Sammanfattning - kapitel 10-15 +17 PDF

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Sammanfattning av kapitel 10-15 och 17 i den obligatoriska kurslitteraturen....

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Chapter 10 – The Nature of Work Groups and Teams s.304 Organizations don’t consist of individuals working alone. Employees are usually assembled or clustered into groups or teams. Organizations use groups or teams because they can sometimes accomplish things that no one individual could accomplish working alone. Although groups can sometimes work wonders for an organization, they can also wreak havoc if they function improperly.

Introduction to Groups GROUP = A set of two or more people who interact with each other to achieve certain goals or to meet certain needs. Two basic attributes define a group: 1. Members of a group interact with each other: what one person does affects everyone else and vice versa. 2. Members of a group believe there is the potential for mutual goal accomplishment—that is, group members perceive that by belonging to the group, they will be able to accomplish certain goals or meet certain needs. Although group members may have one or more goals in common, this does not mean that all their goals are identical. GROUP GOAL = A goal that all or most members of a group can agree on as a common goal.

Types of Work Groups s. 305-306

FORMAL WORK GROUP = A group established by management to help the organization achieve its goals. The goals of a formal work group are determined by the needs of the organization. INFORMAL WORK GROUP = A group that emerges naturally when individuals perceive that membership in a group will help them achieve their goals or meet their needs. TYPES OF FORMAL WORK GROUPS s.306 COMMAND GROUP = A formal work group consisting of subordinates who report to the same supervisor. TASK FORCE = A formal work group consisting of people who come together to accomplish a specific goal. Once the goal has been accomplished, the task force is usually disbanded. But sometimes last, but the members are often changed (e.g. quality checking group) TEAM = A formal work group consisting of people who work intensely together to achieve a common group goal. When teams are effective, they draw on the abilities and experiences of their members to accomplish things that could not be achieved by individuals working separately or by other kinds of work groups. Cross-functional teams are composed of members from different functions. Some organizations run into trouble effectively managing teams because their members spend too much time trying to come to an agreement on important issues. SELF-MANAGED WORK TEAM = A formal work group consisting of people who are jointly responsible for ensuring that the team accomplishes its goals and who lead themselves TYPES OF INFORMAL WORK GROUPS FRIENDSHIP GROUP = An informal work group consisting of people who enjoy each other’s company and socialize with each other on and off the job. Friendship groups help meet employees’ needs for social interaction, are an important source of social support, and can contribute to job satisfaction and employees’ experiencing positive moods. INTEREST GROUP = An informal work group consisting of people who come together because they have a common goal or objective related to their organizational membership. Interest groups help members of an organization voice their concerns and can be an important impetus for needed organizational changes.

Group Development Over Time: The Five-Stage Model s. 307 Bruce W. Tuckman’s five-stage model:

All groups change over time as group members come and go; group tasks and goals change; and group members gain experience as they interact with one another. Understanding how groups change is important because groups and their members face different challenges at different stages of development. In order for groups to be effective and perform at high levels, it is important for these challenges to be effectively managed. Ongoing work groups in organizations do not go through the final stage and often remain at the performing stage. Research indicates that not all groups go through each of the stages. Nor do they go through them one at a time or in the order specified. Some groups are characterized by considerable levels of conflict throughout their existence and always experience elements of the storming stage. Interestingly enough, these studies found that the timing of these stages depended on how long the group was given to achieve its goals.

Characteristics of Work Groups s. 308 Group Size The size of a group is measured by the number of full-time members who work together to achieve the group’s goals. Group size is an important determinant of the way group members behave. People generally tend to be less satisfied in large groups than in smaller ones (easier to identify with, interact more often). Large groups are more diverse and can come up with more ideas and knowledge, skills, abilities. Division of labour is also possible with large groups. DIVISION OF LABOR = Dividing up work and assigning particular tasks to specific workers

Group Composition Group composition refers to the characteristics of members of a group. One way to think about group composition is in terms of how similar or different the members are from each other. HOMOGENOUS GROUP = A group in which members have many characteristics in common HETEROGENEOUS GROUP = A group in which members have few characteristics in common.

Group Function s.311 GROUP FUNCTION = The work a group performs as its contribution to the accomplishment of organizational goals. The function of a group affects the behavior of its members by letting them know how their work contributes to the organization achieving its goals.

Group Status s.311 GROUP STATUS = The implicitly agreed upon, perceived importance for the organization as a whole of what a group does. Members of groups with high status are likely to be motivated to perform at high levels because they see their work as especially important for the success of the organization as a whole.

Group Efficacy s.312 GROUP EFFICACY = The shared belief group members have about the ability of the group to achieve its goals and objectives. Efficacy is not something that exists when a group is initially formed but rather a shared belief that emerges over time as members work together. Group efficacy can influence the aspirations members have for the group, their effort levels, how they approach tasks, and their persistence when the going gets tough.

