CH-8-9 Leadership – Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering and Developing People : Chapter Notes

This Document Contains Chapters 8 to 9 Chapter 8 Leadership An Irreverent Attitude and Dirt Cheap Prices—A Successful Combination Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches (JJ) was founded in 1983 by Jimmy John Liautaud. His philosophy was simple: Be honest, good, fast, and affordable. Although Jimmy John began with used equipment, $200 a month store rent, and could not afford to put ice in the drinks, the college kids loved the attitude and cheap prices. JJ has become a major player in the sandwich industry with over 690 store locations. The bulk of the company’s growth has been generated through franchising relationships. I. Leadership: What Is It All About? • Leadership is defined as the process of influencing individual and group activities toward goal setting and goal achievement. • Leadership is a reciprocal process involving the leader and follower(s). ○ Formal leadership is officially sanctioned by an organization through delegation. ○ Informal leadership is unofficial and accorded someone by organizational members. A. Factors Affecting Leadership Style • Three factors, or variables, which are interrelated have a major impact on the choice of leadership style: ○ Theory X or Theory Y management philosophy ○ The followers’ readiness level ○ The situation faced by the supervisor 1. Theory X or Theory Y Management Philosophy • A supervisor’s management philosophy is determined by his or her assumptions about the nature of people. • Four critical factors interact to influence a supervisor’s view of the nature of people and consequently shape his or her philosophy: ○ The supervisor’s personality characteristics ○ The supervisor’s family and early school environment ○ The supervisor’s experience and training in the area of leadership ○ The supervisor’s present work environment, including the type of work and the general management system • Douglas McGregor outlined two contrasting sets of assumptions about the nature of people (concept of Theory X and Theory Y). ○ A manager’s leadership style is influenced by the set of assumptions to which he or she subscribes. • Following are the most significant assumptions of Theory X: ○ The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid it if possible. ○ Because of this human characteristic—dislike of work—most people must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organizational objectives. ○ The average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, and seeks security. ○ The average human being cannot be trusted. • Supervisors who accept Theory X assumptions are inclined to prefer a structured, autocratic leadership style. • The basic assumptions of Theory Y are as follows: ○ The expenditure of physical and mental effort in work is as natural as play or rest. ○ People will exercise self-direction and self-control in the service of objectives to which they are committed. ○ Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. ○ The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but also to actively seek greater responsibility. ○ The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organizational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population. ○ Under the conditions of modern industrial life, the intellectual potential of the average human being is only partially utilized. ○ The average human being believes that he or she is a winner, so treat him or her like a winner. • Supervisors who hold Theory Y assumptions are inclined to prefer a supportive, participative leadership style when the situation calls for it. 2. The Followers’ Readiness Level • Readiness level is the state of a person’s drive and need for achievement. ○ It results from his or her experience, education, attitudes, and willingness and ability to accept responsibility. • The readiness concept can be expressed by the following formula: Readiness = Ability + Willingness • If followers are less ready, the leader should use a different style than if followers are more ready. 3. The Situation Faced by the Supervisor • The situation faced by supervisors should have a major influence on their leadership style. • The nature of the work and the types of assignments must be considered in assessing a situation. • A leader’s choice of style is influenced by how his or her unit is progressing. B. Two Leadership Models • Of the many theories and theoretical models regarding leadership, two that are especially applicable for supervisors are as follows: ○ Robert Blake and Anne Adams McCanse’s well-known Leadership Grid® ○ Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Model 1. The Leadership Grid • The Leadership Grid shows a leader has two concerns: production and people. ○ Concern for Results is plotted on the horizontal axis of the grid, while “Concern for People” is plotted on the vertical axis. • If a supervisor is primarily concerned with production and shows little concern for people, he or she is a 9,1 leader (9 in concern for production results and 1 in concern for people). ○ The 9,1 leader is one who structures the work, delegates as little as possible, and usually is an autocrat in getting work accomplished. ○ This style is called authority compliance or task management. • The supervisor who shows primary concern for people and little concern for production is a 1,9 leader. ○ The 1,9 leader is supportive and somewhat permissive, emphasizing the need to keep employees happy and satisfied. ○ Leaders of this type tend to avoid pressure in getting the work done. This style is called country club management. • The 5,5 leader uses a middle of the road management style, placing emphasis on people and on production. • The 1,1 leader reflects the poorest of all styles, called impoverished management. ○ Supervisors using this type of leadership have completely abdicated the leadership role. ○ If any significant work is done, it is due to the initiative of people working for this leader. • The 9,9 leader believes that the heart of directing work lies in mutual understanding and agreement about what organizational and unit objectives are and about the proper means of attaining them. ○ This type of leader has a high concern for both people and production and uses a participative approach called team management to get the work done. ○ Blake and associates strongly believe that the 9,9 style is the way to manage in leadership situations. 2. Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership • Many people believe that there is no one best approach for every situation, but only a best approach for a given situation. • One of the most popular situational approaches is called the life-cycle theory of leadership. ○ It draws heavily on leadership research conducted at Ohio State University. ○ The researchers concluded that many leadership behaviors fall into one of two areas—task behaviors or relationship behaviors. • Task behaviors involve clarifying the job; telling people what to do, how and when to do it; providing follow-up; and taking corrective action. • Relationship behaviors involve providing people with support and asking for their opinions and ideas. • The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model shows the relationship between the readiness of followers and the leadership style based on task and relationship behaviors of leaders. ○ The model consists of four labeled blocks, or quadrants, with a curved line running through each quadrant. • At the bottom of the model is a scale showing various ranges of readiness: high, moderate, and low. • The direction of the arrow on the readiness scale and the direction of the arrow on the task behavior axis indicate that the higher the degree of readiness, the lower the degree of task behavior required. ○ The four quadrants in the model can be translated into four basic leadership styles: • The structuring and telling style (S1: high task and low relationship) usually works best with new or less-ready employees and individuals or groups whose performance is slipping. • The coaching and selling style (S2: high task and high relationship) is used with individuals or groups with potential but haven’t completely mastered their assignments. • The participating and supporting style (S3: high relationship and low task) is best used with ready individuals. • The delegating and empowering style (S4: low relationship and low task) is one of the more difficult styles for a supervisor to use even when individuals or groups working under the supervisor are exceptionally ready and capable. D. Tannenbaum and Schmidt’s Leadership Continuum • The Continuum of Leadership Behaviors is the full range of leadership behavior in terms of the relationship between a supervisor’s use of authority and employee’s freedom. ○ It is especially useful when a supervisor is considering the degree to which employees should be involved in decision making. ○ The figure is a rectangular block representing a continuum of power that is divided by a diagonal line into two distinct parts: use of authority by the supervisor and the area