How a good team working ethos

How A Good Team Working Ethos On A Project Can Be Developed With Particular Reference To Equality At Work
Introduction And Executive Summary
This report is intended to explain how we, as a company, will develop a good team working ethos on a project, with particular reference to equality at work.
This report has been prepared on request of the client as part of the prequalification exercise and outlines our proposals, and informs of any legal obligations and relevant legislation that the client should be made aware of.
A good team working ethos equates to a positive characteristic attitude of a group of people towards what constitutes moral working practice.  Achieving equality at work will involve all persons associated with an organisation being considered on a par with one another, by themselves and others.
As a company we are a well established leading provider of project management services, with an excellent track record for successfully managing a range of exciting projects, all of which which ha haveve satisfied all of our client’s needs.  Our diversified team of staff is comprised of extensively qualified full-time and part-time project managers from a variety of backgrounds.  Our project managers are all provided with continuing professional development training, equipping them all with highly developed communication, consultation and conflict resolution skills. 

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Every member of our team are required to undergo extensive internal training so that they fully understand our company ethos.  The main principles of our company ethos include: complying with the laws enforced wherever we operate , and to be sensitive to local customs and traditions; to conduct all our business and make all our decisions within a clear ethical framework; to maintain safe and healthy working environments; to create, develop and sustain strong and long lasting relationships with our clients; to achieve a thorough understanding of our client’s aims and needs; to contribute positively to the communities in which we work; and to operate sus tainably in all that we do.
Every member of our team is also required to undergo extensive internal training so that they fully understand our equal opportunities policy.  The main principles of our equal opportunities policy include: creating a safe, healthy, challenging, rewarding, participative and fair working environment for all our staff; and ensuring the utilisation of the full talents and skills of all our staff through effective selection, training and development. The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework within which our services can be provided in a fair, appropriate manner to meet the needs of our team and clients, and meet our legal obligations in relation to all forms of discrimination.
As a company we are devoted to ensuring that our clients receive a professionally delivered service that satisfies all of their needs.  As a part of our service we are primarily concerned with keeping the client’s best interests in mind and safe guarding them from any legal implications.  All of our staff are familiar with and have a current knowledge of all aspects of relevant legislative documentation related to the working environment.  Legislation that all of our clients should be aware of includes: 

Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974
Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Disability Discrimination Act 2005
The Sex Discrimination Act (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999
Race Relations Act 1976
Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006

We are recognised as an Investor in People organisation, and so fully comply with all aspects of the Investors in People framework. The framework set out by Investors in People UK addresses health and well being, equality and diversity in the workplace and literacy, language and numeracy.  All of our staff are familiar with every aspect of the Investors in People framework and are accustomed to sharing their knowledge of the subject with clients and other professionals, in an effort to create a fair and agreeable environment in which to work and to improve business performance. 
To get the best work out of our employees and to maintain a good team working ethos our staff are trained, when working in a team leader capacity, to follow team members’ advice, listen to their suggestions and grant reasonable requests; provide motivation to members of the team and eliminate issues that are slowing the team down; remind team members of their roles and encourage them to share skills; regularly remind team members of the project goals and keep them up to date with the progress of the project; and to hold regular meetings to evaluate the overall team performance.
To ensure effective teamwork on projects our staff are also trained, when working as part of a team, to invest trust in other members of the team, engage in healthy conflict, commit themselves to project based tasks, hold themselves and one another accountable, focus on collective results, regularly engage in communication, and maintain moral and ethical conduct at all times.
As a company we believe that everyone has the right to be treated fairly and equally at work and be free of discrimination in employment.  All of our staff, regardless of employment status, are subject to extensive training to educate them about their rights as employees and the rights of their colleagues.  As employers we are committed to protecting people from unequal treatment in recruitment and job advertising, pay and benefits, terms and conditions at work, promotion and training, dismissal, redundancy and retirement.
As a company we endeavour to ensure that we deliver a good team working ethos on all projects we undertake, with particular attention paid to ensuring equality at work.  Should we be successful in our tender, we assure you that we will do everything within our power to ensure that the experience and continued working experience of working with yourselves is an enjoyable and prosperous one. 1 .0   Introduction
This report is intended to explain how we, as a company, will develop a good team working ethos on a project, with particular reference to equality at work.
This report has been prepared on request of the client as part of the prequalification exercise and outlines our proposals, and informs of any legal obligations and relevant legislation that the client should be made aware of.
A Good Team Working Ethos With Particular Reference To Equality At Work
An ethic, by definition (MSN Encarta Dictionary, 2009)[1], is a system of moral standards or principles”, which is derived from the word ethos, which is in turn the fundamental and distinctive character of a group, social context, or period of time, typically expressed in attitudes, habits and beliefs” (MSN Encarta Dictionary,2009)[1]. This suggests that a good team working ethos will equate to a positive characteristic attitude of a group of people towards what constitutes moral working practice. 
