Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Ashley Lynn White Date: Monday, 11/29/2010

17:38 EST Body: #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Groups and teams both involve a number of people working together. Often times in the research area, the names are used interchangeably. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) Often times there a number of factors that contribute to the success of teams, many factors that are hard to replicate in an experimental design. Also, it is hard to manipulate people within the groups. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Self-managed teams are still managed, whereas self-directed team has complete autonomy over their work. #4. what are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles are a group of people who meet weekly to discuss any problems at work and possible ways of eradicating such problems. Project teams are people who are selected from various backgrounds to complete a specified task under a specified time. Once goal is attained, the group disperses. And product teams consists of front-line employees who produce tangible products. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) Cognitive ability, concientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion and emotional stability are important KSAs that are important for successful team composition. #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Group level rewards help teams establish what exactly their goals are in the workplace. By establishing difficult and clear goals, each member of the group will feel the need to work, thus resulting in less social loafing. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? The pros of using individual rewards systems is that people will work hard because they will be visibly rewarded. Also, with one person being rewarded, the others will use that as incentive to work hard themselves. However, by doing so, this could create everyone to work against each other instead of together, thus resulting in less production. #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? In order to reward groups, you could visibly praise them. For example, when a group does well, you could take their picture and post it in the workplace as an example of good team work. Also, you could allow the team to have certain benefits that others do not have, such as longer lunch breaks or a paid vacation. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, ho Yes I believe it does. If the team as a whole is doing the work for intrinsic pleasure, they

are more likely to be more productive than a team that is extrinsically motivated. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Kaitlyn Grace Mikush Date: Tuesday, 11/30/2010 20:44 EST Body: CHAPTER 13 QUESTIONS KAITLYN MIKUSH #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Groups and teams have many things in common, hence why the definitions are usually used interchangeably. But both team and groups work to attain some goal. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) When you are making an experimental research group, the researcher randomly assigns people to a certain team. Individual differences can sometimes make the people in each team not work as good as another group. Some people just do not work well together. When companies decide to have certain people in certain teams, usually its for a reason. Because they can work well together. In an experiment, you may not have that luxury. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. In a self-managed team, a person would feel more autonomy because they get to pick their own goal outside of the team. Where as, a self-directed team is a team who comes together to make one goal together. #4. what are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles are a work group of 6 to 12 employees that talk about problems within a company and generate ideas on how to increase productively and production quality. Project teams are created to solve a particular problem. Once the problem is fixed, they are disbanded after the project is done. Production team consists of front-line employees who produce goods. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) Extraversion, cognitive ability, concientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing?

If there is a group that has some social loafers, it would be beneficial to have group level rewards. It can help the group and the individual feel that what they do is important by getting rewarded for it. Also, its a goal to get the group work done together. If its not done, then there will be no reward. This would be an extrinsic reward. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Advantages of giving individual rewards would be giving the best of the group a pat on the back. If someone in the group is working harder than the others, it would be only fair for them to be recognized for their hard work. A con of individual rewards system, would be people feeling jealous that another person got recognized when they didnt. This can cause the group to potentially fall apart and make them work against each other. #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? You could have an announcement go out within a company email or newsletter that could thank them for all their hard work and explaining how great the group has been working. Giving employees a privilege parking spot, paid sick time, and even paid personal days would be a great reward! #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? I believe that intrinsic motivation theory can apply to groups. If they feel that they are important to get the job done, then they will feel good about themselves that they are a part of the group. Just being involved in a team can make people feel good. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Hanna Pillion Date: Tuesday, 11/30/2010 22:51 EST Body: Chapter 13 Teams in Organizations #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Groups and teams both have members that either work together or share resources. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) Like leadership, every member who is involved influences groups. It is hard to research teams when they are all so unique. The other problem is that for a real experiment, teams