of freedom for employees. • The more authority the supervisor uses, the smaller the area of freedom for employees. • Tannenbaum and Schmidt maintain that each situation calling for a decision may require a different approach. • The path the leader chooses to follow should be based on a consideration of the following three types of forces: ○ Forces in the leader—include the leader’s value system, confidence in employees, leadership inclinations, and feelings of security or insecurity. ○ Forces in the employees—include the employees’ need for independence and increased responsibility, knowledge of the problem, attitude toward and interest in tackling the problem, and expectations with respect to sharing in decision making. ○ Forces in the situation—include the type of organization, the group’s effectiveness, the pressure of time, and the nature of the problem itself. • To be successful, the supervisor must accurately assess the appropriate behavior to use in a given situation. E. Is One Leadership Style Best? • Research supports the thesis there is no shows that there is no single-best style for all situations. ○ However, in most situations, the appropriate style is either coaching and selling or participating and supporting. • The long-run trend in U.S. industry is for supervisory managers to use more participative styles. II. Developmental Leadership • In many environments with educated personnel a contingency diagnosis calls more and more for an approach known as developmental leadership as especially effective in managing groups. • Developmental leadership is an approach that helps groups to evolve effectively and to achieve highly supportive, open, creative, committed, and high-performing membership. A. Heroic Managers • Heroic managers are those with a great need for control or influence and want to run things. ○ If they are dynamic and capable, they may do an effective job and produce good results, particularly in the short run. • Bradford and Cohen developed the following list of characteristics of heroic managers: ○ The manager should know at all times what is going on in the department. ○ The manager should have enough technical expertise to supervise subordinates. ○ The manager should be able to solve any problem that arises or at least solve it before the subordinate does. ○ The manager should be the primary (if not the only) person responsible for how the department is working. • What is needed is an orientation focusing on building heroes rather than being a hero. B. Developmental Managers • Building heroes is the goal of developmental leaders. • Bradford and Cohen’s model of the manager as a developer has three interrelated components: ○ Building a shared responsibility team, ○ Continuously developing individual skills, and ○ Determining and building a common department vision. 1. Building a Shared-Responsibility Team • Instead of using meetings primarily for reporting and providing information to the group, developmental leaders deal with real issues and actual problem solving. 2. Developing Individual Skills • The second component of developmental leadership is closely interconnected with the first. • One of the best opportunities for individual development is offered by an effective team dealing with real issues. ○ Developmental leaders encourage and seek out opportunities for their people to attend various developmental courses of either a technical or a managerial nature and to increase both knowledge and skills continually. 3. Shaping a Common Vision • Many times, the final component, determining and building a common group vision, is the first step in a manager’s movement toward developmental leadership. ○ Bradford and Cohen refer to this as developing the work group’s overarching goal, that is supportive of the mission and overall goals of the organization. ○ They go on to say creating a tangible vision makes group members excited about where they are going. III. Transformational and Transactional Leadership • Transformational leadership converts followers into leaders and may convert leaders into moral agents. ○ Transformational leadership is one influential theory and way of looking at leadership that has emerged in more recent years; it is closely related to team leadership. ○ John MacGregor Burns and Bernard Bass were the first to identify and explore the differences between transactional and transformational leadership. ○ Transformational leadership is a paradigm shift to a more visionary and empowering leadership style, particularly needed in a world of rapid and turbulent change. • In transactional leadership, leaders identify desired performance standards and recognize what types of rewards employees want from their work. ○ Transactional leadership is a more traditional leadership approach and is similar to an exchange process. A. Transformational Leadership • Bass and Burns’ research identified a number of past and current transformational leaders. • According to a recent study, three factors were an integral part of being a transformational leader—charismatic leadership, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation. ○ The most important factor of transformational leadership is charismatic leadership. • To receive a high score on this factor, a leader needs to instill pride, respect, and esprit de corps and have a gift of focusing on what is important, as well as a true sense of mission. ○ The second factor, individualized consideration, indicates the leader uses delegated assignments to provide learning and development and gives personal attention to individuals. ○ The third factor, intellectual stimulation, indicates that the leader has vision and presents ideas that require rethinking of past methods of operation and allows for development of new ways of thinking. • Even more recently, Rafferty and Griffin tested and found a five-factor model best represents transformational leadership: Vision, inspirational communication, supportive leadership, intellectual stimulation, and personal recognition. • Regardless of the different views, following are some common themes that exist among recent research findings: ○ It is important for the leader to instill pride, respect, and esprit de corps as well as focusing on what is important and have true sense of mission. ○ The leader delegates, supports, and empowers followers so that they may grow to reach their full potential. ○ The leader provides followers personal attention and support to nurture their development. ○ A leader intellectually challenges followers to change past practices and paradigms and stretch their limits to create and innovate. ○ The leader must meaningfully communicate with followers to ensure the above four practices are successful. B. Transactional Leadership • Transactional leaders identify desired performance standards and recognize what types of rewards employees want from their work. ○ They take actions that make receiving these rewards contingent upon achieving performance standards. • The transactional leader operates within the existing culture and employs traditional management strategies to get the job done. ○ Transactional leadership is based on the premise the leader can positively reward or reinforce employees for their completion of the bargain. 1. Comparison of Transactional and Transformational Leadership • Some people have the ability to grow and develop through levels of leadership and become transformational leaders. ○ For example, George McAleer, former Air Force pilot and now on the faculty of the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces. • Transformational leadership is needed to achieve higher-order improvements, whereas transactional leadership can result in lower-order improvements. IV. Adaptive Leadership • Adaptive leadership is about organizational members taking a hard look at the past to identify what to hold on to, while deciding what needs to go. ○ Employee participation in the change process is the key, because with adaptive problems, many times the employees themselves are the source. ○ One important issue to be aware of regarding this topic is that many times, adaptive leaders who present tough questions become marginalized within the organization because their views and opinions are not consistent with the current paradigm. • Signals of this resistance include being let go or possibly promoted to a job with no direct impact on an organization’s outcomes. • Adaptive leaders can survive and provide meaningful guidance and direction within traditional command and control environments, but it simply requires an understanding of oneself, the situation, and the people one manages. V. Servant Leadership • Servant leadership defines success as giving and measures achievement by devotion to serving and leading; winning becomes the creation of community through collaboration and team building. A. The Paradox of Servant Leadership • Bennett J. Sims, Bishop Emeritus of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and president of the Institute for Servant Leadership, provides a beautiful description of the nature of the paradox of servant leadership: ○ A servant is one who