1.The characteristics of business teams that are effective
According to Decuyper, Dochy and Van (2010 p.121) effective business teams have a clear understanding of the objectives and goals of the team. Every team member should be in a position of speaking for the team on their project’s progress when called upon. Therefore, being able to speak for the team requires the team members at Phillips to have a clear understanding of the team’s goals and estimate whether they are making progress or not. In addition, effective business teams at Phillips have shared values which means that they have a common desire to succeed at what they do thus they have a common sense of purpose. Research by Tannenbaum and Cerasoli (2013 p.237) shows that members in a particular team work independently and interact to achieve the objectives of the team. In addition, they take responsibility collectively for the achievement of shared objectives and aims. Business teams at Phillips also have mutual trust, which is an important aspect of open communication. All team members should have a will of talking openly which only happens when team members have mutual trust. Mutual respect is also a characteristic of effective business teams, which basically means that the team members at Phillips respect each other as individuals and also respect the contribution of every member to the performance of the team. Lack of mutual trust in business teams may jeopardize the team’s effectiveness.
In addition, business teams at Phillips want the success of the team by realizing the need for focusing on the goals of the group and rising above personal ambitions. In their individual capabilities, team members feel secure and have a clear understanding of the reasons why the organization constituted a team in the first place. Further research by Buljac-Samardzic et al. (2010 p.187) shows that team members also have well differentiated and defined goals within the team and have the ability of working towards the execution of their roles in line with the team’s common goals. Basically, to achieve team success, high team spirit must be applied. Furthermore, business teams at Phillips are effective as they have sustainable conflict, in that disagreements and conflicts related to discussions about tasks are treated as an occurrence that is normal and the members of the team do not harbor any hatred or animosity towards each other. However, too much disagreement is not healthy for a team in as much as it fosters creative thinking since it may damage the team relationship. An effective team agrees on processes of constructively resolving issues. Effective business teams also support each other in challenging situations and encourage each other to work harder in achieving the team’s objectives (Lin, Standing and Liu, 2008 p.1039). In addition, business teams at Phillips have the “team first” mentality which ensures that the goals of the team come first. Effective teams have the willingness to share expertise and knowledge among themselves which assists the team in succeeding.
Furthermore, business teams at Phillips are engaged which means that every team member participates in every project being undertaken by the team. Engaging members is important as it gives them a feeling of making a strong contribution in the team. Effective business teams also have an organizational connection which basically means that the rest of the organization values the team hence there is increased motivation. Effective business teams have adequate resources to facilitate their operations and meet their objectives and goals. There is also positive and open communication which assists in members being aware of developments that are sensitive in their work. Team members ensure that they do not mock, reject or embarrass a member for sharing their ideas on a particular subject. Business teams at Phillips also have a feeling of belonging whereby members are strongly knitted and believe that they are part of the team which gives them a sense of belonging. Mathieu and Rapp (2009 p.90) believe that effective business teams have fun which ensures that they enjoy working together through socializing outside of work and interacting on the job. Having fun ensures that team members enjoy each other’s company and like each other.
Teamwork theories are organized ways of understanding various behaviors, procedures and circumstances. The Bruce Tuckman’s Model of team stages was created in 1965, with many companies applying the theory (Bonebright, 2010 p.113). The model consists of the forming, storming, norming and performing stages and has been applied in many scenarios. Commonly, the model is referred to as the “origin for successful team building”.
In his theory known as the Belbin’s theory of team roles, Belbin listed nine roles which all teams should have. The roles included specialist, completer-finisher, implementer, team worker, monitor evaluator, shaper, coordinator, resource investigator and plant (Batenburg, van-Walbeek and Maur, 2013 p.907).
In the Hierarchy of Needs Theory, Abraham Maslow created a pyramid showing the motivation in humans. Research by Jerome (2013 p.41) shows that the bottom part includes physiological items like food, followed by safety like health security, followed by belonging/love, for example, family, followed by esteem, for example, respecting others, with the last section being the self-actualization section, for example, morality.
