Lesson 5: Teams and Leadership. Social Sciences Reseasrch Paper

MB661 Leadership and Motivation

Lesson 5: Teams and Leadership 

Activity 5: Team Essay

Identify a team in which you have had many opportunities to participate, observe, and interact.  This team does not necessarily need to be from industry; however, please review the concepts below that you will be required to discuss prior to selecting the team you wish to cover.  The list of concepts may help you select or eliminate certain teams.  The team you choose should have been in existence over a reasonable period in order for you to discuss team development and to have specific examples to support your conclusions.

If you have never personally participated in a team suited for this activity, you may select a team in which you were not a member and interview two (2) or more team members.  In your interviews, you should focus on each of the concepts below that will then be developed into an essay.  You should not simply ask, “What type of team is this?” because many people are not familiar with the terms you have learned in this course.  Rather, you should ask more general questions such as, “Are each of the team members in the same department, or are they in different departments?  Are all members in one location?  Do team members meet in person, or is their communication only via e-mail, voicemail, or teleconferencing?” 

After identifying a team, write an essay describing that team with the concepts presented in the text.  The objective of your essay is to demonstrate that you understand the concepts and that you can apply them to a real-world situation; therefore, you should discuss/explain each of the following five (5) concepts and then relate your team to each concept using examples.  Provide two (2) or three (3) examples for each concept.

1.      Type of Team:  functional team, cross-functional team, self-managed team, virtual team, or global team 

2.      Team members’ characteristics, including expertise and functional experience

3.      Team culture and how it affects their ability to implement employee participation

4.      Team challenges: developing groupthink, presence of free-riders, negativity, and lack of trust

5.      Team leadership and how it affects employee participation

Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself.  If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc.  In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style.  (100 points)  (A 4-page response is required.)

Information

Discussion is often heard concerning the downward spiral of modern organizations due to inadequate, uninspired leadership; hence, it is imperative to continue to focus attention on the many various theories of leadership that have been employed throughout history. It is crucial to place exceptionally talented, knowledgeable leaders in positions of prominence in modern organizations in order to expect and ensure optimum success. (Landis, Hill, & Harvey, 2014, p. 97)

Think of effective and ineffective teams with which you have worked in the past. What caused some teams to be more effective than others? Were team members free to express their opinions even if those opinions differed from others in the group? When disagreements were expressed, what sort of communication style did the group adopt as a norm, contentious or collaborative? In addition, think about how you might use this information in the future. It is very likely that you will find yourself working with teams throughout your career. Therefore, when you find yourself in such a situation, how can you ensure that team members feel free to express their opinions, but do so in a collaborative manner?

More often than not, it is organizational leadership that sets the tone for the company and if individuals will or will not participate in the innovation and decision-making processes. Because of their significant influence, Thompson and Webber (2016) explain that

…leaders should create a working environment where there is increased employee engagement and participation; communicate goals, gain employee understanding, and apply communication styles that fit the need of each employee at all levels; identify and plan opportunities of growth for employees through training and development; recognize the importance of personally engaging with their employees; and, understand the importance of having regular meetings to update employees about new products and services. (p. 60)

According to your text, the factors that determine the use of participation are: task complexity, employee commitment, organization readiness, and task characteristics. Note that participation is not a cure-all and does not always constitute the best approach. Organizations vary in their use of participative management and the degree to which they use teams. Participation in decision making can have positive impacts on employee morale, performance, and reduce turnover and absenteeism. However, participative management and teams can also provide some challenges that include needing more time and dysfunctional teams.