stands below and behind, while a leader’s position is above and ahead. • Logically, it is impossible to have these two positions in the make-up of one person. • However, the paradox is that servant and leader combine to form an ideal blend of toughness and tenderness. B. Characteristics of Servant Leadership • Robert K. Greenleaf, retired executive with AT&T, provides the following insights into servant leadership: ○ The servant leader wants to serve first and then lead. ○ The servant leader focuses on meeting the needs of others and responding to problems first by listening. ○ Leaders who empathize with others provide a climate in which followers have the ability to grow and develop. • Larry Spears, CEO of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, has identified ten characteristics of servant leadership. ○ Listening ○ Empathy ○ Healing ○ Persuasion ○ Awareness ○ Foresight ○ Conceptualization ○ Commitment to the growth of people ○ Stewardship ○ Building community VI. Core Leadership Functions • The best of the contemporary leadership studies and books support the value of working toward developmental, transformational, adaptive, and servant leadership. ○ There are seven core leadership functions that reinforce these macro-level approaches: valuing, visioning, coaching, empowering, team building, promoting quality, and listening with empathy. • Valuing is having a good grasp of the organization’s values and being able to translate these values into practice and elevate them to higher levels. • Visioning is having a clear mental picture of a desired future for the organization or organizational unit. • Coaching is helping others develop the knowledge and skills needed for achieving the vision. • Empowering is enabling others to move toward the vision. • Team building is developing a coalition of people who will commit themselves to achieving the vision. • Promoting quality is achieving a reputation for always meeting or exceeding customer expectations. • Listening and empathy is clarifying where others are coming from and acceptance of others even with imperfections. VII. Emotional Intelligence • An important foundation of successful leaders is a concept called emotional intelligence. • Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to an assortment of skills and characteristics that influence a person’s ability to succeed as a leader. ○ Daniel Goleman, a leading EI researcher, and others are proponents of what is referred to as a mixed model of EI that includes the following dimensions: • Self-awareness • Self-regulation • Motivation • Empathy • Social skill ○ EI not only pinpoints outstanding leaders, but also can be linked to strong performance. • John Mayer and Peter Salovey offer an alternative EI perspective referred to as the four branch ability model. ○ Mayer and Salovey believe that EI is four distinct skill areas that can be developed in people to enhance their abilities to perceive, process, and manage emotions and behaviors. ○ Following are the four dimensions associated with the four-branch ability model: • Perceiving emotion • Using emotions to facilitate thought • Understanding emotions • Managing emotions A. The Influence of Emotional Intelligence at Roadway Express—A Trucking Company • Researchers have published results showing how to change the culture using emotional intelligence. • Following is the story of Roadway Express, as given by Ellen Van Oosten of Case Western Reserve and Richard Boyatzis, an early collaborator with Daniel Goleman: ○ Frank Sims, manager at Roadway Express, worried about damage problems with Specialty Glassware’s shipments. ○ Sims recalled a workshop on emotional intelligence and started working on ways to engage people in solving the customer’s problems. ○ The dock crew appreciated learning how their efforts fit into the big picture. ○ Sims made his organization better by using emotional intelligence to create an atmosphere in which people want to do their best. ○ Roadway’s traditional structure was hierarchical and relied on command and control. ○ Inspired by Sims’ experience, management began to look for ways to improve its financial performance, developing a partnership with Case Western Reserve University and designing a tailored program. ○ The leadership program focuses on helping supervisors identify areas for behavioral change and gives them opportunities to apply new habits on the job. ○ The culture at Roadway changed dramatically, down to the drivers and mechanics. • Roadway’s experience is a powerful example of how EI ignites excitement and inspires better performances from everyone in an organization. VIII. Chapter Review The PowerPoint slides correlated with the Lecture Outline above are available on the Instructors CD-ROM and on the product support website. PowerPoint Slide 8-1 Chapter 8 Title PowerPoint Slide 8-2 Learning Objectives PowerPoint Slide 8-3 Learning Objectives (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 8-4 Leadership PowerPoint Slide 8-5 Factors Affecting Choice of Leadership Style (Text Exhibit 8-1) PowerPoint Slide 8-6 Theory X and Theory Y Management Philosophy PowerPoint Slide 8-7 Theory X and Theory Y Management Philosophy (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 8-8 Theory X and Theory Y Management Philosophy (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 8-9 Followers’ Readiness Level and Situation Faced by the Supervisor PowerPoint Slide 8-10 Leadership Grid PowerPoint Slide 8-11 Leadership Grid (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 8-12 The Leadership Grid Figure (Text Exhibit 8-2) PowerPoint Slide 8-13 Situational Leadership Model PowerPoint Slide 8-14 The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership ® Model (Text Exhibit 8-3) PowerPoint Slide 8-15 Situational Leadership Model PowerPoint Slide 8-16 Continuum of Leadership Behavior (Text Exhibit 8-4) PowerPoint Slide 8-17 Continuum of Leadership Behavior PowerPoint Slide 8-18 Developmental Leadership PowerPoint Slide 8-19 Heroic Managers Versus Developmental Managers PowerPoint Slide 8-20 The Self-Fulfilling Consequences of Using the Heroic Management Approach (Text Exhibit 8-5) PowerPoint Slide 8-21 Transformational and Transactional Leadership PowerPoint Slide 8-22 Contrasting Leadership Approaches (Text Exhibit 8-6) PowerPoint Slide 8-23 Contrasting Leadership Approaches (Text Exhibit 8-6) (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 8-24 Adaptive Leadership PowerPoint Slide 8-25 Servant Leadership PowerPoint Slide 8-26 Characteristics of Servant Leadership (Text Exhibit 8-9) PowerPoint Slide 8-27 Core Leadership Functions PowerPoint Slide 8-28 Core Leadership Functions (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 8-29 Emotional Intelligence PowerPoint Slide 8-30 Mayer and Salovey’s Four Branch Model of Emotional Intelligence (Text Exhibit 8-11) PowerPoint Slide 8-31 Important Terms 1. What is meant by leadership? Leadership is the process of influencing individual and group activities toward goal setting and goal achievement. 2. Briefly discuss the major factors that may influence the choice of an individual’s leadership style. Correlate these factors with different leadership styles. The following are three major factors that influence a supervisor’s choice of leadership style: • The supervisor’s management philosophy • The followers’ readiness level • The situation faced by the supervisor The management philosophy of the supervisor is basically determined by assumptions about the nature of people. This philosophy is affected by the supervisor’s family, early schooling, experience, training in leadership, and present work environment. The supervisor’s assumptions about human nature would influence his or her choice of leadership styles. A supervisor who holds Theory X assumptions would tend to use a structured, autocratic leadership style. Supervisors who hold Theory Y assumptions would be more inclined to prefer a supportive, participative leadership style when the situation calls for it. The readiness level of followers is based on their drive and need for achievement and their experience, education, attitudes, and willingness and ability to accept responsibility. If followers are less ready, the leader should use a different style than if followers are more ready. Finally, the situation has a major influence on one’s leadership style. The nature of work and types of assignments must be considered, as well as how a unit is progressing. Supervisors of workers doing creative or complex jobs would need to use a more participative style with greater area of freedom. In areas such as construction or assembly-line work, a style that uses more authority would be needed. 3. Discuss how a supervisor would determine the readiness level of an employee. There can be many answers to this question. One simple method would be to determine how long the employee had worked for the company or how long he or she had been in the current job. Another clue would be the employee’s educational background or previous work experiences. These methods alone do not determine readiness, as readiness is based on the worker’s experience, attitudes, and willingness and ability to accept responsibility. To determine such subjective factors requires first-hand interaction with the employee. 