Dr. Arnie Frigeri
Professor
Franklin University MBA Program

Dr. Roy Lewicki
Professor
Management and Human Resources
The Ohio State University

Following introduction, Dr. Frigeri opened the discussion with statistics demonstrating the increasing use of work teams in the United States and throughout the world, stating that a business operations have become more complex, interdependency has grown. He defined a team as a group of people working together for their mutual benefit and the pursuit of a common goal, or any group of people attempting to achieve a common goal through combined effort. Teams are, in part, a response to the complexity of issues in the modern business world. Few individuals possess the level of expertise necessary to deal with these issues on their own. Dr. Frigeri cited the "three Cs" of the nineties: competitiveness, const and customers. Competition is keener, consumers purchase based on cost, and brand loyalty is dead as consumers search for bargains.

Frigeri then discussed critical issues encountered when dealing with teams. These include the delegation of responsibility and authority within teams, which he noted is different than within standard work groups. While work groups are traditionally let dy a supervisor, teams possess the authority and responsibility to make autonomous decisions.

The distinction is not only important given the change in workplaces, added Dr. Lewicki, but MBAs are more and more often learning by building their skills primarily as team members. He emphasized that this is not always an easy task. When students are asked to work in teams, they often find themselves carrying the burden of the nonperformer, otherwise known as the "social lagger." The university instructor’s job is to facilitate a solution - not to fix it; as students may assume. Social laggers, Dr. Frigeri noted, were those not willing to confront task issues.

Sherwood Fawcett related the story of how he and his lab partner in college chemistry mastered the reward system of team grading by specializing in their respective strengths, rather than each broadening his range of skills, which might have been the course goal.

Dr. Lewici conceded that students often optimize on their particular skills, and that when working in teams that could be problematic. Thus, in MBA programs students are often required to rotate tasks when working in teams.

While teamwork can be a powerful and creative experience, Dr. Frigeri noted that it is morally neutral. Eh cited the Nuremberg Trials in which individuals claimed that, as loyal team members, they carried no personal responsibility for the horrendous crimes they had committed. Joining a team, Dr. Frigeri explained, requires that the individual:

• enter into a contract
• agree to become a member of the team
• agree to help the team achieve its goals
• exchange expectations with the other team members
• to some extent subjugates personal interests for the benefit of the team.

The "contract" implies that the individual:

• supports the leadership of the group
• influences the team
• is influenced by the team

To belong to the team, the individual must:

• help the team by contributing to its successes, or at least not obstructing them
• meet at agreed times and places
• accept responsibility for team results, both good and bad

Dr. Frigeri also noted that, although a member of a team, a person still desires an individual identity.

Dr. Frigeri then referred to Peter Bock’s four dimensions for the evaluation of teams:

• the degree of control the group exerts upon members
• how well the group handles and resolves conflict
• how well the individual members support one another
• how well the group utilizes the skills and abilities of others on the team

New Council Vice-President Tim Mazur raised an issue he described as "cat loyalty vs. Dog loyalty." His point suggested that team ethics greatly depend on whether members are cat loyal - meaning they’re loyal to the company over their boss, like a cat is to its environs over its owner - or dog loyal, where loyalty is to the boss (like a dog’s owner) over the company. A team mixed with dogs and cats will lead to much more ethical conflict.

Dr. Figeri explained that within groups, leadership is often pluralistic, as individuals concentrate their skills in their area of expertise. He also briefly discussed the dangerous dynamic of "group think," when all members of a team agree because no one wants to raise issues. That mind-set inhibits the individual from expressing reservations.

Celianna Taylor noted that it is important to differentiate between positions of supervisor and coordinator, as the authority of each is expressed in a differing manner.

Dr. Lewicki then observed that individuals often attribute success to themselves and failure to others. When defining organizational culture, he stated that it is important to consider the factors which hold teams together, and at what point teams that don’t work well together should be dismembered. The relations of teams to teams are also among the issues that must be examined.

David Smith observed that, given the power of team experience and its morally open nature, it is very important for corporations to be sure that their expectations about ethics enter directly into team situations and that team members discuss these ethical expectations with each other.

Council for Ethics in Economics
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