Team Effectiveness in Politics - Essay Example

Group/Team Effectiveness Task The planning committee of Chelmsford borough council that is concerned with planning issues is usually responsible for receiving applications for planning within the council. The planning committee is situated in Britain and is composed of the elected councilors in the area and one chairperson. The members of the general public are all invited to the committees meetings which take place once in a month. The committee’s hearings are held in different venues around the council and always begin from 7pm in the evenings but most of them occur in the councils chambers located along Duke Street (Chelmsford Borough Council, 2012). The committee sometimes has to discuss issues that are not to be heard by the public. When this happens, the chairman orders all the members of the public present to vacate the premises only to return after the committee’s deliberations are over. Members of their public who wish to speak up during the committees meeting must make prior arrangements with the group’s chairman. In addition, the members of the planning teams are required by the group’s constitution to have gone through the minutes of a meeting prior to attending it for debate (Chelmsford Borough Council, 2012). The committee’s main purpose is to give consent to development plans brought before them that will bring developments to the council. They are also responsible for developing plans for the council and assessing plans forwarded to them by councilors along with the sustainable community’s director. The committee is also charged with the responsibility of dealing with road and traffic issues, nuisances within the communities, protecting the buildings along with the environments within their councils (Chelmsford Borough Council, 2012). They also hear applications for the loss of privacy by their citizens and make approvals on the designs, appearances along with the layouts of developments that have been proposed within the council. The chairman of the committee can be either a male or female and must have a minimum academic qualification of a degree. He or she should also have some prior experience of about three years in serving similar planning committees. The other members forming the committees who are about fourteen should be the publicly elected members of council. They are required to be graduates of a university that is widely renowned and should also have some prior knowledge in planning issues. There are no restrictions on the number of men or women who should serve in the team as the electorate is responsible for electing their preferred officials (Chelmsford Borough Council, 2012). The group has undergone five stages of development since its inception. These are the stages of forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The forming stage for the committee involved the coming together of members through their mutual acceptance of one another and the selection of a leader (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The group members gathered information on their differences along with their similarities and in addition formed preferences for the future of the committee. During this stage the members avoided discussing serious issues and focused on orienting the members to the tasks ahead. The major discussions that took place involved were centered on the scopes of their tasks and how to approach them (Singh, 2009). In this stage it was vital for the group members to avoid any areas that would result into conflicts (Singh, 2009). The second stage that is known as the storming stage was characterized by competition along with conflicts regarding the respective tasks that the members were required to perform. The members of the committee had to bend their values, feelings and beliefs to accommodate the goals and purpose of their grouping (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The members raised their queries concerning who was to perform which activity and the methods that were applicable. The conflicts that were witnessed during this stage revolved around leadership, power, influences along with the structure of the committee (Singh, 2009). The third stage was the norming stage which involved improving the cohesion between the committee members. The members were actively engaged in recognizing every member’s efforts and contributions to solving their problems. During this stage, many arguments were presented and their acceptance was mainly based on the facts presented before the group (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The levels of trust between the group members also flourished thereby helping the group to grow (Singh, 2009). The members felt a sense of belonging to the team due to the resolving of personal differences that took place. It’s in this stage that the committee’s creativity was at its highest with the members due to the free consultations they had been having amongst themselves. However, it is in this stage that some members began to fear that the committee would disintegrate due to the resistances to change that were witnessed. The fourth stage that is referred to as the performing stage was characterized by members working independently and utilizing their full capacities as members of the committee (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). It is in this stage that the committee members’ roles and authorities started changing to better accommodate the groups objectives. The members became more job oriented and people oriented. The committee members’ moral along with loyalty was at its highest during this stage. The final stage that the committee will go through after its formation is the adjourning stage (Singh, 2009). The committee will adjourn when the terms for the elected councilors expires. The chairman will also have to step down to pave way for his re-election or the election of an all new chairman. The termination of the committee’s activities will culminate with the termination of the tasks and relationships that exist between the members. The committee’s termination will be accompanied by the recognition of the individual member’s contributions to their objectives (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The committee adopts the traditional structure of organization. The structure is headed by the committee’s elected leader, has regular meetings that are held once a month, provides newsletters for the council members and delegates tasks along with responsibilities among the members. It also organizes social times for the members to be together and makes decisions based on the consensus of their members (Singh, 2009). This structure has been very effective for the committee as it enables them to carry out their activities efficiently with no conflicts arising. This makes the process of decision making faster and also hastens the achievement of the committee’s objectives. The structure also facilitates the committee to have work relationships with people who are in authority thereby making the approval of many of their decisions to become easier (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The behavior, attitudes along with values of the committee members are governed by their constitution. The boundaries between the committee’s activities and their own duties are also clearly indicated in their constitution (Singh, 2009). This has been done to ensure that there are no conflicts in the areas of interest between the member’s activities and the committee’s. The perceptions, opinions and attitudes of the committee members towards other committees within the council are also regulated by their constitution in order to reduce the conflicts that may arise (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The committee has various effects on me regarding their policies on polarization, conformity and groupthink. The committee has affected my thinking and ability of making decisions due to their polarization strategies (Singh, 2009). This is because the committee’s leadership has the ability to make decisions that are extreme than what the members have decided on. However, this power has only been bestowed on him on matters concerning planning within the council. The leader has the responsibility of ensuring that the committee’s decisions are mainly made for the benefit of the council (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). The polarization policies used by the committee have in turn enabled me to make the best decisions concerning issues that are affecting other groups that I am part of. They have also enabled me to come up with decisions that are of the best interest to the people or organizations I am representing. This happens despite the influences of other group members who might be having hidden agendas behind their propositions. The committee’s conformity has enabled me to adequately resolve the differences that exist in my home with members of my family and other group members (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). They have adequately facilitated the reduction of conflicts that in turn prevent activities from running smoothly in these environments. My effectiveness in my work has also increased due to the ability I have gained of matching attitudes, faiths and behaviors of the individuals I work with. Finally, the concept of groupthink found in the committee has enabled me to work harmoniously with different members of the groups I participate in. This has us to come up with common decisions while at the same time reducing conflicts within the group. However, it is also disadvantageous to me since it does not allow us to critically evaluate all options at our disposal before consenting to a common decision (Singh, 2009). In conclusion, the group has had various positive effects on me. They have enabled me to understand and work with different people for a common purpose with little or no conflict (French, Rayner, Rees, Rumbles, 2011). They have also enabled me to realize that our personal differences should not come between us when working as a group. This is because conflicts will derail the attainment of the stipulated objectives of a group working together for a common purpose. References Chelmsford Borough Council. (2012). Planning Committee. Chelmsford Borough Council Retrieved on March 17, 2012 from: http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=9830 French, R., Rayner, C., Rees, G., Rumbles, S. (2011). Organizational Behavior. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Singh, K. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Text and Cases. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Read More