Often in business conversation you can hear phrases and expressions like “Our team works to... " "Team created our developers...", "Team managed sales managers...” and so on. People use the word “team” when they want to show that they have a whole staff of employees, and this staff is doing something very necessary and important. And the authors of these statements, as my practice shows, most often mean not teams, A working groups consisting of people working on some task.
Many people really do not understand the difference between a team and a work group, using a specific term inappropriately, creating some kind of inconsistency. Do you know what the difference is between a work group and a team? Most likely you intuitively guess. I will try to describe the main differences in this article.
Here are a few definitions of a team that can be found among various specialists in the field of business modeling and consulting:
Team is a small number of people with complementary skills, people who are brought together to solve problems together in order to improve productivity and in accordance with approaches through which they maintain mutual accountability.
Work team is an interdependent group of people who are jointly accountable to the organization for specific results.
Sundstrom, DeMuse and Futrell
Work groups have similar characteristics. Here is the definition of the working group we were able to find:
Working group
- two or more people of the same or different professions:
- working together and in concert to achieve goals for fulfilling production tasks and providing services; And
- bear overall responsibility for the results of the work.
Glossary.ru
Working group consists of people who learn from each other and share common goals, but are not intrinsically interdependent and do not work toward a common goal.
Leigh Thompson
However, there is something about teams that makes them a much more effective form labor organization rather than working groups. This - nature of interaction, which is based on mutual dependence team members from each other. This is what the team has and the work group does not. Interdependence means that the performance of team members depends on other team members. Although, in a work group, employees can also be in the same space, use the same information together, share each other’s values and views, and even help each other. But the emphasis in the working group is still not on the common goal, but on individual ones.
To make it easier to understand the difference between a team and a work group, I will give an example. Imagine that one company has two divisions. First division- a group of managers led, for example, by a director. This group meets several times a week to discuss current affairs, coordinate plans, agree on something, and make some decisions. When the meetings end, the managers go to their departments and work there.
Although they work in the same company, get together and discuss common matters, it is much more important for them to solve first of all their own tasks for which they are responsible. And the tasks and work of other managers concern them to a much lesser extent, because these results do not in any way affect the work of their own departments. Thus, the head of the marketing department may treat well commercial director, consult with him, but do not enter into team interaction either with him or with other managers. If only because they do not have joint work projects.
Working groups are a fairly stable formation if supported by some external sources. For example, such groups often have a formal leader who sets the general direction of activity. Also, in working groups, the participants themselves often do not have the authority to independently manage their work. There is someone present who tells them what and HOW to do.
There is a second division- department, for example, marketing. There, several people work on a project. And these few people themselves determine their work: they plan it themselves, involve someone to help them, and decide for themselves to what extent this or that task should be completed. They also fully manage internal processes.
And most importantly, the activities of each member of such a team depend on the work of his partners. Each team member understands that the success of the ENTIRE business depends on his actions. Therefore, with such an interaction, it’s not a good idea to beat your thumbs. the best option. A well-organized team, all other things being equal, is many times more productive than a well-organized work group.
30. the process of team building in an organization.
Goals of team building training:
1. Formation of team management skills.
2. Creation of a successful team of professionals.
3. Formation of a common understanding of the general goals and objectives of the enterprise.
4. Increasing the efficiency of participants by developing skills of cooperation and mutual assistance
Training objectives:
1. Provide the necessary knowledge and skills to form a successful team.
2. Teach the basic principles of creating and developing a team, effectively engaging employees and productively resolving conflicts.
3. Develop leadership skills successful work teams, achieving high results.
4. Contribute to the development of skills for successfully managing the process of creating a team, distributing team roles and identifying leadership potential.
A real Chukchi knows: a city dweller in the forest is like a deer in the sky - it looks beautiful, but does not last long. Therefore, when a crowd of “castaway” Muscovites comes to the Chukchi camp, the Chukchi firmly says: “Pass the tests, you can stay..., don’t pass the tests - freeze in the forest.”
The Chukchi is sure that he knows everything about the townspeople, but the Chukchi is mistaken when he thinks that our manager will give up so easily. Seasoned in the fight against sharks of the domestic and foreign business, he will climb a tree, and slide down a hill, and catch a hare, and pack a connecting rod bear back into its den with his bare hands. He is ready for adventure, which means..., having gone through ingenious traps and difficult tests, he will definitely deserve the honor of being considered a real Chukchi.
Compiled with great humor and imagination, this winter team building training will make you laugh until you cry and will captivate you with a series of interesting adventures. Nothing like this has ever happened in your life. Throw away your papers and phones, it's time to shake off the office dust and scrape off the rust of boredom from your soul.
Social roles in the team.
Each team member has two roles: functional and team.
Functional roles refer to our job responsibilities and cover our skills, knowledge and experience.
Team roles reflect way, with the help of which we carry out our work. The team role is also determined by our innate and acquired personal qualities.
The role of a particular member is determined by his contribution to the team and the relationships between team members. There are two principles according to which roles are distributed in a team: the principle competence and principle preferences.
The principle of competence states that a distribution of roles can be considered effective in which the responsibility of each role does not exceed skills the team member who got this role. Team members will give greater preference to those target roles that better suit their individual needs. Although they can cope effectively with temporary roles.
The principle of preference is based on the fact that such a distribution of target roles can be considered effective in which as many team members as possible perform the roles that they themselves prefer.
THOSE. a team member who is ideal for a target role may himself prefer a different role. This situation potentially threatens conflict, which can lead to a decrease in the productivity of a team member and disruption of interaction between team members. Internal competition may begin and some of the productive work energy will be wasted.
Therefore, the team leader should strive for a balance between these two principles when assigning/selecting roles.
