contrast teams with groups

1. Chapter # 1 Exam Notes Page 1
1. Contrast groups and teams
Exam Q: Contrast between Team and Groups? How can organizations
select and develop effective leaders?
Exam Q: Contrast Groups from Teams? Explain the terms synergy and
social loafing?
Exam Q: Why organizations prefer Teams/ Groups Approach? Contrast
between team and groups. How can organizations select and develop
effective leaders?
A. Why Team Approach is becoming so Popular
• Over the last decade, the uses of teams grow exponentially in
organizations.
• There are a number of reasons why this is true. They are:
Ø Teams typically outperform individuals.
Ø Teams use employee talents better.
Ø Teams are more flexible and responsive to changes in the environment.
Ø Teams facilitate employee involvement.
Ø Teams increase employee participation in decision making.
Ø Teams democratize an organization and increase motivation.
Ø Teams can quickly assemble, deploy, refocus (Change), and disband
(Scatter, Separate).
Ø However, teams are not always effective and so it is important to take a
look at how to deploy teams effectively.
B. Contrast between Work Group and Work Team
• Groups and teams are not the same thing.
Work Group
• A group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions
to help each group member perform within the area of responsibility.
• No joint effort required.
• Their performance is the summation of individual performance

2. Chapter # 1 Exam Notes Page 2
Work Team
• A group whose individual efforts result in a level of performance that is
greater than the sum of the individual inputs.
• It generates Synergy through coordinated efforts.
• Work groups and work teams differ in their goals, level of synergy,
accountability, and skills. Their function is different as shown in the
following table.
Group Team
• Not strong commitment and shared
information towards goal
• Common commitment and collective
performance towards goal.
• Independent working and no synergy • Interdependent working and positive
synergy
• Strong Leadership • Shared Leadership
• Individual Accountability. • Individual & Mutual accountability
• Individual work products • Collective work products
• Leader runs efficient meetings • Open ended discussion & Active
problem solving
• Discuss , Decide & Delegate • Discuss, Decide & Work together
Synergy:
• Synergy is a state in which two or more team members work together in a
particularly fruitful way that produces an effect greater than the sum of
their individual effects.
• Expressed also as "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."
• Following are the basic fundamentals in creating a positive Synergy:
Ø Shared Vision, Values and Goals.
Ø Good Leadership and Followership.
Ø Trust, Respect and Compassion.
Ø Positive Environment.
Social Loafing
• There are some detrimental behaviors that can occur around group size.
• Social loafing is an example where there is a tendency for individuals to
expend less effort when working collectively than when working
individually.
• Social loafing can be prevented by:
i. Setting up goals and tasks for individuals,
ii. Encouraging or increasing intergroup competition,
iii. Using peer evaluation as part of the feedback process, and
iv. Linking group rewards to individual behavior.

3. Chapter # 1 Exam Notes Page 3
C. How organizations can create team players
The following three steps involved in turning individuals into team players:
a) Selection
b) Training
c) Rewards
a) Selection
• Selection is the hiring of the team players.
• When hiring team members, be sure candidates can fulfill their team roles
as well as technical requirements.
b) Training
• Training is important for creating team players.
• Training specialists conduct exercises that allow employees to experience
the satisfaction teamwork can provide.
• Workshops help employees improve their problem-solving,
communication, negotiation, conflict-management, and coaching skills.
c) Rewards
• Rework the reward system to encourage cooperative efforts rather than
competitive (individual) ones
• Continue to recognize individual contributions while still emphasizing the
importance of teamwork