the
chapter takes students through several elements of the team
effectiveness model that are most important, such as communication
systems, team composition, and some face-to-face interaction to
improve team development and cohesiveness.
Activity 9.1: Case AnalysisShipping Industry Accounting team
Case Synopsis
This case describes how accountants from various parts of Canada
must work together as a virtual team after their respective
companies merged into one decentralized organization. The case is
written from the perspective of the Halifax accountant, who
explains his/her dislike of working in teams and discusses some of
the problems in the assigned team. The case relates to several
issues in the effectiveness of virtual teams, including the problem
of applying ambiguous and complex tasks to virtual teams, team
development without face-to-face communication, and team members
who lack motivation and/or ability (technologically and
interactively) to work in virtual teams.
Suggested Answers to Case Questions
1.What type of team was formed here? Was it necessary, in your
opinion?
The team created in this case was a virtual team because it
consisted of members operate across space, time, and organizational
boundaries and are linked through information technologies to
achieve organizational tasks.
Whether it was necessary to form this team requires students to
consider a few factors, some of which are not explicit in the case.
First, it seems reasonable for an organization to rely on experts
in a specialization to put their heads together to form a strategy
to improve business in their specialization. Without making too
many assumptions, it is difficult to imagine how the firm could
develop strategy without the collective involvement of these
people.
The key question, therefore, isnt whether the team should have
been formed. The key question is how the team should be structured.
The answer to the next question provides some details on this
point, but students can suggest in this question that maybe a
collocated team would be more effective under these conditions.
Specifically, perhaps these people could have been brought together
face-to-face for a few days to work through many of the main issues
for the strategy.
2.Use the team effectiveness model in Chapter 8 and related
information in this chapter to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of this teams environment, design, and processes.
Students should break down this answer into the various
components of the team effectiveness model that relate to this
situation:
Team Environment: Students can identify a number of
environmental concerns that make it difficult for this team to
operate effectively. The team relies on email, which seems to lack
the qualities (media richness-- as we learn in Chapter 11) for
communicating on the complex and ambiguous issues about corporate
strategy. Moreover, given the lack of coordination, it appears that
the organizational structure supports individual performance rather
than team performance. This point is reflected in the authors
statements that he/she could just as well work alone on the
required tasks. Students can speculate on the quality of leadership
influences here.
Team Tasks: Students should recognize that forming a strategic
plan to improve shipping accounting business is a potentially messy
affair that the team members do not seem to engage in alone let
along together very often. In other words, the task is novel,
complex, and ambiguous. This is definitely not ideal for virtual
teams, particularly virtual teams that clearly are far from the
performing level of team development.
Team Size/Composition: Team size seems to be fine; four people
should be able to develop as a virtual team relatively well,
controlling for other factors. However, team composition is clearly
a concern here. While everyone on this team seem appropriate with
respect to their expertise in accounting for shipping firms, they
seem to lack the motivation and competencies for virtual team
dynamics. The author and possible others on the team have little
desire to work in a team environment. They have apparently worked
alone for some time before the merger. The team members also seem
to lack skills in communicating through information technology. The
Vancouver team member doesnt use email very well. None of the team
members has used conference calling much in the past. Other,
potentially more effective communication media have not been
mentioned in this case.
Team Processes: One of the glaring problems with the virtual
team in this case is that the team members have had almost no
opportunity or resources to develop as a team. One of the striking
characteristics of effective virtual teams is that their members
have had an opportunity to meet face-to-face at some point
(preferably early) in the teams life cycle. This has not occurred
here, except that the author has met Rochelle, the accountant from
Montreal. The result is that team members do not understand each
other, cannot agree on anything other than the most basic issues,
and seem to have very low cohesiveness.
3.Assuming that these four people must continue to work as a
team, recommend ways to improve the teams effectiveness.
Students can identify several things to improve the
effectiveness of this virtual team. They might even begin by
questioning the wisdom of relying on a virtual team for such an
ambiguous and complex problem. A multi-day retreat for these four
people and perhaps other senior executives might be wiser and, in
the long run, less costly.
One recommendation is for the team members to meet face-to-face
to at least begin the strategy plan and to possibly participate in
some team building activity. This personal contact may improve team
dynamics by moving the team development process further along and
build some level of cohesiveness.
