Lecture Business and administrative communication: Chapter 8 - Kitty O. Locker, Donna S. Kienzler

Chapter 8 - Working and writing in teams. In this chapter, students will be able to understand: Different kinds of productive and nonproductive roles in teams, group decision-making strategies, characteristics of successful teams, techniques for resolving conflict, techniques for making meetings effective, technologies to use in teamwork, techniques for collaborative writing.

Chapter Working and Writing in Teams Copyright © 2015 McGraw­Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw­Hill Education Team Interactions: Three Dimensions  Informational—focus on content: problem, data, solutions  Procedural—focus on methods, processes  Interpersonal—focus on people, cooperation, team loyalty  8­2 Team Interactions, continued… Formation  Begin to define task  Develop social cohesiveness  Set up and clarify procedures  Adopt ground rules  Use interpersonal communication to resolve tensions  Analyze problem well before seeking solutions Coordination  Longest phase  Most comments informational  Conflict as team debates alternate solutions  Interpersonal and procedural comments help team stay on track  Consider many solutions Formalization Consensus state Team implements decisions, which determines its success Team seeks to forget earlier conflicts 8­3 Positive Actions in Teams      Encouraging participation Relieving tensions Checking feelings Solving interpersonal problems Listening actively 8­4 Negative Actions in Teams  Blocking  Dominating  Clowning  Overspeaking  Withdrawing 8­5 Team Leadership  Effective teams balance three types of leadership: Informational—create, assess ideas and text  Interpersonal—check feelings, resolve conflict, monitor process  Procedural—set agenda, keep members informed, check on assignments   Roles need not be filled by one person 8­6 Decision­Making: Problem Solving 8­7 Decision­Making: Dot Planning  Lets large team set priorities quickly     Team brainstorms ideas Ideas recorded on large pages Pages posted on wall Each member affixes colored adhesive dots by ideas High Low Dots show highest and lowest priorities 8­8 Feedback Strategies Generate and heed as much feedback as possible  Seek external—supervisors, suppliers, clients, customers  Seek internal—within in the team  8­9 Successful Student Teams 8­10 Peer Pressure and Groupthink Groupthink—tendency for teams to value agreement so highly they punish dissent  Correctives to groupthink     Search for alternatives Test assumptions Protect rights of individuals to disagree 8­11 Diverse Teams Differences affect how people behave in team, what they expect from team  Play to one another’s strengths  Find practical ways to deal with differences  8­12 Conflict Resolution Make sure people involved really disagree Ensure that everyone has correct information Discover needs each person is trying to blem o r p meet g sentin m e r p e proble l Th a e r t be o n y a m Search for alternatives Repair negative feelings 8­13 Criticism Responses      Paraphrasing Checking for feelings Checking inferences Buying time with limited agreement Using you-attitude  Look at things from others’ viewpoint I statements are effective 8­14 Effective Meeting Guidelines        Make purpose explicit Distribute an agenda Allow time for discussion Save time with an omnibus motion Pay attention to people and process as well as tasks Summarize group’s consensus after each point Summarize all decisions at end of meeting 8­15 Technology in Teams  Meetings    Scheduling    Skype, FaceTime, Google+ GoToMeeting Online calendars Project management Collaboration 8­16 Collaborative Writing Working with other writers to produce a single document  Requires attention to     Team formation process Conflict resolution Steps in writing process 8­17 Collaborative Writing, continued…  Planning       Make analysis explicit; know where you agree and disagree Plan organization, format, and style before anyone writes Consider work styles and other commitments Decide how you will give feedback Build leeway into deadlines Composing     Decide who will write what Decide how to share drafts Label and date drafts If quality is crucial, have best writer compose after others gather data 8­18 Collaborative Writing, continued…  Revising      Evaluate content, discuss revisions as team Evaluate organization, discuss revisions Recognize that different people favor different writing styles When satisfied with content, have best writer make all changes to writing style Editing and Proofreading    One person checks mechanics, format, and style for correctness, consistency Use a spell checker Proofread document also 8­19 Making the Team Process Work 8­20 ... highest and lowest priorities 8? ?8 Feedback Strategies Generate and heed as much feedback as possible  Seek external—supervisors, suppliers, clients, customers  Seek internal—within in the team  8? ?9... Editing and Proofreading    One person checks mechanics, format, and style for correctness, consistency Use a spell checker Proofread document also 8? ?19 Making the Team Process Work 8? ?20 ... Steps in writing process 8? ?17 Collaborative Writing, continued…  Planning       Make analysis explicit; know where you agree and disagree Plan organization, format, and style before anyone