My Experience of Team Development - Assignment Example

Managing Human Resources Contents Managing Human Resources Contents 2 Introduction 3 A. Discussion 3 a. Team Work Theories 3 b. My Experience of Team Development 6 Conclusion 8 References 10 Introduction The structures of effective team based working are considered to be very important for the functioning of an organization. Effective work teams allows an organization to deal with such tasks that are considered to be complex and has also proved to be more efficient in knowledge production than that of individuals. This has resulted in the human resource development of an organization focusing more on the improvement of team outcomes. The outcome of any team performance is largely dependent on interaction between members of a team and the affective and cognitive states that result from the interaction. The purpose of any team work is to work toward a valued and common goal of an organization. The most important aspect of effective work teams is communication between members of a team in an efficient manner. It involves the ability of each member to understand what the other member is thinking and to determine his/her intentions in an effective manner. A. Discussion a. Team Work Theories There are numerous team development theories and this concept is not new in the modern world. These theories create an effective framework by which the contribution of each member of a team to the team’s performance and development can be evaluated and analyzed. Belbin’s theory in this regard can be considered as an important theory in the development of work teams (Napier and Gershenfeld, 1999, p. 79). Belbin suggests that there is existence of nine team attitudes that are considered as important to success. The nine team attitudes are divided into three major categories by Belbin such as thought oriented roles, people oriented roles, and action oriented roles. Action oriented roles comprise shaper, implementer, and finisher. The shaper refers to an individual who is considered to be a highly motivated leader and possesses sound capabilities in handling pressure (Parker, 1994, pp. 33-37). He is considered to have high competence with regard to handling obstacles and challenges. His dynamism plays a huge role in encouraging others to accomplish their tasks. The Shaper is considered to display a high level of aggression which may at times hurt the feelings of others. It is necessary that work teams have a shaper for achieving the desired results but the existence of more than one shaper may be detrimental to the interest of the team as it can lead to face offs between the two shapers. Implementer refers to those individuals who are reliable, disciplined, and works very hard to fulfil the obligations of the team (Robbins and Finley, 2000, p. 65). They are considered to have a tough mind and a practical attitude. Implementers may be conservative and inflexible and also slow to adapt to new situations. But the existence of implementer in a team is highly desirable to turn ideas into practical action. Finisher refers to those persons who bring conscientiousness in the team. They have a constant focus on doing a job in a manner which is considered as time bound (Adair, 1986, p. 41). They pay a great deal of attention to detail and on fulfilling tasks. People oriented roles comprise coordinator, team worker, and resource investigator. Coordinator refers to those confident chairpersons who facilitates decision making and tend to clarify goals. They play an important role in delegation of work to team members to achieve organizational objectives. Team workers are considered to be perceptive, mild, and cooperative and tend to be diplomatic persons. They play an important role in building cooperation among members of a team and also to avoid the possibility of a potential friction between team members (Jaques, 2001, p. 63). Resource investigator refers to those extrovert individuals who explore various opportunities and tend to develop contacts for the organization. They tend to possess enthusiasm, social skills, and negotiation skills. Thought oriented roles comprise plant, monitor, and specialist. The plant tends to solve complex problems through an unorthodox approach (Brown, 1988, p. 51). Monitor refers to those people who are intelligent and tend to have a low achievement orientation. Their role in decision making is considered invaluable for an organization. The role of specialist is to provide the team with those skills that are considered to be rare (Holland, 1985, p. 57). The theory of Tuckman regarding teamwork is also considered as an important theory in this field. There are four phases in the development of the theory of Tuckman such as forming, storming, norming, and performing. Forming is considered as the initial stage in the team development process where the group members have not yet gelled well with regard to each other. Storming is considered to be that stage where the members of the group start to feel as belonging to a team (Robbins, 1997, p. 53). This stage comprises confrontation and conflict between team members as issues with regard to differences start to surface. This may result in losing of focus on the task that is to be performed (Cloyd, 1964, pp. 160-163). Norming is considered to be that stage where the group members start to grow a sense of togetherness. They collectively start to develop processes and establish ground rules to achieve the organizational objectives. Performing is considered as the final stage where an increasing focus on team relationships and task start to provide synergy (Heron, 1999, p. 67). The Belbin theory describes the main role of a team member and also evaluates a team member’s important characteristic. It plays an important role in choosing the right individual for the right job for a company. It helps teams to recognize gaps and make necessary changes accordingly. Balance is the main factor for a team which is considered successful. In this regard, the contribution of Belbin theory is of immense importance (Greenberg, 1996, p. 47). But it is considered to have some limitations also. It tends to ignore hierarchical relations among people and also the interpersonal equations that have a huge influence on the performance of any team. The Tuckman theory has gained popularity because it provides a simple understanding