How to Improve Team Effectiveness through Group Processes: an Example in the Automotive Industry

224 n Spain the automotive industry is a strategic sector for the economy and the financial impact of the sector is expected to be close to four billion euros between 2011 and 2015, according to the Plan Integral de Política Industrial 2020 [Comprehensive Plan for Industrial Policy 2020] (PIN 2020; Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal [State Public Employment Service], 2011). This industry has incorporated working groups and teams into its management style for almost three decades (Osca, Bardera, García-Salmone & Urien, 2011) and, given the competitiveness, the fluidity of the market, the uncertain environments, etc., it is now crucial for businesses in general, and Spanish ones in particular, to understand the conditions that increase the probability of efficacy for their workgroups and teams. As they constitute a key tool in the competitiveness of this sector, in this article we will focus on how to improve the performance and effectiveness of production teams in the automotive sector in Spanish industry through group processes (group development, group identification and team potency), based on the results of our study. To do this, we briefly point out the current importance of the Spanish automotive industry and its work teams, explaining what we mean by workgroups and teams, the importance of group processes for their effectiveness and when we can say that a team is effective. Then we present the results of most practical interest, from our research in the Spanish automotive sector. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of these results for managers, supervisors and team leaders with the idea of illustrating how group processes can promote the effectiveness of the production teams in the sector.