Collectivism can have a strong impact on the use of participation by the leader and how well it is accepted. Cultures with a strong collectivistic value tend to find team structures easier to use while individualistic cultures may find them difficult. Additionally, power distance also affects how well participation is accepted. In high power distance cultures, participation and empowerment may not be easily implemented. In more egalitarian cultures, employees and leaders find participation more comfortable. As explained by Lee, Lee, Chen, Hsieh, Yeh, et al (2014),

…team diversity positively and significantly influences task conflict and relationship conflict; task interdependence positively and significantly influences job performance and team cooperation; task interdependence negatively and significantly influences relationship conflict; relationship conflict negatively and significantly influences team cooperation; and team cooperation positively and significantly influences job performance. In addition, team diversity and task interdependence were found to be critical exogenous factors of job performance. (p. 415)

Team Challenges

Teams face many challenges. According to your text, primary ones include: developing groupthink, presence of free-riders, negativity, and lack of trust. Groupthink develops when team members’ desire for cohesion overrides their ability to think and evaluate issues critically. Team members strive to get along, reduce conflict, and keep their membership in the group. Once these conditions are in place, groups that fall prey to Groupthink show a number of symptoms including the illusion of invulnerability and unanimity, collective rationalization, self-censorship and pressure on dissenters. As a result, alternatives are not evaluated, the group strives toward quick agreement and fails to develop contingency plans, all leading to poor decision making.

Free Riders are people who are group members and benefit from their membership but do not contribute to the group. Free-riders appear to be more common in individualistic cultures. In collectivistic cultures, the sense of group and the need to be part of the group often prevents people from free-riding. In individualistic cultures, the focus on individual contribution reinforces the need to have equal and similar contributions from all team members, causing them to feel a sense of unfair advantage when facing potential free-riders.

Negativity and Bad Apples can quickly spread and damage the cohesion, effectiveness, or even ethical behavior of a team. One unhappy and unmotivated team member can have a disproportionate negative effect on her team. The “bad apples” are often focused on their own goals, uncooperative or domineering, and unwilling to contribute. Their constant complaining and lack of motivation draw the group down and prevent other team members from achieving the group’s goals.

Lack of Cooperation and Trust can be highly detrimental to teams. An effective team is one where members trust one another to work toward a common goal. Trust allows group members to safely experiment, learn, and make mistakes without fear of ridicule and retribution. Lack of trust greatly hampers the effectiveness of a team and prevents it from reaping benefits from having a team.

Team leaders and in some cases, outside leaders, have a great responsibility in monitoring teams to assure that dysfunctions do not occur and in addressing them when they do. In the case of groupthink, the presence of a strong leader can be a contributing factor, so leaders must keep their distance from the team to help prevent groupthink. In other cases, quick action from the leader is essential to address the problems.

Conflict Management

As discussed earlier in this course, change is now a constant of organizational life. Mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and downsizing are all common terms of business. However, change does not always occur on such large scale. Special project teams are formed in organizations all the time to tackle smaller, on-off changes. Teams might be charged with improving customer satisfaction, redesigning a package, or improving efficiency. While these topics may not create the same level of fear, broader organizational changes often do; any situation in which people have a vested interest in the status quo, yet are being asked to change in some way, will create some level of resistance to that change and, hence, conflict.

Conflict is inevitable in change efforts. There is probably no skill more important to leadership than conflict management. Unfortunately leaders and managers do not always handle change issues appropriately. Some may use power to end the conflict, while others make deals. Not only do these and similar strategies not work, they can make things worse.

Raelin (2012) states that democratic leadership, referred to as “leaderful practice,” should be the fundamental form of leadership. Raelin further explains that the “parties affected by change are those engaged who seek to reflect upon their own tacit collective practices. Their mode of communication is a dialogue or deliberation that involves the responsible parties to decision making without privileging particular stakeholders because of their status or authority. Thus, it is purported, secondly, that the three practice elements of democratic leadership, dialogue, and deliberation should be included among the bedrock principles of participatory organizational change.” (p. 7)

Raelin demonstrates that “dialogue and deliberation represent the communication modes that are most representative of democratic leadership because of their acceptance of critical reflection as the means to involve the responsible parties in decision making without privileging particular stakeholders because of their status or authority… Where employees are encouraged to experience new empowerment over the conditions of their own work processes, leaderful practices seek to ensure that these conditions do not result in subordination of their core needs and identity at the expense of corporate performativity” (p. 21). Trust and collaboration between management and other stakeholders lessens confrontation. Trust and collaboration both help identify critical issues and enhance the implementation of decisions. Conflict is not something to be avoided. When handled effectively, it can actually improve the outcome.