4. What leadership actions fall under the category of task behaviors, and what actions fall under the category of relationship behaviors? Leadership actions falling under task behaviors include clarifying the job; telling people what to do, how and when to do it; providing follow-up; and taking corrective action. Relationship behaviors involve providing people with support, giving them positive feedback, and asking for their opinions and ideas. 5. Do you agree or disagree with Blake and associates there is one best leadership style? Support your position. On this question, there will be support for both sides. Some students will feel that a supervisor would be most successful using the participative, democratic approach under all circumstances. Others could argue that there are so many different types of jobs to be supervised, that no one style of leadership can be successful all of the time. It is necessary to utilize any tools or styles to successfully lead workers. Depending on a variety of factors, such as maturity and experience, different leadership styles may be needed. 6. Can you identify any transformational leaders from your own experience or reading? Please list the reasons why you placed them in the category of transformational leader. If you cannot identify someone, do you agree with the leaders identified in this chapter—R. David Thomas (founder of Wendy’s), John F. Kennedy, Dr., Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther King, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Oprah Winfrey, Sam Walton (founder of Walmart), Anne Mulcahy, and Jack Welch (former CEO of General Electric)? Why or why not? Each student will bring unique experiences and attitudes to this question. Review the characteristics of transactional leadership and transformational leadership featured in Text Exhibit 8-6, “Contrasting Leadership Approaches.” The bottom line is the outcome of the leadership approach—a transactional leader stimulates expected performance; a transformational leader motivates higher levels of performance. 7. Can you identify any adaptive leaders based on your experiences or other readings? Under what circumstances will an adaptive leader be most effective? Why? Students will respond identifying various leaders, some personally known and some publically known. Have students discuss their selections. Adaptive leaders, like Ruth Simmons and Jacinda Ardern, excel in VUCA environments by fostering collaboration and innovation. They thrive when facing complex challenges that require new solutions and diverse perspectives. Their emphasis on empathy and clear communication helps teams navigate uncertainty. These leaders are most effective in crises where quick adaptation and resilience are crucial. Ultimately, they empower organizations to embrace change and drive progress. 8. What traits or characteristics regarding servant leadership appeal to you the most? This is a very individual question. Text Exhibit 8-8, “Ten Characteristics of Servant Leadership,” can be used in discussing the characteristics of servant leadership. 9. Of the various leadership approaches discussed in the chapter, which one would you most prefer your boss to use in working with you and your group? Explain your reasons. Employees generally prefer a participative style of leadership. Most students will cite the transformational or developmental leadership approach. Students’ answers may vary. 10. How does transactional leadership differ from the telling and structuring style of Hersey and Blanchard? While Hersey and Blanchard presents a telling and structuring style of leadership which involves high task and low relationship, transactional leadership exemplifies an exchange process. Transactional leaders identify desired performance standards and recognize what types of rewards employees want from their work, and then take actions that make receiving these rewards contingent upon achieving performance standards. 11. What are the components of emotional intelligence, and why is emotional intelligence important for effective leadership? Research has shown that emotional intelligence is a foundation for successful performance as a leader. There is clearly an assortment of skills and characteristics that influence a person’s ability to succeed over the long term. These characteristics include: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. 12. Can emotional intelligence be taught to aspiring leaders and integrated into their philosophy and approach? Why or why not? The principles of emotional intelligence can be studied by aspiring leaders. However, these characteristics are more a function of the manager’s innate abilities than training. A manager cannot be taught to be self-aware, or to develop a passion for work. However, the value of these skills can be presented to aspiring managers. What they do with the knowledge is up to them. 13. Given what you have learned about Jimmy & Company, how would you describe Jimmy’s solution to his situation? Was there a silver bullet? Jimmy’s commitment to the seven core leadership functions, even in the face of extreme adversity when many would have resorted to using a strong task-oriented, command and control style trying to drive sales. When Dale and Amanda became aware of how dire circumstances were, they felt a sense of urgency. They had developed such strong relationships with Jimmy and Sherry based on mutual trust, respect, and admiration that they simply had to help them figure out how to make it work. It was not an accident that they were developmentally ready to help shoulder the burden at this most critical time. In fact, both Dale and Amanda expressed feeling a “sense of ownership.” To understand just how strong those feelings were, consider that Amanda chose to stay in her hometown to go to college rather than attending a university in a different part of the state with many of her friends. She plans to work full-time as a PIC with Jimmy & Company while attending school full-time, playing college soccer, and continuing to help Sherry with baby-sitting. Jimmy’s leadership approach ultimately impacted his company’s bottom line. Five months after the cash flow crisis, he was recording record in-store sales, attracting college students and young professionals in the immediate area, even in one of the toughest economies of the modern era. He hired a part-time employee to visit the local businesses and college campuses to promote and sell catering packages. Jimmy’s ultimate goal of creating a successful chain of JJ stores is to help Dale or Amanda and others. Jimmy truly believes that if he can create opportunities to help others, he will have succeeded in life. Skill Builder 8-1 Theory X and Theory Y Attitudes Works with SCANS competencies: Information This is another individual exercise that is designed to provide a self-assessment. Eight pairs of statements are given, each representing an attitude or perception. Students should evaluate each pair on a scale of five. If one statement is completely valid, the score would be 5. If the statements are less clear cut, the score can be divided between the pair 1-4, 2-3, 3-2, or 4-1. The statements in this exercise represent two leadership types—Type X (more autocratic) and Type Y (more participative.) Skill Builder 8-2 Diagnosing and Selecting the Appropriate Leadership Style Works with SCANS competencies: Information, Systems In each of the following situations, students should choose the appropriate leadership style. Afterward, instructor can give the best and worst answer for each situation. 1. The individual clearly is not motivated to do the work, and may lack the ability to do it alone. The best choice would be a. (telling). The worst would be d. (delegating). 2. The employee seems to be improving in performance and motivation. It appears she has a moderately low readiness in the task. The best choice would be b. (selling); the worst d. (delegating). 3. You have assigned the task to someone who clearly has the ability to perform the task, but seems to lack the motivation. For this high readiness, the best choice would be c. (participating). The worst would be d. (telling), as it would undercut the person’s confidence. 