6.
Relative effectiveness of work groups compared to teams.
While some authorities suggest that team and work groups share a sufficient number of commonalities to make them indistinguishable, there are some situations in which work groups may be more effective if they are defined within certain categories (Biech, 2001). In this regard, Lewis (2001) reports that a useful definition of team is "a group of people who work together to achieve a common goal. Unless they collaborate and cooperate with each other, they cannot achieve the goal because it is too big for any one of them to accomplish individually" (p. 410). Although this general definition could well fit most work groups as well, there are some distinguishing characteristics involved. According to Kristof (1999), "The definition of work group may range from a small group of immediate coworkers to any identifiable subunit of an organization, such as a functional department or geographic division" (p. 2). Likewise, Galegher, Kraut and Egido (1990) report that, "A work group involves coordinated work where the group members are, at a minimum, co-acting, and, more probably, actively collaborating or cooperating with some or all other members of the group" (p. 64). Therefore, a work group may be more effective than a team if they are responsible for the functions described in Table 1 below.
Table 1
Types of work groups and their functions
Work Group Type
Description/Examples
Management/Administration
Groups in this category have decision-making, planning, policy-setting, and oversight responsibilities. Examples include corporate strategic planning offices, fiscal controllers' offices, and personnel departments.
Professional (text-oriented)
"Text-oriented" groups are so designated because their products tend to be conveyed with textual information. Legal offices, public relations offices, marketing departments, and the like, fall into this category.
Professional (technical)
These types of groups tend to produce specifications, designs, formulas, models. In our study, this category included electronic design departments, internal research and development departments, manufacturing quality assurance departments, etc.
Secretarial,...
Management Organizational Structure Organizational structure of an organization is highly determined by the kind of the products, services it is engaged in. Equally important is the size of the organization in determining which type of management structure will be well suited for it. Organization structure thus, is the way the organization is organized according to leadership of the organization. Many studies today reveal that, the nature of organization structure has a
This means, assessing where the company is currently sitting, examining the various obstacles that are standing the way of achieving the objective and what possible solutions can used to overcome these obstacles. Once this has been identified, you want to begin taking the different solutions and implementing them. This requires that all managers, work together in making an effort to change the work environment for the better. Where, they
c) Change support In the context of the closing of the Orlon manufacturing operations, a useful approach to the problem would be constituted by the action research. This type of research specifically implies that the individual assesses the situation, but in doing so, also seeks solutions to resolving the problem (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2009). This type of research combines the theoretical stance with the practical stance. Through its lenses then,
519). The point before proceeding is that when employees sense that their organization is ethically responsible vis-a-vis citizenship, their work engagement is "likely stimulated" (Lin, p. 521). The procedure Lin follows in this research is to conduct empirical research using a survey of personnel from "20 large firm of an industrial zone in northern Taiwan" (high-tech and more traditional companies) (Lin, p. 522). Of the 600 questionnaires Lin sent out,
Taking the relationship of employee morale and its linkage with organizational culture to the most extreme case, Yaghi (2007) studied how decision-making processes are implemented in companies where there is a dominant organizational culture. Selecting a faith-based organization as one of the cases for the study, the author determined how decision-making is mainly influenced by the organizational culture, influenced by the values of solidarity, guardianship, and (belief in a) mission
Management: Organizational Behavior American workers have been brought up in a society that emphasizes individuality, thus it will be difficult for them to readily accept the notion that group-based rewards are as beneficial as individual ones. Though Americans are used to the 'team' work concept, many still prefer receiving individual recognition for their achievements. This is due in part to the emphasis on individual achievement and competition evidenced in many organizations. Job
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now