MGT 307 / Organizational Behavior and Group Dynamics
Week Three Lecture

Introduction

Week Three shifts focus from individual behavior within an organization, to group behavior and performance. Today’s organizations use teams to accomplish a variety of tasks. Although teamwork is potentially more effective, the use of teams greatly increases the likelihood and severity of conflict within an organization. This week we will discuss time management techniques, conflict management processes and negotiation strategies, as they relate to individuals working in a team environment. Finally, we will discuss motivation and job satisfaction.

Organizational Groups and Teams

The e-text describes a group as “two or more people who work with one another regularly to achieve common goals” (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2000, 87). Organizations typically group employees into teams. At first glance, it may be hard to distinguish an organizational group from a team. The primary difference is that team members are actually held mutually accountable for delivering specific objectives (Schermerhorn, Hunt & Osborn, 2000, 100). In my organization there are several groups who report to the same chain of command within the hierarchy, yet the people in those groups have completely different responsibilities and objectives. In this instance, their so-called “team” is actually a group, held together only by an organizational chart. This group was formed to achieve administrative or managerial efficiencies, with no intent to improve the working performance of the team members. Conversely, the objective of a high performance team is to improve the effectiveness of each member on the team by achieving synergies between members.

Cross functional project teams in my organization work very effectively. Each member brings a different area of expertise to the project,