Scientific research identified nine personality types, which must be included in a successful team. However, it cannot be argued that this is the main condition. It should be remembered that the composition of the group must correspond to the task for which it was created. So, what roles are allocated to ensure efficiency? teamwork?
Idea's generator - inventive, imaginative; knows how to solve unusual problems.
Distinctive features character: individualist, often serious-minded, open to new ideas. Developed imagination, high level of intelligence. Has difficulty focusing on practical details and protocol.
They prefer to work alone. Often unsociable. They prefer relative freedom.
Resource Explorer- enthusiastic, sociable. Explores opportunities, connects with the right people, identifies new opportunities, and is able to respond to difficult challenges that arise.
Extroverted, curious, sociable.
Tends to lose interest once the initial charm wears off; may be too optimistic and uncritical. They are stimulated by the presence of people, a team nearby. They react normally to the crisis and pressure applied. They enjoy achieving difficult tasks. their attention is largely focused on resources and contacts external to the team.
Idea generators and resource explorers are the most creative team members. But they are easy to get sidetracked. Resource researchers tend to rework other people's ideas (e.g., an idea generator) in more detail and creatively.
Coordinator- knows how to clearly formulate goals, promote decisions, and delegate authority. Often has a more mature personality. Social leader.
It is characterized by: calmness, self-confidence, control and self-control. Is often friendly and welcomes the contributions of anyone who has the potential to improve the team's performance.
Not always endowed with outstanding intellectual and creative abilities.
They prefer to use available resources, directing them to achieve the team task. Their focus is on the team.
Organizer- inventive, imaginative, a person with ideas. Dynamic, sometimes quarrelsome, but has the ability and desire to overcome inertia and inefficiency, sometimes smug.
Reacts easily to provocations, is irritable and impatient, and tends to hurt the feelings of other people. Like a coordinator, he is a strong leader, but for solving a specific task. May clash with coordinator due to leadership styles.
Controller - insightful, has strategic thinking. Sees all alternatives, weighs everything, by nature he is an inspector.
Reasonable, unemotional, prudent. Has common sense and prudence.
He doesn’t always know how to motivate people or inspire, but he knows how to analyze other people’s thoughts and never make hasty conclusions.
Team player - diplomatic, receptive. Knows how to listen, prevents friction between team members.
Socially oriented, quite soft, sensitive. Not always able to make decisions in times of crisis, but adapts well to change. Acts to achieve harmony and maintain team spirit. They know how to work under the leadership of “difficult” people (organizers).
Performer - disciplined, reliable, conservative, efficient. Able to implement ideas into practical actions. Obligatory and predictable. Has good organizational skills, practical common sense; hardworking
They focus their attention on schedules and plans for the event. Reveal The best way achieving results.
"Closer" - diligent and conscientious. Looks for errors and omissions. Controls the deadlines for completing orders.
Capable of keeping his promises, strives to fulfill everything at a high level. Sometimes he tends to worry for no particular reason and does not seek to delegate powers and responsibilities.
Strive to complete the task properly, focusing on details. More concerned about the result than the way to achieve it. They are comfortable with control and accept most types of leaders.
Specialist - professional in a narrow field of knowledge. Independently thinking and organizing his work, committed to his direction. Possesses rare knowledge and skills. May not see the big picture. Adherent high standards. They do not like close control, especially from those who have less competence than them.
It is not necessary (not always realistic) to have all nine players on the team. More often, a situation arises when a team has several players of the same type.
Too much organizers can lead to conflict and deterioration in group performance.
Overweight performers and "closers"", coming at the tail of the group, can lead to a state where the group is satisfied with itself, but actually achieves little.
Exists six factors, which most strongly influence the success of the team:
Team Leader must occupy a fairly high position in the team (in some cases he may not be a formal leader, but be the chairman). Its characteristics are similar to the role of a coordinator.
A successful team needs a good idea generator. If there is more than one such person, then the probability of success for the entire team decreases, because... competition and criticism will begin.
Good distribution of intellectual abilities. There must be at least two in a team smart person which can stimulate each other. Some team members may be of average (or higher) intelligence - their inability to compete with smarter colleagues will cause them to seek alternative roles in which they can excel. Overall, the team will have a fuller range of strengths.
Diversity personal characteristics, allowing full coverage of team roles. A team that can distribute most or all team roles among its members will perform better than others. In such a situation, there will not only be less friction, but also a greater chance for everyone to get the role that may be needed.
Good balance between relationships and responsibilities of team members. In most successful teams functional responsibilities participants fit into the system of their inherent interpersonal relationships.
Recognizing team imbalances and being able to correct. A team that recognizes its challenges and is willing to adapt or change its roles to make the best use of its traits or compensate for its weaknesses is in an advantageous position.
The best team composition will vary depending on the task at hand.
Even in a small team, it is necessary to have most of the team roles. Everyone can take on at least one secondary role.
In practice, a situation often arises when it is not possible to choose a team. In this case, you should use what you have. The manager has several ways to increase the efficiency of the group:
Restructure. This can be a way for two or more team members to exchange roles or the bulk of the work. If this puts them in a role in which they are likely to be more successful, they are more likely to welcome the change.
Redistribute responsibilities. Determine what tasks each team member likes. Then consider the possibility of their redistribution. This is different from a complete exchange of responsibilities.
Separate conflicting team members. Divide the team into several smaller groups, each of which will be responsible for different projects.
Hire a new employee. This is not always an option, but if the opportunity arises, it is important to hire a good representative of the type you need.
49. Work teams: concept, types, stages of team formation, team effectiveness.
A work team is a formal group of related people who are jointly responsible for achieving an intended goal. Only formal groups are work teams.