Social Facilitation s. 313 SOCIAL FACILITATION = The effects that the presence of others has on performance, enhancing the performance of easy tasks and impairing the performance of difficult tasks. The presence of other group members tends to arouse or stimulate individuals, often because the individuals feel that others will evaluate their performance and give them positive or negative outcomes dependent on how well or poorly they do. Audience effects are the effects of passive spectators on individual performance. Co-action effects are the effects of the presence of other group members on the performance of an individual when the other group members are performing the same task as the individual.

Team members need to be able to meet with one another and coordinate their efforts. At the same time, they need to be alone to concentrate on complicated tasks.

How Groups Control Their Members: Roles and Rules s.314 Roles The division of labour that occurs in groups and organizations necessitates the development of roles. A role is a set of behaviors or tasks a person is expected to perform by virtue of holding a position in a group or organization. When a group divides up its work and assigns particular tasks to individual members, different roles are established within the group. In a cross-functional team, a member’s role is likely to be representing his or her function’s perspective on the group’s project. Associated with each role in a group are certain responsibilities and rights. All of the behaviors expected of a role occupant are the role occupant’s responsibilities. Roles facilitate the control of group members’ behaviors for several reasons:

- roles tell members what they should be doing - roles not only enable a group to hold its members accountable for their behavior but also provide the group with a standard by which to evaluate the behavior - roles help managers determine how to reward members who perform the behaviors that make up their various roles. ROLE RELATIONSHIPS = The ways in which group and organizational members interact with one another to perform their specific roles. Role relationships may be formally specified in a written job description or emerge informally over time as members work out methods for getting the job done. A large part of a person’s role in a group may not be specified but may emerge over time as members interact with one another. s.315 ROLE MAKING = Taking the initiative to create a role by assuming responsibilities that are not part of an assigned role. Role making can be an important process in self-managed work teams where members are jointly trying to find innovative ways to accomplish the group’s goals. ROLE TAKING = Performing the responsibilities required as part of an assigned role

Written Rules sid 315-316 Effective groups sometimes use written rules to control their members’ behaviors. Written rules specify behaviors that are required and those that are forbidden. Over time, groups should experiment with their rules and try to find better ones to replace those that currently exist. Rules have several advantages that help groups control and manage behavior and performance: Rules help groups ensure members will engage in behaviors that contribute to the effectiveness of the group and the organization and avoid behaviors that hinder performance and goal attainment. Rules facilitate the control of behavior because members and managers know how and when role occupants are expected to perform their assigned tasks. Rules facilitate the evaluation of individual group members’ performance levels because their behavior can be compared to the behavior specified by the rules. When the membership in a group changes, rules help newcomers learn the right way to perform their roles.

How Groups Control Their Members: Group Norms s. 316-317 GROUP NORMS = Informal rules of conduct for behaviors considered important by most group members. When members share a common idea of acceptable behavior, they can monitor each other’s behavior to make sure everyone is following the group’s norms. This is key to controlling the group. Groups enforce their norms by rewarding members who conform to the norms by behaving in the specified manner and punishing members who deviate from the norms.

Why Do Group Members Conform to Norms? S. 317 COMPLIANCE = Assenting to a norm in order to attain rewards or avoid punishment. IDENTIFICATION = Associating oneself with supporters of a norm and conforming to the norm because those individuals do. INTERNALIZATION = Believing that the behavior dictated by a norm is truly the right and proper way to behave

Idiosyncrasy Credit s. 317-318 IDIOSYNCRASY CREDIT = The freedom to violate group norms without being punished that is accorded to group members who have contributed a lot to the group in the past.

The Pros and Cons of Conformity and Deviance s.318 Conformity = Överensstämmelse Deviance = avvikelse Conformity is good when norms help a group control and influence its members’ behaviors so that the group can accomplish its goals. Many norms, such as always behaving courteously to customers or always leaving a work area clean, promote organizational effectiveness, but some group norms do not. Studies have shown that groups of employees can develop norms that actually hurt the group’s performance. In cases like this, conformity maintains

dysfunctional group behaviors, and deviance from the norm is appropriate. Deviance—deviation from a norm— occurs when a member of a group violates a norm. Groups usually respond to deviance in one of three ways: The group might try to get the deviant to change by The group might reject or try to expel the deviant The group might actually change the norm in question to be more in line with the deviant’s behavior.

Balancing Conformity and Deviance s. 318-319 Groups need both conformity and deviance to accomplish their goals and perform at a high level. Conformity ensures that a group can control members’ behaviors to get tasks accomplished, and deviance forces group members to re-examine the appropriateness of norms. The exhibit depicts the relationship between levels of conformity and deviance in a group and the group’s goal accomplishment.

Ensuring that Group Norms are Functional for the Organization s 321 When group and organizational goals are closely aligned, groups are inclined to develop norms that help the groups achieve its goals and are also functional for the organization. Likewise, they are inclined to discard norms that are dysfunctional for the group and the organization. Group goals, however, are not always congruent with organizational goals. One way to deal with this is by making sure members are rewarded when the organization achieves its goals. Another way is by rewarding group members on the basis of individual or group performance. The need to align group and organizational goals has a very clear implication for how outcomes (such as pay) should be distributed to members of the group when their individual contributions or performance levels cannot be readily identified or evaluated. Essentially, the outcomes members receive should be based on the group’s levels of performance.

