Managing Teams in Organizations

BMGT-484 (3)

See Week 1 Group Assignments and Week 1 Individual Assignments

Begin with the end in mind. Pay attention to Thompson's Preface where she reviews the plan of the book. In Chapter 1, Thompson tries to clear our mind of misconceptions - myths - about teams.

I will set up your Case Analysis teams for the first half of the course this week.

Types of Teams Why Teams

Observations about Teams

Turn In & Participate:

Explore Internet Resources. Visit some of the web sites listed in the text.
Practice basic protocols. Survey Library resources.
Explore the UMUC Databases/sources for e-commerce and related topics.
Get acquainted with fellow learners; post a bio-sketch to share with others
Complete the WebTycho tutorial and a review of my general and specific course guidance.
Search the Internet and UMUC databases for other Myths and Facts about teams.
One article/web site to share with the class

Group Work:

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Carefully study Thompson's integrated model of teamwork (Fig 2-1, page 18). If you are familiar with systems thinking, her approach should come as no surprise.

Note that Thompson's book cites many references. As a professional researcher, Thompson gives you a good model for your own writing and research efforts. As a psychologist, she gives us valuable insights into dimensions of individual and group behavior that we may not have examined in detail.

Box 2-1 and her performance equation are both useful tools she has undoubtedly developed from working with real organizations.

Topics:

Integrated Model of Success Team Context Essential Conditions

Performance Criteria Team Performance Equation

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Group Work:

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

What a "hot potato" this topic is. Never too far from an employee's mind - or a manager's - is, "What pot is at the end of the rainbow?" There are a number of popular approaches, many if not most of them wrong either in concept or implementation.

Alfie Kahn has written an excellent book called Punished by Rewards that sheds a very different light on rewards than what you are used to. Thompson's research reveals many of the same insights. When it comes to money, all that glitters . . ..

Topics:

Types of Team Pay Team Performance Appraisal

Rater Bias vs. Ratee Bias Guiding Principles

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Group Work:

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

You have probably heard in many leadership and teamwork presentations of the four stages of team building, sometimes put as "Forming, Norming, Storming, and Performing". Each team hopes it can make it to the last stage.

Thompson wisely starts with the tasks, then focuses on the people and finally on interactions. Pay attention to the details.

Topics:

Building the Team What needs to be done

Who is best suited to the task Relationships & Socializing

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Complete Case 1.

Thompson presents an interesting chapter on communications and adds some very nice information on collective intelligence. In the end, is she saying that even great teams can lose the spark?

Topics:

Team Communication Information Dependence

Collective Intelligence Team Longevity

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Here is a good chapter on the pitfalls of group decision making and how to avoid at least some of them.

Topics:

Conformity Groupthink Escalation of Commitment

Abilene Paradox Group Polarization

Text: Study Chapter 6.

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Review for the Midterm Exam (Chapters 1-6).

An open-book, take-home mid-term exam accessed on-line at 2359 hours, 14 Dec. 2001, and returned by 2359, 16 Dec. 2001. This test will include case analysis and problem solving. All times are London local times. (Requests for a different testing time must be fully justified and will be considered on a case by case basis.)

Complete and turn-in midterm by deadline.
One article/web site to share with the class

Complete Case 2.

We return refreshed, I hope, with new ideas and observations about teamwork.

This is a good time to focus on conflict in teams - not that you have seen any lately. Conflict can be good for organizations if the conditions are right and it is handled correctly. Thompson includes a number of good, practical ideas in her discussion.

Types of Conflict Group vs. Individual Interests Democracy in Teams

Group Negotiation Conflict Escalation

Text: Study Chapter 7.

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Thompson puts it best in her conclusion (pg. 168): "Creativity is the Holy Grail of teamwork." But just look at some of the misconceptions she points out!

Topics:

Creative People or Teams? Analogical Reasoning Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking

Group Brainstorming Electronic Brainstorming

Text: Study Chapter 8.

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Thompson uses a network model to help explore the systemic relation between team, team members and their external environment. Again, a systems orientation will help you here.

Topics:

Team Boundaries Team Identity External Roles of Team Members

Networking Distance Time

Questions TBA.

One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Complete Case 3.

There are some very useful ideas here starting with the "team paradox." Thompson reviews the bidding on nature vs. nurture and shows the strong influence of environment on team and individual behavior. She closes with a discussion of empowerment, a term often abused and misused. Her "red flags" are in Table 10-1.

Topics:

Team Paradox Leaders: Nature vs. Nurture Great Opportunity Routes to Influence Leadership and Teamwork

Decision Analysis Model Participative Management "Empowerment" Red Flags

Questions TBA

One article/web site to share with the class

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

A very useful chapter on some of the weaknesses we show in teams. We need teams - to be members of groups - for our own well being. But that creates barriers and prejudices just as it leads to gross oversimplification of good and bad aspects of groups we like and those we do not. I doubt the general phenomenon will ever change, but certainly we can individually change our behavior with constant vigilance.

Topics:

Locus of Human Identity

Reducing Prejudice

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Group Work:

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Perhaps it was inevitable that Thompson would offer a chapter on the role of IT in teamworking and modifying teamworking models. In particular the familiar (to some) place-time model of social interaction is affected by modern technology and the Information Age. Don't miss her emphasis on reexamining the teamworking process in the light of the opportunities and threats of modern technology.

Place-Time Model IT and Social Behavior Redesigning the Workplace

Virtual Teams Transnational Teams

Questions TBA
One article/web site to share with the class

Group Work:

Lead Students will kick off discussions with observations they have found. Others will comment and expand the discussion.

Review for the Final Exam.

An open-book, take-home final exam accessed on-line at 2359 hours, 22 Feb. 2002, and returned by 2359, 24 Feb. 2003. This test will include case analysis and problem solving. All times are London local times. (Requests for a different testing time must be fully justified and will be considered on a case by case basis.)

Complete and turn-in final exam by deadline.
One article/web site to share with the class

Complete Case 4.