The MBTI Theory by Isabel Briggs-Myers is a test of personality that takes into account how people perceive the world. Research by Behaz and Djoudi (2012 p.135) shows that the MBTI Theory is good for teams as it enables team members to understand each other better. The Leadership Theory by John Adair is a perfect model for what management and leadership should look like. In addition, the Color theory by Carl Jung shows how color determines the behavior of humans which assists people in understanding why their team members act as they do. According to Hornsey (2008 p.207) Tajfel presented the social identity idea as a great way of describing inter-group behavior through his theory on Social Identity. Moreover, Douglas McGregor’s X and Y theory describes the motivation in humans, which is an important model that employees and managers should familiarize themselves with (Kopelman, Prottas and Davis, 2008 p.261). The Strength Theory shows how people should continually work to achieve the best teamwork and become strong, compared to how a muscle gets stronger when continuously exercised. Lastly, the team analysis theory shows that, eventually, teams will fall apart thus one will have to analyze and re-evaluate the situation to understand what went wrong. By keenly understanding the theories on teamwork, organizations can gain the most from teams.
According to Thomas, Jacques, Adams and Kihneman-Wooten (2008 p.105) the team roles concept is an integral part when building teams and getting the process of team building right. Managers know the importance of building an effective team but few invest their time in defining the team roles. The aspect has regrettably resulted in poor teams being made due to the lack of genuinely tailored and substantive team roles. Observing behavior within the team tends to fall into discernible and clear patterns reflecting both weaknesses manifesting under pressure as well as the contributions made by an individual. Dr. Meredith Belbin’s Team Role Model which has been globally regarded as an effective facilitator in identifying existing patterns within a team characterizes collective and individual teamwork. Belbin’s Team Role Model is useful for the process of team building in the higher level since it assists organizational managers in the identification of patterns existing within their teams thus enabling them to underpin their weaknesses and strengths.
Once clearly understand the Team Role Model, the patterns that are identified assists teams in the management of their weaknesses and capitalize on their strengths specifically when biases that exist creep in under pressure of the real world (Meslec and Cur?eu, 2015 p.83). Managers cannot directly project or possess a specific distinct and clear role in a team, but rather their core field experiences, beliefs and a subtle blend of role preferences. Belbin and his globally famous expert team made a discovery and refinement of the model based on the 9 behavioral clusters that are clear contributors to teamwork. Belbin and his internationally renowned team of experts discovered and refined the model based on the appearance of 9 clear clusters of behavioral contributions to teamwork.
1. Methods used for developing teams that support members of the team in the achievement of given objectives
Various methods that support members of the team in the achievement of given objectives at Phillips can be used in developing the team. Managers at Phillips use coaching as a technique for developing their teams while bearing in mind that many gaps in the performance of the team can be closed through better communication rather than programs for training the team members. According to Suderman (2012 p.53) team members can be coached through confidential and personal communication with team members since regular conversations will assist in the identification and dealing with various issues effectively. For example, assisting team members in achieving their goals by addressing problems in their performance. Models that can be used for coaching team members include the PRACTICE, POSITIVE and GROW (goal, reality, options and will) models. The PRACTICE model focuses on finding solutions to problems, the POSITIVE model assists employees in finding their work purpose, while the GROW model creates a structure for discussions.
In addition, managers at Phillips use team building activities to develop their teams through identification of their weaknesses and strengths and in the improvement of teamwork. To achieve the best results, managers should first identify the biggest challenges of their team and carefully select the team building exercise so as to ensure that it meets the objective of training. Some activities for building the team improve the team’s planning and strategy skills, problem-solving skills and development of leadership skills.
Furthermore, managers at Phillips develop their teams through effective delegation of work. Delegation gives team members an opportunity of gaining experience and learning new skills. Through effective delegation, leaders need to carefully manage the process so as to achieve the best outcome for the team. Managers should assist team members in handling the delegated work by offering them guidance and support to complete it.