of the fact how individuals interact in a team situation (Stenberg, 2005, p. 35). The theory provides a simple understanding of the requirements of a team in different circumstances. But there are a number of questions that are not answered by the model in a satisfying manner such as the impact of leadership in different stages of team development, the identification of stages in the team development process, the impact of organizational setting on the development of the team, and the influence of other factors in the development of a team (Hare, 1976, p. 63). b. My Experience of Team Development When I started to work for Bajaj Capital Limited, I was entrusted with a group which composed of various members. I was solely responsible for the performance of the group. There were many team members who can be termed as under performers. The underperformance of such group members tends to affect the functioning of the group within an organization. There was also lack of cooperation among team members. I consequently explained to each team member regarding their role in the group. I also established a reward system for those team members who achieve their target. I found a considerable improvement in the performance of the group within a short period of time. I explained to each member of the team their main role in the group which led to cooperation between team members. They started to consider the group objectives as their own because performance of the group led to rewards for all the group members. When I was entrusted with the responsibility of the group, the stage that could be associated with the group could be considered as forming. The establishment of reward structures for the group members took the level of the group to the storming stage. There were little differences among group members in this stage but that disappeared very quickly when they realized that the performance of the group is very necessary for their individual improvement. This stage can be considered as the norming stage in our team development process. When the members of the group started to perform in an attempt to achieve the group objectives as well as organizational objectives, that stage could be considered as the performing stage for our team development process. According to me, Tuckman Theory of team development can be considered as better because it can be easily related to situations in our practical life. It provides a simple way of understanding how individual members interact in team situations. The existence of stages in Tuckman theory makes it simpler to use it for practical purposes (Hartley, 1997, p. 49). This theory explains the ideal development of teams from a stage of immaturity to a stage of maturity. The theory provides an understanding of task handling by teams from its initial stage of formation through to its completion of the task. The Belbin theory of team development can also be applied in my experience of team development. In this regard, I have to keep a track of individual members of my team and look at their individual behaviour. I also have to look at their contribution to the team and also at their behaviour within the team. I have to keep a list of members of the team and write down their characteristics and key strengths. In this regard, it is also important to keep a note of their weaknesses. Then each member’s weaknesses and strengths should be compared with Belbin’s theory for team development. I should take note of such persons who are accurately described by the Belbin theory. After completing this, I should consider those team roles that are missing in my team. I also have to consider those strengths that are missing from my team as a whole. This is a tedious process as compared to Tuckman theory. This is the reason for which I consider Tuckman theory to be better. Conclusion The main purpose of effective teamwork is to create a culture in which members of the team get considerable time for their group development. Team building can be considered as the process of growing, forming, and developing the skills, knowledge and attitudes of people with various capabilities, needs, and backgrounds into a high performance and integrated team. Belbin theory of team development can be considered to be an accurate and coherent system that seeks to explain the behaviour of people and the influence that they have on the success of any team. Belbin in this regard had made some key observations such as people tend to assume a different role than that of its other members and that team role is considered as a tendency to interrelate, behave, and contribute with others in a specific way. This theory can be used to consider the balance of the team before the starting of any project. The interpersonal differences between team members can also be managed by the use of this theory. Tuckman theory of team development considers the evolution of teams from its formation stage to the end of a project. It is a simple theory which has gained popularity due to its simple way of understanding of how team members interact in team situations. References Parker, G.M., 1994. Cross-Functional Teams. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Adair, J., 1986. Effective Teambuilding. London: Pan Macmillan. Brown, R., 1988. Group Processes 2nd Edition. Oxford: Blackwell. Cloyd, J.S., 1964. Patterns of role behavior in informal interaction. Sociometry, 27(2): 160-163. Greenberg, J., 1996. Managing Behavior in Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Hare, A.P., 1976. Handbook of Small Group Research. New York: The Free Press. Hartley, P., 1997. Group Communication. London: Routledge. Heron, J., 1999. The Complete Facilitators Handbook. London: Kogan Page. Holland, J.L., 1985. Making Vocational Choices: A Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Jaques, D., 2001. Learning in Groups. London: Kogan Page. Luthans, F., 1995. Organizational Behavior 7th Edition. London: McGraw-Hill. Napier, W.N. and Gershenfeld, M.K., 1999. Groups: Theory and Experience. Sixth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Robbins, H. and Finley, M., 2000. Why Teams Don’t Work: What went wrong and how to make it right. London: TEXERE. Robbins, S., 1997. Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Stenberg, R.J., 2005. Thinking Styles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Read More