A work group is an organization. It, like any organization, has the following features:
division of functions between employees, enshrined in rules and instructions;
job hierarchy, chain of command;
loyalty of each employee to the organization, etc.
The pyramidal structure of any team brings to the fore the problem of leadership.
Command types:
1. Intrafunctional teams: information and functions are divided among team members; structure and composition vary as the application area changes.
2. Operational teams: temporary association of specialists of various profiles to solve current problems and development of recommendations; periodic short-term meetings (1-2 hours per week); practical activities are not within the competence of the team.
3. Cross-functional teams: focus on improving some process; specialists from various departments of the organization are usually involved; Often such teams transform into self-managed or self-directed teams.
4. Entrepreneurial teams: specialize in overseeing the production process of a specific product or customer segment, maintaining and improving the customer-oriented system.
5. Executive management teams: created to develop strategic decisions and leadership; The team leader is usually the first person in the organization.
6. Coordination teams of managers: created in a network organization to develop strategic decisions and coordinate lower-level work teams.
7. Self-managing teams: have greater rights, authority and responsibility on issues not related to the functions of goal setting and planning; external contacts are provided by managers or other departments.
8. Self-directed teams in production and service: provide production process or service functions.
9. Self-directed teams in the intellectual sphere: teams associated with the development of new products, processes, technologies.
10. Virtual teams: intelligent teams communicating through computer networks.
Team life stages:
1. Formation, when the team is only a collection of individuals. At this stage, its goals, name, range of possible activities are formed, leaders are identified or appointed, and people strive to establish their individuality in the team.
2. Seething, when the goals of activity and methods of achieving them, norms of behavior, and methods of leadership are disputed. At this stage, feelings of trust and unity of the team are formed, the hidden personal goals of the participants are revealed, and hostility is possible. Some teams end their lives at this stage. This happens when people who have gathered together cannot work together.
3. Standardization, when norms and models of team work are established, its capabilities are determined. At this stage, team members recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses and form models of colleagues in their minds.
4. Functioning, when the team, having gone through the previous three stages, solves real problems. This stage can last quite a long time. New people may join the team, and some group members may leave it, but if the level and number of tasks being solved remain unchanged, the team will remain itself. If the number of tasks to be solved or their complexity increases, then the next stage of the team’s life begins.
5. Expansion, when more people join the team than leave it. Informal subteams are formed, some of them begin to perform formal functions, that is, to solve their relatively separate tasks. And then comes the sixth stage.
6. The disintegration of the team and the formation of new teams on its basis.
Factors influencing group effectiveness:
1. Group size - Ideal group 5-9 people Increasing the size of the group leads to its informal distribution and difficulties in management
2. Group Composition - The degree to which personalities and points of view are similar in decision making. It is recommended that the group be composed of dissimilar individuals.
3. Group behavior - The presence of certain rules and norms of behavior that are recommended to be followed in order to avoid conflict situations
4. Cohesion - The world of attraction of group members to each other and to the group as a whole. Should be supported
5. Group unanimity - The tendency for an individual to suppress the different views of group members. Should be avoided.
6. Conflict - the possibility of intra-group disputes and conflicts. It is recommended to use various methods of conflict management.
7. Status of group members - seniority in position, position title, office location, education, social talent, awareness and experience gained. It is necessary to consider the possibility of both positive and negative influence of status among individuals on group members and the group as a whole.
8. Roles of group members - the nature of the behavior of each group member. There are goal, support and negative roles.
Researchers have not yet come to a unified typology of teams. According to D. McIntosh-Fletcher, there are two main types of teams: cross-functional and intact teams.
A cross-functional team is formed from representatives of various departments of a formal organization and reflects their interests. This type of team is characterized by having a specific, one-time task that identifies a result, problem, or opportunity. The duration of the team's existence is determined by the completion of the task. For team members, working on a task is secondary to their main job. The team leader may be formally appointed or selected from among the team members.
An intact team (intact - untouched, undamaged, intact) is a production unit or long-term work group producing a specific product or service. It may have a leader who, although not a member of the team, provides order and coordination of work, which allows team members to focus their efforts on the tasks at hand. In other cases, a team may have a leader who is a member of the team, who also conducts meetings and coordinates the team's interactions with other groups. In some cases, the role of leader can be performed alternately by group members as their leadership skills develop or depending on the situation.
Sufficiently developed, mature, self-managing, autonomous intact teams can function as small enterprises. Table 1 presents a matrix of command types.
Each team sets its own goals. Goals are created to achieve team goals and support the organizational mission. Team effort and team goals can be broken down into three parts:
- · defining or improving a work process or solution consistent with the organizational vision;
- · developing recommendations for the implementation of these processes, solutions and improvements;
- · implementation of these recommendations.
A team can be created for any purpose. In some cases, teams have interdependent goals: one team does its part of the work only after the other has completed its part.
Below is a typology that identifies four categories of teams depending on their goals:
deliberative (council, round table, groups involved in involving employees in the management process);
production (production teams, mining teams, repair teams, flight crew teams, data processing teams);
Table 1. Command types
|
Command type |
Other groups |
||
|
cross-functional teams |
intact commands |
committees, councils, commissions, etc. |
|
|
Membership |
Group members represent a natural work group or unit |
Team members represent more than one department |
|
|
Duration of existence |
Duration of existence is determined by the completion of the task |
Permanent existence |
Constant or time specific |
|
Focus on one task |
Completing multiple tasks within defined boundaries |
Coordination or improvement of activities |
|
|
Measurement |
Achieving a given task or milestone |
Achieving the set organizational goal |
Carrying out work in accordance with the charter or rules |
|
Problem Solving Teams; Business Improvement Teams; Product delivery groups |
Production divisions; Working groups |
Technical advice; Strike committees; Coordination councils |
project (research group, planning group, engineering group, task force);
action group (sports team, recreational group, expedition, negotiating team, surgical team, military unit).
