The Difficulty of Establishing Teamwork in Organizations - Essay Example

THE DIFFICULTY OF ESTABLISHING TEAMWORK IN ORGANIZATIONS by Course Professor Institution City and state Date Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Management 4 Establishment of Teamwork 5 Conclusion 10 References 11 Executive Summary Teamwork is an integral part of organizations since organizations entail various aspects and goals. People therefore have to work together in achieving the objectives and goals of an organization effectively. The successful establishment of teamwork is difficult and as such, the management has to consider adopting various strategies and procedures to ensure that the environment within the organization encouraged teamwork. This paper looks at the difficulty in establishing teamwork in organization. Various theories of management have been used to support the position of the paper. Through the concepts that underlie these management theories, it is easy to gain a better understanding of the complexity that comes with successful establishment and maintenance of teamwork in organizations. The paper uses theories of management to explain the roles of management in creating teamwork and the challenges that may be encountered in instituting an environment that promotes working together. Introduction Teamwork is an essential part of an organization in the sense that the concept of teamwork entails working together and in collaboration to achieve organizational objectives. It is therefore important or the management of an organization to consider the effectiveness of the teams they create in addition to having a better comprehension on how to create teamwork. In the management of an organization, the establishment of teamwork is not only essential for work processes but also has an effect on the work environment. By working together, teams achieve more than individual effort. In this way, the cooperation of individuals within the workplace is a concept that has significant impact. Essentially, establishing teamwork in an organization prominently enhances and advances various organizational processes such as productivity, which maximizes revenue and contributes positively to the bottom line (Olum, 2004). In gaining a better understanding of teamwork establishment in an organization, this paper is going to consider the difficulty or ease of instituting teamwork with reference to the theoretical perspectives and concepts encountered in this subject. Management The concept of management is one of the most vital aspects in organizations. To comprehend the significance of management, it is important to note that organizations typically entail numerous people who work together to achieve certain goals and objectives. In this way, managing such magnitude of people ensures the smooth running of operations in the entity. Without management, there would be chaos and a lack of structure and as such, very little would be achieved in light of such lack of harmony and direction. According to Olum (2004), teams are an inherent part of an organization since people have to work together to attain results that are progressive and beneficial for an organization. Therefore, it is the role of the organization’s management to establish and maintain teamwork in an organization considering that the organization relies on the effort of teams to advance. Dixon (2007) stresses that managers play a key role in instituting teamwork in an environment where organizations are continuously becoming complex with compound structures. Management theories and perspectives are thus central in evaluating the formation of teamwork in organizations. It is important to understand the concept of management and the associated functions that underlie management in order to fully understand how teamwork works in organizations. Management can thus be defined as the practice of attaining objectives, goals, or results through people. Managers are tasked with ensuring that people in an organization perform their roles and responsibilities as required of them for progress (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). In broader terms, the process of management entails developing and maintaining an organizational environment where individuals can work closely and efficiently in groups and be effective. This means that managers are tasked with planning, being leaders, and organizers among other aspects. Establishment of Teamwork The establishment of teamwork as a fundamental aspect of an organization can be a difficult task that requires certain steps to be taken into consideration. The Fredrick Taylor Scientific Management theory observes the need to break down difficult tasks into various manageable tasks then enhancing these divided tasks. To establish teamwork in an organization according to this theory, managers need to first set what s referred to as science of work, which is directed towards establishing work patterns and factors associated with efficient productivity and achievement. Secondly, the theory advances the importance of selecting and developing workers. This would require managers to select employees suitable for particular work and developing them through training so that they may be able to accomplish particular tasks with excellent results. Finally, the science of work needs to be integrated with the selected and developed workers for the best results in the particular area. Evaluating the establishment of teamwork through this theory then denotes the level and extensive nature of work that goes into creating teamwork in organizations. Managers need to be aware of the specific kind of work that needs to be done and then select and train individuals to be perfect in delivering the results. It is therefore important that the work and the development of the employees is done thoroughly and in a structured and calculated manner if teamwork is to be established. The final concept of this theory also highlights the importance of dividing responsibility and work equally meaning that managers have to discern manners in which they can share workload and responsibility amongst team members for teamwork to be effective and efficient part of the organization. The creation of teamwork in organizations can also be evaluated in relation to the bureaucratic theory attributed to Max Weber in the category of classical organizational theory. The theory has principles that denote a model bureaucracy. The thorough and expert training concept that guides management according to this theory would need managers to institute procedures and strategies aimed at providing the best training to employees. Other principles of bureaucracy include fixed and official areas of jurisdiction, hierarchy that defines subordination and the superior, records, priority given to official activities and the establishment of firm rules (Olum, 2004). An organization whose management follows the rules advanced by this theory are bound to achieve good results. However, the rules and the principles that underlie this theory also indicate the difficulty in creating teamwork in organizations. Paul and Anantharaman (2003) note that such strict set of rules and guidelines might only achieve the alienation of employees or workers who might feel that the rules of bureaucracy are stifling and inflexible. The theory also acknowledges the fact that as