Teams

1. Teams evansggreydarkoh

2. Scope of Presentation • Introduction • Definition of Teams • Reasons for the Growing use of Teams • Types of Teams • Team Effectiveness evansggreydarkoh

3. Introduction • Teams and teamwork are popular term in management these days. • The team approach to managing organizations is having a significant impact on individuals and organizations. • Teams promise to be a cornerstone of progressive management for the foreseeable future. evansggreydarkoh

4. Introduction (cont’d) • According to management expert Peter Drucker, tomorrow’s organizations will be flatter, information based, and organized around teams. Managers will therefore have to polish their team skills • James Baughman, the General Electric Director of Corporate Management Development has said that “The people who will excel will be those who can build a team and integrate it with others”. evansggreydarkoh

5. Definition of Teams • A team is viewed as “a mature group, comprising people with interdependence, motivation, and a shared commitment to accomplish agreed upon goals” (Mancevich et. al 2005). • According to Katzenbach and Smith (1993), a team is “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable”. • The average size of team ranges from 2 to 25 members. Effective team should not contain more than 10 members. evansggreydarkoh

6. Definition of Teams • The essence of a team is common commitment. Without commitment, groups perform as individuals, with it they become a powerful unit of collective performance. • A group becomes a team when the following are achieved: 1. leadership becomes a shared activity. 2. Accountability shifts from strictly individual to both individual and collective. 3. The group develops its own purpose or mission. 4. Problem solving becomes a way of life, not a part-time activity. 5. Effectiveness is measured by the group’s collective outcomes and products. evansggreydarkoh

7. Reasons for the Growing use of Teams • The success of Japan which is largely attributed to the use of teams. • Potential quality improvement. • Enhanced productivity through the bringing together of people of complementary skills. • Organizational restructuring efforts especially those that have to do with flattening the structure. • Many organizations are using teams because of other firm’s success stories. Microsoft Corporation’s use of software research and development teams made phenomenal contribution to the success of the company. evansggreydarkoh

8. Types of Teams Distinction among teams can be made on the basis of size, composition, organizational level, duration, objectives, and potential future problems. The types of organizational teams of today include the following: • Problem-Solving teams • Cross-Functional teams • Virtual teams • Research and development teams • And self-managed teams evansggreydarkoh

9. Types of Teams (cont’d) • Problem-Solving Teams: Problem solving teams are formed to deal with problems. The problems may be known or yet to be identified. An example of problem-solving team is quality circle. • Cross-Functional teams: A cross-functional team is one consisting of members from different functional departments e.g. engineering, accounting, human resources, marketing, finance etc)- the use of different skills from different areas within the organization increase camaraderie, trust, and performance. • Cross-functional teams sometimes take time to become effective, build trust and peak performance because of past experiences, impressions, attitudes, and relationships. evansggreydarkoh

10. Types of Teams (cont’d) • Virtual Teams: this is composed of people who geographically separated that are assembled by using various technologies to accomplish specific goals. • Members of virtual teams rarely meet face-to-face. • Virtual team has become important because of the need for faster decisions, and technological advancement • Virtual teams use email, desktop and real-time video conferencing, video conferencing, electronic bulletin boards. • Companies such as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Protector and Gamble have used virtual teams to facilitate their organizations. • Virtual teams work together to service customers, complaints, and suggestions. evansggreydarkoh

11. Types of Teams (cont’d) • Virtual teams need leaders who will coach, build trust, evaluate performance and provide feedback. • The dispersal of members in virtual teams creates a challenge for leaders in terms of creating a sense of team. evansggreydarkoh

12. Types of Teams (cont’d) • Research and Development Teams: Research and Development Teams are used to develop new products. • Their use is most extensive in high-tech industries such as aviation, electronics, and computers etc • Research and Development Teams are normally set up to expedite innovation and create new product design. • The term Research and Development was coined by Lookheed engineer during WWII, such teams are referred to as skunk works . evansggreydarkoh

13. Types of Teams (cont’d) • Self-Managed Teams: A self-managed team is a small group of individuals empowered to perform activities with minimum outside direction. Self-managed Teams are not for everyone, nor have they been successful in every organization. • Before Implementing SMT, the organization must take note of the following: • Business requirements • Values and goals • Competencies • Management commitment • Receptivity to change • Employee trust in management evansggreydarkoh

14. Team Effectiveness • The effectiveness of athletic teams is a straightforward matter of wins or losses. Things become complicated, however, when the focus shifts to work teams in today’s organizations. • Two effectiveness criteria are normally listed. These are performance and viability. • Performance means acceptability of output to customers within or outside the organization who receive team products, services, information, decisions, or performance events • Team viability is defined as team member satisfaction and continued willingness to contribute. • Are the team members better or worse off for having contributed to the team efforts? • A work team is not truly effective if it gets the job done but self-destructs in the process. evansggreydarkoh

15. Team Effectiveness • As competitive pressure increases, organization success increasingly depends on teamwork rather than individual stars. • Companies such as Microsoft and Xerox fill the position of corporate president with a team of executives instead of individuals. • The Paul Allaire of Xerox said that: “ I would hope that we have been clear enough that one of the criteria of this new organization is working together” He further said that: “Future Xerox leaders will be drawn only from those who can cooperate: Anyone who isn’t a team player would be automatically excluded from succession”. evansggreydarkoh

16. Factors responsible for Team Effectiveness • Training: Training is necessary for problem-solving, creative thinking and interpersonal skills. • Team members must be well-versed in the company’s philosophy on team’s, team mission, and new roles and responsibilities of individuals. The following skills are necessary for team members to be effective • Open-mindedness • Emotional stability • Accountability • Problem-solving abilities • Communication skills • Conflict resolution skills • Trust evansggreydarkoh

17. Factors responsible for Team Effectiveness (cont’d) • Communication: Information has been recognized as very important for team effectiveness. • Management must release critical information necessary for team effectiveness. • If teams are created, management must make the necessary information available to them. • Empowerment: Teams must be empowered to make decisions and act autonomously. • Teams that lack authority are generally weak. • Lack of effective authority suggests to team members that management does not trust them that much and this further reduces team effectiveness. evansggreydarkoh

18. Factors responsible for Team Effectiveness (cont’d) • Rewards: Most reward system in organization are individually based. If rewards system is team based, it enhances team effort and consequently team effectiveness. • Cooperation: Individuals are said to be cooperating when their efforts are systematically integrated to achieve a collective objective. • The greater the integration, greater the cooperation and subsequently greater team effectiveness. • Trust: Reciprocal faith in other’s intentions and behaviour. Trust is enormously powerful in cooperation. According to Fernando Bartolome we build trust through the following: 1. Communication It keeps team members informed by explaining policies and decisions and providing accurate feedback. • Be candid about one’s own problems and limitations. evansggreydarkoh

19. Factors responsible for Team Effectiveness (cont’d) • Support-be available and approachable. Provide help, advice, coaching, and support • Respect-delegation in the form of real decision-making authority, is the most important expression of management respect. Active listening to the ideas of others is a close second. • Fairness-be quick to give credit and recognition to those who deserve it. Make sure all performance appraisals and evaluation are objective and impartial. evansggreydarkoh