Socialization: How Group Members Learn Roles, Rules, and Norms s.322 SOCIALIZATION = The process by which newcomers learn the roles, rules, and norms of a group

Socialization and Role Orientation s 322-323 How groups socialize newcomers influences the role orientation that newcomers adopt.

ROLE ORIENTATION = The characteristic way in which members of a group respond to various situations. For example, do members react passively and obediently to commands and orders? Van Mannen and Schein identified six pairs of contrasting socialization tactics that influence a newcomer’s learning and role orientation. The use of different combinations of these tactics leads to two different role orientations: INSTITUTIONALIZED ROLE ORIENTATION = A role orientation in which newcomers are taught to respond to situations in the same way that existing group members respond to similar situations. INDIVIDUALIZED ROLE ORIENTATION = A role orientation in which newcomers are taught that it is acceptable and desirable to be creative and to experiment with changing how the group does things.

Socialization Tactics S 323-325 Groups or organizations can use all six tactics or a subset of the six tactics, depending on their needs and goals. Each of the six tactics actually represents a pair of contrasting tactics from which a choice can be made.

COLLECTIVE VERSUS INDIVIDUAL TACTICS s.324 When collective tactics are used, newcomers go through a common learning experience designed to produce standardized or highly similar responses to different situations. When individualized tactics are used, newcomers are taught individually how to behave. Because learning takes place on an individual basis, each newcomer’s learning experiences are somewhat different, and newcomers are encouraged to behave differently in the various situations they may encounter on the job. Collective tactics tend to lead to an institutionalized orientation; individual tactics tend to lead to an individualized orientation. FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL TACTICS When tactics are formal, newcomers are segregated from existing group members during the learning process. When tactics are informal, newcomers learn on the job. Formal tactics tend to lead to an institutionalized orientation; informal tactics tend to lead to an individualized orientation. SEQUENTIAL VERSUS RANDOM TACTICS When sequential tactics are used, newcomers are provided with explicit information about the sequence in which they will perform new behaviors. When random tactics are used, the order in which socialization proceeds is based on the interests and needs of the individual newcomer, and no set sequence is followed. Sequential tactics tend to lead to an institutionalized orientation; random tactics tend to lead to an individualized orientation. FIXED VERSUS VARIABLE TACTICS Fixed tactics give newcomers precise knowledge about the timetable for completing each stage in the learning process. Variable tactics provide no information about when newcomers will reach a certain stage in the learning process; the speed of socialization depends on the individual newcomer. Fixed tactics tend to lead to an institutionalized orientation; random tactics tend to lead to an individualized orientation. SERIAL VERSUS DISJUNCTIVE TACTICS When serial tactics are used, existing group members socialize newcomers. When disjunctive tactics are used, newcomers must figure out and develop their own ways of behaving. They are not told what to do by experienced group members. Serial tactics tend to lead to an institutionalized orientation; disjunctive tactics tend to lead to an individualized orientation.

DIVESTITURE VERSUS INVESTITURE TACTICS sid 325 With divestiture tactics, newcomers receive negative interpersonal treatment from other members of the group. Existing group members refrain from treating newcomers kindly and with respect until they learn existing roles, rules, and norms. With investiture tactics, newcomers immediately receive positive social support from other group members. Divestiture tactics tend to lead to an institutionalized orientation; investiture tactics tend to lead to an individualized orientation. +/The main benefit of an institutionalized orientation is also its main danger: the homogeneity it produces among group members. If all members of a group have been socialized to share the same way of looking at the world and have the same strong allegiance to existing roles, rules, and norms, the group may become resistant to change and lack the wherewithal to come up with creative solutions to problems. However, the very survival of groups and organizations depends on their willingness and ability to change as needed in response to changes in the environments in which they exist. Socialization helps groups achieve whatever goals they have established by helping them control their members’ behaviors. Whether a group wants its members to closely follow established ways of doing things or offer suggestions for ways to do things differently, it needs to exert control over its members’ behaviors and actions in order to make this happen.

Summary s 326-327 Work groups are the basic building blocks of an organization. Work groups use roles, rules, and norms to control their members’ behaviors, and they use several socialization tactics to turn newcomers into effective group members. Groups contribute to organizational effectiveness when group goals are aligned with organizational goals. In this chapter, we made the following major points: 1. Two attributes separate work groups from random collections of individuals in an organization. Members of a work group (a) interact with each other and (b) perceive the potential for mutual goal accomplishment. Work groups vary in whether they are formal or informal. Formal work groups include command groups, task forces, teams, and self-managed work teams. Informal work groups include friendship groups and interest groups. Teams are characterized by intense interactions between team members to achieve team goals. 2. Groups develop and change over time. The five-stage model of group development proposes that groups develop in five sequential stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Research, however, has not indicated that there is a universal set of stages that all groups experience in the same order. 3. Five important characteristics of groups are size, composition, function, status, and group efficacy. Each has the potential to affect the...