Developing Successful Business Teams - Essay Example

Developing Successful Business Teams Executive Summary Effective employees are the asset of any organisation. The performance of the organisation depends on the potential of the team members. The report intends to provide a focus on the concept of team and its role on the organisational performance. The models such as Belbin’s have been discussed to evaluate the behavioural strengths and weakness of the team members. The formation stages have also been discussed by the Tuckerman’s model. The conflict management model is presented in the report to settle the arguments in the organisation. The theories have been discussed in the context of Apple Inc. The study concludes that Apple Inc. has been to improve the business performance due to the effectiveness of its team members. Table of Contents Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Characteristics of team and its contribution to the overall success of the organisation: 4 Importance of team roles including the manager’s role in Apple: 5 Belbin’s model to assess the team roles: 5 Leadership Models 7 Analysing the stages of developing a team using Tuckman’s model 7 Appropriate motivational techniques applied to Apple: 9 Techniques of open communication in the team 11 Conflict Resolution Methods in Organisation 11 Process of measuring and improving team performance: 12 Conclusion: 14 Reference List 15 Barry, B. and Stewart, G. L., 2009. Composition, process, and performance in self-managed groups: The role of personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, pp. 62-78 15 Introduction The success factor of an organisation depends on the effectiveness of its employees. According to Barry and Stewart (2009), the quality of the employees is more important for the organisation compared to the quantity. In most of the cases, the organisations fail to achieve the targets due to the ineffectiveness of its employees. On the other hand, managing employees plays a vital role for any firm. The current report intends to provide a thorough idea about teamwork and its relevance in the organisation. Additionally, the study also discusses the issues such as motivational techniques, conflict management and performance measurement tools of the organisation. In Apple Inc, team work is considered as one of the most important aspects for achieving success. Team work of the company has helped to generate innovative ideas. Conner (2009) cited that team work ensures the ground-breaking solutions of a complex problem. As all of the staff in Apple Inc. work collectively to achieve a common organisational goal, net out efficiency improves. It also ensures the share of the work burden and motivates the staff to design the products and services that can enhance the brand image of Apple Inc. Characteristics of team and its contribution to the overall success of the organisation: Team can be defined as a group of people working together to achieve a common target for the welfare of the organisation. However, Dackert, et al. (2010) cited that in a team, the members complement the strengths and weakness of each other. The characteristics of an ideal team such as in Apple Inc., has been mentioned as under: Characterises Contribution in Apple Inc. A team leader Each of the team operates under a team leader. Team leader directs the right path and motivates the members to achieve the targets. The success of effective teamwork in Apple Inc. depends primarily on the leadership quality of Steve Jobs. A common goal Each of the team members’ work to meet a common short term and long term objectives that improves the business performance of the company. In Apple Inc., the staff are dedicated to provide unique and innovative technical solutions to the customers. Communication An effective team work includes free communication among the team members. In Apple Inc., the employees can share the feelings and ideas with each other. Moreover, the staff of Apple Inc .are also allowed having an open communication with the leaders. Measurement of team performance The teamwork of a particular department is being measured by the managers at a regular interval of time. In the company, the managers conduct a team meeting in every month with the team members to discuss the progress of the ongoing project. Importance of team roles including the manager’s role in Apple: Belbin’s model to assess the team roles: According to Belbin’s model, a team can be treated as an accumulation of the individuals who have assigned role that is understood by all the other members of the team. The model also highlights that in a team, the team members perform the roles in accordance with the personal capability. The model identifies the behavioural strengths and weakness of the team members in an organisation. According to Einstein and Humphreys (2011), behavioural strengths and weakness allows building productive working relationships. The self-awareness and the trust of the employees with each other boost up by the behavioural strengths. According to this model, in a successful team, the team members are needed to hire a manner that can balance the skills and behaviour of the individual. The team role model of Belbin can be presented through following tables: Action oriented Roles: Shaper This type of members asks the team to improve the performance. The shaper team members are dynamic in nature. Implementer This type of team members transforms the idea into action. Usually, the conservative and disciplined team members can be classified in this category. Completer-Finisher Completer-Finisher prefers to perform the job in a systematic way and ensures that the project is being completed without any mistakes. People oriented roles: Co-ordinator This type of team members act as a chairperson and guide the team members about the correct path. Team worker Team workers are ready to provide support to each other. Team workers are flexible in nature. Resource-investigator This type of people seeks new opportunities for the organisation from the external sources. Thought-oriented roles: Plant This type of people offers innovative thoughts to the management. Monitor/Evaluator They analyse the options provided by the previous group of team members and evaluates the feasibility. Specialist Specialist type of members delivers specialised skills for improving the performance of the company. In order to develop a successful team, the theories of McGregor and Adair can also be followed. McGregor has classified the workers based on the two classes: theory X and theory Y. Theory X states that most of the people do not prefer working and only work due to the threats of punishment. On the other hand, theory Y states that a rare group of people are self-motivated to achieve the organisational goals. The Adair’s theory also focuses on building teams and managing the team members