Effective team and performance management - Essay Example

Enhanced performance and effectiveness cannot be achieved through external pressure but through trust. Cohesiveness does not necessarily imply a harmonious group as members may be cohesive simply to abide by the team norms which become the rules. Flexibility and empowerment are essential requirements for team effectiveness. Team players may be entrusted with multiple roles but this only creates an air of hostility. The involvement of senior management is essential to achieve team effectiveness. 2.0 Introduction Electron, headquartered in the UK, manufactures components for the telecommunications sector.

The company employs about 150 people out of which 90 people are in the manufacturing unit. The company has the traditional department structure comprising of manufacturing, engineering, sales/marketing, human resources, and finance. The manufacturing department at Electron is made up of eight teams in total, each are named according to a colour. Each team consists of 10 team members, with some on temporary contracts, whilst others are full-time employees. The company recognized the importance of an effective production process, of improving company culture, of improving customer service and commitment to teams.

Amidst competition the company employed new workers and these workers have to be integrated into one of the teams. Thus, there are three teams at play – the longer-tenured teams, the existing teams and the new workers. However, the teams at Electron have not been demonstrating shared vision and autonomy. The aim of this report is to evaluate the barriers to team effectiveness and performance. Based on the theoretical models, this report also seeks to recommend how teams at Electron could be made more effective and performance enhanced.

This report would not define ‘teams’ but would directly evaluate team dynamics. 3.0 Analysis and Discussion 3.1 Theories and concept of team dynamics The nature of teams has undergone a change and the three most impactful themes that are affecting teams are dynamic composition, technology and distance, and empowerment and delayering (Tannenbaum, Mathieu, Salas and Cohen, 2012). The changed business environment has also altered the team needs. Trust and cohesion have become difficult to achieve in teams and moreover, individuals may simultaneously be members of several teams.

They may even change team roles frequently, all of which suggest the dynamic composition of teams. Team dynamics have enabled dyadic network of relations and exchanges between members. At Electron also, team dynamics were at play. One team member was entrusted to integrate the new workers into the team. This team member entrusted the longer-tenured members with this task. The team members were empowered but without proper guidance and training. If teams do not demonstrate interdependence, shared objectives, autonomy, reflexivity, boundedness, and specified roles, then they are “pseudo teams” (West and Lyubovnikova, 2012).

If real and pseudo teams could be identified within an organization, it would become easier to evaluate team effectiveness and performance. Without this identification and even team empowerment could have