When and why do groups work more effectively than individuals? - Chapter 11

In the previous chapter, the nature and functioning of working groups were described. The previous chapter will be continued on in this chapter. It examines why and under what conditions a working group works more effectively than individuals. Factors that lead to problems are also discussed. Finally, four important working groups are discussed in detail.

What is understood by process loss, process gains, and potential performance?

Potential performance is the highest possible level of performance that a group can achieve at a certain time. Managers and working groups must ensure that the actual performance of a group is as close as possible to the potential performance.

Process losses are production problems that a group experiences through coordination and motivation problems. Process losses are an important factor if the actual performance is lower than the potential performance. Coordination problems arise when group activities are divided among the group members and their contributions are ultimately combined in the product or output. Sometimes process losses can also arise due to interpersonal difficulties between group members. You can see it as a formula: current group performance = potential performance - process losses.

Process gains are increases in the potential performance that are the result of new ways of motivating and coordinating the group members. Sometimes larger process gains can be achieved by encouraging a group to be more creative and willing to take risks.

In order to create or retain effective workgroups, managers must eliminate process losses so that the actual performance comes close to the potential performance, and create process gains by continuously increasing the potential performance.

Which aspects of groups affect group performance?

Different aspects of groups can influence group performance. A number of these are discussed below.

An example of an aspect that affects the effectiveness of a working group and which can lead to process losses is social loafing. Social loafing occurs when individuals work in groups and the individuals' contribution is not clear. Social loafing is the tendency of individuals to focus less in a group than if they were alone. This happens for 2 reasons:

• People are most motivated to perform when they are valued for their work. In a group, it is difficult to determine who contributes what and therefore their individual rewards/compliments are not discussed. Also because members in a group sometimes think that their own contribution is unimportant or not really necessary. This reduces motivation.

• If social loafing occurs with one or more members, it may also happen with several members, this is called the sucker effect. This effect occurs when members who were originally motivated will start doing less effort because they see other members doing the same. They do not want to be used or seen as "suckers".

The tendency of people to engage in social loafing increases if the group also grows larger because the evaluation and identification of the work become more difficult. In addition, employees come to the conclusion faster that their efforts are not important or remain unnoticed when the group gets bigger.

Managers can reduce or eliminate social loafing by making the contribution of each individual identifiable. Secondly, by giving each member the feeling that his/her contribution is a valuable contribution to the group. This can be done by letting employees remember why their individual skills ensured that they were chosen as group members. Lastly, social loafing can be stopped by keeping the group as small as possible. Dividing the work between groups will keep the groups as small as possible.

How do task characteristics influence group performance?

Process losses can also arise due to the nature of the work if it is difficult to determine what exactly the employee's contribution to the work is.

James D. Thompson has developed a model in which managers can identify task characteristics that lead to process losses and in which the most effective ways are to motivate group members through rewards. This is based on task interdependence: how much influence the work of one member has on the work of the other member. You have three types of task interdependence: pooled, sequential, and reciprocal.

With pooled interdependence, each member makes a separate and independent contribution to the group's performance. The group performance is the addition of all the member's contributions.

A common problem of process losses with pooled interdependence tasks is the duplication of work but this coordination problem can usually be solved simply by clearly dividing the tasks. Motivation problems can easily be solved here by evaluating the individual contribution of each group member and rewarding them on this basis.

Sequential interdependence members have to perform specific behaviors in a predetermined sequence. The level of performance of one member affects all members that come afterward. Identifying individual performance is difficult because all members work together on the same end product. The overall group performance is determined by the performance level of the worst member. From this, it follows that the process losses are greater than with consistent mutual dependency.

Motivation problems and social loafing also occur because individual performance is difficult to recognize. This can be improved by carefully checking the work behavior of the members.

Another way is to form working groups consisting of members with the same level of performance. Finally, in some situations, it can also help to make the remuneration of the work dependent on the group's performance.

Process losses due to coordination problems may also occur. If, for example, an employee fails at the beginning of the process, the other employees cannot do anything. With multiskilled staff or rewarding loyal staff, efforts can be made to overcome these coordination problems.

With reciprocal interdependence, the activities of all members of the group are completely dependent on one another, with the result that the performance of any other member affects the group.

Process losses due to motivation and coordination problems are the greatest in this type of interdependence. This is because it is virtually impossible to evaluate individual input. The process losses can minimize managers by keeping the groups as small as possible, making it clear that each member makes an important and different contribution to the group and by making members feel responsible for the group goals.

To decrease social loafing, managers must make the remuneration dependent on the group's performance and encourage the members to increase performance each time through rewards.

Working groups based on mutual interdependence mainly suffer from coordination problems due to the recurrent unpredictability of the group relations and interactions. These problems can be met by keeping the groups as small as possible and by keeping the members as close together as possible so that when they need a contribution from another member, they have easy access to them. Furthermore, new technology, such as the smartphone, can be used to communicate quickly and easily. Lastly, groups can also create standards that state that members should help each other when needed.

If mutual task dependency runs from compatible to successive, to reciprocal, the chance of process losses increases because individual performance becomes increasingly difficult to recognize and greater coordination problems may arise. However, The chance of process profits is also growing due to synergy: members who work together produce more or better than the combined performances together.

What is the relationship between group cohesion and performance?

Group cohesion is the attractiveness of a group for members. If a group is very attractive to members, the individuals within the group will appreciate their membership and they want to stay with the group.