Shetach (Jul 2012) explains that “team leadership is intertwined with conflict management as follows:

• The management of teamwork, assignments, and projects is about effective and efficient decision-making and decision-implementation processes.







• Decision-making processes are about creative team processes, which are based on the "richness" of variations in team members' interpersonal and professional know-how and experiences along with their differing points of view.







• Decision-implementation processes are about handling conflicts, which tend to center on various misunderstandings, power struggles, and interpersonal differences in the interpretation of details within decisions and instructions, etc.” (p. 32)

She then suggests several possible ways to handle conflict situations, including:

• Defining a clear set of project and sub-project goals, testing, and retesting them at every junction for handling dilemma and conflict along the project process.







• Trying to handle conflict situations on a matter-of-course level (rather than letting them deteriorate toward ego-controlled power struggles).







• Identifying suitable conflict-coping styles for attaining the destined goals within each and every particular conflict situation along the project process.







• Leading efficient and collaborated team decision-making processes.

Self-managed Teams

According to your text, delegation and self-managed teams can lead to more efficient decision-making processes. Delegation is an age-old management tool that allows for the development of followers and reduction of the leader’s workload. Team-based organizations and self-managed teams are relatively new and go hand-in-hand with the implementation of participative decision making and empowerment. In delegation, leaders and managers retain responsibility and authority for all activities. While followers are assigned tasks, the manager continues to have full responsibility for the outcome. Additionally, the manager provides goals, guidelines, monitors activities and results, and so forth. In self-management teams, the responsibility and authority rests with the team itself as does the goal-setting and monitoring. Self-managed teams do not need a manager to oversee their activities. They manage their own work, coordinate with other groups, and lead themselves often through facilitative and shared leadership.

Self-managed teams rely on their leader for things other than the traditional goal setting, monitoring, and providing rewards. Those functions are achieved by the team members themselves. However, team leaders continue to play a key role in the success of the team. Specifically, they must provide various training including:

• Team building to clarify team goals and member roles and set patterns for acceptable interaction







• Cross training to assure that team members understand one another’s tasks







• Coordination training to allow the team to work together by improving communication and coordination







• Self-guided correction to teach team members to monitor, assess, and correct their behavior in the team







• Assertiveness training to help team members express themselves appropriately when making requests, providing feedback, and other interactions among themselves.

The leader also must listen more; talk less; ask questions rather than provide answers; share information rather than hoard it; encourage independent thinking rather than compliant followership; and encourage creativity rather than conformity.

At this point, you should begin to see a common theme running through your Required Readings and Lecture and Research Updates. Successful leadership isn't simply telling people what to do, although that is sometimes part of it. Remember, leadership includes building trust, showing respect for others, and enabling others to achieve all they are capable of achieving.

Lecture and Research Update Bibliography

Landis, Eric A; Hill, Deborah; Harvey, Maurice R. (Apr 2014). A Synthesis of Leadership Theories and Styles. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 15.2, 97-100. 

Lee, C., Lee, Y., Chen, H., Hsieh, P, Yeh, Y., et al. (2014). The Impact of Team Diversity, Task Interdependence, Team Conflict and Team Cooperation on Job Performance: Using Real Estate Brokers as Examples. International Journal of Management and Sustainability,3.7, 415-432. 

Nahavandi, A. (2015). The Art and Science of Leadership (7th ed). Pearson.

Raelin, J. (2012). Dialogue and Deliberation as Expressions of Democratic Leadership in Participatory Organizational Change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 25.1, 7-23.

Shetach, A. (Jul 2012). Conflict Leadership: Navigating Toward Effective Team Outcomes. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 35.2, 25-30.

Thompson, K. and Webber, J. (2016). Leasership Best Practices and Employee Performance: A Phenomenological Telecommunication Industry Study. Global Conference on Business & Finance Proceedings, 11.1: 60-72. Hilo: Institute for Business & Finance Research. 

Grading Rubric

Please refer to the rubric below for the grading criteria for this assignment.