with motivation (Einstein and Humphreys, 2011)). Leadership Models The team work in the organisation also depends on the leadership quality followed by the particular organisation. According to Fairholm and Fairholm (2009), leaders influence the performance of the employees by showing the correct approach of achieving the goal. Two leadership styles that can help in effective team work are: democratic and authoritarian. Democratic: In this type of leadership approach, the leaders discuss the issues with the team members to solve a problem. As stated by Gaertner (2009), democratic leaders motivate the team members to think a strategy that can enhance the organisation performance. As in the democratic leadership style, the leaders provide freedom for suggestions, it increases team performance. One of the founder of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs used to practice democratic leadership styles and it has resulted in continuous innovation. Authoritarian: In this type of leadership style, the leaders impose on strict regulation to the staff The leaders maintain strict policies for achieving success. However, under this type of leaders, the workers focus on time work to achieve the target. This sort of leadership style is quite familiar in the manufacturing companies. However, in authoritarian leadership styles, the workers may become demotivated and it can affect the performance of the entire team. Therefore, for a company like Apple Inc. that emphasises on the innovative products and services, authoritarian leadership style may not be a suitable one. Analysing the stages of developing a team using Tuckman’s model In most of the cases, the organisations face problems to build a new team. According to Hegarty and Sims (2010), setting up an effective team can be treated as one of the most difficult task for the managers. Tuckerman’s model can be considered for building team. The stages of the model have been discussed in context of Apple Inc.Inc.Inc.: Stage 1: Forming: At the initial stages of a new project when the team members met with each others, the forming takes place. In this stage the managers communicate with the team members for providing the information regarding the projects and its objectives. In this regard, Khatri (2009) added that in the forming stage, the team leaders are required to be very specific about the project guidelines to the members. In addition, the leaders also ensure that the members can understand the individual roles and responsibilities and work for the common good of the team. Stage 2: Storming: After a new team has been prepared in an organisation and the tasks have been allocated, storming stage takes place. Khunia and Suar (2009) identified the storming stage as an unavoidable one, particularly for a new team. In the storming stage, the team members compete with each other for establishing the status and the views (Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report, 2015). In this stage, the team members may engage into a conflict due to varied ideas and thoughts. Therefore, in this stage, the managers are needed to settle down the situation. After the team members start to accept the ideas of the others, storming stage settles down. Stage 3: Norming: In the norming stage, the team members start to show collective efforts to solve the problem.. Thus, Lam and White (2010) mentioned that in the norming stage, the team members start to prioritise the organisational goals compared to the individual goals. In this step, the team members provide values to others’ decision. Moreover, in this stage, the team members are ready to accept the organisational rules and regulations. Norming stage also increases the trust and bonding among the team members. In this stage, the leaders may not be involve in making decisions and rely on the performance of team members. Stage 4: Performing: In the performing stage, the team members work with a higher efficiency level. The main focus of this stage is on achieving the targets collectively. The team members completely rely on each other and share the issues to resolve the problem. However, most of the average organisation do not follow this stage and stop at the norming stage. In Apple Inc., the leaders encourage the team members to follow the performing step, at improves the performance. In this stage, the leaders completely depend on the team members to solve the problem. However, the leaders monitor the progress. Stage 5: Adjourning: In this stage the team members move to other locations as the continued project come to an end. In this stage, the team leaders celebrate the success of the projects with the team members. In case the project fails to meet the desired target, the project manager identifies the loopholes and asks the team members to take a lesson from the project. Appropriate motivational techniques applied to Apple: Motivation can be considered as an external or internal factor that that encourages the staff to garner interest and commit to the assigned job roles. According to Leonard (2013), motivation ensures that the people are giving full effort to achieve a goal. Several theories have been applied to analyse the motivational factors in the organisation. In this context, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory can be discussed: Maslow’s theory has been focused on the psychological needs of the staff in an organisation. Maslow has presented five levels of the human needs that needs to be understood and met for ensuring success. Figure: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Source: Lewin, K, 2007, p.9) At the initial stage, the workers concentrate on achieving the basic need such as food, shelter, cloths etc. In the second stage, the workers are focused on getting a safe working environment. Job security is the most important desire of the people in this stage. In the third stage, workers want to become a member of the society. In this stage, the workers want to have a feeling of existence in the society. In the fourth stage, the workers want to achieve social status and self-respect. In the last stage, the workers want eternal peace and introspects the performance of the entire life. As the lower level of the needs is fulfilled, the employees want to achieve the next level of needs. As the success of the company primarily depends on the motivational work forces, Apple Inc. can implement strategies that can motivate the staff to work according to the potential. For motivating the staff, the company can provide incentives based on the performance. As stated by Schminke, et al. (2009), most of the staffs get motivated with the monetary benefits provided by the organisations. Therefore, for achieving the sales target or completing a project before deadline, Apple Inc. can offer incentives at a certain rate to encourage the staff. The company can also offer performance