How to Promote Teamwork in International Companies - Research Paper Example

How to Promote Teamwork in International Companies How to Promote Teamwork in International Companies Globalization is opening up new destinations for multinational companies to carry out their business. The globalization factors that have enhanced this include new technology, liberalization of countries, and convergence of the global culture. However, as multinational companies expand their businesses in numerous regions in the world, these organizations face numerous challenges. The main challenge that these organizations face is the lack of cooperation among workers that is brought about by selfishness, differences in communication and culture, and difficulties in using technology such as machines.

These challenges decrease the morale of workers of working in the organization (Myers, & Anderson, 2008). Organizations may use efficient leadership techniques to boost the morale of their employees. Companies may also create an internal environment that accommodates workers from different cultures who use diverse languages to communicate. This paper will analyze the internal environment and leadership theories that modern companies may use to enhance teamwork among employees. Leadership Theories Tuckman’s Four Stage group Development Model Tuckman developed the model based on the idea that teamwork may be hard for workers when they first join an organization.

The developer believes that workers must pass through five stages before they become competent enough to work in groups successfully. The five stages include norming, forming, storming, adjourning, and performing (Miller, 2011). In the first stage that is known as forming, workers in a team view each other as strangers. Employees are also not conversant with their roles in the team. Since workers are not used to one another at this stage, they speak using polite language. Tuckman argues that in this stage, team leaders need to show the employees the tasks that they are supposed to perform and how to perform them efficiently (Arnold, 2012).

In the second phase, which is storming, workers start conflicting with each other because of the workload or the differences in performing tasks. The developer argues that disagreements may also start in this stage of the team leaders fail to distribute tasks in the group equally (Myers, & Anderson, 2008). Teams may also disagree because of the lack of awareness of the objective that they aim at achieving as a group. The third stage is the norming that involves understanding and cooperation among workers.

Employees understand one another because they have spent enough time together and this makes them learn how to resolve conflicts (Myers, & Anderson, 2008). This then leads workers to the performing stage, which is the fourth phase of the model. At this stage, workers perform tasks efficiently without engaging into conflicts because they aim at achieving the goals of their teams. Team leaders delegate their functions to team members because of the decrease in conflicts and improvement in efficiency (Miller, 2011).

The adjourning phase is the last one and it involves completing the mission of the team and breaking from the group. This is because the teams complete the projects that they were performing. Workers who have developed close relationships find it hard to break from the team, but with time, they cope with it. Trait Theory This hypothesis argues that leaders are born with skills and characteristics that help them to guide others efficiently. The theory argues that leaders are born with traits such as ambitions, independence, dominance, persistence, confidence, and responsibility.

The skills that these leaders are born with include organization, creativity, communication, and persuasion (Tompkins, 2005). Teams succeed when the leaders use their inborn traits and skills to guide workers. Behavioral Approaches Theory X and Y by Macgregor These behavioral approaches assume that leaders acquire skills and traits from the environment and the functions that they perform. Theory X argues that leaders should coerce workers to carry out tasks because employees hate work and responsibility, and they are less ambitious.

The hypothesis advises leaders to use punishments when needed to compel workers to work (Tompkins, 2005). Theory Y, on the other hand, argues that leaders should be friendly in their work environment because employees love responsibility and work, and they make efficient decisions on their own (Saiti, 2012). Lewin’s Participative Leadership Theory This theory argues that leaders should be democratic such that they allow workers and other stakeholders to participate in the decision-making process.

This promotes cooperation and teamwork in an organization. The leader makes the final resolution after workers have given their views about how they want to perform their tasks (Saiti, 2012). Significance of Internal Environment The internal environment of an organization plays a significant role in enhancing teamwork among employees in a high-tech company. The environmental factors that companies need to look after include technology, language, culture, and politics. Politics involves the influence that the government has in organizations, for example, through labor laws and wage control (Tompkins, 2012).

Companies must ensure that they follow the regulations that the governments in the international environment set concerning wages and how employees should be treated. The failure of an organization to comply with such laws may distract cooperation among workers. The distraction of cooperation then causes workers to lose morale to complete their tasks efficiently. Technology also plays a significant role in promoting teamwork among workers. When workers are conversant with the technology that a company uses and how to operate it, they perform their functions without conflicts.

However, when some workers are unaware of how to use the available technology in a firm, they distract teamwork because they fail to complete tasks efficiently. Other workers may feel tired when working with the uncooperative workers and this may also make them to lose concentration in their teams. Companies must, therefore, ensure that they train workers to use the technology that they purchase to avoid conflicts in teams (Saiti, 2012). Language may also deter teams from working cooperatively.

This is because employees in a modern company that operates in numerous regions may be speaking different languages. When some workers are not conversant with the language that others speak, they may stop working in the team. This is because they feel left out of the group by the fact that they do not understand the language that others speak (Arnold, 2012). In order to avoid this, an organization needs to choose the language that employees speak when at work. Companies must also ensure that they employ workers who are fluent in the language of the company.

This will reduce language barrier and promote cooperation in teams. The differences in the cultures of employees may also cause conflicts among them and this may lead to the inefficient performance of tasks in teams. Since employees come from different cultures, organizations need to create their own culture based on the beliefs and norms of the regions where they operate. A successful organization culture eliminates literary differences among workers (Miller, 2011). Steps to Overcome the Challenges The high-tech company may use efficient leadership techniques to guide teams in performing their functions.

The first thing that the company needs to do is to choose team leaders who have characteristics that help them to lead others successfully. After choosing the team leaders, the company then has to allocate the leaders the workers to guide. The team leader should then assess the employees and determine whether they are responsible, hard working, and focused (Myers, & Anderson, 2008). This helps the team organizers to choose between coercing workers if they are lazy and being friendly if the employees are focused.

The leaders should use their skills to solve conflicts when they arise among members of their teams. Team leaders should also use their skills to encourage workers to get used to one another to ensure that they reach the performance stage of Tuckman’s model in a fast and efficient way (Miller, 2011). The organization also needs to assess the laws of the governments in the international environment to ensure that they fulfill the wages and working environment conditions. This is besides choosing a language and internal culture that reduces language barrier and promotes cooperation (Saiti, 2012).

The company should also train workers to use the technology that it acquires. This increases the efficiency of every member of a team and it reduces conflicts among workers. The training session may also equip workers with the knowledge and skills of teamwork and cooperation in the company. High-tech companies face the challenge of lack of cooperation among workers. However, companies that face this challenge may install an efficient internal environment that promotes cooperation. The organizations may also teach team leaders to use the trait, participative, theory X, and theory Y when guiding members of their group.

The team leaders should also be aware of the Tuckman’s model so that they can understand their members and lead them appropriately. References Arnold, F. (2012). What makes great leaders great: Management lessons from icons who changed the world. New York: McGraw-Hill. Miller, M. (2011). The secret of teams: What great teams know and do. San Francisco: Berrett- Koehler Publishers. Myers, S. A., & Anderson, C. M. (2008). The fundamentals of small group communication. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Saiti, A. (2012).

Leadership and quality management. Quality Assurance in Education, 20(2), 110-138 Tompkins, J. (2005). Organization theory and public management. Australia: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.