Managing People in Team - Essay Example

One question though that lingers on most organizations is how to manage a team's performance. Who should be credited for the team’s success, is it the manager or the workers? This is an issue that has received considerable debate over the years. Adam Smith considered managers as ‘principle clerks’ thus assuming away any role for managers (Berri, Leeds, Leeds & Mondello, 2009). The workers were believed to be the ones contributing to success. Early researchers differentiated managers from entrepreneurs and viewed entrepreneurs as more active in ensuring productivity.

However, recent studies have started acknowledging the role played by managers in improving productivity and ensuring workers are always motivated. Another crucial role is that of team leaders. These are entrusted with leading the group to success and as such have a big role to play in ensuring team effectiveness. Marks and Spencer is one of the UK’s leading retailers of clothing, food, home products, and financial services. It has an employee base of 78,000 employees in the UK and abroad and serves 21 million customers.

It has more than 700 UK stores and a turnover of £8 billion. It is committed to offering superior quality products to its customers at attractive prices (Corporate.marksandspencer.com, 2013). This is enhanced by its various teams which are headed by sectional managers as well as retail managers.Bluebird Garments is a textile company situated in the UK. It has a total of 2000 employees who are involved in manufacturing garments for large companies. The company is committed to producing high-quality products for its customers and employs people from diverse backgrounds.

Its success is driven by the various teams working under line supervisors.