based payment for influencing the idle employees to put in efforts. The company can also motivate the staff by offering fringe benefits. The fringe benefits can be provided in the form of offering gifts or sponsoring a family tours to the staff. Techniques of open communication in the team Communication plays an important role in the organisation to share the feelings and thoughts among the members. According to Tenbrunsel (2010), effective communication enables the teams to minimise the conflicts and sort out an effective result to a complex problem. Open communication requires a detailed answer to a question. In contrary to that, close ended communication can be done with just ‘yes’ or ‘no’. In an organisation like Apple Inc.Inc.Inc., the team members can apply several methods for open communication: Weekly meetings: The managers can conduct a weekly meeting with the team members to track the progress of the project. Additionally, the weekly meetings enable the members to express the difficulties to the managers. The team members can discuss among each other to offer an innovative solution to a complex problem. Emails: The team members can also make an effective communication through emails. It can help the members to communicate with each others or the managers irrespective of the location. Videoconferencing or teleconferencing: Apple Inc. can also consider telephonic or video based conferencing as a tool to make the important communication. It can be treated as an effective tool for conducting meetings for the managers locating in the different domains. Conflict Resolution Methods in Organisation In the team, the individuals provide different strategies to resolve common problems. Therefore, any differences in the views may create conflicts. Khunia and Suar (2009) defined that conflict is the effect of disagreement regarding a particular issue, that create chaos in the organisation and delays the work flows. Therefore, the managers are required to adapt effective strategies to mitigate conflicts. The managers of Apple Inc. can implement the model of Thomas to resolve conflicts. The five stage model proposed by Thomas to manage conflicts has been discussed as under: Accommodating: Accommodating strategy enables the individual to solve the conflicts by agreeing with the views of the other party. In this strategy, the one party wishes to keep peace in the organisation and perceives the issue as a minor one (Tenbrunsel, 2010). Avoiding: In avoiding strategy, one party prefers to postpone the conflicts for an indefinite period of time. According to Leonard (2013), by delaying or ignoring the conflicts for a longer period of time, the conflicts resolve by itself. Generally, the low esteem people implement avoiding methods to resolve conflicts. Collaborating: It can be considered as one of the most effective approach to resolve the conflicts. In this strategy, the members share the issues with the other members of the organisation. Therefore, it helps the member to find out an innovative solution to resolve the conflict. In Apple Inc., most of the conflicts have been resolved with this method. Compromising: When both the parties hold an influential position in the organisation, compromising method can be implemented to resolve a conflict. In this strategy, the managers call both the parties and request to give up the respective views and settle with a decision that can satisfy the organisational objectives. Competing: Competing strategy can be treated as a zero-sum game (Khunia and Saur, 2009). In this approach, one of the two parties only wins. In most of the cases, the assertive people follow the competing method to resolve conflicts. In the emergency situation, competing strategy can be very effective to settle the normal working environment. Process of measuring and improving team performance: The managers are required to evaluate the performance of the team at a regular interval of time. Leonard (2013) mentioned that continuous monitoring of the performance enables the managers to track the progress and identify the strengths and weakness of the team. In Apple Inc.Inc.Inc., the managers evaluate the performance of the team members after every six months. However, in this context, Tenbrunsel (2010) argued that too much interference of the managers team may hamper the performance of the team members. HR managers select certain criteria based on which the performance of the individual team members can be evaluated. The criteria are termed as the Key Performance Indicator (KPA). The performance of the staff is judged based on the parameters of KPA. A point of 1 to 5 has been provided on each of the parameters of KPA according to the performance of the individual staff. The team leaders can assess the performance and send the KPA report of the member to the HR managers. Based on the KPA result, HR managers can prepare an appraisal report of the staff and send it to the higher management who take the final decision regarding the promotion or increment. However, a benchmark is selected on the overall score of the KPA. The following table shows a sample KPA report of an individual staff: Parameter Point (1-5) Punctuation 4 Commitment to the job 3 Fulfilment of the daily compliances 4 Problem solving skill 5 Innovative solution 3 Communication 3 Technical skills 3 Coordination 4 Total 29 Apart from that, the companies can also measure the total sales figure as a parameter of measuring the performance of the staff. Some of the organisation like Apple Inc. also assesses the leadership quality of a member to identify the future leaders. The performance appraisal report also identifies the employees who are not performing according to the desired benchmark. Thus, the managers are required to communicate with the staff and motivate to uplift the performance. It can improve the business performance of the entire organisation. Conclusion: The study intends to provide all the important HR parameters that can affect the performance of an organisation. The report has presented the concept of team and its relevance on the performance of the entire organisation. Belbin’s model has presented to point out the team roles based on the characteristics of the team members. The report has also discussed on the motivational theories and the conflict management techniques. Reference List Barry, B. and Stewart, G. L., 2009. Composition, process, and performance in self-managed groups: The role of personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, pp. 62-78 Conner, J., 2009. Developing the global leaders of tomorrow. Human Resource Management, 39(3), pp. 147–157 Dackert, I., Loov, L. A. and Martensson, M., 2010 Leadership and the climate for innovation in teams. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 25, pp. 301-318 Einstein, W. O. and Humphreys, J. H., 2011. 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