Several factors contribute to the level of cohesion.

• Group size: The smaller the group, the higher the cohesion and the less chance of conflict.

• Similarity/diversity of the group members: People deal best with and communicate most effectively with people who look a lot like themselves. For this reason, homogeneous groups have a higher cohesion. However, diversity can lead to a larger perspective and more sources to extract information from. If this leads to achieving group goals, heterogeneous groups can lead to cohesion.

• Competition between groups: Competition between groups helps cohesion if it motivates the group members to form a bond together to reach the group goals. On the other hand, too much competition can lead to dysfunctional behavior (like sabotaging others) and reduce effectiveness.

• Success: If groups are successful, they become attractive to other members and increase cohesion.

• Exclusivity: Exclusivity is determined by how difficult it is to be able to join the group, how people outside the group view the group members, the status of the group within the organization, and the privileges that the group has. If members have to go through a difficult initiation period, it is more appreciated to be a member of that group and cohesion is greater.

The consequences of group cohesion depend on the similarities between the group goals and the organization's goals. The consequences are discussed below.

If the group goals and organizational goals match, then the first consequence is the level of participation and communication in the group. If there is better cohesion, communication between members will also improve. Behavior that is positive for the group will occur faster and the exchange of information will improve. Too much communication, on the other hand, can be dysfunctional if you communicate too much about non-work-related topics.

The second consequence is the level of conformity to the group standards. Higher cohesion also ensures a higher conformity with the group standards. This is good because it helps the group to control the behavior of the members towards the group goals. Too much cohesion is not good because then all deviation from the group norms is rejected. The chance of improvement and growth of the organization is then small.

The third consequence is the achieved group goals. Groups with higher cohesion often have more motivation to perform and achieve group goals faster. In the case of too much cohesion, members are too focused on the group goals and forget that they are part of a larger whole: the organization. As a result, conflicts can arise with other groups, which does not benefit the organizational goals. This shows that an average level of cohesion is best for all aspects.

If the group goals and organizational goals do not match, then the consequences of group cohesion are almost always negative for the organization. In this case, group cohesion is dysfunctional because it helps the group achieve its goals at the expense of the organization's goals.

What types of working groups are there?

Four types of working groups are discussed here: top management teams, self-managed work teams, research and development teams, and virtual teams.

Top management

A top management team is a team of managers who all report to the same Chief Executive Officer. This team influences the organizational performance because they set the goals that have to be achieved and indicate the means to achieve these goals. This requires intensive interaction and they are therefore characterized by a reciprocal group dependence. To keep the process losses as small as possible, the CEO must ensure that the groups are as small as possible, the members of the team know that the individual contributions are important, the group members are open and honest in their communication with other members, and the CEO must ensure that members are easily accessible when other members need them.

The best decisions of a 'top management team' are made when the team is heterogeneous and thus everyone provides different information. This also avoids 'groupthink', the pattern of wrong decisions by allowing members to be influenced by like-minded members who interpret the information and events in the same way.

Self-managed work teams

In a self-managed work team, the members themselves have the authority to lead the group and decide how the team will perform tasks. In this team, the tasks that a supervisor normally performs and manage alone are now done by the team with their own responsibility. This gives higher levels of motivation, performance, and satisfaction. This is due to the increased diversity of skills, task identity, task interest, autonomy, and feedback.

Variety of skills increases because members use a large number of skills in all activities that need to be done. Task identity and task importance are increased because the group performs all tasks that have to be done and get a good picture of the end product.

A self-managed work team must meet a few conditions.

• The group must first be truly self-managing, but many managers do not like to give away this authority.

• In addition, the work of a self-managed work team is most effective when the work is complex and it leads to a clear end product.

• Managers in the organization must also support the team, be committed to the team, coach the team and try to resolve conflicts.

• Members of the team must be selected well so that the team has the right skills and expertise.

• Lastly, members of the team must work together and want to be part of the team.

Research shows that members of a self-managed work team are averse to disciplining other group members. The success of the team depends on what value the members attach to the group and the status of the team in the organization.

Research and development teams

A research and development team (R & D) develops new products, especially in high-tech industries. Some R & D teams are cross-functional: group members each represent a different function in the organization that is needed to develop the product.

Skunk Works is an R & D team that was created to develop a new product and promote innovation in an organization. Members of Skunk Works often become very possessive about a product and feel completely responsible for the success or failure of a product. Skunk Work is effective in developing a new product.

Virtual teams

Lastly, you have a virtual team that communicates and interacts for a significant part electronically. There are 2 types of information technology that a virtual team uses. Firstly, synchronous technology allows the group members to communicate at the same time (eg consultation via Skype). Secondly, there is asynchronous technology. This means that communication does not take place at the same time for members (for example consultation via email).

Which technology members use depends on the mutual task dependency in a team. For example, teams that are reciprocally interdependent need synchronic technology more than teams that are mutually dependent.

Virtual teams are useful because you can use all the knowledge, expertise and experience of members, wherever the members are located. Virtual teams have the same problems as other teams such as social loafing and find a good balance between conformity and deviation. They also have other problems such as learning to trust each other and finding cohesion between members who hardly interact with each other. Because of this, team members sometimes make arrangements to do recreational things together to get to know each other better.

Research shows that some virtual teams can deliver the same performance as other teams, but that members are sometimes less satisfied with this way of working together and that cohesion is often lower here. Periodic 'face-to-face' appointments help to reduce this as well as recreational trips with the team.