would need to be manipulated. Organizations would be unlikely to let this occur, or it would be difficult to have the proper time go by for groups to grow into teams. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Self-directed teams have more autonomy than self-managed-teams. Self-directed teams determine their own goals and decide how to achieve them. Self-managed teams accept goals from management, and then get to decide how to achieve them. #4. what are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles are regularly meeting teams that discuss how to increase quality. These teams work well in the beginning and then start to see declines in productivity overtime. Project teams are created for a specific project, and once the project is complete the team is disbanded. Product teams are teams that work together to produce products like cars. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) Barry and Steward (1997) found a positive relationship between cognitive ability and team performance. They also found a curvilinear relationship between extroversion and team performance. If there are too many or few extroverts in the group, team performance is low. Barrick et al. (1998) found that team with above average cognitive ability and ratings on all the Big 5 (except openness to experience) had better ratings of team performance. #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Individuals can be lead to assume that collective rewards are based on every individuals personal contribution. This way they will think they have to perform in order to receive rewards. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? The advantage to using individual reward systems for team performance is that it helps individuals with a high need for achievement. The disadvantages to using individual reward systems for team performance is that teams favor them and they send the message to the team that performance is important. #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? I would reward the team as a whole for good performance. A well working team can out-

perform individuals working alone, so it is important have team performance high. Rewarding the team will send the message that they need to work as a team. Before letting them begin the project I would train them to work together first with team coordination training. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Ciara Jane Mccaffrey Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 1:04 EST Body: #1. What do groups have in common with teams? There is a great deal of overlap between the terms group and team. Both terms usually involve a collection of individuals working together to reach a common goal (Landy & Conte, 2007). In order to achieve this goal, the individuals will likely utilize problem solving skills. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) With a large group of people, there are endless extraneous variables which could inadvertently change the outcome of an experiment. For example, a team comprised of individuals with different cultural backgrounds may arrive at very different conclusions for how to solve a problem. Therefore, the outcome would integrate many different perspectives. The environment itself could also include different variables which could dramatically alter the outcome of a research design. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Self directed teams, also known as autonomous work groups, exercise a great deal of control over the specific functions of the organization (Landy & Conte, 2007). Self managed teams do not have this degree of freedom and rely on a management team for greater direction (Landy & Conte, 2007). #4. What are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? A clear distinction between quality circles and project teams would be the length of time devoted to the project. Quality circles involve a group of employees meeting regularly to identify problems and generate ideas (Landy & Conte, 2007). Project teams are created solely to focus on a particular problem. The team is disbanded once the project is completed or the problem is solved (Landy & Conte, 2007). A production team would be similar to a quality circle, as the group members do meet regularly (Landy & Conte,

2007). The goals may be more long-term. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) Barrick et al discovered that teams composed of members higher in cognitive ability, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability received higher ratings of team performance from their supervisor (Barrick et al, 1998). Certain KSAOs are positively related to team performance (Landy & Conte, 2007). #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Group level rewards can reduce social loafing by making individuals aware that their behavior is being monitored. By receiving (or not receiving) such recognition, the group members may be more motivated and also more willing to be accountable for their actions (Landy & Conte, 2007). #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Using individual reward systems for team performance can be helpful for extrinsically motivating members of the group to meet certain performance goals. A little competition among group members can promote cohesion (Landy & Conte, 2007). However, there are potential problems with issues of resentment if certain individuals feel they are being treated unjustly by not receiving an award. This can also contribute to social loafing (Landy & Conte, 2007). #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? I would encourage group cohesion by offering rewards for tasks which can only be achieved by the group (and not an individual). For example, I would offer a reward for the group with the best attendance or the group that raised the most money. Of course, this may cause resentment if one or two individuals fail to keep up with the expectations of the group. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? Intrinsic motivation theory can certainly apply to group behavior. Employees perceiving themselves as sharing a common identity with the organization are more likely to attribute their behavior as important for the group (Eisenberger et al, 2010). I believe there may be a relationship with group intrinsic motivation and affective commitment to the organization. Respond to this note

Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Rebecca Stern Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 8:00 EST Body: #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Groups and teams are each a collection of people working together and/or sharing resources. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) Typically the main audience available for experimental research is undergraduate students. These students are formed without a prior history and asked to work together for a short while. This is not advantageous. They also have limited history of work experience so the effects of a problem solving activity may not clearly translate into a work environment. The students who volunteer to participate in research may be different as a group. They may be move extroverts while teams/groups in organizations may be comprised of many different personalities. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Self-directed teams are almost completely autonomous as a unit. They have input on everything that relates to their group, even who to hire. Self-managed teams have a great deal of autonomy related to how the team operates; however, they lack the autonomy when it comes to more administrative decisions such as hiring decisions. #4. what are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles lack decision making authority; they are simply put together by management to act as a focus group to come up with ideas to solve workplace deficits or increase production. Project teams are shorter lived than quality circles. They are put together just to solve a problem and are disassembled afterwards. Product teams are frontline employees who work together to produce an end product. An example would be an assembly line. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) Cognitive ability has been shown to be strongly correlated to team performance. Also, 4/5 of the Big Five (conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) have been strongly related to favorable team composition.

#6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? By rewarding a diverse and wide array of ideas produced by a team, individuals may feel their contribution matters and contributes to the overall team goals. If all members do not contribute, no reward is dispensed. You would need to be careful about what type of reward you deliver, this could cause no change in social loafing but increase others responding in place of those who are not contributing just to obtain the reward. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? This causes a sense of individuality in the group and causes internal competition. In the long run this could be very detrimental to the group dynamics. On the other hand, individual reward systems would work well to encourage everyone to work at the same output level. This would help to eliminate someone getting stuck with all the work while the others coasted by on the team success. An individual reward system would help track those inconsistencies and discourage that behavior. This could be something like making those superstars, team leaders. This would give them more autonomy and direction within the group. #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? I would reward them by not disbanding the group. This would be negative punishment removing the group work (reinforcement) for ineffective responding. So, if the group is effective they will be given the next project. This would allow the group to continue to access the reinforcement which is the group itself. Being part of a group would mean more variety in their normal job and also special privileges within it to help accommodate with group participation. Just the feeling of being part of something other coworkers are not, may be reinforcing itself. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? Yes it does. If team members are not satisfied with their group or work aspects, their motivation will be greatly affected. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Tanya M. Jackson Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 12:41 EST Body: #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Both groups and teams work toward a common goal. Both include members who work together to solve problems and make decisions Group/team are terms that are interchangeable.

#2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question). It limits its generalizability. The results do translate to the general population. The information gained would be suspect because it was not carried out in a natural environment. Were the members acting they would if the environment were not controlled or under observation. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Autonomous self managed teams are allowed to manage themselves with authority over materials and equipment to their jobs. Members have the opportunity to learn the jobs of all the members the group is expected to perform. Integration to improve human and technical systems. #4. What are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles are initiated by management with meetings conducted at regular intervals, some members are selected but most are voluntary, not given any formal authority and seek to have solutions put into practice. Production teams consist of front line production staff who produce a tangible product, meetings are held for the purpose of communicating with other team members about work, they work independently and have decision making authority about production. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98). High cognitive ability and four of the big five (conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion and emotional stability are essential attributes for successful team composition. #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Provide 360 evaluations/feedback about their performance and achieving their goals. Remind individuals their individuals contributions are vital to teams success. Promote collaborative team effort and reward the team as whole while acknowledging individual contributions. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Individual rewards can produce animosity and resentment among other team members. Group rewards without acknowledging individual performance may also foster social loafing and resentment. #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? Reward the team as a whole while acknowledging individual performance. It is also important to correct poor performance as well. To promote cohesion allow the team input on rewards and corrective action. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? Yes, the desire for team members to work together to be productive, to be responsible for their success and the success of the team as a whole. Individual behavior is as important group behavior and motivation for success is not dependant on external rewards. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Erin Rabatin Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 15:04 EST Body:

Chapter 13 Teams in Organizations #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Both groups and teams have members that must work together in one form or another. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) Theres no real way to control for confounding variables in the workplace or any setting unless it is done in a lab. This, however, limits the ability to generalize the results. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Autonomous work groups are synonymous with both self-managed and selfdirected because the team and its members manage themselves; thus having the opportunity to learn multiple skills #4. what are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles: employees and group members meet regularly to identify work related problems and generate productivity. Research indicates that the honeymoon effect may exist when quality circles are used-meaning the effects are not sustained in the long run. Project teams: these teams are assembled to solve a particular problem but are then disbanded once the problem is solved. They have a mix of autonomy and dependence. The team consists of employees from a variety of departments and research indicates that when these teams are given slack time and decision making autonomy they produce higher quality products. Product teams: these team members produce tangible items, which allow for easy evaluation of team performance. An example may be assembly line workers or maintenance crews. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) Personality traits- teams composed of members high in conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability received higher supervisor ratings of team performance. Interpersonal KSAs: conflict resolution skills, collaborative problem solving, and communication KSAs Self-management: goal setting and performance management KSAs and planning and task coordination KSAs. #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Teams are more successful if rewards and objectives are focused on team, not individual behavior; therefore, members will be less likely to allow other members to assume responsibility and may be more inclined to pull their own weight. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Individual rewards would allow for personal responsibility and goal achievement. Also, social loafing wouldnt be likely to arise. The disadvantage is that it will increase competitiveness among group members and decrease cohesiveness. #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? I would ask the team to meet and discuss what they would like their reward to be within reasonable limits. We would all sit down and discuss the reward system. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? Yes; if group members are intrinsically motivated it will yield better results for the group as a whole. They will be less absent, more motivated, more innovative, and more likely to report a pleasant experience.

Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Thomas Franklin Fiske Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 15:25 EST Body: #1. The biggest difference between groups and teams are the interdependence of the members in teams. They both have people working together towards an objective using similar resources, but in a team the members performance is part of the whole teams performance. That is to say that the members must depend on one another to complete the task and they will be evaluated together as a team. In groups there is more individuality of performance appraisal. This distinction is becoming less and less relevant as the work atmosphere has been moving towards a more service based and team based situation in many organizations. #2. One of the most difficult parts about conducting research on teams is their varying set of objectives. Teams are often forged to solve a problem or come up with a major product for a company. There are so many social dynamics involved that its difficult to section them out and study any one aspect of the team. There are also so many different types of teams, and many different ways for those teams to become successful. #3. Both types of teams fall under the autonomous work group context. They both a have a lot of autonomy, but a self managed team has more autonomy in terms of overhead, whereas a self directed team has more autonomy over the process of how the goals are accomplished. #4. A quality circle is between 6 and 12 employees whos job is to think of ways to increase production and quality over the course of an undefined time period. A project team takes up a specific problem and works until that problem is solved. A production team is a more basic team that simply works to push out a product. #5. According to Guzzo and Dickson, and Brannick et al, the most important KSAs for successful team composition are extraversion, cognitive ability, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability. #6. Group level rewards can decrease social loafing if it is used to increase the distributive justice of the group. This can happen if all the workers tasks and work is visible to all the other workers. This will therefore create more team cohesion and generally decrease social loafing. If all the workers perceive their inputs and outputs as fair, then a group level reward will increase the distributive justice perceptions among the group members. #7. Individual rewards can threaten the teams cohesiveness. It can create a situation where everyone is competing against one another, instead of working for the team as a

whole. Individual rewards can help motivate the employees and lead to less social loafing if the group is made up of competitive individuals, but there should be a larger group reward to keep the group cohesiveness in check. #8. The rewards chosen for a team should consist of several layers. There should be an individual layer for standout performance, and a group layer for total group performance. Depending on the type of team, rewards may be necessary for partial work completion, or interval incentives. Once the project is complete, there should be a bigger reward for project teams, but product and quality circles should have more incentive based plans. #9. Intrinsic motivation theory typically only applies on the individual level, but it could theoretically be applied to groups as well. Having lots of autonomy and passion can motivate a team and one could say they are intrinsically motivated as a whole. Competence among the group memebers is essential for a team to be successful, and having group relatedness can have positive effects as well. Relatedness can also have a drawback if it leads to groupthink. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Kevin Joseph Walsh Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 15:48 EST Body: Chapter 13 Teams in Organizations #1. What do groups have in common with teams? According to Landy and Conte (2010), groups and teams are two terms that are used interchangeably with little to no difference at all. Both groups and teams have members who work together or share resources. One major difference between a group and a team is that a group is often put together in order to complete a goal and then disbanded shortly thereafter (Landy & Conte, 2010). I-O psychologists prefer to study teams because of their long-term sustainability and relevance to a work setting (Landy & Conte, 2010). A team is defined as an interdependent collection of individuals who work together toward a common goal and who share a responsibility for specific outcomes for their organizations (Sundstrom, DeMeuse, & Futrell, 1990). A team is also identified by those within as well as outside the team, such as a sports organization, surgery team, rock group, or a movie production crew. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) It is difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams because it is very difficult to control for all the confounding variables. In order for a proper experimental research design, there needs to be a manipulation or independent variable that has an effect on the dependent variable. To accomplish this, the experiment needs to exist in a laboratory or a very controlled environment. Another reason it is difficult to conduct good experimental

