ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR- II TEAM STRUCTURE: ITS’ IMPACT ON TEAM PERFORMANCE

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VISHWAS K
151202032
SECTION-A
ASSIGNMENT 1
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR- II
TEAM STRUCTURE: ITS’ IMPACT ON TEAM PERFORMANCE
Introduction
The team plays a significant role in many business organizations. The basic function of
teamwork is to provide the basis for better organizational performance in the form of increased
efficiency and productivity. In other words, team members work with mutual co-operations
individual team members which results in more than what team members would have achieved.
The employee always depends on his fellow team members for one or other work for the
betterment of performance which increases team’s productivity as well as the intellectual ability
of an individual ream members. Hence, the team is considered as the heart of any business firm
which is essential for the betterment of the organization. Time spent among team members
increases the stability and also provides the platform for the team members to exhibit their
individual skills.

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Team structure is always designed in terms of task allocation since the different process has their
own identical functions and importance. A manager of a team should assign the task in such a
way that the function should help all the team members of the team i.e. it should include
interdependence, this means the mutual dependence among the employees which leads to
increase in productivity by sharing the knowledge and skills.The extent of authority varies across
teams depending upon types of decisions that the team is allowed to take among the following
types of decisions with regard to team self-management; executing the team tasks, monitoring
and managing work process and progress, designing the team and its organizational context and
setting overall direction.Autonomous team structure replaced traditional leadership and decision-
making hierarchy. With the first appearance of autonomous teams, sole leadership factor
dispersed. Autonomy makes teams work harder. If team members are motivated it inspires
enthusiastic teamwork.In a larger team, it is very difficult to remain focused. However, larger
teams have a greater tendency of having social loafing whereas, smaller teams are anticipated to
be a lot confident and better at delivering results.
Task allocation
The team acts as major building blocks for many contemporary organizations. Normally, team
structure is always based on the allocation of tasks since the different processhas their own
identical functions and importance. Team structure is always designed in terms of task

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allocation. A manager of it firm always identifies their team members with respect to their
responsibilities.Although the team structure is based on the allocation of tasks, sometimes lead to
consequences. This is because of the responsibilities which are given to the members of a team.
For example, if a particular employee is well versed in some functional area which make him
perform better in the assigned task which results in increasedproductivity and the performance
and if the same employee gets some other task in his functional area whereas other employee
gets his specific functional area, he may think that this work is easy, this leads to comparison
among team members resulting in consequences with respect to manager’s decision-and,
therefore, it is crucial that manager picks team members for position based on their skills and
experience.
Interdependence
A manager of a team should assign the task in such a way that the function should help all the
team members of the team i.e. it should include interdependence, this means the mutual
dependence among the employees which leads to increase in productivity by sharing the
knowledge and skills.If there are any confusions related to work, the fellow employee helps
another employee, itmay increase therelationship between the team members (Campion etal.,
1993; Emery & Trist, 1969). It is very useful if the employees are equally dependent on each
other, this means the commitments related to work should be carried out equally, otherwise it

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may end up by making thecompromise of any one of employee’s decision, it is not a good option
and a feasible one. One more consequence from this is dominance, it may destroy the employee
relation to a greater extent.Hence, interdependence is a fragile function which may take some
time to progress,but it is very durable in terms of productivity and efficiency, thisbenefits
theteam members and the team performance.
Task-based responsibility
Team structure design is always better when the task is assigned based on the responsibility. An
employee can easily be evaluated if the responsibility is addressed with respect to the process.
The main advantage of this task based responsibility is that the employee himself can deal with
all the issues and queries without any help. If the same responsibility is given with certain
instructions which may lead to meet expectations, sometimes it is very difficult while
implementing those expectations. Usually, instruction based responsibility is not what many
employees expect since the responsibility to be carried out with commitment but not with
instructions.
Authority
The extent of authority varies across teams depending upon types of decisions that the teamis
allowed to take among the following types of decisions with regard to team self-management;
executing the team tasks, monitoring and managing work process and progress, designing the

