Managers Role in Team Performance and Effectiveness - Case Study Example

Table of Content 2 Introduction 3 Literature review: Manager’s role in team performance and team effectiveness 4 Assessment of organisation’s readiness for the team 4 Clarifying members’ roles 5 Establishing and clarifying team goals 6 Promotion of team commitment 7 Developing team strategies 7 Performance measurement and response 8 Maintenance of team performance 8 Conclusion 9 References 11 Abstract There essay looks at a brief introduction of what teams are and what constitutes team effectiveness. It then proceeds to examine roles performed by managers in achieving team effectiveness. Some of these roles include: assessment of an organisations’ readiness for team processes, clarifying team goals, promoting commitment among team members, assessing performance of the team and maintaining performance of the team. The essay then concludes by examining the most important attributes that managers should posses’ in order to ensure that their teams perform. Introduction From time immemorial, use of teams within organizations has been commonplace. Teams may come in various forms; some may be project teams, committees or simple workplace groups. It is the responsibility of the manager to ensure that teams work hand in hand to achieve technical goals and at the same time she/he must build an environment conducive for effective interpersonal relationships such as communication and collaboration. Teams have been known to improve the performance of an organization and at the same time nurture the leadership skills of team leaders and members as a whole. However, times can only work well if all team members are satisfied with the arrangement of the team. Maund (2001) notes that, effective management structure and culture of an organization affects teams’ performance. Team effectiveness maybe defined as productive output of employees coupled with working environment that are conducive for all members of a team. In this case, teams can only be deemed as effective when two functions have been fulfilled; the social aspect and the technical aspect of the team. John Adair’s action centred leadership theory came up with a model to explain team leadership. It is composed of three entities i.e. team, tasks and individuals. He believed that a manger has three roles; 1) managers must plan, assign, review tasks of their organisation 2) managers must communicate, create a culture of ethics, give feedback to their team 3) managers must understand, develop, train and recognise each individual’s efforts An organisation can be viewed as a combination of two sets of workers i.e. management and subordinates. Both categories have their own goals that have to be directed towards overall goals of the organisation. It is important for management to try and align employee goals with organisational goals. This means that everyone in the organisation will be working towards the same direction. This can be achieved by creating a sense of loyalty among employees and through communication. This implies that workers will work hand in hand with management thus achieving overall goals. In contrast, if every member of the organisation focuses on their own needs and did not consider their work group as a team, resources will be drained and losses will occur. (Dale, 2001) Literature review: Manager’s role in team performance and team effectiveness Assessment of organisation’s readiness for the team It is the role of a manager to ensure that the organisation which he works for is ready for the use of team approach. He must examine the organisation’s keenness, capability and readiness in implementing such an approach. This can be done by measuring three aspects in the organisation. The first aspect is that of the attitude of top executives towards the use of teams. It is his duty to ensure commitment from them because it becomes increasingly difficult for teams to work well when they face resistance from the top branch of an organisation. Managers must also ensure that members of the organisation themselves are ready to work as a team. This implies that those who will participate in these teams must be singing the same song. There is no point in forcing a bunch of people to work together when they cannot even stand the idea. Lastly, managers should ensure that the culture of the organisation is that it can incorporate team work. This means that if an organisation has a number of functions which can be coordinated, then use of the team approach will be deemed as quite appropriate. (Maund, 2001) Clarifying members’ roles Management must ensure that it clarifies three critical issues under this area. The first is having the right team members; the second is doing the right team assignment and lastly having the right team size. There is a common saying that ‘how can you know where you are going without knowing where you are coming from’ Managers should ensure that all the members of a team understand why they were formed. Here, managers should examine what the assignment of the team is and then relate it to the team’s function. Teams usually have numerous functions all working together to complete a specific assignment. He should communicate these ideas concisely and clearly to the team members. Managers must also assess the size of the team and ensure that it is at its optimum. There are specific numbers that are recommended by team management experts. It is a general consensus that most teams work well when they are below six or seven. Managers should make sure that a team is not too crowded because by so doing, roles can get confusing to members and they may fail to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. In addition, it is necessary for management to ensure that the number of team members correspond to organisational needs. Each company has its own specific requirements and tasks should match team size. Managers must keep assessing whether the right team members have been chosen. This is usually because effective teams are those ones that have the right chemistry between the. There must be some cohesiveness demonstrated by team members. Managers should also find out whether each member adds something valuable to the team. They should all have a specific skill or ability and should represent different aspects of the organisation. Managers must also ensure that team members all have defined functions. Roles