4. In this question, one is dealing with a very competent and motivated group who are aware of the need for change—high readiness. The best choice would be c. (delegating). Choice d. (telling) would be the worst. Skill Builder 8-3 Leadership Characteristics and Skill Assessment Works with SCANS competencies: Information This skill builder presents a self-assessment for students to determine their emotional intelligence at work. The scoring interpretations are given in the exercise. Students can rate themselves and then have members of their group compare the self-evaluation with the evaluation from the group. Case 8-1 The New Lumber Yard Employee 1. How would you describe Cliff’s approach to developing Terance using Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory? What styles were evident in the case and what job readiness levels did Terance exhibit? Do you think Cliff did a good job matching the right leadership style(s) with Terance’s job maturity level(s)? Discuss. Students’ answers will vary. Task behavior played an important role in the approach Cliff used towards Terance. Task behaviors involve clarifying the job; telling people what to do, how and when to do it; providing follow-up; and taking corrective action, which is exactly what Cliff did with Terance. The leadership styles that were evident in the case were the delegating and empowering style and the coaching and selling style of leadership. Terance was able and willing to learn new tasks and take on responsibility; therefore his level of readiness was high. 2. Using Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Theory, what type leadership style did the yard supervisor use with Terance? What style should he have used? Students’ answers may vary. Cliff used the coaching and selling style of leadership. He used this style because he saw Terance had the potential to improve. Cliff used the right style of leadership as he felt Terance advanced beyond the skills of a novice so he could be counted on to pull and load small to medium jobs, but he was not ready to proceed without supervision on the large jobs just yet. 3. Put yourself in Cliff’s shoes, how do you handle the situation with Terance tomorrow morning? What approach would you take? Why? Students’ answers may vary. CASE 8-2 Kenny: An Effective Supervisor 1. How do you explain Kenny’s acceptance by so many other people and the respect they have for him? Kenny is accepted by many people because of his ability to make them feel at ease. He has exceptional communication skills and a pacifying personality. His uncanny ability to organize and direct employees to fulfill the organization’s goals commands respect. He is definitely a good leader—he knows the right way to treat his employees, he gives credit where credit is due, and he lets people know that he appreciates them. 2. Can all supervisors operate the way Kenny does and be effective? Explain your answer. There will be a variety of responses to this question. However, a typical student response would be that, yes, supervisors who follow the same principles of management as Kenny does will be effective because being a team player can promote cohesiveness and top performance. Another student might cite the principle of self-fulfilling prophesy—if a supervisor expects his or her workers to perform well, then they will. Another response might cite the contingency approach in which team leadership might be less effective due to forces in the environment or in the employees. 3. Given Kenny’s effectiveness in his present job, would you recommend promoting him into high levels of management? Explain. This is a tough question. Not that Kenny is unqualified for higher management, because he most definitely is. The difficult part of a decision to promote him is that he is so effective right where he is. The temptation would be to leave him there rather than to promote him. However, if there is someone qualified to fill Kenny’s shoes, then Kenny should be recommended for promotion. He is an excellent manager whose assets could be utilized more efficiently at a higher position. The company needs his skills to motivate and direct the entire organization toward a team approach. 4. Review the characteristics of transformational leadership (Exhibit 8-6), adaptive leadership, and servant leadership (Exhibit 8-9). Which characteristics apply to Kenny? Transformational leadership characteristics that apply to Kenny would include inspirational motivation, charismatic leadership, good listening skills, and emphasis on empowering the individual, among others. Kenny is also empathetic, persuasive, and a good listener, characteristics of servant leadership. Chapter 9 Group Development and Team Building Family Dollar Leon Levine, a 21-year-old entrepreneur with an interest in merchandising became intrigued with the idea of operating a low-overhead, self-service retail store. He believed he could offer his customers a variety of high-quality, good-value merchandise for under $2. Because he had grown up in his family’s retail store, he understood value, quality, and customer satisfaction. In November 1959, Leon Levine opened the first Family Dollar store in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was on his way to becoming a retailing legend. From the start, he had a well-developed philosophy of what Family Dollar would be and how it would operate, a philosophy from which he and his management team have never strayed. The concept is a simple one: “The customers are the boss, and you need to keep them happy.” He created a general floor plan that he used in each of his stores that allowed customers to easily shop for their favorite products in any Family Dollar store. With the stores uniformly laid out and stocked, store managers were able to focus on providing good customer service. This concept for a self-serve, cash-and-carry neighborhood discount store in low- to middle-income neighborhoods proved so successful that today Family Dollar is a chain with over 6,600 stores from Maine to Arizona. I. Forces Causing Change • Continuously changing forces leading to or causing change originate both outside and within the organization. A. External Change Forces • Management has little control over the strong impact of numerous external change forces—forces outside the organization that have a great impact on organizational change. ○ To survive, an organization depends on and must interact with its external environment. ○ Any force that impacts the environment can affect the organization’s operations and brings about pressures requiring a change response. • External forces—from technological advancements to consumers’ changing requirements—cause an organization to alter its goals, structure, and methods of conducting business. B. Internal change forces • Change forces also come from within the organization. ○ Internal change forces may result from different organization goals or new challenges or they may be caused by new quality initiatives, changing technologies, or employee attitudes. • External and internal forces for change are often interrelated. ○ At times, this linkage results from the changes in values and attitudes affecting people within the system. C. Planned Change • For management to plan for change, it must first decide what needs to be changed in the organization. • Organizational effectiveness is the result of activities that improve the organization’s structure, technology, and people so it can achieve its objectives. • The nature of the problem causing the organization to be less than ideally effective determines the choice of the particular technique used to achieve change. ○ Diagnosing the problem includes defining the outcome desired from the change. ○ In general, the desired outcome is either improved employee behavior or activities that results in improved performance. • Change can be achieved by changing the organization’s structure, technology, and/or people. ○ According to the systems concept, a change in one element is likely to affect other elements. • Changing the organization’s structure involves modifying and rearranging the internal relationships; this includes such variables as authority–responsibility relationships, communications systems, work flows, and size and composition of work groups. • Changing the organization’s technology may require modifying such factors as tools, equipment, and machinery; research direction and techniques; engineering processes; and production system, including layout, methods, and procedures. • Changing the organization’s people may include revising recruiting and selection policies, training and development activities, reward systems, and/or managerial leadership and communication. • Supervisors and employees are likely to support change if they perceive the change is directed at the real cause of the problem, such as being an effective solution, and not affecting them adversely. • People who participate in a change process respond entirely different than those merely affected by it. II. Importance of Work Groups • To achieve synergy and gain the most from employees, organizations require groups. • Synergy means the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. ○ This is especially applicable when using teams and ad hoc task forces. • It is important for supervisors to understand the basic concepts of group or team development because work groups or teams produce the synergistic effect needed for management to reach its goals. A. What Are Groups? • Groups are two or more people who communicate and work together regularly in pursuit of one or more common objectives. • If a group becomes too large, it is difficult for all members to interact; this leads to the evolution of smaller groups. • According to one of the findings of Hawthorne studies, groups can be either supportive of organizational goals or opposed to them overall. B. Types of Groups • Groups