Project Team Building Strategies - Assignment Example

? Write My Essay Write My Essay This paper will analyze the techniques required for team development. More specifically, the paperwill try to provide answers to the following questions. How are members in a project team selected? What are the strategies required to build strong teams? What are the potential areas of conflict within a diverse project team? What are the techniques for reducing the probability of dysfunctional conflict? What are some of the techniques used to resolve conflict when it arises? The paper will utilize the ideas of various authors to elaborate on study topic. How are project team members selected? A project team is a group of people that comprised of a manageable number of people. The people have complementary skills, share a common goal, purpose and a working approach (Petrick, 2002). The selection of the project team members can be from within or from outside an organization as situations may demand. Team members selected from within an organization have the advantage of knowing the other team members. This will help in moulding a unified project team. The team members will also be familiar with the policies, work culture and work procedure of the organization. Project team members sourced from outside an organization lack familiarity with the organization culture. However, it is necessary for an organization to recruit team members from outside if the project requires certain skills, which are not available among the existing members of an organization (Nagarajan, 2005). Project team members are selected from the coordination between the project manager and the functional management. What are some of the team-building strategies? Team building refers to assisting a group of individuals. This group is bound by a common purpose. The members of the group work interdependently. The members include the leader, external stakeholders and the organization in general. Team building can also be perceived as the process of influencing members of a group to work together effectively for better results from a project. There are six strategies that leading organizations adopt so as to create outstanding performance among its team members. These strategies are the formation of the project team early, having a strong matrix organization structure, consensus on goals, sharing of work, and collocation of a team and lastly, the rewarding of the project team members to motivate them (Levin, 2010). Levin (2010) asserts that team building is a strategy that is applicable in a group where there is interdependence. The aim of team building is to increase the coordinated efforts of the team members. This will result in increasing the performance by the project team. The activities commonly considered in team building include the setting of goals, the development of interpersonal relationships among team members and analysis of team members’ roles and responsibilities. The process of team building may exclude or emphasize on certain activities. This depends on the purpose of the project team goals or the problem the team has to tackle. Team building seeks to increase trust and openness among project team members. This is through encouraging increased interaction among team members. What are the potential areas of conflict within a diverse Project Team? In many organizations, project teams exist as a mechanism to work flexibly on given organizational objectives. Project teams also help consolidate people with the right skills and knowledge to accomplish a given organizational objective. However, where multiple inputs are needed from individuals from different functions and locations, ambiguity emerges. These ambiguities can contribute to varying conflicting needs and interest. In most cases, the team members are working on many projects and reporting to different project managers. The likelihood is that the team members will also report to different functional mangers (Levin, 2010). What are the techniques for reducing the probability of dysfunctional conflict? Several techniques can be utilized to reduce the chances of conflict in virtual teams. These techniques include the clarity of goals of the project team, deciding on the priorities of project task, the management of interpersonal conflict, the quality of information flow and communication. There are other techniques rather the one mentioned. These techniques include having an effective top-down communication within each project team. This helps in making of timely decision. The management must be clear on the priorities of the organization and provide a way forward for the project team. The organization must arrange regular meetings with the project team. This would ensure team members work in alignment with team goals. There is also a need to increase training on human relations among the team members as well as team building activities. The initial project planning process must effectively address the potential areas of conflict. Lastly, the organization needs to adopt a participative approach towards project planning, decision making, scheduling and controlling of the project and team members (Levin, 2010). What are some of the conflict resolution techniques used when conflict arises? Project managers need to resolve conflict immediately when it emerges. Project Managers also need to be professional with the way they address conflict. Projects are comprised of many people. These individuals have diverse ideas, styles, and personalities. These diversities create conflicting situations within a project team framework. The conflicts created can vary from minor to large. These conflicts, if not properly resolved, can jeopardize the achievement of project results. Project managers can adopt five approaches to resolve conflicts in their projects. These strategies can be used broadly in all project team. The strategies include cooperative problem solving. This is working together as a team in resolving issues and problems in a work environment. This method is the best in resolving conflict as it generates consensus among parties involve (Petrick, 2002). The second strategy is competing; when combined with judgment skills, it can be an effective, powerful and appropriate tool for solving conflicts among project team members. The third style is compromise; this technique is employed when one of the team members wants to compromise with the other if they are in conflict. Compromise is a cooperative conflict resolving technique. The fourth style is accommodation, which takes place when a person in conflict with another surrenders and puts his or her interest behind the other person. This is motivated by a need to maintain a harmonious relationship. The fifth technique is avoiding; this method involves avoiding engaging in any activities that may cause fiction among g team members. However, this style is not effective since conflicts are inevitable in any project team. If conflicts are avoided, they can degenerate to extreme levels (Levin, 2010). References Levin, G. (2010). Interpersonal Skills for Portfolio Program and Project Management. London: Kogan Page. Nagarajan, K. (2005). Elements of Project Management [As Per Uptu Syllabus]. New York: New Age International. Petrick, J .A. (2002). Managing Project Quality. New York: Taylor & Francis. Read More