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team and its organizational context and setting overall direction. Manager-led teams merely
execute their assigned tasks. Self-managing teams execute their tasks as well as monitor and
manage work process and progress. Self-designing teams possess the authority to design their
team structure, organizational context, monitor and manage their work process and progress, in
addition to execution of tasks. Self-governing teams have theauthority to take decisions with
regard to all four aspects which distinguish teams in terms of degree of authority that they
possess viz., setting overall direction, team design, and organizational context design, monitoring
and managing work process and progress, and lastly the execution of tasks.
Team autonomy
If the team structure is carried out in an autonomousway, it may lead to unbelievable results. If
the team is an autonomous body, normally that team tends to follow the best rules and
regulations.If there are any changesto be done, the same can be addressed very quickly.
Sometimes many teams follow their own rules, it becomes disturbing to team members, and the
same may hinders efficiency negatively. Hence,team autonomy should be implemented in a
careful manner (Gulowsen, 1979).The team members receive broad backup from the
management. They demonstrate their high level of trust with them. They are mostly motivated to
take out even risky decisions. Autonomous team structure replaced traditional leadership and
decision-making hierarchy. With the first appearance of autonomous teams, sole leadership

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factor dispersed. Autonomy makes teams work harder. If team members are motivated it inspires
enthusiastic teamwork.
When people work too independently, they lack the communication and the process of
monitoring of one another that results in poor performance of work. Straying away from the
organizational goal is likewise a possibility. It may also create confusion and disparity through
different workplaces and rules. Moreover, it might likewise lead to unethical behavior of team
members as they enjoy too much of team autonomy.
Team building
Team building plays an important role while designing a team structure because it gives
innovative ideas that can be shared among the team members, this increases the team stability.
Further, it helps the team to withstand in any conditions. Normally team members contribute
many positive things as well as negative things. Usually in many teams there are certain people
who work in an efficient manner. However people rely on their team members, it hinders the
efficiency of hard working team members. In such a case, it takes alonger duration to reach the
desired team performance. So the same should be carried out in a most efficient manner so as to
achieve productivity and efficiency.
Task uncertainty

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Task uncertainty is the lack of predictability corresponding to inputs, processes andOutputs of
the system within which the work is performed (Griffin, Neal, & Parker, 2007). In many
organizations, operations related tasks keep on changing due to frequent change in customer
expectations. This is due to the presence of task uncertainty, it influences the team performance
and organizational expectation.Hence, task uncertainty is the unpredictable behavior of
customers due to change in demand,quality, and durability. Due to the presence of uncertainty,
there could be achange in team functioning. If this uncertainty is caused due to change in
customer expectations, it causes theorganization to take quick decisions, it would give rise to
sound decisions. Further, it increases the performance of the team. Sometimes, the same may
cause achange in team functioning. It affects organizational plans. Further, it affects the team
effectiveness.
Social loafing
Social loafing is a quite common phenomenon in teams. Its presence causes the disproportionate
efforts of team members. It decreases individual efforts.Social loafingcause’s individual team
members to rely on other team members. This affects team performance. If there is no social
loafing,it may give unbelievable results. In a larger team, it is very difficult to remain focused.
However, larger teams have agreater tendency of having social loafing. “In the social psychology
of groups, social loafing is the phenomenon of people exerting less effort to achieve a goal when
they work in a group than when they work alone”. Two common causes given for social loafing

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are the 'sucker effect' and the 'free-rider effect ' (cf. Perry, Lorinkova, Hunter, Hubbard, Ilgen,
Ellis,West,& Moon, 2003). The sucker effect hints at the habit of individuals who try and evade
feeling like a 'sucker' by waiting to see how much others endeavor will put into a group even
ahead of them. These are the kind of individuals who often feel that the other group members
will leave them to do all the work. The free-rider effect refers to the traits of people to decrease
their energies in putting their inputs when they believe that it will not hamper the final results of
the group.
Group size
A team is formed by a group of individuals who act together to achieve a common goal. The
number of individual members is added up to create a team of a certain size. Team size plays a
very important role in team performance.Teams should have shared vision, motivation to
complete their projects and the eagerness to put in theextra effort. It is the competence and
perspective of each member of a team that leads to higher team performance (Janis, 1972,
1982). In the beginning, larger teams are always considered to be burdensome and ineffective in
producing results. However, smaller teams are anticipated to be a lot confident and better at
delivering results.
Group thinking