Moreover, managing talent is an effective method for team development. Managers should identify team members with specific talents, assist in retaining them and build their capabilities (Naqvi, 2009 p.85). The managers at Phillips work in conjunction with the human resource department to support the development of the skills of team members with an effective system for performance management.
There are several techniques that can be used for motivating teams and individuals in the achievement of given objectives. Offering financial rewards to well-performing employees is important in that the employee feels that they are being paid for what they are worth and motivates them to work harder. When setting the salaries of employees, it is important to ensure that they match with what other organizations in the geographic area or industry are paying the employees serving in the same capacity (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009 p.460). Paying employees well ensures that they are retained in the company and would not think of shifting to other companies due to minor salary increments.
Managers at Phillips motivate employees through recognition of their efforts and achievements. Recognition could be in the form of promotions, gift cards, bonuses or certificates which gives the employee the motivation to put more effort and being the best they can in their roles and responsibilities in the workplace. In addition, offering employees a good environment ensures that employees are comfortable while discharging their duties for the organization. Managers should, therefore, ensure that the office environment is stimulating and clean by investing in making the office a pleasant place to be. Managers can also motivate employees through offering an opportunity for self-development so that team members can be more valuable to the company and to themselves by offering the opportunity for learning new experiences and skills. Fostering collaboration is also important within the team as it encourages members in fully participating through their inputs and suggestions on doing things better (Hung, Durcikova, Lai and Lin, 2011 p.421). Managers should, therefore, ensure that they ask team members questions and implement solutions by listening to the answers.
Performance feedback is important as it provides managers with a roadmap for the development of teams that are highly effective. Through performance feedback, managers at Phillips can assess the strength of their team from the data received that assists managers in accurately assigning tasks on the basis of skill instead of intuition (Salas, Prince, Baker and Shrestha, 2017 p.66). In addition, feedback on performance assists in the recognition of star employees thus resulting in the retaining of top performing team members and appreciating their good work which allows them to do their best. Furthermore, managers are able to identify skill gaps in the team which assists in the identification of the required skills in the team for the provision of more targeted training or deciding on the best ways of approaching challenges. Performance feedback also assists managers in becoming better coaches through the recording and measurement of employee improvement over time.
Determining the criteria for monitoring the effectiveness of a team is important for managers. Research by LePine et al. (2008 p.279) shows that most measures of performance can be grouped into six categories that are general including safety, productivity, timeliness, quality, efficiency and effectiveness. Effectiveness is a process that indicates the degree to which the output of the process conforms to the requirements of the team. On the other hand, safety measures the team’s overall health and the team members’ working environment. In addition, productivity refers to the value in which the process adds divided by the value of the capital used and labor. Timeliness measures whether a work unit was on time and correctly done based on the requirements of the customers. Lastly, efficiency is a process that indicates the degree to which the process has produced the output that is required at the minimum cost of resources.
Various methods can be used for the determination of the criteria of monitoring team effectiveness. Managers at Phillips look at the attendance of team members which is a useful performance metric. Salas, Cooke and Rosen (2008 p.544) believe that team member may not show their full potential by taking an unusual number of sick days, leaving early, absconding meetings and consistently showing up late. In addition, managers can look at the helpfulness and participation of team members in the team’s activities. Helpfulness is important in enabling the team to perform better and in fostering a culture of teamwork. The efficiency of team members is important to consider since it allows team members to be able to complete their tasks on time. Furthermore, initiative is important since initiative-oriented employees are signs of team engagement and satisfaction. The quality of work that is being delivered by team members is also important although it is difficult to define. Team members who are performing well ensure that the effectiveness of the team has been upheld.
Conclusion
Many processes and factors influencing the dysfunction or effectiveness of teams have been highlighted. Managers at Phillips should therefore carefully consider the factors and theories influencing the effectiveness of business teams when restructuring or assembling teams in the workplace. Departmental managers at Phillips have the same objective of ensuring that they form and maintain effective teams to ensure organizational efficiency.
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