TEAM â€“ I:Formal & Informal teams, Functions of Informal Groups, Characteristics of Teams

<< LEADERSHIP:Contingency Approaches, Personal Characteristics of Employees

TEAM â€“ II:Team Cohesiveness, Four ways to Cohesiveness, Communication >>

Introduction To Public AdministrationMGT111

LESSON 35

TEAM I

At the end of the lecture students will be able to understand

Definition of teams and types of teams;

Informal teams and their functions;

Characteristics of teams;

Stages of team development and

Team

Teams are defined as: two or more people who interact with and influence each other toward

achievement of common purpose. In more general sense you might have observed cricket teams, hockey

teams etc. But in the field of administration/management a group of people that manager supervises to

achieve given goals is called a team or group.

Types of Teams

Traditionally, there are two types of teams in organizations: These are formal and informal teams.

In the organizations of today, however, teams exist that have the characteristics of both formal and informal

team. That is the work relationships in teams are both formal and informal.

Formal & Informal teams

Formal teams or groups are created deliberately by managers and are assigned to carry out specific

tasks to help the organization achieve its goals. These are also called work teams. The most common type of

formal group is the command team. In this team, there is a manager and all employees who report to that

manager.

Another type of formal team is the committee. A committee is formed to deal with specific and

recurrent problem and to provide solution to it. For instance, your university or college probably has a

committee for student affairs to deal with recurring issues of students. The committees involve students

also to solve a problem.

A quality circle is also a kind of team. Problem Solving, quality circle teams meet for an hour

weekly to discuss work-related problems, investigate the causes of problem, recommend solutions,

and take corrective action. When a team has completed its investigation and identified a solution, it makes

a formal presentation to the management and staff.

Some formal teams are called task forces or project teams. These teams are created to deal with a

specific problem and are usually disbanded when the task is completed or the problem is solved.

It may be mentioned that the concept of team in organization is more prevalent in organization of

developed countries.

Informal teams or groups emerge whenever people come together and interact regularly. Such

groups develop within the formal organizational structure. Members of informal teams tend to subordinate

some of their individual needs to those of the team as a whole.

Functions of Informal Groups

Informal groups serve four major functions. These are as follows:

They maintain and strengthen the norms (expected behavior) and values their members

hold in common. In other words members of team bind together because they abide the

expectations of each other.

They give members feelings of social satisfaction, status, and security. In large

organizations, where many people feel that their employers hardly know them, informal

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group enable employees to share jokes and complaints, eat together, and socialize after

work.

Informal groups help their members communicate. Members of informal groups learn

about matters that affect them by developing their own informal channels of

communication and information to supplement formal channels.

Informal groups help solve problems. They might aid a sick or tired employee or devise

activities to deal with boredom. Quite often, such groups help organization: when co-

workers tell nonproductive employees to "improve." But these groups can also reduce an

organization's effectiveness, by pressurizing colleague `not to work'.

High Performance Teams

There are other types of teams which are high performance teams and these have characteristics of

both formal and informal teams. These are group of 3 to 30 workers drawn from different areas of an

organization. These are also called "self-managed work teams," "cross-functional teams," or "high-

performance teams". In these teams members are taken from all the departments of organization. The

members of this team are well trained and they know their roles and responsibility very well. These teams

do not require much guidance and supervision.

Self-managed Teams

Super-teams that manage themselves without any formal supervision of a manager are called self-

managed teams. These teams usually have the following characteristics:

The team has responsibility for a "relatively whole task."

Each Team members possess a variety of task-related skills.

The team has the power to determine such things as work methods, scheduling, and

assignment of members to different tasks.

The performance of the group as a whole is the basis for compensation and feedback.

Characteristics of Teams

The first step in learning to manage teams effectively is to become aware of their characteristics-

that is, the way they develop leadership roles, norms, and cohesiveness.

Leadership Roles

The formal leader of a team is usually appointed or elected. Informal leaders, on the other hand,

tend to emerge gradually as group members interact. The man or women who speaks up more than the

others, offers more and better suggestions, or who gives direction to the group's activities usually becomes

the informal leader

Stages of Team Development

It is also important to know the stags of team developed. Small groups move through five stages as

they develop;

Forming;

Storming;

Forming;

Performing;

Adjourning

1. Forming

This is state when group members meet. This is the initial stage of knowing each other. The group

forms and learns what sort of behavior is acceptable to the group members as a group. By exploring what

does and does not work in group situation, the group sets implicit and explicit ground rules that cover the

completion of specific tasks as well as general group dynamics. By and large, this stage is a period of both

orientation and acclimatization i.e., of knowing.

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2. Storming

As group members become more comfortable with one another, they may oppose the formation of

a group structure as they begin to assert their individual personalities. Members often become hostile and

even fight ground rules set during the forming stage. This is a crucial stage in the development of team or

group because differences amongst group members emerge.

3. Norming

In this stage the conflicts that arose in the storming stage are addressed and hopefully resolved.

Group unity emerges as members establish common goals, norms, and ground rules. The group as a whole

participates, not merely a few vocal members. Members begin to voice personal opinions and develop close

relationships.

5. Performing

After the structural issues have been resolved, the group begins to operate as a unit. The structure

of the group now supports and eases group dynamics and performance. Members can now redirect their

efforts from the development of the group to using the group's structure to complete the tasks at hand.

6. Adjourning

There are groups or teams that are constituted for a given period of time. When the time period of

a group ends; the group has to complete its task and then it is disbanded. With disbandment in mind, the

group's focus shifts from high task performance to closure. The attitude of members varies from

excitement to depression.

Concepts

Group structure:

the roles and relationship within the group.

Norms:

the expected and accepted pattern of behaviour of individuals in

group.

Group Dynamics:

the changing roles and relationship in group behaviour and

formation and disbandment of group.

Quality circle:

it is a kind of team or group which works together toward

performance/quality of work assigned to the team.

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