Another recommendation is to develop skills in these (and
possibly other) employees regarding communicating through
information technology as well as working in teams. It is clear
that these people need to become better versed in a variety of
communication media so they can choose information technology that
matches the complexity of this and other tasks.
Activity 9.2: Team Exercise Team-Trust Exercise
Purpose
This exercise is designed to help students understand the role
of interpersonal trust in the development and maintenance of
effective teams.
Materials
The instructor will provide the same 15 objects for each team as
well as for the model.
Instructions
Students are divided into teams of approximately 10 people. Each
team receives 15 objects from the instructor. The same 15 objects
are arranged in a specific way on a table at the front of the room
(or elsewhere designated by the instructor). The table is behind a
screened area so that the arrangements cannot be seen by
participants from their work areas.
The goal of each team is to duplicate the exact arrangement
(e.g., location, overlap, spacing) of the objects on the table,
using its own matching set of objects, within 20 minutes (or other
time limit given by the instructor). Participants are allowed one
30-second opportunity at the beginning of the exercise to view the
screened table. They may not write, draw, or talk while viewing the
screened table.
The instructor informs each team that it will have up to two
saboteurs. These are people selected by the instructor prior to
class, and whose main objective is to use any reasonable method to
prevent the team from producing an accurate configuration of
objects in their work area. The saboteurs are forbidden from
revealing their identities.
At the end of the time limit, the instructor will evaluate each
teams configuration and decide which one is the most accurate. The
class will then evaluate their experience in the exercise in terms
of team development and other aspects of team dynamics.
Comments for Instructors
We find that this exercise works best when no one is selected as
a saboteur. The instructor casually and conspicuously talks to
several students at the beginning of class, but never asks anyone
to serve as a saboteur. This avoids the awkwardness that some
students feel about betraying their team members. It also adds more
meaningfulness to the issue of trust in team dynamics. If students
complain that the instructor changed the rules, you can remind them
that the exercise states that there will be up to two saboteurs
(i.e., it is possible that teams dont have any saboteurs.)
Probably the best materials to conduct this exercise are
coloured wooden blocks found in most toy departments.
Alternatively, you use coloured paper to cut out objects of
different shapes, ensuring that each team has an exact duplicate of
the master shape. Prior to class, you should set up a configuration
of objects on a table. The screen can be a cardboard box turned
upside down over the objects. Identical sets of objects should be
placed in bags and given to the teams.
This exercise can be conducted in any classroom, but the best
setting provides each team with a sufficiently large table with
access on all sides and enough distance from other teams that their
configuration cant be seen.
To judge the final configurations, you can prepare a template,
such as an acetate sheet with tracings of the objects in their
proper configuration. Also consider designating a few students to
serve as judges of the best configuration.
Discussion Questions
The level of trust among team member should make a significant
difference in their success at this task. The instructor can
facilitate discussion around this issue and related topics in
Chapter 9.
Students should try to explain why trust is so important in
teams. They should explain that this exercise requires information
from every team member. Members must check their recollection of
the master configuration, and this is best done by confirming
evidence from others. (This is rather like checking your
perceptions with others that we described in Chapter 6.) When trust
is low, members are unable to confirm their recollection or combine
information effectively.
Students should also discuss their feelings toward other team
members, particularly those whom they believed were saboteurs. The
instructor should be sensitive to emotions on this issue.
Note: Based on G. Thompson and P. Pearce, The Team-Trust Game,
Training and Development, May 1992, pp. 42-43.
Activity 9.3: Team exerciseEgg Drop exercise
Purpose
This exercise is designed to help students to understand the
dynamics of high-performance teams.
Materials
This exercise requires a variety of materials in sufficient
quantity. Specifically, the costing sheet indicates that the store
provides plastic bowls, balloons, plastic cups, Styrofoam cups,
paper plates, plastic plates, coffee stirrers, paper clips, tape,
facial tissues, paper serviettes, rubber bands, and straws. You are
free to alter this list without significantly affecting the
activity. Moreover, you can limit the number of each item that each
team is allowed to purchase.
