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A TEAM-BASED ORGANIZATION:Basic Steps, Span of Control, Categories of Decisions

<< BUILDING THE TEAM:Leadership success requires, Strategies for Team Building
DECISION MAKING:Categories of Decisions, The Decision-Making Process >>
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Leadership & Team Management ­ MGMT 623
VU
Lecture 28
A TEAM-BASED ORGANIZATION
Team Based Organization
Implementing a team-based approach to organizational structure can empower employees and increase
cooperation among different skills and disciplines. Based on the belief that organizational goals will be
achieved not by individuals working together separately, but by groups of people who share
responsibility for outcomes and who work efficiently and effectively in team?
o  These processes require highly developed communication competencies from all team members.
o  Team skills usually are divided into two categories
Task roles
Maintenance roles
Characteristics of Traditional Vs Team-based Organizations
Traditional
Team-based
Individual command structures
Collective structures
Manager controls
Team monitors
Vertical hierarchy
Horizontal integration
Stability and uniformity
Change and flexibility
One best way to organize
Organization-specific
Managers manage
Self-managing teams
Traditional vs. Best Place to Work Changes
To understand this we need to understand basic concept of organizational structure.
The Basics of Organizational Structure:
o  Organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated.
o  The organization chart is a visual representation of this division, grouping, and coordination.
Organizational Structure: Organizational structure is the formal setup of task and authority
relationships. Structure controls the coordination of activities and employee motivation to attain goals.
Structure must be continually evaluated. Formal structure shows the intended configuration of
positions, job duties, and the lines of authority among different parts of the enterprise.
Designing an Organization Structure: Organization design is the process by which leaders/managers
select and manage aspects of organizational structure so that an organization can achieve its goals.
Basic Steps
o  Leaders/Managers must decide how to divide the overall tasks of the organization into successively
smaller jobs.
o  Leaders/Managers must decide the basis by which to group the individual jobs.
o  Leaders/Managers must decide the appropriate size of the group reporting to each supervisor
o  Leaders/Managers must distribute authority among the jobs.
Departmentalization:
Departmentalization is the bedrock of horizontal differentiation, which begins when one person
assumes a functional task. As others assume specialized roles, a functional structure emerges, with
people placed in groups based on common skills or common use of resources.
Span of Control
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Leadership & Team Management ­ MGMT 623
VU
To avoid becoming too tall, an organization can increase the span of control, the number of
subordinates a manager directly oversees. Different companies have different spans of control.
A manager's span of control is limited to the number of subordinates that can be adequately supervised.
An increase in subordinates exponentially increases the subordinate relationships to be managed. A
manager with two subordinates manages three relationships, but a manager with three subordinates
manages six. If the span of control becomes too wide, a manager loses control over subordinates.
Formalization:
The use of written rules and procedures to standardize operations is known as formalization. If
formalization and standardization are extensive, there is no room for mutual adjustment. Employees are
held accountable for following rules.
Centralization:
When top managers make decisions, authority is centralized. When lower-level managers make
decisions, authority is decentralized.
Organizational Design Decisions:
Mechanistic Organization
Organic Organization
Highly flexible and adaptable structure
Rigid and tightly controlled structure
o
o
o  Non-standardized jobs
o  High specialization
o  Fluid team-based structure
o  Rigid departmentalization
o  Little direct supervision
o  Narrow spans of control
o  Minimal formal rules
o  High formalization
o  Open communication network
o  Limited
information
network
(downward)
Mechanistic vs. Organic Models
Mechanistic structures influence people to behave in a predictable manner. Decision making is highly
centralized and roles clearly defined.
Organic structures encourage flexibility and decentralize decision making. Roles are loosely defined.
Employees perform many tasks and work with people from various functions.
Strategic planning assumes that the old structure may not work in the new realities. It demands the
organization think in terms of new approaches to solving existing and potential issues.
Benefits of Teams in Organizations:
Enhanced Performance: Teams may take many forms, i.e. including improved productivity,
quality, and customer service such the enhancements result from pooling individual efforts in
new ways and continuously striving to improve for the benefit of the team.
Employee Benefits: Teams always provide the sense of self-control, human dignity,
identification with work, and sense of self-worth and self-fulfillment for which current workers
seem to strive.
Reduced Costs: Through empowered teams, an organization can reduce scrap, make fewer
errors, file fewer worker compensation claims, and reduce absenteeism and turnover. They
resulting in significant cost reductions.
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Leadership & Team Management ­ MGMT 623
VU
Organizational Enhancements: Teams improvements in team results a move from a
hierarchically based, directive culture to a team-based culture include increased innovation,
creativity, and flexibility in the organization.
Research indicates team-based organizations generally outperform more hierarchically organized
structures in terms of product and service output, less absenteeism, fewer industrial accidents, more
worker flexibility, quality improvements, and overall employee job satisfaction.
Benefits of Team-based Organization:
Profitability and long term viability organization is increased due to its working as team based
organization. Other benefits of team based organizations are listed bellow.
o  Efficient Process
o  Flexible Response to change
o  Improve Effectiveness
o  Reduce Cost
o  Increase Innovation
o  Customer Involvement
o  Employee commitment
o  Skill utilization
Checklist for Team Based Working/ Organization Implementation Plan:
o  To what extent does the senior management team agree with the team based working
philosophy?
o  To what extent does the organization need team based working to achieve its goals?
o  Are team based working practices already in place in some parts of the organization? If so,
where?
o  Where should we start? (Whole organization, one area, with well functioning teams?)
o  How do we move on from where we are now?
o  What major changes need to take place?
o  What resources do we need?