research with teams is because of individual differences. It is hard to standardize teams because each individual member brings a unique set of traits and abilities to the team. Because of this, not all teams are created equal and the underlying results of the experiment will likely not be reliable. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differ from a self-directed team. Self-managed teams are more ideal than self-directed teams because they improve the integration of social and technical systems that allow the groups to manage themselves (Landy & Conte, 2010). Ivancevich and Matteson (2002) define an autonomous work group as a specific kind of production team that has control over a variety of functions. This includes and is not limited to planning shift operations, allocating work priorities, determining work priorities, performing a variety of work tasks, and recommending new hires. In self-managed teams, cooperation and communication are vital for success. The workers in self-managed teams have a lot of autonomy, enriched work environments, and use a plethora of skills at work (Landy & Conte, 2010). On the other hand, self-directed teams or traditional work models use a production supervisor that makes all of the key management decisions (Landy & Conte, 2010). Research has suggested that people who work in autonomous work groups have high job satisfaction, but also, higher rates of absenteeism and turnover (Landy & Conte, 2010). #4. What are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Landy and Conte (2010) define quality circles as a work group arrangement that typically involves six to twelve employees who meet regularly to identify work-related problems and generate ideas to increase productivity or product quality. The research and results examining the usefulness of quality circles has been inconclusive. Japan, especially in the Honda Corporation, has used quality circles with great success, but the rest of the world has not followed suit (Landy & Conte, 2010). Guzzo and Dickson (1996) define project teams as a set of individuals put together in order to solve a particular problem or a set of problems and is then later disbanded after the problem is completed. Synonymous terms for project teams include: ad hoc committee, task force, and cross-functional team. In general, project teams have clear deadlines, but uncertainty about how to complete a project. There is often a high correlation between the amounts of autonomy each group member has the quality of work produced (Landy & Conte, 2010). Some employees criticize the use of project teams because they feel they are missing out of departmental power, advancement, and rewards. In order to combat this, some organizations have adopted matrix structures that intertwine an employee with multiple projects and project managers (Landy & Conte, 2010). Production teams are the sets of individuals responsible for the front-line employees who produce tangible output (Guzzo & Dickson, 1996). Production teams are also commonly referred to as assembly lines. In the production teams, members generally have access to other team members, allowing people to bypass supervision and employ more autonomous work practices (Landy & Conte, 2010). Since it is generally easy to measure a teams quality and quantity of