Along with these supplies, the instructor should be prepared to
have the following:
Raw eggs -- one per team, with a few extras in case of mishaps
before the official drop;
Costing sheets -- master sheet is provided two pages forward in
this manual. Most teams will require more than one sheet, so make
2-3 times as many sheets as there are teams;
Team rules -- master sheet is provided on next page. Typically
one per student, but the rules can be shown as an overhead or
computer presentation instead;
Plastic tarp -- to protect floor where eggs will be dropped;
Laptop computer (optional) -- handy for quickly documenting and
calculating cost of each teams requisition using spreadsheet
software;
Assistance -- depending on class size, a couple of students to
work on store requisitions and to monitor adherence to rules during
design and construction. Briefing these people before class is a
good idea.
Team Task
The teams task is to design and build a protective device that
will allow a raw egg (provided by the instructor) to be dropped
from a great height without breaking. The team wins if its egg does
not break using the lowest priced device.
Instructions
Step 1: The instructor will divide the class into teams, with
approximately 6 people on each team. Team members will divide into
groups of managers and workers. The team can have as many people as
they think is needed for managers and workers as long as all team
members are assigned to one of these roles. Please note from the
cost sheet that managers and workers represent a cost to the
projects budget.
Step 2: Within the time allotted by the instructor, each teams
managers will design the device to protect the egg. Workers and
managers will then purchase supplies from the store, and workers
will then build the egg protection device. Team members should read
the rules carefully to avoid penalty costs.
Comments to Instructors
This popular exercise is loads of fun, but also requires space
and a fair number of materials. Based on personal experience, I
strongly recommend that you have one or two assistants to monitor
the teams (assign penalties for violation of rules) and
particularly to serve as store clerks for supplies. Students are
eager to receive their supplies and dont like waiting in a long
queue. I use a laptop computer with spreadsheets for each team so
costing is documented quickly and accurately.
At the beginning of the exercise, hand out the rules sheet (or
display as an overhead) and one costing sheet per team. It is
important to review the rules carefully, such as that workers
cannot plan and managers cannot touch the materials at all. You
should also specifically note the costs involved, such as the
design and construction time costs (indicated in the costing
sheet). The instructor should also show where the egg will be
dropped, including the height of drop.
After the class has been briefed on the rules and instructions,
every team begins the exercise. Each teams raw egg is distributed
at the beginning of the exercise. The instructor and assistants
need to keep track of time because some cost is related to how long
each team requires for designing and building the egg protective
device. Assistants also need to keep a close watch on rule
violations, such as managers holding materials or workers helping
managers to design the product. Violations also include submitting
incomplete costing sheets (see list of rules). Each violation is
fined $100, as indicted on the costing sheet.
When all egg protective devices have been built, the instructor
or volunteer drops each device from the predetermined height. I
have usually established a height of approximately 2.5 metres
(about 8 feet), specified by a piece of tape pasted to one wall.
However, this exercise has included dropping eggs out windows two
storeys or more above the ground.
The debriefing typically begins by showing the total costs for
each team, time taken, and success of the egg drop (i.e. whether
the raw egg inside the protective device broke). I prepare this
information on an overhead transparency while students take a
break.
After displaying the results and announcing the winner (team
with the lowest cost design and unbroken egg), students are asked
about the team dynamics, such as forming team roles, team
development and coordination, conflicts that arose, application of
relevant skills, and so on. The manager versus worker issue
invariable arises as a problem, particularly the strict division of
labour and problems coordinating between the two groups.
Student Handout
Egg Drop Exercise Rules for Managers and Workers
Only managers may design the egg protection device. Workers
cannot assist in design.
Only workers are allowed to touch the raw materials and make the
egg protection device. Managers are not allowed to touch materials
or product at any time.
Only workers can carry raw materials from the store, and only
managers can submit an order form to the store.
Teams can order materials from the store as often as they wish
using a new form for each order.
Orders will be processed only when the forms have been correctly
completed, including the teams name, total cost of items ordered
and signature of authorized manager.
Any materials purchased cannot be returned for a refund.
Student Handout
Egg Drop Exercise Costing Sheet
ITEMUNITCOSTNUMBERREQUIREDTOTAL COST
manager$200
worker$100
plastic bowl$50
balloon$450
plastic cup$175
Styrofoam cup$50
paper plates$50
plastic plates$75
coffee stirrer$5
paper clip$1
tape$3/metre
facial tissues$3
paper serviette$25
rubber band$1
straws$7.50
penalty$100
ACTUAL TIME
design time*$2.50/min
construction time*$5.50/min
TOTAL COST:$
*NOTE: Insert ACTUAL design and construction times in minutes
after each stage has been completed and verified by a neutral
observer. Team members must notify observers as soon as their
design has been completed, then as soon as their product has been
completed.