Possible Pitfalls in the Introduction of Team Based Organization (TBO)
o  Introducing teams regardless of need
o  Introducing teams without changing systems
o  Failing to train for TBO
o  Not providing expert support
o  Failure of communication within, with and between teams
o  Failure to establish and support TBO objectives
Roles of a Leader in the Team-Based Organization
o  Defining the team's mission
o  Building trust and inspiring teamwork
o  Coaching team members and group members toward higher levels of performance
o  Serving as a model of teamwork, including power sharing
o  Facilitating and supporting team's decisions
o  Expanding the team's capabilities
o  Creating a team identity
o  Emphasizing pride in being outstanding
o  Anticipating and influencing change
o  Inspiring the team toward higher levels of performance
o  Enabling and empowering group members to accomplish their work
o  Selecting team-oriented members
o  Using technology that facilitates teamwork
Fostering Teamwork Through Organization Structure or Policy:
o  Designing physical structures that facilitate communication
o  Emphasizing Team recognition and rewards
o  Initiating ritual and ceremony
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Table of Contents:
  1. INTRODUCTION, ORGANIZATION THE STAGE FOR LEADERSHIP:Challenges, Value creation
  2. FOCUSING ON PEOPLE: THE KEY TO SUCCESS:People in the Process, Developing and Sustaining A World-class Workforce
  3. LEADERSHIP:Characteristics of Successful Leader, Why Study Leadership?
  4. LEADERSHIP (CONTD.):Characteristics of Leaders Who Fail, Why Leaders Fail?
  5. MANAGERS VS LEADERS:Characteristics, Effective Leadership, Respect for Diversity
  6. FOLLOWER-SHIP:Importance of Followers, Follower-ship Style
  7. LEADERSHIP PROCESS:Strategies for Cultivating Exemplary Followers, Important Traits of Leaders
  8. LEADERSHIP PROCESS (CONTD.):Qualities of Leaders, Self-Confidence, Integrity
  9. LEADERSHIP THEORIES/ APPROACHES:Personal Characteristics of Leaders, Managerial Grid
  10. CONTINGENCY THEORIES OF LEADERSHIP:The Fiedler Model, Situational Leadership Theory, Path-Goal Theory
  11. TRANSACTIONAL, CHARISMATIC AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP:Visionary Leadership
  12. THE LEADER AS AN INDIVIDUAL:Personality, Situation, Heredity, Environment
  13. ATTITUDE-PERSONALITY:Job Satisfaction, Work Situation, Self - Monitoring
  14. BIG FIVE MODEL, MYERS BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR (MBTI):Sub-Categories Defined, Information Gathering
  15. SITUATIONAL FACTORS:Social and psychological climate, Culture of the organization
  16. BECOMING A LEADER! WHAT DOES IT MEAN & HOW DO YOU GET IT?:Mission Statement, Leading oneself
  17. BECOMING A LEADER:Elements of Leadership, CONCEPT OF POWER,
  18. UNDERSTANDING POWER:Sources of Power, Responses to the Use of Power, Managing Political Behavior
  19. LEADERSHIP POWER & INFLUENCE:Positional Power, Being an Effective Leader
  20. LEADERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT:Power sharing and Empowerment, Share Information
  21. MOTIVATION:Guidelines for Delegating, Human Resource Approach
  22. MOTIVATION AT WORK, MOTIVATION AND LEADERSHIP:What Factors Diminish Motivation in the Workplace
  23. LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION:Communication & the Four Management Functions
  24. REVIEW-1:Organizational Performance, That is the Role of Management?, Leaders Vs Managers
  25. GROUP & TEAM CONCEPT:Groups versus Teams, Deciding When to Use a Team
  26. TEAM DYNAMICS:Stages of Group Development, Problem-Solving Teams, Benefits of Teams
  27. BUILDING THE TEAM:Leadership success requires, Strategies for Team Building
  28. A TEAM-BASED ORGANIZATION:Basic Steps, Span of Control, Categories of Decisions
  29. DECISION MAKING:Categories of Decisions, The Decision-Making Process
  30. TEAM DECISION MAKING:Team Problem Solving Techniques, Concept of QC
  31. EFFECTIVE TEAM COMMUNICATION:Team/Group Communications
  32. CONFLICT IN TEAM:Sources of Conflict, Scarcity of Resources, Dysfunctional Outcomes
  33. TRAINING/LEARNING OF TEAM:Training Methods, Phases of Learning Cycles
  34. LEARNING ORGANIZATION:A Litmus Test, Work Relations
  35. REWARDING & RECOGNIZING TEAMWORK:Compensating Teams, Individual or Team Rewards?
  36. MANAGING/LEADING VIRTUAL TEAMS:Communications in Virtual Organizations, Virtual Leadership
  37. EFFECTIVE TEAM MEETINGS:Better Meetings, Meeting Roles, Meeting Room Facilities
  38. LEADING TEAM:Team Leadership Structures, Leadership Demands and Duties, Leadership Direction
  39. REVIEW-II:Types of Teams, Characteristics of High Performance Teams, Sources of Conflict
  40. STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP:Strategic Management, Determining Strategic Direction, Developing Human Capital:
  41. LEADING CHANGE:Dynamics of Change, Change Models, Unfreeze
  42. CREATIVE LEADERSHIP:Awaken Your Senses, How Might These Definitions Be Integrated
  43. ETHICS IN LEADERSHIP:Character Traits Reflect Ethics, Manifests Honesty
  44. LOOKING AT THE FUTURE: WHAT COMES NEXT:Benefits of Teams, Ethical Leadership,
  45. TEAMWORK: LEARNING FROM NATURE:Social Behavior, Termites, Learning from Nature