The purpose of the cases is to highlight concepts in Organizational Behavior. Each case will involve concepts found in the Chapter so be guided by the contents of the Chapter when you develop your answers.Create a summary of the case first and then answer the questions. Please have the questions there as well as the answers.
CASE INCIDENT 1 Trusting Someone You Can’t See
One of the greatest determinants of a successful team is trust. For a team to be successful, employees must trust that their team members are reliable and capable. They have to have faith that their teammates will work toward the goals of the team rather than their own goals. Trust can be built in teams by creating an environment where team members are not scared to admit that they have
made a mistake and feel comfortable providing their input rather than agreeing with the team leader or asser- tive team members. Building trust among teammates is important, but what if you never see your teammates?
Trust is especially important but also more difficult to build in virtual teams. In a recent review of 52 inde- pendent studies, researchers found that the link between
382 PART 3 The Group
trust and team performance is stronger for virtual teams than face-to-face teams! According to the same review, managers can counteract some of the negative effects of low trust in virtual teams by carefully documenting team interactions. This practice shows that team members are held accountable for the work they do in virtual teams and makes sure that team members are recognized for their contributions.
Compensating for a lack of trust may only be a Band- Aid for a larger problem because trust is one of the most important factors in determining team effectiveness. Another review of 112 separate studies found that trust was one of the strongest predictors of team performance, regardless of the team members’ past performance or trust in the team’s manager. The same researchers found that trust may be especially important in teams with
varied skill sets or interdependent roles. Trust is also just as important for short-term teams because team members do not have the same adjustment period to learn more about their teammates before having faith that they will contribute to team goals.
Questions
10-13. Recall a time when you felt like you could not trust members on your team. Why did you feel that way? How did that affect the team’s performance?
10-14. Can you think of strategies that can help build trust among virtual team members?
10-15. Imagine you are a manager at a national corpo- ration. You have been asked to select employees for a virtual problem-solving team. What types of employees would you include and why?