J. Katzenbach and D. Smith, in accordance with the type of activity that the group performs in the organization, distinguish the following teams:
production teams;
management teams.
Moreover, each of the teams can be at one of the following levels of development of group activity, depending on team efforts - the effectiveness of interaction between group members:
working group;
pseudo-command;
potential team;
real team;
highly effective team.
A work group is a group that does not have a need to increase the efficiency of joint work or does not have the opportunity to become a team. Group members interact primarily to exchange information, work experience, or to gain perspective and make decisions to help each person work within his or her area of responsibility. In such groups there is no common goal and mutual responsibility. Unlike teams, work groups rely on the sum of "individual strengths" needed to get the job done. They do not aim to collectively produce a product that requires joint efforts.
By choosing the path of a team rather than a work group, people accept the risks of conflict, join forces to produce products or services, and use the collective action necessary to determine a common direction, performance goals, approaches to work, and mutual responsibilities.
A pseudo-team is a group that has a need to increase the efficiency of joint work, has the opportunity to become a team, but does not focus on collective work and does not try to do so. Group members do not show interest in defining and formulating the general direction and goals of the activity, although the group may call itself a team. Pseudo-teams have the lowest performance indicators because their work methods reduce the individual productivity of each member and do not provide the effect of teamwork. In pseudo-teams, negative synergy is the sum of the whole less than the potential of the individual parts.
A potential team is a group that has a significant need to improve the efficiency of joint work, and is trying to do this. However, such a team typically lacks clarity about the direction, goals, and process of getting the work done. This group has not yet established collective responsibility and requires a higher level of discipline. Such teams are called potential teams because their members take risks in an attempt to overcome inevitable obstacles.
A real team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common direction, goals and work approach for which they feel mutually accountable. People have completely defined the procedure and process joint activities to achieve agreed goals. They recognize that each of them is important to doing the job effectively, but they have not yet fully realized themselves.
A high-performing team is a real team whose members are super-committed to doing teamwork. Group methods of work and interaction contribute to the personal growth and success of team members. Such groups have an abundance of synergy and achieve results that exceed the expectations of others.
The terms “team”, “work team”, “team work” can be defined as several people acting together in performing some work or carrying out an activity; a group of individuals who distribute among themselves work operations and responsibility for obtaining specific results; people who are brought together to jointly solve problems in order to improve productivity and in accordance with approaches through which they maintain mutual responsibility. Members of any work team need the work of other members to achieve goals, i.e., they are interdependent in their work. The team differs from a regular work group in more high level cohesion, responsibility and mutual understanding.
The teams are characterized by:
* interdependence: each team member makes an individual contribution to general work. Team members depend on each other's work. Everyone on the team shares with each other. work information. Team members are also perceived as equal participants in the activity process and have the opportunity to influence each other;
* shared responsibility: responsibility for team goals is understood and shared by everyone;
* result: responsibility for team results is shared by all group members and focuses group activity. The main difference between cohesive teams and traditional, ordinary formal work groups is the presence of a synergistic effect (in which the sum of the whole is greater than the potential of the individual parts).
Most often a team is called a small number of people (most often 5-7, less often up to 15-20) who share goals, values and general approaches to implement joint activities and mutually determine their and their partners’ belonging to this group.
Under working team V.V. Avdeev, the developer of the original technology for forming teams, understands a group of psychologically compatible individuals, united by strategic interest, conceptually and technologically thinking in the field of professional competence and working. The resources of the management team, in his opinion, are determined by:
Activity-oriented cohesion, which is mediated through the consistency of priorities of strategic interests, as well as the peculiarities of the manifestation of value components;
Formal-dynamic properties of individuality, manifested in the specific implementation of behavioral acts;
Temperament, which determines both the predisposition to solve a certain type of problem and typical interpersonal relationships.
A team is a group of two or more individuals who coordinate their actions and work efforts to achieve a specific goal.
Even though a team is a group of people, the two concepts are not interchangeable. The concept of a team implies that all its members are committed to a single mission. The main differences between teams and traditional formal working groups are: (see Appendix 1).
Team building is based on three basic ideas:
1. Team members are united by common intentions, goals and objectives.
2. Team members are interdependent; they need each other to achieve team and personal goals.
3. Team members accept the proposition that working together is more effective.
Types of commands
It is no secret that in the same organization there can be teams of very different types. The simplest way to classify teams in his view is to divide them into those created as part of the formal structure of the organization and those whose purpose is to increase the participation of their members in management.
Formal commands
Formal teams are created as part of organizational structure companies. There are three types of formal teams: with horizontal and vertical structural relationships, as well as specialized teams.
The vertical team includes the manager and his formal subordinates. Such a team is sometimes also called a Functional team. Typically, a vertical team includes the department as a whole. Manager-led teams can be ideal for simple tasks when the main goal is defined.
A horizontal team consists of employees of approximately the same level, but from different departments. They get together, receive a task, and after completing it can return to fulfilling their regular duties. labor responsibilities. Typically, horizontal teams are formed as special groups or committees.
A dedicated (project) team is not part of the formal structure of the organization and works on the most important projects or those requiring unique creative skills. Such teams are created for a specific goal and disbanded upon achieving it.
Self-Managed Teams
Uniting lower-level employees into teams aims to involve them in the decision-making process. The ultimate goal is increased productivity. Self-managed teams typically consist of 5-20 multi-skilled workers who are responsible for the entire production cycle of a product or service. The idea is that the team itself, without direct participation managers and supervisors, is responsible for their work, makes decisions, monitors efficiency.