in organizations are either formal or informal. • Formal groups are deliberately formed by management and are often shown on the organization chart. ○ Examples of formal groups include command groups, committees, and taskforces. • Network groups are dispersed and require collaboration and coordination across different projects and sometimes from groups outside the organization.. ○ The idea that groups need to be viewed as part of a network working within an organization is taking on greater prominence. The reasons for this are as follows: • Many groups are formed and disbanded quickly not allowing for normal group dynamics to emerge. • Teams are dislocated across cities and countries and composed of members who work on multiple projects within many different teams. • These groups frequently require collaboration and coordination across different projects and sometimes from groups outside the organization. ○ When groups are viewed as a network, the roles and responsibilities of group members are based on connections, collaboration, and a targeted expertise. • Virtuoso groups are composed of top performers who excel in their respective specialties and are usually focused on important performance issues. ○ Virtuoso groups attempt to put together only people who excel in their respective specialties while disregarding possible managerial skills, diversity of thought, or other relational considerations. ○ It also presents unique challenges. ○ Virtuoso groups differ from traditional ones in most dimensions. • They bring in members only for their top skills. • They celebrate the individual egos of team members. • They force members into physical proximity. • They focus on creativity over efficiency. • A virtual group or team is dislocated—and mostly, if not exclusively, meets online. ○ Virtual groups can face the added challenges of different time zones, less frequent verbal communications, the lack of a physical presence, and any informal interactions that leads to social ties among more co-located groups. ○ Virtual groups provide some advantages such as the ability to tap into more diverse and talented members, and better cost advantages. • Self-managing work group have become more common today, partly because of management’s efforts to sustain competitive advantages through downsizing, increased efficiencies, enhanced technologies, etc. ○ Even companies that rely on an appointed leader make use of some forms of empowerment, a key concept of self-managed work groups and teams. • Informal groups evolve out of employees’ need for social interaction, friendship, communication, and status. ○ The group members might give more allegiance to the informal leader than to the formal manager. ○ Other types of informal groups cross formal work team boundaries and are based on common interests. ○ Another type of informal group is a friendship group; its members also have common interests, but they are more social in nature. • Such groups could include a running team, a band, or the people who gather to chat during a break. ○ Informal groups provide a valuable service by helping members meet affiliation and social needs. • Ideally, management tries to create an environment that the needs and objectives of informal groups are similar to the needs and objectives of the formal organization. C. How Groups Develop • B. W. Tuckman developed a model of small-group development that encompasses four stages of growth. ○ A desirable feature of this classical model—that basically has been followed by later researchers—is it examines the stages in terms of task functions and interpersonal relations, both essential concerns of any group. 1. Stages of Group Development • The stages of group development defined by Tuckman are as follows: ○ Forming ○ Storming ○ Norming ○ Performing. • The central concept is a group usually remains in a stage until key issues are resolved before moving to the next stage. 2. Stage 1: Forming • Forming is the stage in which members first come together and form initial impressions. • Members try to determine the task of the group and their role expectations of one another. • Group members depend on a leader to provide considerable structure in establishing an agenda and guidelines, since they tend to be unsure of what is expected of them. 3. Stage 2: Storming • The storming stage is typically a period of conflict and—ideally—organization. • Conflicts arise over goals, task behaviors (who is responsible for what), and leadership roles. • Relationship behaviors emerge because people have strong feelings and express them, sometimes in a hostile manner. ○ It is a mistake to suppress conflict; the key is to manage it. ○ If a group gets through stage 2 successfully, it becomes organized and begins developing norms, rules, and standards. 4. Stage 3: Norming • Norming is a stage of developing teamwork and group cohesion and creating openness of communications with information sharing. • Members feel good about one another and give each other positive feedback. • The level of trust and cooperation is usually quite high. 5. Stage 4: Performing • Performing is the stage that the group shows how efficiently and effectively it can operate to achieve its goals. • Information exchange has developed develops to the point of joint problem solving, and there is shared leadership. • Group development is a continuing process. D. Evaluating Groups • Groups, whether formal or informal, are a fact of organizational life. 1. Advantages of Groups • Major advantages of groups are as follows: ○ Provide members with opportunities for needs satisfaction. ○ May function more effectively than individuals. 2. Provide Opportunities for Needs Satisfaction • Group membership provides an opportunity for members to satisfy security and relationship needs as well as higher-level esteem and self-actualization needs. 3. May Function More Effectively Than Individuals • Synergy is the concept that two plus two can equal five. • The combination of members possessing different perspectives, experiences, and job skills can often work in a team’s favor. 4. Limitations of Groups • Following are some of the general limitations of groups: ○ They may encourage social loafing. ○ They may diffuse responsibility. ○ They may be less effective than individuals. 5. Encourage Social Loafing • Social loafing is the term used to describe “taking a free ride” when working with others as a team. ○ Generally, social loafing occurs because some members genuinely believe their contributions to the group are not significant or they hope for a free ride. • Free riders are reinforced when they receive rewards or recognition on an equal basis with those who have carried the greater load. 6. Diffuse Responsibility • The diffusion of responsibility among members of a group is somewhat related to social loafing and is also one of its major causes. • Because each person may be expected to do only a part of a project, no one person may feel totally responsible. • Diffused responsibility may result in groups assuming positions individual members would not take if held individually accountable. • The more mundane, routine, and undesirable group tasks may be neglected by individual members in the hope someone else will complete them. 7. May be Less Effective than Individuals • As a result of social loafing, diffusion of responsibility, and other factors, groups may not necessarily be more productive and effective than individuals. E. Determining Group Effectiveness • There is a cause-and-effect relationship between the causal variable (leadership), the intervening variables (group characteristics), and the end result variables. • Variables affecting group effectiveness are as follows: ○ Group size ○ Member composition and roles ○ Norms ○ Group cohesiveness 1. Group Size • The size of the work group has an impact on a group’s effectiveness. • The size of the work group depends on its purpose. ○ Organizations can take a contingency approach to determining a manager’s span of control that influences the size of the natural group. ○ With the increasing use of committees, task forces, quality circles, and self-managing work teams, additional guidelines are needed for determining the size of these types of groups. • The ideal size for a problem-solving group is probably five to seven members. ○ However, another study found that 14 members is the ideal size for a fact-finding group, showing that the ideal size depends on the group’s purpose. . 