Team Processes

Team Processes Organizational success depends on an understanding of decision-making, creativity, teamwork, and organizational structure. Chapters 7, 8, and 13 in the text address these concepts fully. These concepts also fill the pages of Websites and readings devoted to helping future managers understand their role, and how they can thrive in any organization. Decision-making is crucial for strong leadership. There are several paradigms and theories that can be applied to the decision-making process. These paradigms and theories help people understand how their cognitive and emotional processes impact their decisions.

Understanding the paradigms and theories of decision-making also help people avoid making mistakes, while also learning from past mistakes in order to make better choices for the future. The rational choice paradigm of decision-making is one of the foremost paradigms that can be applied to the enterprise level. The rational choice paradigm of decision-making is essentially rooted in the utilitarian philosophies of John Stuart Mill, who proposed that people can make ethical choices by maximizing happiness and the maximizing the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

The goal is to maximize utility: how useful a choice will be for the team or organization. As McShane & Von Glinow (2013) put it, "The ultimate principle of the rational choice paradigm is to choose the alternative with the highest subjective expected utility," (p. 5). This implies a subjective level to the decision. Even though it is a rational choice, the decision continues to have an intuitive component. The rational choice method of making decisions works much of the time, but not all of the time.

Decisions that are made using a rational choice approach might have unforeseen fallout, because variables not related to shareholder or stakeholder utility are not taken into account. For example, a manager makes a decision not to run tests on equipment because those tests would be costly and he knows that the quarterly report is coming out soon. The manager needs to maximize the earnings potential of the organization by minimizing costs.

Plus, the manager figures that the equipment is running fine because none of the floor managers have complained or filed any reports. After he makes his decision, one machine explodes, killing the floor manager and one other worker. Two people lost their lives, but shareholder and stakeholder value was still maximized. Was the decision the correct one? Few would agree that it was the correct decision, because ethical, moral, emotional, and intuitive variables were not taken into account.

Leaders often feel that they have to make decisions quickly as to not appear indecisive. Indeed, leaders who are decisive are perceived as being stronger. Studies report that employees rate leaders as more effective when they are more decisive," (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 21). Unfortunately, leaders have to learn the right balance between quick decisions and good decisions. An overemphasis on decisiveness can cause "hasty and rash decisions" that do not "take into account situational variables," (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 21). Making good decisions takes practice.

It is impossible to make the perfect decision, because the world is too complex for there to be one right answer to every problem. The keys to better decision making include open communication about problems and issues that could impact the decision; and creating an atmosphere of "divine discontent," (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 29). It is healthy to be aware of the weaknesses in the organization, and to understand all the situational variables, before making a choice.

As important as good decision-making, teamwork is central to the operational procedures and success of any organization. Team effectiveness also depends on situational variables. The organizational environment, its structure, and its culture will all impact the types of teams that evolve, how they operate, and how effective they can be. It is important for managers to understand the different types of team design, the processes of team development, and the ways team members can develop -- or hinder -- trust. Teams go through various stages between their creation and dissolution.

Tuckman proposed that these stages include forming, storming, norming, and performing ("Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing," n.d.). During the forming stage, the group members are just getting to know each other. They are identifying themselves and figuring out their roles in the team. The initial orientation stage gives way to the storming stage, at which personal conflicts can arise. This is when individual member egos start to clash, and a leader is necessary to bring the group successfully to the next stage, which is norming.

By the norming stage, the group members should feel part of a cohesive whole. The central goals of the group become more aligned with the personal values and goals of each member. Norming also refers to the behavioral patterns that relate to the way team members are all on the same page: there is a normative working environment. Finally, the team executes its tasks. If the team has formed, stormed, and normed effectively, then it will also perform well.

There are two specific types of teams in any organization: self-directed teams and virtual teams. The type of team best for any given situation depends on what the organization's goals and organizational structure are. Regardless of the type of team, developing trust is one of the most important factors in team success. There are different types of trust: identification trust, knowledge-based trust, and calculated trust. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Understanding an organizations structure can help its managers thrive.

The concept of organizational structure refers to the "division of labor as well as the patterns of coordination, communication, workflow, and formal power that direct organizational activities," (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 100). The two most fundamental processes affecting organizational structure and behavior are division of labor and coordination. Division of labor is a concept that.