must be specific and chain of command must be clearly outlined. (Dyer, 1995) Establishing and clarifying team goals It is the duty of management to create overall goals for the team. But this does not mean that team members should not be included in this process. Members should be allowed to devise their own objectives regularly. This is because objectives made by team members are more relevant and personal than those set up by an outer member like a manager. Management should make sure that objectives of the team are in line with overall objectives of the organisation. Promotion of team commitment Managers must ensure that they make all the members of the team dedicated towards their assignments. This is done by creation of an environment that will achieve this aim. This can be done through performance and rewards. This system has been known to motivate employees to a large extent because they know that their output will receive a reward. Management can also obtain commitment from team members towards the team’s assignment by giving them permission to make some decisions. This will make them feel worthwhile and that they are not simply being used as a means towards an end. Management can also enhance commitment through provision of sufficient resources necessary to perform assignments. This will make team members feel like they are not at it alone and that they have back up whenever they need it. Lastly, managers should ensure that they assign challenging tasks to team members because this will give them a reason to take their work seriously. (Thomson, 2003) Developing team strategies For proper coordination of tasks by any team members, there must be a general consensus on how to go about a given task. If this is achieved then a team can be well on its way to achieving its objectives. Mangers should coordinate decisions made by team members on how to implement their duties. This is a necessary part of any team effort because if all members of the team are doing things in their own way, then they will deviate from their goal. Performance measurement and response Managers must make sure that all members of the team play their role in the team effort. This is done by conducting a check on performance through quantifiable parameters. Some of these include objectives of the team. Managers ought to ensure that overall performance is also as expected by measuring their output in comparison to their targets. There are various performance measurement systems that exist currently and it is the duty of management to ensure that these systems have been formalised and accepted into the team process. (Sparrow, 1994) After doing performance measurement, managers should then convey the results of their findings to members of the team. This should be done so that members of the team can improve their efforts if they are performing below expectation. In case they have exceeded expectations, then they will be encouraged to maintain their good record after obtaining feedback. Maintenance of team performance Managers must ensure that their team stays on top of their game. Effective teams are those ones that perform to their best at all times and consistently. This is possible only after members of the team have keep maintaining high levels of commitment to team goals and objectives. This can be achieved through the following actions. (Dale, 2001) Managers can rotate responsibilities around the team the team members. This will inject fresh ideas into the team and will make all members of the team to feel responsible. It can get repetitive and predictable when the same team members perform the same task. Managers can also change goals of the team to coordinate with goal of the task at hand. This will create relevance and team members will feel like they are moving towards a new direction. Objectives of the team should also be upgraded with time. This is because as the team continuous with its tasks, it gains proficiency and therefore needs to be given new challenges every now and then. They should be moving upwards rather than stagnating. Management should take caution when upgrading objectives; they should not move too fast thus making the team members feel pressured. They should take time to study the team’s capability and then act accordingly. Lastly, managers should tale action to correct any anomalies in performance assessment. It is essential for management to do something about what they find out in their investigations. This can be both positively or negatively. (Maund, 2001) Conclusion A highly effective team is one that cannot be achieved overnight. Managers contribute a great deal to a given team’s performance. Managers must make sure that the deal with the basics first, these include communication of team goals, proper definition of team functions and efficient choice of team members by matching the right person with the right tasks. It is also the manager’s duty to ensure that they promote a sense of commitment in the team through adequate resources and transfer of decision making authority. On top of that, managers are supposed to monitor performance of the team and top take corrective action after assessment of team effort. (Dyer, 1995) It takes a deep level of dedication from managers to keep a team at its peak. Good managers do not make their team members feel inferior; instead, they transfer authority to them. They do not try to do too much and allow team members to make decisions on their own. Lastly, managers should be dynamic when handling their team members through new strategies and developments. This is a sure recipe for achieving team effectiveness. References Dyer, W.G. (1995); Team building: current issues and new alternatives. 3rd Ed. Pearson Education POD Dale, M. (2001): The Art of HRD: Developing Management Skills , Vol. 3, Crest Publishing House, New Delhi Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human to Human Resource Management: Theory And Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management; Melbourne Press Maundy, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice: Macmillan, Palgrave Sparrow, P. and Hilltop, J. (1994): European Human Resource Management in Transition: Prentice Hall, New York Thomson, C. and Rampton, L. (2003): Human Resource Management. Melbourne press, New York Maund, L. (2001): An Introduction to Human Resource Management: Theory And Practice: Palgrave, Macmillan, Read More