Challenges Encountered by Team - Essay Example

Management Introduction To prepare an exhibition, I had to work with a team of five members belonging to many different countries. There is an invaluable level of useful experience in working with such a diverse team. In a team, where a number of members are working together for accomplishing a goal, there is scope for acquiring knowledge from each and every team member; thereby increasing the knowledge base and identifying vital problems that need immediate solution. However, it is quite difficult to zero in upon whether or not it is better to work with an individual or a team; since knowledge is applied and decisions are made at individual levels in both cases for accomplishing any task. The individuals forming a team have unique understanding regarding certain issues and try to resolve matters in their own way (Ahuja, 2006). Even so, the individual work with a limited knowledge pertaining to any topic. In addition, working with an individual eliminates the possibility of the collision of ideas that ultimately results in chaos for the entire project. During preparation for the exhibition, behaviour of team members had become very important along with the manner in which they were able to cooperate. The more they became friendly, the easier it was to build cooperation and share information collected by individual researchers. Though there were numerous challenges during the course of preparation, I could spend quality time with my team members and seek to discern useful inquiry. The most notable aspect about them was that they belonged to different cultures and countries as a whole. Two of the team members were from Qatar; others were from Egypt, Seychelles and China. All team members were men, apart from a female team member from China. The age of team members was within the range of 23-33 years. The Chinese female was the youngest team member and since she was the only girl present, she was a slightly uncomfortable. So, she became impatient when her ideas pertaining to preparation of the exhibition were not taken into account. Through this session of team work, I had identified the characteristics of each team member and could study them properly. The exhibition can be considered as successful due to the fact that each and every team member had dealt with difficulties or unforeseen situations wisely and efficiently. I had noticed that combined decision making of the team was highly effective since all of them had contributed their understanding and ideas, which facilitated a definite decision. The essay highlights my perception and experience during preparation of the exhibition with my team members (Ahuja, 2006). Team work According to my knowledge, separate individuals can form a group for accomplishing a single task and after the goal is achieved, the same group is then dissolved. This type of group is often referred to as team (Ahuja, 2006). During preparation of the exhibition, I had observed that team work is very important in executing a plan. If an individual is responsible for a particular task, then he/she will only focus on a particular area. Whereas, if a team is formed to do the same job, the task is executed more efficiently; given that each team member concentrates upon separate areas and ultimately, gather knowledge and share them with the rest (Armstrong, 2009; Cooper and Kagel, 2004). I believe that a team work is more effective in taking any decision or solving any problem compared to an individual, since the latter have limited knowledge regarding resolving issues and challenges. Hence, it can be said that individual knowledge is limited, but if a group of people function collectively as a team, then their ideas and understanding are also combines, thereby giving shape to a perfect plan. Besides making accurate decisions and building a clear goal, working in a team entails a number of challenges (Beardwell, Holden and Claydon, 2004). Roles assigned to each team members During preparation of exhibition, my team was formed by considering most efficient and talented members who can contribute positively towards attainment of team goal. There were five team members, including this author. Each of the team members is assigned individual roles, which directs their task in presenting the exhibition. The two members from Qatar were given the responsibility to collect information pertaining to location of exhibition. Location was an important factor for the exhibition since an inconvenient place would act as a hindrance. The team member from Egypt was responsible for collecting information regarding main theme of the exhibition and conducting thorough research so that the plan becomes successful. I assisted him in gathering the research articles and preparing a short outline of the research undertaken. The team member from Seychelles was given the responsibility to research on ways to organise an exhibition since none of us had any prior knowledge about the same. Lastly, the Chinese team member was placed as a leader in the team for directing others and assisting them in case of problems. This team member was directed to be the leader since she was the only girl in the team and was not comfortable among the boys. In order to make her comfortable and acquainted with the situation, the decision was taken. Apart from that, the Chinese team member appeared to have immense knowledge pertaining to exhibition. After accomplishing individual work, the team members assembled in meetings where they reported their findings. Collection of information and subsequent accumulation of knowledge had effectively enhanced interest of the team members, encouraging them towards contributing ideas pertaining to preparation of the exhibition. Hence, after considering all those ideas, effective decision was taken for executing the preparation process. Even so, it is worth mentioning that during preparation phase, we had to encounter several challenges, which strengthened our determination to attain success. The challenges are elaborated in the following section along with solutions, which