much as setting such ground rules may help in attaining efficiency it creates an environment that does not foster teamwork. Creating an efficient organization that runs effectively thus indicate that such an environment in an organization may make it difficult to establish teamwork owing to its impersonal nature. Teamwork needs people to work together which may be a difficult goal to achieve if the environment does not encourage healthy interaction and instead is more focused on efficient running. Looking at this theory, managers then are faced with the difficult task of trying to balance the structure of the organization to be efficient and establishing and environment that can make the establishment of teamwork easy. Behavioral theory of management and one of the chief scholars of the theory, Elton Mayo looks at the concept of management in a different way that does not rely on science. Through experiments, the theorist observed aspects related to performance and achievement of goals. Satisfaction and consequently performance are not solely based on the aspect of pay but rather rely on the attitudes and conditions of the work environment. In addition, the theory notes the significance that factors such as communication play in effective management. According to the concepts of the theory, the management of an organization needs to provide positive feedback and encourage employees (Olum, 2004). Efforts geared towards establishing teamwork in organizations therefore need to take the considerations given by the theory to be successful. In this way, the management of an organization in establishing teamwork need to consider the work environment and improve on it for the employees to have a positive attitude for work. There is need to give positive feedback and encourage workers for successful teamwork to be established in an organization. These factors highlight the difficult nature of establishing teamwork in organizations since it requires the management faction to consider various aspects of the organization and ensure the conditions are suitable. Managers also have to evaluate their own traits, roles, and responsibilities and set procedures geared towards encouraging employees in addition to communicating the various processes of the organization and keeping employees in the know. To establish teamwork successfully in an organization, the theory also highlights the importance of peer group influence an aspect that management has to consider in their efforts. Peer group influence may frustrate management effort in establishing teamwork and as such, managers have to ensure that they acknowledge the presence of informal groups within the organization in addition to the role of such informal groups. According to this theory, the social environment and the group dynamics of an organization play a significant role in determining productivity and the attainment of objectives. To establish teamwork, these aspects have to be evaluated and assessed since they will determine the difficulty faced in creating and maintaining teamwork. The difficulty in creating and establishing teamwork in organizations can also be assessed in relation to the systems approach theory which is among the theories in recent developments in management theory. The concept underlying this theory stems from understanding a system as an assortment of cohesive section geared towards the accomplishment of a general objective. In this manner, one section affects the nature of the system (Olum, 2004). Organizations can thus be looked at as a system with various sections with a general goal. Managers and the management faction through this theory have to look at the entire organization in a broad way and note the various sections and aspects that contribute to the smooth running and existence of the organization. Through such broad consideration of the organization, managers are able to denote trends and patterns in addition to successful interpretation of such occurrences. To establish teamwork, management is required to keenly evaluate the organizations, its various sections, emerging trends and events that may have an effect on performance, productivity and achievement of organizational goals. It is therefore difficult to establish teamwork in organizations without thoroughly assessing the entire system. O establish patterns, the management in their interpretation of the various trends, tendencies and patterns are also required to note the interrelations between the various aspects of the organization since they affect the establishment of teamwork. The Chaos theory also under the recent developments in management theory bases its concept on the environment within a workplace. The theory according to Olum (2004), postulates that the environment within an organization is chaotic and mimics the global environment with all its haphazard events. The theory observes the fact that managers have always looked at the concept of management in terms of the ability to control the events within an organization. This view, according to the chaos theory is skewed since events within an organization are difficult to control owing to the complexity of the organizational environment. It is important to note that organizations generally have a complex environment since they consist of various aspects and factors that make up the entirety of the organization. This complexity makes it harder to manage the environment as it becomes more unstable. The theory notes that an effective manager is required if the organization is to be prevented from degenerating. In looking at the notion that underlies this theory, it can therefore be said that the establishment of teamwork is difficult. In an environment that consists of numerous and various aspects and factors, it requires more energy to align procedures and processes in order to create and maintain teamwork. Issues are bound to arise continuously and as such, the process of establishing and maintaining teamwork in an organization is a never-ending effort that requires strategies, evaluation, restructuring, enhancing, and constant improvement. Conclusion Establishing teamwork in organizations is difficult owing to the various factors that have to be considered for effective management. The theories of management that have been used in the paper evaluate the numerous aspects that are vital in the establishment of teamwork. It is important to note that managers and the management faction of organizations in performing their roles and responsibilities are faced with myriad situations that determine the successful establishment of teamwork. Factors such the environment of the organization, structure, management practices and social makeup of an organization affects the establishment of teamwork among other aspects. Management therefore has to institute strategies, steps, and procedures that are geared towards balancing the interrelated issues and the effectiveness of teamwork. References Dixon, R., 2007. The management task. Routledge. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. pearson. Olum, Y., 2004. Modern management theories and practices. Uganda: Makerere University. Paul, A.K. and Anantharaman, R.N., 2003. Impact of people management practices on organizational performance: analysis of a causal model.International journal of human resource management, 14(7), pp.1246-1266. Read More