Benefits of Team Work - Assignment Example

L.O 3 BENEFITS OF TEAM WORK Creativity or serendipity is a result of teamwork. Every individual of the team has different ideas and a different approach to problems and aspects of the workplace either due to personality differences or experience and therefore when discussions ensue, more ideas are generated and this leads to greater ideas, which lead to better more creative ideas, or some unique idea which is out of the box. The increased use of teams for problem solving has caused employees to conduct seminars and training sessions so that the employees learn to work in groups and be able to reach a consensus. They should be patient enough to listen to the opinions of others and then decide thinking in a cool way. It is very important for a person to be equipped with the following skills for being able to work in teams. Communication skill is the key skill that is required by any group member to act as an effective group person. The person should be able to listen patiently and have active listening skills. He should be able to analyze the opinions of others and be able to sift his opinions from that of others and think in a sensible and rational manner. He should be able to interact politely with his team members and suggest his ideas rather than imposing it. He should be able to judge the non-verbal gestures of the group members, this will help him effectively communicate with his members and reduce the frictions that might occur. To strengthen the group there should be personal accountability as well as this will create a sense of individual responsibility in the group members. The roles should be cleared so that there is no overlapping of roles occurring in the group too. L.O 3.2 Agenda of the meeting was to look for ways to increase interaction and to determine who actually is responsible for the success of the team.During this meeting I was acting out as the team leader. So I opened the floor for discussion. Since I was the leader, my responsibility involved acting as a moderator as well. Collaboration is a key concept whenever we are discussing the concept of team work. Team building is a very important factor for which organizations are looking in their new employees and inculcating in their existing employees. As the world progresses the need to have greater ability related to problem solving is increasing. Greater ability to solve problems has caused organizations to look for solutions in a quick and efficient manners, this requirement has made senior officials to encourage the growth of teams. There was a murmur of agreement among the team. I then asked the person nearest to me about his opinion the person was of the opinion that he totally agreed, but he also added that there are many individuals who work better alone instead of working in teams; therefore, such people should look for jobs that do not require any kind of team work. One person responded that the whole point of group was to have a proper leader who was able enough to coax out work from the team members. This become a issue among the team itself and I then pointed out the fact that there are loners in each team the only thing is for the team members as well as the leaders to realize what actually is the temperament of their fellows and hence work accordingly with each other in harmony (Bennis & Biederman, 1997). L.O 3.3 The conclusion that was drawn from the whole discussion that took place is as follows: It is very important if the group has to remain healthy that there is openness in the group, the members feel comfortable with each other and are willing to exchange ideas in a friendly way. There is a level of trust in the group, people trust each other and thus this creates a sense of dependency on each other. This will help inculcate better relations in the group and a close knitted group forms which is very cohesive in nature. The members of the group respect the privacy of others and do not intrude in the personal turf of the group member, therefore allowing personal space. They support each other and try to fulfill the gaps that exist within the groups, thus covering each other’s weaknesses. The leader has to be a cooperative one and should actually try to take advantage of the positive aspects of the group members and try to make each member play up to the maximum of their strength (Hubbartt, 1992). L.O 4.1 To: HR Director From: Andy Moore Date: 6th August 2012 Subject: Performance Appraisal All organizations need that an eye is kept on all their employees in order to see that they meet their goals and expectations. This requires also giving them a constant feedback on their performance so that they know exactly where they stand in an organization and where they should be headed. Feedback also makes them realize if the profession or position they are pursuing is exactly what they want or do they actually want to work on something else. Performance appraisal are used by the firms to have an idea to how to judge their employees on the core competencies that are required by the firm in their employees so that they have a competitive advantage over other competitors. It is highly necessary for a firm to have a competitive edge or an USP so that they remain the industrial leaders. The best possible way that is least exploited by the firms is the proper use of Human resource that they have at their disposal. Firms usually focus more on the profits that they are making and that they can make. The human resource of the firm can be molded in the most appropriate way by using the right motivational tools (Milkovich & Wigdor, 1991). L.O 4.2 The most important information that is required in the appraisal form are strengths, areas of development, goals, review of the previous goals. For judging the competency of the employee or a team member, the competing model with the following competency can be used with factors like communication, accountability, result orientation, teamwork or level of collaboration, self confidence and job competence. A general performance review is one way of going about it. This should be performed by the employee’s supervisor advisably since they would have been keeping them under keen observation and having interactions with them, so it would be a well-rounded report. These include asking employees a few stereotypical questions as well, to get a clearer picture of things. These are what exactly is it that employee’s achieved in the year, what didn’t work out during the year, and how they felt they could’ve performed better, with company’s help or with their own improvement. Also, how well they felt they could communicate with other employees in the workplace, and other aspects of their perception of the organization and its strategies as a whole. This appraisal form is used in the West of Virginia for the purpose of employee appraisal. L.O 4.3 This Bibliography Bennis, W. G., & Biederman, P. W. (1997). Organizing genius : the secrets of creative collaboration. Mass: Addison-Wesley. Frazer, R., & Oswald, P. (2009). Teamwork! New York: Simon Spotlight. Hackman, J. R. (1990). Groups that work (and those that dont) : creating conditions for effective teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Hubbartt, W. S. (1992). Performance appraisal manual for managers and supervisors : a guide to effective performance appraisal. Chicago: Commerce Clearing House. Larson, C. E., & LaFasto, F. M. (1989). Teamwork : what must go right, what can go wrong. Calif: SAGE Publications. Milkovich, G. T., & Wigdor, A. K. (1991). Pay for performance : evaluating performance appraisal and merit pay. Washington: National Academy Press. Read More