Lecture 5: Team Composition

Question 1

Definition: Team Composition

Answer 1

= Attributes of a team’s members and the combination of such attributes

Question 2

Aspects of team composition

Answer 2

Team roles
Team size
Team diversity
Team structure

= Composition factors have been consistently shown to substantially influence team processes, teamwork quality, and ultimately outcomes

Question 3

Def. Team Role

Answer 3

= Tendency to behave, contribute, and interrelate with others in a particular way

Question 4

Team Size

Answer 4

Def.: The number of team members assigned to a team

= The smaller the team the better the teamwork

Question 5

Reasons for Teams with innovative tasks getting bigger:

Answer 5

1. Political reasons: departments want to be represented
2. The team leader wants headcount, just to be safe
3. Certain tasks require a larger number of team members and, an elevated amount of heterogeneity of work to be done
4. Potential benefits for innovative tasks: larger team provide a wider array of diverse viewpoints, skills, and perspectives

Question 6

Ways to keep teams small

Answer 6

= Define clear goals and responsibilities
=prioritizse cross-functionality
= Focus on core tasks
= Automate and leverage technology
= sub-teams

Question 7

Relative Team Size

Answer 7

= The number of team members in relation to the task at hand
= There is no task-independent optimal team size

Question 8

Pro smaller, less adequate team sizes

Answer 8

Small, less adequate relative team sizes are likely to increase…
1… individual motivation and effort
2… perceived ownership and involvement
3… team member skill utilization

Question 9

Contra small team sizes

Answer 9

Smaller relative team sizes are likely to…

1… cause problems like concentration of information traffic, bottlenecks, and slowdown of information flows the time for maintaining necessary communication
= Team members lack t
2…decrease efficiency and effectiveness of the team
= Team members have to carry out more diverse tasks for which they lack proficiency to keep the project running

Question 10

Team Diversity (Definition)

Answer 10

Definition: The degree to which there are objective or subjective differences among team members

Question 11

Two main categories of team diversity

Answer 11

1. Demographic
2. Functional (Educational and professional background, job experience, …)

Question 12

Two attributes of diversity

Answer 12

1. Surface Level -> Dierctely visible
2. Deep level -> Values, dispositions, attitudes

Question 13

Definition: Faultlines

Answer 13

Hypothetical dividing lines that may split a group into subgroups based on one or more attributes

• May occur when team members vary on certain attributes
• And when certain features of the team task or context make such differences salient
• or under stressful conditions like pressure

=> Then these diversity dimensional yield a basis for subgroup differentiation within a team

Question 14

Recommendations to bridge team faultlines

Answer 14

= Diagnosing dormant or active faultlines in teams and avoiding activation

= Increasing the identification of team members with their team rather than their subgroup
= Establishing conflict norms, as negative effects are mediated by the level of emotional conflict within teams
= Task- vs. relationship-oriented leadership
= Political correctness norms

Question 15

Team diversity as a stressor in teams with innovative tasks

Answer 15

= Individuals have limited capacity for self-regulation
= Interacting with more diverse team members affords more regulatory capacity than interactions in a homogenous team
= When further stressors are added (time pressure, lack of resources), even more regulatory capacity is needed
= Potential regulatory depletion tends to impede team effectiveness in such situations

=> Deciding on team composition depends not only on the task type, but also on the level of stress a team is expectedly exposed to

Question 16

Team Structure - Social Capital

Answer 16

= Social structure is a kind of capital that can create for certain individuals or groups a competitive advantage in pursuing their ends. Better connected people enjoy higher returns
= Social capital is the contextual complement to human capital, meaning people who do better are not necessarily more able individuals, but might be better connected
= The core argument of social capital theories is that the network structure of prior relations affects, or even replaces information flows

Question 17

Why are some creative teams able to produce “game changer”?

Answer 17

= A game changer is both novel (distinct) and valuable (high critical acclaim)
= There is a thin line between “weird” and exciting
= Novelty is neither sufficient nor necessary for success

Question 18

Centrifugal Forces Vs. Centripetal Forces in teams with innovative tasks

Answer 18

1. Centrifugal forces: Structural elements that increase available knowledge and information. They pull a team outward, away from its conceptual center
2. Centripetal Forces: Structural elements that integrate dispersed knowledge and information into collective action. They pull a team inward, toward ist conceptual center

= Imbalance of these forces impedes performance
-> Centrifugal forces (like team diversity) benefit performance to the extent that they are complemented by centripetal forces and vice versa
-> Each force enables the positive and prevents the negative of the respective opposite, but complementary force

Question 19

Consequences for teams with innovative tasks

Answer 19

= Centrifugal forces are about generating different ideas, perspectives, and opinions
= Centripetal forces are about integrating and implementing ideas and deciding on what course of action to pursuw