Virtual teams
A virtual team consists of people from different organizations, united using modern information and telecommunication technologies. Virtual teams are highly flexible and dynamic. These can be both short-term teams and long-term and even permanent self-managed teams.
Global teams
These are teams that bring together people from different countries, different nationalities, whose activities may span several states. From a management point of view, they create a large complex of problems.
There are two types of teams, depending on the planned timing of their operation and the number of tasks to be solved:
A cross-functional team is formed to achieve one goal, complete a certain amount of work or implement a specific project. worker team teamwork
Intact teams are working groups that have existed for a long time, formed to solve a significant number of fairly similar problems. (see Appendix 2).
Modern team building coaches identify additional types of teams in terms of distribution of powers and management of group activity processes.
Goal-oriented or self-designing teams define their own goals or methods and methods for achieving them. Focused teams offer maximum potential for innovation, enhance commitment and motivation, and provide opportunities for organizational learning and change.
Complex goal
Know:
- basic concepts, categories and tools of organizational psychology;
- psychological phenomena related to individual and group behavior of a person and related to his life in the organization;
- criteria for determining organizational and psychological problems and tasks associated with group and team activities.
Be able to:
- analyze external and internal environment organizations as a source of organizational psychological problems;
- diagnose and solve organizational problems and tasks determined by psychological factors;
- identify the specifics of a person’s mental functioning in a group, team, organization;
- identify problems of a psychological nature when analyzing specific organizational situations, offer relevant organizational culture and the goals of the organization and ways to solve them;
- use systems of categories and methods necessary to solve organizational and psychological problems in the field of group and team work;
- find organizational and management solutions in production situations.
Own:
- conceptual apparatus in the field of organizational psychology;
- technologies for working with groups and teams, as well as with organizational personnel;
- the main technologies of work of an organizational psychologist in the field of diagnostics and intervention in the field of activities of groups and teams;
- interactive methods, psychological technologies focused on personal growth employees.
Concept of work group and team
Problems of group psychology occupy special place in the system of psychological knowledge in connection with the collective nature human activity. Small group research is initiated by the demands of practice, since the group is a key element of the microenvironment that surrounds the individual and has the greatest impact on him.
Often the terms "group" and "team" are used interchangeably. However, these concepts are not identical.
There are many definitions of a small group. So, in American psychology small group defined as two or more individuals who interact frequently with each other, influence each other for more than a few moments, and perceive themselves as “we.” Domestic social psychologists determine small group as a set of freely united individuals equally useful to each other, satisfying personal needs and desires in the process of cooperative interaction.
A group is made up of a collection of individuals who share common norms, values and ideals about what interests them, perceive the group as a source of satisfaction of their needs, are in cooperation and interdependence, are connected by a sense of solidarity and moral unity even outside of joint actions, develop their own specific group culture. The group has a number of psychological characteristics. Thus, American social psychologists D. Cartwright and A. Zander define a group as a collection of individuals who:
- 1) often interact with each other;
- 2) define themselves as members of the same group;
- 3) share common norms about what interests them;
- 4) participate in unified system separation of roles;
- 5) identify themselves with the same objects and ideals;
- 6) perceive the group as a source of satisfaction;
- 7) are in cooperative interdependence;
- 8) coordinate actions in relation to the environment.
Active or working group - this is a small group that is primarily occupied with work, aimed at solving specific problems (winning a competition, jointly developing a project) and functioning according to certain laws. When analyzing a small group, you need to remember two aspects of its existence:
- – the business aspect, which describes the attitude of group members towards the task they need to complete (productivity factor);
- – social aspect, i.e. social and emotional connections between group members, the attitude of group members towards each other and their membership in it (factor of trust and cohesion).
The second dichotomy is the formal and informal aspects of the group. In any group, both formal and informal levels of functioning can be distinguished. The formal level deals with rules and regulations. The formal structure is determined by the official distribution of responsibilities between group members and their interaction in the labor process (for example, an army structure). The informal level is the relationship that has developed in the process of labor interaction. It is determined by the psychological characteristics of the personality of the participants in joint activities (professional and communication skills, life experience, individual characteristics) and situational factors (for example, an urgent task can dramatically change the informal structure of the group).
The determinants of the emergence of a formal small (working) group are objective (demand) and subjective reasons (family, friendly relations, etc.). The determinants of the emergence of an informal group are interpersonal attraction and affiliative needs (to be with others, to be in a group).
The classification of small groups is based on three criteria:
- 1) the size of the group (hence, small, medium and large groups are distinguished);
- 2) the duration of the group’s existence (long-term and short-term groups are distinguished);
- 3) the structural integrity of the group (as a result, primary and secondary groups arise).
The size of the group affects the level of contacts between people, the nature of activities, the structure of the group, the group
new behavior, group process dynamics and group effectiveness.
As an example in table. 6.1 we present the differences between small and medium groups (according to L.G. Pochebut and I.A. Meizhis).
Table 6.1
Differences between small and medium groups
|
Signs |
Small group |
Middle group |
|
Number |
Dozens of people |
Hundreds of people |
|
Personal: getting to know each other on a personal level |
Status-role: acquaintance at the status level |
|
|
Membership |
Real behavioral |
Functional |
|
Structure |
Developed internal informal |
Legally formalized (lack of developed informal structure) |
|
Connections in the labor process |
Direct labor |
Labor mediated by the official structure of the organization |
|
Team of workers, laboratory staff |
Organization: all employees of the organization, enterprise, company |
The group may be either too small or too large to operate at optimal efficiency. The minimum group size is 2–3 people, the maximum is 25–40 people. There is a concept of optimal group control, which means determining the size of the group that is optimal for its successful management. The most manageable group is considered to be a group of 5–9 people. With an increase in volume (especially over 12 people), the number of subgroups or “cliques” increases and, accordingly, the likelihood of opposition to the leader’s decisions on the part of the informal leaders of the subgroups increases, and coordination of group efforts becomes more difficult.