output, it is easy to evaluate performance and give insightful feedback. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) According to Guzzo and Dickson (1996), team composition is the attributes of team members, including skills, abilities, experiences, and personality characteristics. The most important KSAs are the ones that deal with interpersonal and self-management aspects of an organization. Stevens and Campion (1999) include 14 specific KSA factors that are part of five broad descriptions that include: conflict resolution, collaborative problem solving, communication, goal-setting, and task planning/coordination. Other studies have found that high cognitive function positively correlates with high performance as well as certain personality factors, such as balance of introverts and extroverts (Landy & Conte, 2010). Work by Barrick et al. (1998) has suggested that high supervisor ratings of work performance are directly related to high cognitive ability, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability. #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Landy and Conte (2010) define social loafing as the reduced motivation and performance in groups that occurs when there is reduced feeling of individual accountability or a reduced opportunity for the evaluation of individual performance. Social loafing is most apparent when the work tasks involve creativity problems, brainstorming, and vigilance exercises (Landy & Conte, 2010). Group level rewards can be used to reduce social loafing because they strive to make the individual contributions indispensible and increase criticality (Shepperd, 1993). The work of Shepperd (1993) suggests four distinct ways to reduce social loafing. First, increase the difficulty of the task. Next, increase the specificity of the individual contribution. Then, portray the necessity of the individuals work to the greater good of the team. And finally, show to the individual how his or her work has led to a better product and overall process. By distributing rewards on a group level, you are essentially building cohesion and allowing the group to see themselves as one unit striving towards a common goal. This will, in turn, lead to better cooperation, communication, and foster a sense of pride that will ultimately lower social loafing. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Some advantages from using individual reward systems are that they can increase an individuals extrinsic motivation, job satisfaction, and overall job performance. The most appropriate model for utilizing an individual reward system would be to employ Hackman and Oldhams (1976) job characteristics model. This will clarify an individuals role within the team and facilitate feedback that can be used to increase production. Some of the disadvantages from using individual reward systems is that they can disrupt shared mental models, lead to violations of team norms, undermine team cohesion, strain communication and coordination, facilitate social loafing, polarize groupthink, and worst of all, lead to a decrease in intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction

that lowers overall work performance (Landy & Conte, 2010). #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? One of the key purposes for creating a team in the first place is to foster and increase innovation (Landy & Conte, 2010). Because of this, it is important to not criticize or belittle an individuals contributions to a group, but rather facilitate an environment that is open and perceptive. Groups should always include people who play devils advocate so that a decision does not become too polarized or extreme (Landy & Conte, 2010). Groups that display cohesion, cooperativeness, openness to new ideas, and creative brainstorming should be rewarded. Rewards should be given as an implicit, long-term investment on group efficacy and not be strictly granted on the overall production or bottom-line the group achieves. This will allow individuals to feel less pressure on immediate outcomes and focus on the long-term health of the organization. By focusing on the individuals well-being and not being strictly profit driven, the organization could develop long-standing team cohesion, loyalty, and a sense of pride. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? Yes, intrinsic motivation theory definitely applies to groups. In order to increase intrinsic motivation, autonomy, competency, and relatedness must all be established and maintained. A group needs to be able to operate without too much outside control and micromanagement. The traditional work structure, although at times practical, can be too controlling if the production manger that oversees the group activities is too bossy and suffocates creativity. In order for the group to be effective, it must be competent in achieving the tasks and goals it is out to do. If a group is overwhelmed and rudderless, the motivation to complete a task will be undermined and production will plummet. In terms of relatedness, the group needs to be cohesive and serve as a sample representation of the organization as a whole. When all three of these conditions are met, intrinsic motivation as it pertains to the group will increase. Works Cited Barrick, M. R., Stewart, G. L., Neubert, M. J., & Mount, M. K. (1998). Relating member ability and personality to work-team processes and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 377-391. Guzzo, R. A., & Dickson, M. W. (1996). Teams in organizations: Recent research on performance and effectiveness. Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 307-338. Hackman, J.R. & Oldham, G.R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16: 250-279. Ivancevich, J. M., & Matteson, M. T. (2002). Organizational behavior and management (6th ed.). New York: McGraw- Hill.

Landy F. J. & Conte J. M. (2010). Work In The 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: McGraw-Hill. Shepperd, J. (1993). Productivity loss in performance groups: A motivation analysis. Psychological bulletin, 113, 67- 81. Stevens, M. J., & Campion, M. A. (1999). Staffing work teams: Development and validation of a selection test for teamwork settings. Journal of Management, 25, 207-228. Sundstrom, E., DeMeuse, K. P., & Futrell, D. (1990). Work teams: Applications and effectiveness. American Psychologist, 45, 120-133. Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Robert Scott Corrigan Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 16:10 EST Body: #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Groups are similar to teams in that they both are comprised of individuals who work together and share resources. However, teams are unique in that their tasks are interdependent on one another. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) . Time is a factor that contributes to this dearth of empirical data. Teams typically are together for a period which is longer than your average experiment. In addition to time is the commitment that is felt among the team members. In experiments, the commitment is only skin deep, making interdependency weak; which of course is in contrast to how teams in the real world function, where there is a real sense of purpose shared amongst one another. #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. Self-managed teams and self-directed teams are very similar in that both are very independent from the rest of the organization. Autonomy is high in both groups, allowing them to make their own decisions. However, self-managed teams are likely to have a manager who oversees the work, where self-directed teams do not. #4. what are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams?