supported us to successfully continue with team work. Challenges encountered by team My team was formed with individuals who belong to different cultures and countries. They followed their own method for solving problems and handling situations. Their beliefs were different and so was their behaviour. So, they reflected different manners of presenting their ideas (Purcell, et al., 2003). As a result, it was very hard to manage a group of people and work with them in harmony since ideas are bound to clash along, with miscommunication (Purcell, et al., 2003). Gathering information and initiating a successful process of preparation was the main goal of our team. In course of preparation, we had encountered a number of problems that acted as challenges and we have strived to manage them appropriately and efficiently. Information is perceived differently by separate individuals. The understanding and knowledge capacity of individuals also differ from each other. Therefore before making any decision, individual ideas were discussed so that no team member was deprived of the opportunity to contribute. In our team, team members were reluctant to listen to other ideas as they prioritized their own ideas and plans in context of attaining success. They did not give importance to the meetings to share information and increase knowledge base, instead they all tried to sanction their own ideas (Coutu, 2009). It was observed that difference in understanding and knowledge of the team members surfaced different questions pertaining to execution of the exhibition plan. The collection of information from previous researches could have helped us in acquiring an in-depth knowledge about subject matter as well as in learning more about the facts and facets associated (Nielsen, 2002); but, such did not happen. The team did not maintain peace during meetings, disregarded others’ opinions and showed disrespect to other’s decisions. The situation worsened when some team members began to come late for the meetings, which infuriated the rest as they had to wait. Such a tendency causing delay highlighted the fact that individuals involved were not interested in any sort of discussion. Sudden disturbance in smooth operation of the team harmed peace and harmony needed to function collectively. This had become the main challenge for the team while further continuation of the process (Debrah and Ofori, 2006; Swart, et al., 2005). Overcoming Challenge through Theory and Practice: The way that this particular conflict was resolved was by using the dual concern model. Within this particular model of conflict resolution between individuals or within a team, the practitioner applies a concern for self and assertiveness and counters this with a concern for others and empathy. This approach was applied in the conflicting situation in question due to the fact that it was my understanding that strong leadership was required as a means of making the team work more effectively. However, alongside this strong leadership, there was of course still room to express a level of empathy and concern for those members of the group that felt the project was not being completed in the way that they thought could maximize utility. Ultimately, after considering many of the conflict resolution styles that could have been employed, I came to the understanding that seeking to breakdown the process of negotiation and conflict to one that would seek to maximize the best interests of all parties, as well as represent the depth of the ideas put forward by each, would be most effective towards engaging stakeholder support. Further, I have come to the understanding that negotiation is not a yes or no process. Instead, it is complex and requires the student to try to use theory in order to change the way people understand issues. Many times people approach negotiation with the understanding that they will always get what they want. For this reason, our team came to focus on the fact that our negotiations would fail if we did not open our minds to the way in which we could make progress. Another factor that we considered is the fact that the relationship between conflict and conflict resolution/negotiation always repeats. As we learned, even those negotiations that fail go back to the conflict stage. This does not mean that total and complete failure has happened. Instead, it opens up a new opportunity for negotiation to begin. Again, our team first failed to notice this and simply understood the fact that since conflict negotiation has failed, they have somehow reached a place where further cooperation was not possible. Cross-cultural difference Cross-culture actually refers to the interaction between people belonging from different cultures worldwide. It is regarded as a vital problem in international context since success of any assignment or business is dependent on interaction between people of different regions and culture. A team can be formed with a number of people with dissimilar origins, languages and accents. This may be a serious problem for smooth function of a team since communication is not lucid when languages and accents are different. I have noticed that miscommunications often give rise to tough situations, where good relations between team members are damaged to a great extent (Barney, 2001; DeNisi and Griffin, 2005; Dessler, 2000). There was huge cultural difference between the cultures of my team members. They followed separate religions and languages. Seychelles is a country in Central Africa and a land of diverse religions. The majority of the population is French and British, who follow Christian religion (Allen, et al., 2007). Hence, my team fellow from Seychelles had different views regarding religious concept of exhibition, which was criticized by others (Bartram and Gibson, 2000). He was very particular about safeguarding his religion and did not allow anyone to demean his culture through any decision. Chinese culture is conservative and highly influenced by Confucianism. There are around 56 distinct ethnic groups in China, which forms majority of the Chinese