In terms of the duration of their existence, small, medium and large groups can be either short-term or long-term. For example, a work team can be short-term, if they unite to complete one production task, or long-term, if people work for several years at the same enterprise in the same team.
Based on the structural integrity of the group, primary and secondary groups are distinguished. The primary group is structural subdivision organization, which does not decompose into further components, i.e. this is a small formal group (department, team, laboratory). A secondary group is a set of primary small groups (enterprise, organization). Thus, the organization industrial enterprise, a commercial company is an average, secondary, most often long-term group.
The group has an appropriate structure, it is determined by the position of individuals in the group as members, their status (formal and informal) and role. The highest position in the group hierarchy is occupied by the leader, who has the greatest influence over the rest of the group members.
The social status of an individual is understood as the position occupied in a social group, which is determined by a system of mutual rights and obligations. Social status consists of the prestige of the profession and position, level of education and income, and the difficulty of achieving this status. One person can be a bearer of very different statuses (student, unemployed), can occupy opposite statuses in relation to different people(for example, being both a boss in your department and subordinate to the head of the organization). Such a set of statuses of an individual is called a status set, in which it is always possible to identify the main status, which generally determines the way of life, work, behavior, etc. For example, the status of the president is largely determined by the whole set of social connections, his life.
A social role is a dynamic aspect of status, a set of rights and responsibilities prescribed by the individual’s position in society, in a social group, as well as behavior consistent with the expectations of others. A role is a normatively approved form of behavior expected from an individual occupying a certain position in the system of interpersonal and social relations. The characteristics of the role also include desires and goals, beliefs and feelings, social attitudes, values and actions that are expected or attributed to a person occupying a certain position in a group/society.
If, while taking a certain position, we allow ourselves to relax too much, to go beyond the outlined boundaries, those around us will quickly return us “to square one” with the help of sanctions - shaming, blaming, fining, depriving us of benefits, etc. Sanctions are a mechanism by which a group “returns” its member to the path of fulfilling and complying with social or group norms. Sanctions can be either prohibitive (if norms are violated) or incentives (if norms are correctly and fully observed). However, the boundaries of “correct” behavior are not as rigid as they seem. When performing public functions, each of us has the right to realize our own style of playing the role, showing the unique characteristics of our personality.
People “play” not one, but several roles. Their range is determined by quantity and variety social groups, which includes a person and his individual characteristics. A role set is a set of roles associated with one social status. For example, the status of a manager involves performing such roles as mentor, educator, representative of the organization in the external environment, etc.
Group role is the behavior expected of a person occupying a certain position in a group. Group roles can be formal (related to job responsibilities) and informal (arising spontaneously). Role characteristics include:
- 1) consistency of roles, their connection with each other (if you play the role of a manager, then you have ideas and expectations about how your deputy should behave);
- 2) the degree of clarity of roles (on the first day of new job something unknown to you may happen, even if you know for what purpose you were hired);
- 3) complexity of roles (the role of the group leader is much more complex than the role of the jester in pei).
Business and social aspects group dynamics apply to roles as well. We can highlight:
- 1) target roles - behavior that contributes to the achievement of group goals (initiator, developer, informant, generator of ideas, coordinator, critic, activator);
- 2) social roles– behavior focused on supporting others, “serving” the feelings and relationships of group members (instigator, helper, harmonizer, guard);
- 3) individualistic roles - behavior that has a disruptive and distracting effect, preventing the effective work of the group (aggressor, blocker, dominator, seeking recognition and striving for self-disclosure, constantly demanding attention to themselves).
Role behavior in a group can lead to role conflicts in work groups.
The group goes through certain stages in its development, from its formation to its disintegration. Domestic psychologists believe that the group evolves and goes through a number of qualitative stages that characterize its socio-psychological maturity. The level of development of the group is judged by organizational unity, psychological (intellectual, emotional, volitional) unity, the preparedness of the group, and the direction of activity.
Team – a group that has reached the highest level of maturity of its socio-psychological characteristics. In a team, each member of the group recognizes himself as part of the whole. The common goal is exciting and meaningful for everyone, the group shows persistence in moving towards the goal. The self-government body is authoritative and respected. Characterized by unanimity of opinions, mutual assistance, mutual assistance, the desire to empathize with phenomena and events, and high moral standards. In relationships there is friendliness and support, each member of the group has a feeling of security. Methods for resolving conflicts are reasonable, criticism is constructive and carried out from a benevolent position. Team members are characterized by high satisfaction with the group; difficulties and failures are overcome in a focused manner. Thus, a team is a group of people carrying out joint activities and achieving the final result based on the harmonization of individual, group and public goals, interests and values (Yu. P. Platonov, 2007).
In foreign psychology, the development of a group is considered as progression through stages. Thus, B. Tuckman’s model (Table 6.2) describes the dynamics of the group process based on two spheres of group activity: business (solving group problems) and interpersonal (developing a group structure). In each of these areas, four successive stages are expected to pass through.