2. Member Composition and Roles • The more alike members are, the more similarly they will see things. • For tasks that are relatively simple and require maximum cooperation, homogeneous groups are superior. ○ For complex tasks, groups composed of members with widely differing backgrounds are superior because a greater number of different ideas would be generated, increasing the probability of creativity. • Whatever the group’s composition, key task and maintenance roles must be carried out if the group is to be effective. • Members of a problem-solving group and regular work teams, where the formal leader is skillful in getting everyone to participate, tend to shift back and forth between these roles naturally. ○ Many members may play several task or maintenance roles. • Some ineffective roles or behaviors, such as domineering, can have a negative impact on group effectiveness. • The skill is for the leader to operate so members share the leadership role and ineffective behaviors are minimized. • Another way to approach member composition and roles is from a team player or follower style perspective. • There are four types or styles of team members. They are as follows: ○ Contributors are task-oriented, dependable team members who provide good technical data, do their homework when requested, push the team to set a high bar for performance, and use team resources wisely. ○ Collaborators are goal-directed, big-picture team members who see the ultimate goal as overriding, but are flexible and open to new ideas, pitch in when and where necessary, and share the limelight with other team members. ○ Communicators are process-oriented, positive-people team members who are effective listeners and facilitators of any conflict among team members. ○ Challengers are questioning, open, and candid team members who are willing to disagree, banter, contest assumptions, and encourage the team to take calculated risks when appropriate. • Teams need all four roles to be successful, so small teams need players to assume the role of multiple styles while larger teams may have members assume one primary role. • Norms are rules of behavior developed by group members to provide guidance for group activities. ○ In an effective team, norms, standard, and action plans are highly interrelated and supportive of the organization’s goals. ○ Negative norms can develop if a group is not well led. ○ The critical role of leadership is especially important in influencing positive norms. ○ Business ethics are similar to norms because they provide guides to behavior. ○ The top leadership of an organization has significant influence on ethical normative values of groups as well as individuals. • Group cohesiveness is the mutual liking and team feeling in a group. ○ Size and frequency of communication plays a major part in group cohesiveness. ○ Factors preventing group cohesiveness are dysfunctional conflicts, internal power struggles, and failure to achieve goals. • Three other concepts for healthy group development are listening, supporting, and differing. ○ Listening skills are important for group success. ○ It is important to give positive feedback in support of suggestions to create a supportive group environment for generating ideas. ○ Establishing an environment in which people can disagree without being disagreeable is most important for creativity in a group. III. Different Approaches to Team Building • A team is a collection of people who must rely on group cooperation if the team is to experience the most success possible and thereby achieve its goals. • A number of teams do not achieve their optimum success and potential because of the following reasons: ○ The team leader’s leadership style is too autocratic or permissive in managing the group. ○ Several of the characteristics of an effective team are lacking. • Teams and organizations may not be successful because they fail at one or more of the following concepts: ○ Effective leadership at the top of the team and/or organization ○ Effective recruitment of good and talented people ○ The creation of an environment so good that talented people grow and develop A. A Nonprofit Approach to Team Work and Team Building • The Providence Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital Cancer Centers provides a good example of effective teamwork in every aspect of patient care. ○ Dr. Michael Meshad has an excellent reputation as an oncologist with an outstanding personality and sense of humor. ○ Dr. Thadeus Beeker, an expert in stem cell transplants, is on the cutting edge in cancer research and diagnosis. • Dr. Beeker facilitates communication between doctors, nurses, and staff concerning treatment for cancer patients. ○ Dr. Nicole Angel joined Dr. Meshad and Dr. Beeker in part because she was attracted by Dr. Meshad’s reputation and his vision for the center. ○ Gail Havard was selected to be Patient Care Manager of the 17 nurses in the Cancer Center and is well received by her former team members. • She is very supportive in working with the team. • Gail uses a participative style and consults with and involves her nurses in the decision-making process for new hires. • Providence Hospital worked with Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Florida, to develop the Cancer Center’s treatment program. • The Cancer Center partnered with M.D. Anderson in Houston to give Mobile patients access and treatment from the well-known “Andy” Center. • Within 24 hours of a local patient’s diagnosis, the Cancer Center’s physicians are able to hold a conference with M. D. Anderson physicians to discuss the diagnosis and treatment. • The partnership of Ascension Health, M. D. Anderson, Providence Hospital, and the Sacred Heart Cancer Center team is a giant step toward bringing better diagnosis, timely treatment, and better care to cancer patients through effective teamwork. B. Team Building in the Financial Sector • SEI (NASDAQ:SEIC) is an International provider of asset management, investment processing, and investment operations software for institutional and wealth management funds. ○ The company’s clients include banks, investment advisors and managers, institutional investors, and affluent individuals. • SEI has the potential for strong growth as it emerges from the downturn. ○ Workplace design is one reason for the optimism. ○ This is an organization that is flexible, creative, and ready for constant transformation. ○ The company is open and not hierarchical. ○ There is no need for an open-door policy because there are no doors. ○ Employees are empowered. They can pick up their entire “office” and move to another location to join another team. • The workplace design at SEI gives the flexibility and the mindset to transform itself just as quickly. ○ While this might not work for every organization, the buildings and artwork at SEI are designed to reflect the culture of the organization. ○ This environment has helped make SEI a perennial member of Fortune’s list of “Best Companies to Work for in America.” VI. Chapter Review The PowerPoint slides correlated with the Lecture Outline above are available on the Instructors CD-ROM and on the product support website. PowerPoint Slide 9-1 Chapter 9 Title PowerPoint Slide 9-2 Learning Objectives PowerPoint Slide 9-3 Learning Objectives (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 9-4 External and Internal Change Forces (Text Exhibit 9-1) PowerPoint Slide 9-5 Organizational Effectiveness Results from Changing Structure, Technology, and/or People (Text Exhibit 9-2) PowerPoint Slide 9-6 Different Responses to Change (Text Exhibit 9-3) PowerPoint Slide 9-7 Groups PowerPoint Slide 9-8 Formal Groups PowerPoint Slide 9-9 A Manager’s Membership in Different Groups (Text Exhibit 9-4) PowerPoint Slide 9-10 Informal Groups PowerPoint Slide 9-11 Stages of Group Development PowerPoint Slide 9-12 Advantages and Limitations of Groups PowerPoint Slide 9-13 Model of Group Effectiveness (Text Exhibit 9-6) PowerPoint Slide 9-14 Possible Effects of Size on Groups (Text Exhibit 9-7) PowerPoint Slide 9-15 Member Composition and Roles PowerPoint Slide 9-16 Task and Maintenance Roles in Groups PowerPoint Slide 9-17 Group Norms and Group Cohesiveness PowerPoint Slide 9-18 Team Building PowerPoint Slide 9-19 Characteristics of an Effective Team PowerPoint Slide 9-20 Providence Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital Cancer Center’s Effective Teamwork PowerPoint Slide 9-21 Providence Hospital and Sacred Heart Hospital Cancer Center’s Effective Teamwork (cont’d) PowerPoint Slide 9-22 Successful Teambuilding in SEI PowerPoint Slide 9-23 Important Terms 1. Is change as pervasive as the authors claim? Explain. It is doubtful that many students will disagree. Nothing is as certain as change. As an example, all the changes brought about by the Internet may be pointed out. 2. What are some of the primary reasons people resist change? What are some of the ways a team leader can ensure that change is accepted or at least not resisted? To protect themselves against change, institutions create formalizing rituals, customs, and traditions. This preserves values and heritage but may lead to inability to cope with a new environment. Unless an organization copes effectively with change, the results can be disastrous. A team leader can smooth the way for change in a number of ways: • Condition employees to expect change. • Inform employees well in advance of changes that will affect them. • Let employees participate and become involved early. • If the changes result in economic benefits for the company, share these benefits with employees. • Time the changes carefully. • If employees have strong objections to a change, consider the merits of their viewpoint. • After changes are implemented, follow up. 3. What major changes in the last 10 years have had considerable impact on organizations? Do these changes provide support for or make a case against the use of team building in organizations? Defend your position. Students’ answers may vary. Some of the major changes are as follows: • Increasing educational levels of employees • Rapid technological change, particularly in the area of computers and information technology • Increasing diversity of the labor force • Changing attitudes regarding authority • The threat of terrorism and the need to increase organizational security Many of these changes, such as the increasing educational level of workers and changing attitudes to authority, would provide support for the use of team building and participative management. 