population. The languages spoken by most Chinese residents are Mandarin, Wu, Yue and Hakka. The multiple languages prevalent in the country are difficult to comprehend as they differ from one ethnic group to another. So, it is quite inconvenient to understand their languages and accents easily as they are not quite adept in English. The pronunciation is different, which indicates to the fact that exact emotion of the person stands a chance of being conveyed ineffectively. The Chinese girl was not proficient in speaking English, which became a huge problem for other team members because they were unable to understand her viewpoints. Thus, all of us encountered this problem pertaining to understanding right expression (Bartram and Gibson, 2000). Islamic culture is followed in Egypt. The majority of Egyptians speak Arabic language and are highly conservative about their civilization. The conservative nature of Egyptians is reflected by the concerned team member who did not converse enough, but had tried to express views and understanding to a great extent (Pope, n. d.). Lastly, Qatar also follows Islamic culture. Majority of the country is occupied by Sunni Muslim, besides different other groups of Muslims. Arabica is the main language that the Qatari citizens use for communication (Pope, n. d.). Two of my team mates from Qatar were quite expressive, but encountered major problem in communicating with the Chinese member. The Chinese individual was difficult to manage since she was the only girl in the team. Hence, a major problem of the team was to manage this individual since any remark against her seemed to offend her. She was assigned as the leader of team, but later on, other team members had complained that she had become commanding and paid heed to no one else (Pope, n. d.). Overcoming the Challenge Through Theory In course of time, I was worried about success of the team work for the exhibition. This aspect made me highly anxious, leading me to take appropriate steps to enhance unity of the team and attain the desired goals. I decided to not have any leader in the team. The team members gave their views and information regarding the topic through individual presentation, which eliminated the problem of not understanding the accent of certain team members. They also submitted a report on their researches regarding their task. Lastly, all of them were asked to incorporate their views and ideas in final decisions, which minimized personal conflicts regarding decisions (Pope, n. d.). This was done by each and every team member who was assured that their ideas and views were taken into account. By incorporating views and seeking to allocate responsibility to those members of the team that were willing and desirous to take it, the overall dynamic of the team and the cohesiveness of it was drastically improved. This is so much the case that it is the understanding of this student that without these improvements, the level of progress that would have been made would have been minimal; due in part to the fact that the “norming and storming process” of team building would not have ever been completed. Conclusion Team work is difficult to maintain owing to invariable conflicts in decision making. It is observed that individuals are distinguished from others in terms of depth of understanding and knowledge. Some are endowed with the talent to lead, while others gain mastery over a different aspect. Hence, I have inferred that leadership is not always required to accomplish a certain goal. If responsibility of framing the final decision is equally distributed among team members, then they are motivated as opposed to feeling neglected (Pope, n. d.). Although my own team has not been a perfect exemplification of how the team work process should take place, it had invaluable strengths that allowed us to complete the task at hand in an expeditious manner. Reference List Ahuja, K., 2006. Personnel management. New Delhi: Kalyani publishers. Allen, R. S., Dawson, G., Wheatlay, K. and White, S.C., 2007. Perceived diversity and organizational performance. Employee Relations, 30(1), pp. 20-33. Armstrong, M., 2009. A handbook of human resource management practice. London: Kogan Page Limited. Barney, J. B., 2001. Is the resource-based view a useful perspective for strategic management research? Yes. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), pp. 41-56. Bartram, S. and Gibson, B., 2000. The training needs analysis toolkit. Amherst: HRD Press Inc. Beardwell, I., Holden, L. and Claydon, T., 2004. Human resource management a contemporary approach. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Cooper, D. and Kagel, J., 2004. Are Two Heads Better than One? [pdf] n.p. Available at: < http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/kagel/teamsd.finalAER.pdf > [Accessed 17 May 2014]. Coutu, D., 2009. Why Teams Don’t Work. [online] Available at: < http://hbr.org/2009/05/why-teams-dont-work/ar/1 > [Accessed 17 May 2014]. Debrah, Y. A. and Ofori, G., 2006. Human Resource Development of Professionals in an Emerging Economy: the Case of the Tanzanian Construction Industry. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(3), pp. 440 – 463. DeNisi, A.S. and Griffin, R.W., 2005. Human resource management. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Dessler, G., 2000. Human resource management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Nielsen, N. H., 2002. Job content evaluation techniques based on Marxian economics. World at work Journal, 11(2), pp. 52–62. Pope, K., no date. Is Team-Working Better Than The Individual? [pdf] n.p. Available at: < http://www.trainingpages.com/cdocs/liggy/6906/Is-team-working-better-than-individual.pdf > [Accessed 17 May 2014]. Purcell, J., Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S., Rayton, B. and Swart, J., 2003. Understanding the People and Performance Link: Unlocking the Black-Box. London: CIPD. Swart, J., Mann, C., Brown, S. and Price, A., 2005. Human Resource Development: Strategy and Tactics. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Publications. Read More