Quality circles will have individuals group together to try and improve upon an existing product or service; these continue for as long as management sees fit. Project teams are groups of individuals who get together for a specific project; they are not typically in the same division, but during the project share resources and are interdependent (e.g. construction of a new bridge). Product teams are individuals who produce a specific product, like a cell phone or a toy cat. #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) . Of the studied personality attributes, contentiousness and extroversion, neither were found to impact team performance. Extroversion was found to have a curvilinear relationship, too little and too much was bad. Interpersonal, collaborative, communicative, self management and planning were all found to be important KSAs in determining successful team composition. #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Social loafing occurs when individuals feel like their efforts can be minimized and the team will still produce adequate outputs. Group level rewards do not reach the individual, therefore individual rewards should be used to motivate teammates out of social loafing. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Advantages: Individuals are more likely to seek higher performance to reap benefits. Team will be better off if everyone does well for the team. Disadvantages: Seeking individual gain can sometimes cost the team (think sports). #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? I would reward groups for their work, then ask group members to rate team members individually on how they think each other performed. Therefore, each individual receives a overall group reward and based on how others within the team perceived their effort, they will receive another reward. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? Because intrinsic motivation is on the individual level and individuals are the scaffolding of teams, it can be deduced that intrinsic motivation applies to teams. Synergy is experienced when there is cohesion among individual intrinsic goals and team intrinsic goals.

Respond to this note Response Title: Re: Please post your responses to chap 13 here Author:Jerusalem E Tekie Date: Wednesday, 12/01/2010 16:30 EST Body: #1. What do groups have in common with teams? Groups and teams are similar because they both involve a group of people that are working together to reach a common goal. #2. What are some reasons why it is so difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams? (creative thought question) It is difficult to conduct good experimental research with teams because a good experimental design requires a random assignment of participants to conditions. This is something that is not as easily attainable since this random assignment may mean that these people may not share the same common goals or responsibilities for outcomes. In fact, this random assignment could include group members who have goals that are adverse to the organization (ex. Member goal is closely connected to contractual company versus their own organizations goal). #3. Describe, in terms of autonomy, how self-managed teams differs from a self-directed team. In terms of autonomy, self-managed teams differ from a self-directed team because selfdirected teams have more control. This is because self-directed teams are in control of all aspects of their project, whereas self-managed teams are only in control of their project after it has been assigned. #4. What are the primary distinctions between quality circles, project teams and product teams? Quality circles - their main task is to find out what the problem is (unlike project teams) then solve it (versus a project team who is given the issue to solve) Project teams - unlike other teams, this type of team is disbanded after the project is completed or when the problem is solved Product teams - consists of front-line employees whose main task is to produce tangible outputs #5. What are the most important KSAs and personality attributes for successful team composition? (Guzzo & Dickson, '96; Barrick et al., '98) The most important KSAs and personality attributes for a successful team composition

are high cognitive ability and four of the big five personality dimensions (conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability). #6. How can group level rewards be used to reduce social loafing? Group level rewards can be used to reduce social loafing by allowing each group member to believe that their individual efforts matter for the groups ability to be rewarded. #7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using individual reward systems for team performance? Advantage - causes individuals to perform better because they are directly affected. Disadvantage - May cause ill feelings to other individuals in team for performing better (leads to unhealthy competition) #8. Most experts believe that for groups to be effective they must be rewarded. But how would you reward them? I would reward the group by acknowledging their efforts with a plaque or certificate. I would also reward the group by acknowledging their achievement in a formal letter signed by the head of the organization or with other colleagues in an organization newsletter or webpage. #9. Does intrinsic motivation theory apply to groups, and if so, how? It does apply because if the group is intrinsically motivated to do the work, they will produce a better quality of work - not just beneficial to the group but the organization as a whole as well. Respond to this note