Good team working ethos requires the individuals within tha t team to have the same level of ethical standards.
Equality, by definition (MSN Encarta Dictionary, 2009)[1], is having rights, treatment, quantity or value equal to all others in a specific group”.  This suggests that achieving equality at work will involve all persons associated with an organisation being considered on a par with one another, by themselves and others.
Company Profile
As a company we are a well established leading provider of project management services with an excellent track record for successfully managing a range of exciting projects, which have satisfied all of our client’s needs.  Our diversified team of staff is comprised of extensively qualified full-time and part-time project managers from a variety of backgrounds, all possessing unique and invaluable skills. Our project managers are all provided with continuing professional development training, equipping them all with strongly developed communication, consultation and conflict resolution skills, enabling the company to continue to grow in business and reputation.
Every member of our team is required to undergo extensive internal training so that they fully understand our company ethos. The main principles of our company ethos include: complying with the laws enforced wherever we operate, and to be sensitive to local customs and traditions; to conduct all our business and make all our decisions within a clear ethical framework; to maintain safe and healthy working environments, operating safe systems and methods of work and ensuring the safety of members of the public; to create, develop and sustain strong and long lasting relationships with our clients; to achieve a thorough understanding of our client’s aims and needs in order to ensure that we satisfy them; to contribute positively to the communities in which we work; and to operate sustainability in all that we do so as to avoid compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Every member of our team is also required to undergo extensive internal training so that they fully understand our equal opportunities policy. The main principles of our equal opportunities policy include: creating a safe, healthy, challenging, rewarding, participative and fair working environment for all our staff; and ensuring the utilisation of the full talents and skills of all our staff through effective selection, training and development. The purpose of this policy is to provide a framework within which our services can be provided in a fair, appropriate manner to meet the needs of our team and clients, and meet our legal obligations in relation to gender, marital status, pregnancy, physical status or disability, gender reassignment, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religious belief, sexual orientation, age and employment status. 
Legislation
As a company we are devoted to ensuring that our clients receive a professionally delivered service that satisfies all of their needs. As a part of our service all of our staff are also trained to keep the client’s best interests in mind for the entire duration of projects, and as a company we are primarily concerned with safe guarding the client from any legal implications.  All of our staff are regularly provided with training to ensure that they are familiar with and have a current knowledge of all aspects of relevant legislative documentation related to the working environment and can impart this information to the client where applicable on a project.  Legislation that all of our clients should be aware of, with reference to health and safety, equality at work and discrimination, includes: 
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – Also referred to as HASAW or HSW. It is the primary piece of legislation covering occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom.  It is an act that makes further provision for securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work, for controlling the keeping, use and preventing the unlawful acquisition, possession of and use of dangerous substances, and for controlling certain emissions into the atmosphere (source, date).
Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992 – Regulations which impose requirements with respect to the health, safety and welfare of persons in a workplace.  These regulations are imposed upon employers and persons who have, to any extent, control of a workplace. These regulations impose requirements with respect to maintenance, ventilation, indoor temperatures, lighting, cleanliness, suitable working areas, protection from falling objects, the provision of suitable sanitary conveniences, the provision of suitable washing facilities, the provision of a supply of drinking water and suitable drinking vessels, the provision of suitable accommodation for clothing and of facilities for changing clothing, and the provision of suitable facilities for rest and to eat meals(source, date).
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 – Regulations which re-enact the Workplace (Health, Safety & Welfare) Regulations 1992, with the addition of new regulations relating to occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom(source, date).
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 – An act which makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees, job seekers, trainees and any other bodies on the grounds of gender.  The act makes unlawful, direct and indirect discrimination against women, sex discrimination against men, discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment and direct and indirect discrimination against married persons in the employment field(source, date).  
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – An act which makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in connection with employment, the provision of goods, facilities and services, or the disposal or management of premises.  The act addresses the duty of the employer to make provisions, adjustments and alterations to accommodate disabled persons and the duty of the providers of services to make adjustments to accommodate disabled persons(source, date).
Disability Discrimination Act 2005 – An act to amend the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against disabled persons in connection with employment, the provision of goods, facilities and services, or the disposal or management of premises(source, date).
The Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 – Regulations which extend the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, which makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees, job seekers, trainees and any other bodies on the grounds of gender(source, date).
Race Relations Act 1976 – An act which makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees, job seekers, trainees and any other bodies on the grounds of race and relations between people of different racial groups(source, date).   
Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 – Regulations which make it unlawful to discriminate against employees, job seekers, trainees and any other bodies on the grounds of religion and belief. These regulations make unlawful direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment on the grounds of any religion, religious belief, or similar philosophical belief(source, date).   
Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 – Regulations which make it unlawful to discriminate against employees, job seekers, trainees and any other bodies on the grounds of sexual orientation.  These regulations make unlawful direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation towards persons of the same sex, persons of the opposite sex, or to both persons of the same sex and opposite sex(source, date).
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 – Regulations which make it unlawful to discriminate against employees, job seekers, trainees and any other bodies on the grounds of age.  The regulations cover workers of all ages, young and old, in all types of employment and vocational training, and include access to help and guidance, promotion, development, redundancy, perks and pay(source, date). 
How A Good Team Working Ethos Will Be Achieved
Teams According to Pryke and Smith (2006) teams are defined as : Groups of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose and hold themselves mutually accountable for its achievement.  Ideally, they develop a distinct identity and work together in a co-ordinated and mutually supportive way to fulfil their goal or purpose”.” (Pryke and Smyth, 2006)[2]
As a company we are recognised as an Investor in People organisation, and so fully comply with all aspects of the Investors in People framework.  The framework set out by Investors in People UK addresses health and well being, equality and diversity in the workplace and literacy, language and numeracy.  The health and well being aspect of the framework looks at increasing productivity by improving workplace health and is intended to improve loyalty and advocacy, morale costs, staff retention productivity, and quality and customer satisfaction, whilst reducing staff turnover, absence rates, agency cover costs, health insurance, litigation costs and recruitment costs.  The equality and diversity in the workplace aspect of the framework emphasises that treating people equally is essential to being an effective organisation and focuses on equality of opportunity, the culture of the organisation, recruitment and selection, and how an organisation promotes and values equality and diversity.  The literacy, language and numeracy aspect of the framework encourages the reviewing of literacy, language and numeracy skills within organisations and provides a structure for implementing literacy, language and numeracy programmes in order to help employees work to the best of their abilities and give them the confidence to go for promotions, take up additional training opportunities, participate fully in the workplace, reduce costly mistakes, keep up with change and understand health and safety.  All of our staff are familiar with every aspect of the Investors in People framework and are accustomed to sharing their knowledge of the subject with clients and other professionals, in an effort to create a fair and agreeable environment in which to work, and to improve business performance. 
To get the best work out of our employees and to maintain a good team working ethos our staff are trained, when working in a team leader capacity, to follow team members’ advice, listen to their suggestions and grant reasonable requests, resulting in improved morale and happiness of the people in the team; provide motivation to members of the team and eliminate issues that are slowing the team down, resulting in improved quality and efficiency of their work; remind team members of their roles and encourage team members to share skills, resulting in protecting people from bureaucracy and carrying out needless tasks, whilst simultaneously helping the team to work smarter and learn new skills; regularly remind team members of the project goals and keep them up to date with the progress of the project, resulting in increased chances of the project being completed on schedule, and creating a sense of unity between the members of the team; and to hold regular meetings to evaluate the overall team performance, resulting in the elimination of behaviour which is detrimental to the project or the team and giving the team members a sense of belonging.
To ensure effective teamwork on projects our staff are also trained, when working as part of a team, to invest trust in other members of the team, engage in healthy conflict resulting in the resolution of complex issues, commit themselves to project based tasks, hold themselves and one another accountable for achievements and shortcomings, focus on collective results, regularly engage in communication with other members of the team, and maintain moral and ethical conduct at all times. 
How Equality At Work Will Be Achievedachieved
According to the Equalities Review, in their fairness and freedom report (Fairness and Freedom: The Final Report of the Equalities Review, 2007), An equal society protects and promotes equal, real freedom and substantive opportunity to live in the ways people value and would choose, so that everyone can flourish.” and An equal society recognises people’s different needs, situations and goals and removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be.”
As a company we believe that everyone has the right to be treated fairly and equally at work and be free of discrimination in employment.  All of our staff, regardless of employment status, are subject to extensive training to educate them about their rights as employees and the rights of their colleagues, to ensure that none of our employees or the people that they come into contact with whilst working on a project, are subject to any form of discrimination, harassment or unfair treatment.  As employers we are committed to protecting people from unequal treatment in job recruitment and job advertising, pay and benefits, terms and conditions at work, promotion and training, dismissal, redundancy and retirement.   
Conclusion
As a company we endeavour to ensure that we deliver a good team working ethos on all projects we undertake, with particular attention paid to ensuring equality at work.  Should we be successful in our tender, we assure you that we will do everything within our power to ensure that the experience and continued working experience of working with yourselves is an enjoyable and prosperous one.