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Groupthink is a criterion that needs to be addressed in a most efficient manner, therefore this
implies that brainstorming sessions among team members give better results to increase team
performance (Janis, 1972, 1982). Sometimes to avoid conflict in many situations a team may end
up with taking decisions without thinking possible alternatives, however, groupthink can be
considered up to a certain extent with the limited constraints.
Type of task
If the team structure is based on the type of task. It gives best results in terms of increased
performance and the efficiency (McGrath 1984).With the presence of this criteria, it is possible
to get different ideas from team members by increasing the flexibility. Since the task is defined
for the members of theteam, it results in less confusion among team members. With the presence
of these criteria, Sometimes limits the performance. Even though the team member is well
capable of enough to carry out that task. Since the task is defined, it restricts him to discontinue
other tasks. If we follow this criterion, it works only to a certain extent, hence this should be
designed by considering all possible pros and cons.
Self-directed team
Team structure is better if the same has been designed with theself-directed concept. As teams
have turned into a more prominent system for sorting out the workforce, diverse sorts of these
groupings have developed. One of these is a self-directed group or a group in which the

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individuals are in charge of a whole business operation, for the most part with almost no info
from a team leader or manager (Holpp, 1993, Shonk, 1992).
A self-directed team ordinarily deals with its own particular workload which is notwithstanding
having essential obligation regarding creating a decent or conveying an administration. The
colleagues offer both administrative and operational obligations, and also responsibility for the
group's yield. Self-directed teams are not a good fit for each business circumstance, so it is
imperative to comprehend when a venture will profit by this hierarchical methodology.
Organizations with a decentralized choice making society and, representatives should engage and
assume full liability for their work are the great contender for self-directed teams. Members
outside the group still assume a part, however, more as mentors and facilitators as opposed to as
directors.
Group norm
Group normsplay an important role in the combination of team structure and the team
performance (Hackman, 1976). The production department is the better area to explain this
concept. The chief structure works for environment groups as a major aspect of offices, for
example, HR or promoting, and to finish ventures requiring the work of more than one
representative. Workgroups get to be firm as the colleagues find out about every otheridentity
and quality and shortcomings. Managers and group pioneers may find a way to enhance group

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norms. Profitability estimations for groups incorporate group building exercises and spirit
promoters. The presence of this group norms makes the team work towards a common goal
which makes the team perform better.
Group conformity
Group conformity and group-think are two of the potential risks of high group cohesiveness.
Group conformity happens when group’s individuals receive comparative practices, as a rule
trying to fit in or to lessen differences between group individuals. This arrangement of practices
turns into the group standard (Asch 1955, 1956). Colleagues adjusting to group norms may bring
about brought down profitability or absence of innovativeness and development, however,
Group-think happens when group individuals lose the capacity to think for themselves and
depend on the group to settle on their choices.
Conclusion
A manager of the team should assign the task in such a way that the function should help all the
team members of the team. The extent of authority varies across teams depending upon types of
decisions that the team is allowed to take among the following types of decisions with regard to
team self-management; executing the team tasks, monitoring and managing work process and
progress, designing the team and its organizational context and setting overall direction.Self-
designing teams possess the authority to design their team structure, organizational context,

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monitor and manage their work process and progress, in addition to execution of tasks. Self-
governing teams have the authority to take decisions with regard to all four aspects which
distinguish teams in terms of degree of authority that they possess viz., setting overall direction,
team design, and organizational context design, monitoring and managing work process and
progress, and lastly the execution of tasks. Social loafing cause's individual team members to
rely on other team members. Its presence causes the disproportionate efforts of team members.
It decreases individual efforts. Group norms make the team work towards a common goal, it
makes the team perform better.
References:
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WALL4, Journal of Organizational Behavior, J. Organiz. Behav. 31, 240–258 (2010)
5) Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2014, Vol. 13, No. 1, 62–81.
6) Jin Nam Choi. Journal of Applied Psychology 1999, Vol. 84, No.'2, 297-306

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7) Holpp, L. (1993). “Self-Directed Teams are Great, but They’re Not Easy.” Journal for
Quality and Participation, December, pp. 64 - 70.