Activity 9.4: Self-Assessment Team Player Inventory
Purpose
This self-assessment is designed to help you estimate the extent
to which you are positively predisposed to work in teams.
Overview
Some people would like to work in teams for almost everything,
whereas other people would like to keep as far away from teams as
possible. Most of us fall somewhere in between. This
self-assessment estimates the extent to which the person completing
this instrument is positively predisposed to work in teams.
Instructions
Students are asked to read each statement in this
self-assessment and indicate the extent to which they agree or
disagree with that statement. This instrument has 10
statements.
Feedback for the Team Player Inventory
[NOTE: The following information is also provided in Appendix B
and/or the Student CD.]
The Team Player Inventory estimates the extent to which you are
positively predisposed to working on teams. The higher your score,
the more you enjoy working in teams and believe that teamwork is
beneficial. This scale has a range from 10 to 50. the following
chart compares your results with a sample of Canadian undergraduate
psychology students.
ScoreInterpretation
40 to 50Strong preference for teamwork
21 to 39Moderate preference for teamwork
10 to 20Low preference for teamwork
Supplemental Lecture: Concurrent Engineering Teams
Concurrent engineering teams represent a special variation of
self-directed work teams. Concurrent engineering refers to the
cross-functional integration and concurrent development of a
product or service and its associated processes. Generally, this
occurs by assigning product development to a cross-functional
project team consisting of people from marketing, design,
manufacturing, customer service, and other areas.
Concurrent engineering is a dramatic shift from the serial
process traditionally used to develop a product or service.
Traditionally, the marketing department develops a strategy or
product concept, which is passed over the wall to the design
engineers. These designs are then sent to manufacturing engineers
who figure out how to make the product or service efficiently. The
manufacturing designers usually require the product designers to
make several changes to standardize parts and minimize custom
tooling. The customer service department is brought in at some
later date to consider product repair and parts replacement issues.
Customers and suppliers are rarely involved at all.
In contrast, concurrent engineering creates a cross-functional
project team -- often including customers and suppliers -- that
simultaneously works on several phases of product or service
development. Design and manufacturing engineers begin working
simultaneously. Marketing and purchasing representatives are
involved during this development process, not afterwards. So are
primary customers and suppliers.
Chrysler and other companies have benefited from concurrent
engineering because their products and services are too complex for
design engineers to create alone. Through cross-functional teams,
concurrently engineering leverages the diverse knowledge of people
from different backgrounds. This is one reason why Harley-Davidson
Motor Co. has shifted to concurrent engineering at its product
development centre in Wisconsin. Its crucial to have input from all
these areas, as they are affected by engineerings designs at some
point in the cycle, says Earl Werner, Harley-Davidsons
vice-president of engineering. The more input we have up front, the
better our products will be.
A second benefit of concurrent engineering is that it
significantly improves communication in the development process.
This occurs because team members are typically co-located, that is,
they work together in the same physical space. When co-location is
combined with having people working concurrently on different
phases of the project, concurrent engineering can dramatically
reduce the time required to send the product or service to
market.
Of course, co-location isnt always feasible and, for
multinational projects, it may be better to have team members in
their own cultural setting. Information technologies are
increasingly making it possible for these virtual teams to work
effectively at a distance. Still, until these technologies
replicate face-to-face interaction, co-location will be the
preferred option for product development projects due to their
complexity and novelty.
Sources: T. Minahan, Harley-Davidson Revs up Development
Process, Purchasing, 124 (May 1998), pp. 44 S18+. A. L. Patti, J.
P. Gilbert, and S. Hartman, Physical Co-location and the Success of
New Product Development Projects, Engineering Management Journal, 9
(September 1997), pp. 31-37; M. L. Swink, J. C. Sandvig, and V. A.
Mabert, Customizing Concurrent Engineering Processes: Five Case
Studies, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 13 (1996), pp.
