Characteristics of Effective Teams - Essay Example

Running Head: Characteristics of Effective Teams Characteristics of Effective Teams Inserts His/her Characteristics of Effective Teams The group that I belong to at the workplace consists of three members inclusive of me. I am one of the senior persons in the group. The issues that our group has to deal with are regarding the complaints of the customers and the services issues of the customers are dealt by my group. The major factors that should be considered while any group makes any decision are that the group history needs to be known, the decision making type needs to be known, the type and nature of task the group is working on, he resources available with the group and also the time limit needs to be considered, the group climate needs to be known, and finally the group setting needs to be known that is which type of setting the group is working on (Johnson and Johnson, 2010). The five major characteristics of group decision making are as follows: The resources possessed by the members of the group should be completely used according to requirements. Decision by Minority: It is effective when not possible for other members to meet and it is ineffective when group resources are not utilized. Group resources can include the skills and talents possessed by group members. Decision by majority vote: It is effective when used when time is less and ineffective when minority may be right too (Johnson and Johnson, 2010). . There are equal chances that the decision taken by the majority may not be right and therefore consequences may have to be faced. Since various skills are required at the time of decision making, I apply me service specialist skills and my group members apply the skills of tackling with customers easily. Voting decisions are taken when many options seem suitable for implementing it in the customer services plan. Time management should be handled in an effective manner. Decision by majority vote: It is effective when used when time is less and ineffective when minority may be right too (Johnson and Johnson, 2010). . Voting decisions tends to save on time in urgent circumstances as it is usually believed that majority will be right always. Decision by Averaging Individual’s opinion: It is effective when useful in times where consensus is difficult to attain and ineffective when unresolved conflict situations may arise Managing time is very important while making decisions in groups. Once an immediate decision was required in sending the customer request to the top management, the majority of the members decided that it should be dealt at the lower level instead of passing it to the top. Immediate actions and decisions were taken to resolve the matter successfully. The decision taken should reflect quality in its outcomes Decision by authority without group discussion: This is effective when regular routine decisions are made easily and ineffective when One man decisions may not prove worthwhile always Decision by Expert: This is effective when time taken is less by expert and ineffective when determination of expert is difficult (Johnson and Johnson, 2010). Usually I being the senior service specialist have more experience in dealing with insurance related matters of customers and can answer their queries without much difficulty. It usually happens that in such cases I am referred to deal with the customer without any issues by the other group members. The implementation of the decision should be adhered by all the members of the group Decision by majority vote: It is effective when used when time is less and ineffective when minority may be right too Decision by Consensus: It is effective when good quality decisions made and ineffective when time and pressure involved After the voting and the consensus methods that are applied related to the implementation of the policies for customer services, it becomes important for all three members of my group to be well versed with the decision taken so that while communicating ahead to customers the process becomes easier. The more minds involved in deriving a solution by a group, the better the problem solving abilities are developed for the group. Decision by Authority after group discussion: It is effective when group resources are used and ineffective when commitments are not developed for decisions Decision by Consensus: It is effective when good quality decisions made and ineffective when time and pressure involved Gathering the views of the entire group allows different angles and perspectives to be understood and allows in selecting the best decision possible. For customer services, it is important that the best decisions be taken so as to retain them for the future. Since my group is involved with customer issues and services of the insurance company the decisions that are made on different occasions tend to fluctuate. Since I am the senior most group member the critical decisions that require experience are taken by me. The group members consider me the decision expert when customer complaints become difficult to handle. The decision by authority is taken when new ideas and suggestions need to be implemented relating to the customer services department of the insurance company. At times conflicts in the group arises due to the implementation of any change in rule or working process in the group. The other group members tend to show resistance in accepting the change. Customer complaints need to be resolved as quick as possible and therefore decision by majority vote is applied as time is quite short to handle such issues. Customer possesses the tendency to switch very fast and therefore time cannot be wasted by group members in resolving these issues. Decision with consensus is taken when it is highly important for all group members to have their input in the decision so as to have better results when dealing with customers. Decision by majority is usually not taken for my group as we are just three members and mostly adhere to the timings of group meetings and contribute towards the group decisions required. The time when an ineffective decision was made by my group was when a new insurance policy had to be implemented in the organization and the marketing strategies had to be devised to target the right customers accordingly so that they could know about the new insurance policy. The decision was taken by a member without discussing with the rest of the group members as he thought that it was a simple decision and does not require consensus. The group member did not carefully plan the right target market and therefore the new policy did not gain popularity in the areas where high potential market was present. This decision resulted in major losses for the firm and our group was held responsible for this loss. High group cohesion can result in disastrous results because if the decision taken is not a suitable one then all the members of the group may have to face the consequences. If for example, in my group, all 3 members are against a decision being implemented for the customer services department and that decision may be of benefits to the customers as well as the employees working in the insurance company, the group cohesion in this case may give a negative impact to the employer and the jobs of the group members may come at stake then therefore high group cohesion can give a negative impact to the firm in this case and may result in loss of jobs for the group members. Reference Johnson, David W. and Johnson, Frank P. (2010). Joining Together: Group theory and Group Skills. Merrill Read More