4. Compare and contrast formal groups with informal groups. Explain the importance of leadership in both types of groups. Formal groups are those prescribed and/or established by the organization. Formal groups are deliberately formed by management and often shown on the organization chart. An example is the group formed by a manager and subordinates. Other examples are committees and taskforces. Self-managing work teams are formal groups that are increasingly used. Informal groups evolve out of the formal organization, but are not formed by management or shown in the organization’s structure. They evolve out of employees’ need for social interaction, friendship, communication, and status. Other informal groups cross formal work boundaries and are based on common interests, such as an informal interest group or a friendship group. Informal groups help members meet affiliation and social needs. In informal groups, the group members sometimes give more allegiance to the informal leader than to the formal manager. Ideally, management will create an environment in which the needs and objectives of informal groups are similar to the needs and objectives of the formal organization. 5. Identify conditions and organizations where self-managing work teams would not be the way to organize. Then identify conditions and organizations where self-managing work teams would be the way to organize. Students’ answers may vary. Self-managing work teams tend to operate by member consensus rather than management direction. In organizations with highly centralized structures, decision making at lower levels may be impossible. The organization’s reward system also has to be designed to reward the team approach. 6. If groups have so many limitations, why are they so popular? Students’ answers may. Groups have many advantages. In addition to providing opportunities for need satisfaction for members, they also may function more effectively than individuals. Synergy is the major advantage of groups. Members possess different perspectives, experiences, and job skills that interact to stimulate creative solutions. Individuals operating as group members also feel a collective responsibility that often leads to higher motivation and commitment. 7. Of the factors affecting group effectiveness, do you think there is any order of importance? If so, rank the factors 1 through 4 and explain why you chose to rank them in that order. Students’ answers may vary. Variables affecting group effectiveness are group size, member composition and roles, norms, and group cohesiveness. Students will have differing opinions as to how these variables rank. The size of the group may be the most important variable, however, as it affects so many of the other variables. 8. How would you deal with an informal leader in a task force who seemed to be totally opposed to the group’s objectives? Students’ answers may vary. Informal groups help members meet affiliation and social needs. The need for esteem is one of the needs satisfied by the group. The informal leader needs the esteem of the other members of the group and acceptance by them. Ideally, management will create an environment in which the needs and objectives of informal groups are similar to the needs and objectives of the formal organization. Skill Builder 9.1 Team Scavenger Hunt Works with SCANS competencies: Interpersonal Skill, Information, Technology, Resources, Systems Students should think about what it means to be a part of a successful team. What makes one team more successful than another? What does each team member need to do for their team to be successful? What are the characteristics of an effective team? Procedure Instructor assigns teams. Students will locate listed items in this activity while following the important rules listed below: • Your team must stay together at all times—that is, you cannot go in separate directions. • Your team must return to the classroom in the time allotted by the instructor. The team with the most items on the list will be declared the most successful team. Then, students reflect on their team’s experience answering the following questions: • What did each team member do? • What was your team’s strategy? • What made your team effective? Students should make a list of the most important things your team did to be successful. Ask them to nominate a spokesperson to summarize their team’s experience, that is, what helped each team to be effective? Skill Builder 9.2 Synergy and Social Loafing Works with SCANS competencies: Systems, Information, Resources Students should think about what logically would be the perfect sized team, a baseball battery. If during practice each person is expected to throw the ball 45 feet, 30 times. Imagine how long it would take if there was only one person on the team. Ask them if adding a third person when he/she is not needed creates or encourages loafing? Ask students the following questions: • Can you think of other situations where you should have close to a certain number of people on the team? • How about over the road truck drivers? Can you make an argument for a certain number being preferable? • How about members of a band? Is there an upper limit to how many would work well? Skill Builder 9.3 Virtual Groups Works with SCANS competency: Information Ask students if they have ever worked or played on line with someone to accomplish a goal. Ask them what the goal was, if they have ever met them, and what the experience was like. If they haven’t met them, ask them if they would like to meet them. What changes after they have actually met and interacted personally with them? Then, ask the students if they, as a manger, should encourage the personal interaction of team members? Specifically, should two people who share a job (each works 20 hours a week), get to know each other? Why or why not? Skill Builder 9.4 “Win as Much as You Can” Tally Sheet Works with SCANS competencies: Interpersonal Skill, Information, Systems The detailed instructions for completing this exercise will be provided by the instructor. Basically, for 10 successive rounds, students and their partner are to choose either an X or a Y on the scorecard. The payoff for each round depends on the pattern of choices made in the group. The payoff schedule is given at the bottom of the scorecard provided. Students are to confer with their partner in each round and make a joint decision. In rounds 5, 8, and 10, they may first confer with the other partnerships in their group before making the group’s joint decision. Case 9-1 The Shift to Team Leadership (Group Activity) 1. Divide the class into teams of three to six students. 2. Each team should brainstorm ways to overcome supervisors’ predicted resistance to developmental leadership. 3. Each team is to outline an initial training agenda for the developmental leadership program to present to the plant manager. 4. The teams are to present their analysis and recommendations to the plant manager (represented by the instructor or a designated class member). 5. Vote with your class to determine which program appears to have the best chance of success. (Note: Students may not vote for their own team’s program.) In this exercise, students are confronted with supervisors who resist the shift to developmental leadership. In discussing the possible solutions, lead the class to examine what is causing the resistance—forces in the supervisor, forces in the followers, or forces in the situation. Case 9-2 The AFS Student Organization (Group Activity) 1. Divide the class into teams of three to six students. 2. Each team should brainstorm ways to create an effective team environment in AFS. 3. Each team is to outline an initial plan of action. 4. The teams are to present their analysis and recommendations to the class members. 5. Vote with your class to determine which plan appears to have the best chance of success. (Note: Students may not vote for their own team’s program.) In this exercise, students are challenged by a decline in the economy; but the organization is also affected by a need for the “right” leadership. Members recognize the potential of AFS within the university community, but the right leadership and teamwork are needed to restore AFS as a prominent member of the community. Instructor Manual for Supervisory Management: The Art of Inspiring, Empowering and Developing People Donald C. Mosley, Paul H. Pietri 9781285063003