Priciples of Managment - Essay Example

? Principles of Management/ Midterm Exam of the of the Teams and Teamwork Q. Describe the difference between groups andteams. How would you as the organizational consultant convert a group into a self-managed work team? What type of training would you suggest and what type of obstacles might you encounter? Introduction We come across teams almost everywhere that we look- from the football field to the office, from the community center to the entertainment club that we belong to. It seems that teams and teamwork are an established part of modern life. If teams and teamwork is so important, it is clear that there should be much attention given to their makeup, strength and functioning so that they continue contributing to the goals of the organization or meet the purposes that they have been set up for. This paper will focus on what is the difference betweeen groups and teams, what makes a team come together, what are the obstacles usually encoutnered in the formation of teams and how can a team be made to contribute most effectively towards group and organizational goals. What are Teams? A team may be defined as a group of people that come together or have been brought together to accomplish some common goal. The essence of a team is a unified effort towards achieving a common purpose, in which each member has a defined role or specific tasks to perform in order that the team objective may be reached. This is where a team differs from a group of people. For example there may be a group of people at the office having lunch together because of proximity or seating next to one another, but if it is decided to make a team consisting of some people from Accounting and Administration to control an excess of office expenses, this can convert people from the same or different groups into a specific team with a now common purpose. A team usually reports to a team leader, and it is expected that the productivity of a team would be greater than the sum of its members due to synergistic benefits. The Difference between Groups and Teams We have seen from the above the difference between groups and teams. A group can be seen as an informal gathering of people in the same organization or community, but when they have a defined common purpose with deadlines and tasks and roles to perform, that is what converts them into a team. Team theory and its development has been a part of 20th century management theory, where it was thought that such a defined and cohesive effort would speed up the achievement of planned objectives. The work of Meredith Belbin in the UK and Bruce Tuckman in the USA has been quite influential in this regard. How to Convert a Group into a Self Managed Team The conversion of a group into a self managed team is a challenging process and puts a lot of responsibility on the team leader. The first step is to develop common goals and a vision. One should also work towards harnessing the value of diversity rather than belittling those with different perspectives. The last step is to foster effective communication. Bringing cohesion among team members is a slow process and is more easily said than done. We have to find out the barriers to change and discover how best to approach the change aspects so that these barriers are crossed or eliminated. Changing team member attitudes is admittedly one of the most difficult steps in the change management process (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2007) but experts have whittled it down to a series of steps, which if carefully managed can bring about the desired change in the least time possible, with a minimum of fuss. Quite simply, the steps involved in the team building process are (1) clarifying the team goals; (2) identifying the issues that are preventing the team from reaching its goals; and (3) addressing these issues, removing the inhibitors and enabling goal achievement. The team leader may also act as facilitator or mentor to those having difficulties, thereby ensuring that all the resources and support is available to members as needed. What Type of Training is Needed I would like to make use of Bruce Tuckman’s Theory of Group Development in preparing a strategy to affect change in team member attitudes. This well known theory uses the steps of Storming, Forming, Norming and Performing as teams go about the process of change. However it is equally beneficial to changing team member attitudes. The first step is to find out the reasons for the resistance to change. This should involve all the workers who are opposing the change- they should be asked to outline all their reasons for resistance on paper. Common reasons can be put on a whiteboard and debated. This process called Storming brings the reasons for resistance out in the open. If the team members have valid enough reasons, this could even be put forth to management and the project for change abandoned. The next step is Forming. This occurs after the team members issues have been debated and shown to have less weight than the need for change. Forming at least begins when the team members have a positive attitude towards the change being implemented. They can see why the change is necessary. This can be put forward in terms of saving of cost, time, effort and benefits of learning a new skill, for instance. The investment in time and effort of training the team members if needed should also be pointed out. Once the Forming stage is complete, then comes the Norming. This is the actual process of change and controlling the pitfalls. As change is being implemented, the entire team must be in communication with each other in order to solve potential as well as unanticipated problems. There may be all kinds of setbacks which have to be faced with perseverance so that the process change is implemented and followed through. In the Norming phase, the team members get used to the new process or way of doing things. A few hiccups will still be anticipated and solved, but by and large, the organization is on the new track. The team members have accustomed to the change. The Performing phase is the last one in the process and is the stage where the team members become adept at the new process or the improved way of carrying out things. They are also likely to be rewarded for outstanding effort (Tuckman, 1965). Obstacles Most Likely to be Encountered and How to Deal with Them Getting team members to appreciate the value of the team and bringing them on board by understanding their perspectives and removing obstacles is a common problem; the other is communication issues. The team leader should explain the agenda for each meeting, what they are trying to accomplish in it and end by summarizing what was the outcome of the meeting. That way each member is clear on what is happening at all times (Koontz & Weihrich, 1990). Regarding communication issues, the first thing a team leader would do is to make an outline for the message to be communicated. The best communication usually includes an introduction of sorts, preparing a context in which to communicate the message, then the main message itself and its implications, and lastly what actions or response is desired from the audience. He must take care to use proper language and communicate the message in the easiest terms possible so that it is easily understood. Idiomatic phrases should be avoided at all costs. He should review all messages for semantic errors and look at them from the viewpoint of the audience, so that every ambiguity is removed. In the end, the reason for the communication and the action or response desired from the audience must be clear, as well as the timeline for the actions if any is to be followed (Werther & Davis, 1995). As the communicator, he must always allow for feedback or clarification by including his email or office phone number in the message so that anybody can approach him for clarification if needed by them. Norbert has noticed that self managed work teams in his unit are not getting along as well as he had hoped. What might be the cause of their difficulties, and how might they be rectified? It is said that the effectiveness and strength of a team can only be as good as its weakest link. If the team is not getting along as well as hoped, it is suggested to look at what are the possible reasons for it. This involves going back to the Storming phase of the team process and bringing out the reasons for the difficulties being encountered. It is important not to blame anyone but just record the problems. Then the reasons can be pinpointed. Quite often the slackness of one member has a telling effect on the others and on the overall team effort. This must be explained and cooperation requested for the benefit of the team. If the problems are due to personal difficulties, maybe it is time to remove the team member and re-distribute his or her responsibilities among the remaining members. Alternatively a new person can be brought in. Sometimes the dominance of one member or the feeling of team surveillance can impact on one or more members and that can affect the whole working of the team. This will also need some looking into. It is clear that the team is as its best when everyone does his or her part of the work. Conclusion It is clear that teams have become a very important part of our society and our life. Like it or not, it is quite likely that you are today part of one team or another, or will be in the near future. It is best to learn how to play by the rules and become a team player while at the same time not lose your individuality and uniqueness. References Kinicki, A. & Kreitner, R.(2007). Organizational Behaviour, 8th ed. McGraw Hill/ Irwin. Koontz, H. & Weihrich, H. (1990). Essentials of Management, 5th ed. McGraw Hill. Tuckman, B. (1965). ‘Developmental Sequence in Small Groups’. Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 63, pp 384-399. Werther, W. B. & Davis, K. (1995). Human Resources and Personnel Management. McGraw Hill Education. Read More