229-44; F. Rafii, "How Important is Physical Collocation to Product
Development Success?" Business Horizons, 38 (January 1995), pp.
78-84; W. I. Zangwill, Lightning Strategies for Innovation: How the
World's Best Firms Create New Products (New York: Lexington, 1993);
pp. 40-J. V. Owen, "Concurrent Engineering," Manufacturing
Engineering 109 (November 1992), pp. 69--73
Concurrent Engineering Team
Video Suggestions
Along with the video cases for this part of the textbook, the
following videos and films generally relate to one or more topics
in this chapter. These programs may be available at your
college/university or rented from the distributor. Please contact
your film librarian to determine the availability of these programs
at your institution. This list was compiled from library holdings
of several universities. Due to the variety of video material, this
is not a comprehensive list. Nor can we say that all of the
programs below are suitable for your class.
Continuous Team Development. (1999, 14 min., Ash Quarry
Productions). Peter Quarry interviews Peter Wimer, an experienced
organizational consultant on effective team work to assess team
effectiveness; solving productivity problems in teams; using
customer feedback to improve team performers; dealing with
difficult team members; maintaining team enthusiasm during
change.
Success Factors for Virtual Teams: Peter Quarry interviews Ron
Young (1998, 15 min., Ash-Quarry Productions). Discusses factors
that will contribute to 'virtual team' success. Points include
typical mistakes made in setting up 'virtual teams', how multimedia
technology creates richer communication, using the 'virtual
tearoom', and problems with e-mail bullying.
Building a Winning Team. (1997, 29 min., Carrollton, TX) :
Associated with Matt Weinsteins book, Managing to Have Fun, this
video program provides a live audience with specific examples of
building a winning team. Weinstein suggests using humour or fun to
permit employees to vent, to foster problem solving, and to create
an atmosphere of appreciation at work.Coaching a Winning Team
(1997, 55 min., Stanford Alumni Association). Part of the Stanford
executive briefings series, this video program highlights: building
credibility and consensus in a vision; using enthusiasm to turn
around team motivation; identifying and utilizing complimentary
strengths in a team. In this video, Tara VanDerveer shows us that a
successful team is born of strengthening individual qualities and
focusing them on a singular goal.Jobs, Not what they Used to Be:
The new Face of Work in America. (1996, 57 min., Films for the
Humanities & Sciences). Using several companies as examples,
this program looks at the future of work in America, focusing on
the work environment, training, and philosophies of companies which
stress teamwork, high technology, and inventive ways of organizing
their businesses.
The Team Approach. (1994, 24 min., Kantola Productions). Part of
the Toastmasters International quality-centred management series.
Good teams build involvement, improve communication and
cooperation, and generate innovative business solutions. They
streamline decision-making and expand competencies. This video
helps by assuring all employees about what they can expect from
teams and what their team-mates can expect from them.
Implementing Self-Directed Work Teams (1992, 198 mins. on 3
tapes, CareerTrack). Explores the concept of self-directed work
teams, touted as the productivity breakthrough of the '90s,
explaining what they are, how they work and how to create and
manage them.
Eleven Commandments for an Enthusiastic Team (1990, 25 min.,
VHS). In this videotaped seminar, Ian Percy discusses eleven
principles for creating enthusiasm and togetherness to build a
cohesive, successful team.
Mining Group Gold. (198?, 22 min., VHS). Based on Tom Kaysers
book of the same name, this program takes us to Xerox and other
organizations where Kaysers ideas about team effectiveness have
dramatically increased the quality of team processes and decisions.
Much of the video is about meetings (see Chapter 11), but it also
includes discussion of team roles and relationships.
Team Building: How to Motivate and Manage People. (1989, 120
min. on two video tapes, VHS). This program covers key steps to
team building which include how to locate and recruit quality team
members, how to communicate in order to develop the team concept
and how to motivate people to produce better results.
Team Building. (198?, 12 min. VHS). This program, part of
International Telefilms People Skills series, describes the five
characteristics of effective teams and what each team member must
do to build the team.
Group Tyranny and the Gunsmoke Phenomenon. (198?, 15 min., VHS).
Dr. Jerry B. Harvey transports viewers to the Old West, where
townspeople are bent on hanging a bank robber in spite of their
peace-loving ways. This illustrates
Notes
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