Table 6.2
B. Tuckman's model
|
In the field of interpersonal activity |
In the field of business activity |
|
Stage of verification and dependence (orientation of group members to the nature of each other’s actions and the search for mutually acceptable interpersonal behavior in the group); |
Orientation in the task (search by group members for the optimal way to solve the problem); |
|
– stage of internal conflict (violation of interaction and lack of unity between group members); |
– emotional response to the demands of the task (resistance of group members to the demands placed on them by the content of the task due to the discrepancy between the personal intentions of individuals and the requirements of the task); |
|
Stage of development of group cohesion (gradual harmonization of relationships, disappearance of interpersonal conflicts); |
– open exchange relevant interpretations (maximum information exchange, allowing partners to penetrate deeper into each other’s intentions and offer an alternative interpretation of information); |
|
Stage of functional-role correlation (formation of the group’s role structure) |
Decision making (constructive attempts to successfully solve a problem) |
In addition to these stages, there is a fifth stage of cessation of activity - the curtailment of relations in both spheres of group activity, the disbandment of the team.
This model is used in organizational psychology and in the analysis of team formation.
Team is more than a simple group of individuals. The term "team" was formulated by practice effective management and, as a rule, was used to designate a small group with a strong goal orientation, intense interaction between members and high productivity. In the literature you can find various definitions of a team. For example, a team is a close-knit group or work collective. Indeed, the team is a group of high level of development. Among the parameters of a team, the most similar to team characteristics are integration (interconnectedness and interdependence of team members), structure (clarity and specificity of the mutual distribution of functions, rights and responsibilities, responsibilities between team members), organization (orderliness, composure, subordination to a certain order of performing joint activities) , motivation (active, interested and effective attitude towards joint activities). At the same time, the interpretation of the team, compared with the concept of the collective, is more realistic, pragmatic and devoid of ideological labels.
A distinction should be made between a group of people formally united to perform related work (work group) and a team capable of self-organization, self-government and development (Table 6.3).
Table 6.3
Differences between work group and team
|
Group |
Team |
|
|
A narrow task is set, general goals are not clarified |
Everyone agrees on the goals and the strategy for achieving them |
|
|
Participation in work |
Performance job descriptions and orders |
Active position, result-oriented, personal responsibility |
|
structure |
Strict distribution of roles, positions, responsibilities |
Division of competencies. Flexible structure. Role rotation |
|
Management |
Administration, presence of a formal leader-boss |
Leadership based on competence and trust, mentoring, assistance and support |
|
Adoption |
Mostly orders and decisions made by the majority |
Effective decision-making procedures based on trust and mutual benefit |
|
Conflicts |
Silencing, hiding, ignoring |
Recognition, intellectual competition, effective resolution: “we are on one side of the barricade, and the problem is on the other” |
|
Interaction |
Closedness, avoidance of criticism, “keep your head down” principle |
Trust, freedom, initiative |
|
Communication |
Through a formal leader. Official correspondence |
Openness. Confidence in each other and mutual respect |
|
Creation |
Stereotyping, working according to the rules |
Flexibility and adaptability. Continuous improvement and growth of competencies. Unlocking your creative potential |
|
results |
Individual |
Collective |
According to R. M. Belbin, people can work as a team without being members of a work group. Conversely, specialists can be part of one working group without, in fact, forming a team. “The idea of a team is,” writes R. M. Belbin, “that its members, based on the division of labor, form a single working structure that presupposes and reflects the contribution of an individual team member that he will make to achieve a common goal.”
Team - this is a small number of people (possibly from 2 to 25 people, but usually no more than 10) with complementary skills, connected by a single plan, striving for common goals, sharing responsibility for their achievement.
Another definition says that team - This is a group of people (usually 5–7 people) who have common goals, complementary skills and abilities, a high level of interdependence, share responsibility for the final result, and are capable of changing the functional role structure, i.e. perform any intragroup roles. This definition emphasizes three characteristics that all teams share:
- 1) interdependence (each team member makes his own individual contribution to the overall work and depends on the work of each, all team members share information with each other, are equal participants in activities and have the opportunity to influence each other);
- 2) shared responsibility (responsibility is understood and shared by everyone, obligations and trust are the basis of team accountability);
- 3) a result, responsibility for which is shared by all participants.
Domestic team building experts determine team as a group of people who complement and replace each other in the course of achieving common results, using a special form of organization of joint activities, which is based on the thoughtful positioning of participants who have an agreed vision of the situation and strategic goals of the team and who have proven interaction procedures.
The most significant characteristics of a team include:
- – a common vision or an equal and accurate understanding of each other’s aspirations;
- – complementarity in functions and in the distribution of roles;
- – ability to quickly respond to changes;
- – effective communication and teamwork;
- – cohesion;
- – the ability to motivate team members to perform certain actions.
The distinctive features of the team are the following characteristics. Team members see themselves as part of a group that does a specific job to achieve a specific goal. The goals of the company, team and individual employees are known. Team members feel competent in their work and perform tasks independently and under their own responsibility. The team has: a balance between effective work and cooperation of people, a culture of open communication, willingness to help, and constructive conflict resolution. A good team is open to the outside world and collaborates constructively with other teams.
An essential characteristic of the team is the high professionalism of the group. Team members must have important application skills: technical or functional skills, decision-making and problem-solving skills, and interpersonal skills, i.e. build effective relationships with others by effectively using a variety of communication tools.
The criterion for a formed team is the group’s ability to analyze its activities and find internal resources for development and overcoming difficulties.
You can select Various types teams that differ from each other depending on the nature of their activities and functions, their goals, level of development and subculture. So, depending on the goal, two types of commands can be distinguished:
- 1) functional, which, in turn, are divided into advisory and expert (advisory board, review board) and production (production team, maintenance team);
- 2) creative, which are divided into project (research group, planning team) and acting (sports team, theater troupe, ambulance team).
Depending on the type of activity, there are three types of teams:
- 1) teams involved in preparing recommendations;
- 2) production teams;
- 3) management teams.
Each of these teams can be at one of the following levels of development of group activity, depending on the team spirit and the effectiveness of interaction between group members:
- – a working group (in which participants interact with each other, trying to achieve their own goal);
- – pseudo-team (where participants act as if they can or should achieve significantly greater results than a regular group, but they do not have a common goal and task; the results of a pseudo-team are low, since there is no favorable environment for unlocking everyone’s potential);
- – potential team (a group that faces a common task, but lacks an enthusiastic leader and inspirer who infects with his passion and dedication in accomplishing a common cause);
- – a real team (a small group of like-minded people with an optimal number of up to 12 people, solving a common problem and having complementary skills and qualities, bearing common responsibility);
- – a highly effective team or a team of high achievements, which not only meets all the requirements of the team, but in addition is interested in ensuring that each of the participants, in the course of working together, fully reveals their potential and achieves maximum success.
Based on the forms of subcultures of management teams, T. Yu. Bazarov identifies such types of groups as “plant”, “clique”, “circle”, “team”. This division is based on the following factors: the type of joint activity or type of task, the organizational and cultural context of the team’s existence (external and internal), features of the personal style of interaction of its leader and leader with other members of the group.
It is also useful to divide commands into three categories:
- 1) temporary teams (production/project groups) - focused on achieving a specific goal and disband after completion of work;
- 2) permanent teams (departments/groups) - structure and distribute the work that needs to be completed in a certain period of time;
- 3) the whole enterprise as a team - all employees of the organization working together for the client, feeling like “creators of services” and controlling the success of the company.
In modern literature on team building, we mainly talk about two types of groups: management teams (teams of managers) and project teams Oh.
The management team includes the top officials of the organization and is located at the highest levels of the organizational hierarchy. Teams created at the middle and lower levels of an organization are called self-managing teams (small groups of people empowered to make decisions about planning, executing and evaluating day-to-day work).
Project teams are formed for specific tasks at any level of management and can include both middle and lower level managers, as well as specialists. Types of project teams include:
- – teams of specialists, consisting of specialists of the same profile, who regularly meet to jointly study work issues;
- – cross-functional teams that bring together people performing different functions to work on common tasks;
- – virtual teams consisting of members united by electronic means communications;
reform teams created for the purpose of organizational change.
Also, one possible classification of teams could be based on the functional range and interchangeability of members (Table 6.4).
Table 6.4
Classification of teams by functional range and interchangeability of members
A team, like any group, develops and goes through several stages or stages in its development. Based on B. Tuckman’s model, taking into account the functioning of groups in real life social practice, T. Yu. Bazarov highlights next steps team building.
- 1. Adaptation – the stage of mutual information and analysis of problems, the search for an optimal way to solve a problem. At the level of interpersonal relationships, group members are oriented regarding the nature of each other’s actions and are aimed at finding mutually acceptable behavior in the group. Team performance on at this stage low, since its members still know little and are not confident in each other.
- 2. Grouping – a stage characterized by the creation of associations (subgroups) based on sympathies and interests. Due to the discrepancy between personal motivation and the goals of group activity, group members resist the demands placed on them by the content of the task. There is an emotional response of group members to the demands of the task, which leads to the formation of subgroups. During grouping, group identity begins to take shape at the level of individual subgroups, forming the first intragroup norms.
- 3. Cooperation is the stage at which the desire to work on a task is realized. Characterized by more open and constructive communication, elements of group solidarity and cohesion appear. An established group emerges with a clearly expressed “We” feeling. Instrumental activity becomes the leading activity at this stage.
- 4. Standardization of activities - the stage at which the principles of group interaction are developed. The sphere of emotional activity becomes dominant, the importance of the “I – You” relationship increases sharply, and personal relationships become especially close. At this stage there is no intergroup activity, which can lead to the isolation of a cohesive, organizationally and psychologically well-prepared group from others and turn it into an autonomy group, characterized by isolation in its own goals and selfishness.
- 5. Functioning - the stage of decision-making, characterized by constructive attempts to successfully solve the problem. This is the stage of functional role correlation, i.e. a role structure of the team is formed, due to which the group task is played out. The group becomes open to the expression and resolution of conflict. At this stage, the group is distinguished by a high level of preparedness, organizational and psychological unity, characteristic of a team subculture.
Thus, a small (including working) group is an important component social life any organization. People strive to join a group so that its members can feel a sense of belonging to something, to receive some information from each other, to receive approval from someone, to achieve certain goals (individual or group). A team can be understood as a small group that unites people working together to do a common job. Teams can be effective and ineffective. A highly effective team has a clear understanding of the goal, clear positioning of roles, complementarity of competencies, well-established communications between team members, and responsibility to each other. The team way of organizing activities is characterized by:
- – a coordinated vision of the tasks facing the organization and a system for distributing responsibility for their successful solution;
- – formation of focus on a common and clear goal;
- – distribution of roles and positions in order to achieve maximum dedication;
- – ensuring maximum inclusion of each employee in the work process;
- – ensuring joint development of decisions;
- – focus on efficiency and situational leadership;
- – generation of new ideas and ways to solve problems;
- – development of external relations and establishment of necessary contacts with other people and organizations;
- – checking and evaluating the effectiveness of work.
Small (working) group and team for the manager who deals with the company, public association, the party, is an essential condition for its activities. Therefore, he needs knowledge about the influence of the group on the individual, the characteristics of group dynamics, procedures for collective decision-making, and the processes that occur during direct interaction between people. In addition, the manager must have an idea of how to organize the interaction of people in a work group in order to highly effectively realize their potential in accordance with the goals of the organization, i.e. about the team formation process.
