Strategic Management Meredith Belbin - Research Paper Example

Team Work & Team Work Meredith Belbin, a management theorist and a researcher from Britain, was known for his exemplary work in managing teams. His module, aimed at developing team leading skills. Consequently, it dealt with the basic principles of teams and team building. He worked with three of his colleagues, in studying team working and intellectual abilities (Maxwell 2001). Throughout his research, he was guided by the fundamental principle of building on success and understanding causes of failure.

His module focused on offering individuals opportunities, proportionate to their abilities as well as their interests (Belbin 2007). The Team Role theory sprung from the research done by Meredith. It sought to understand human behavior, by studying individual’s affinity to behave in a certain manner, and their contribution in relating with others. This defined way, gave the theory a meaning. In addition, it helped understand one’s behavior and the behavior of fellow team members (Larson & LaFasto 2006; Adair 2007).

Meredith outlined nine team roles. A completer has an attitude to plan ahead, and ensure that targeted goals are attained. A coordinator is composed even in the face of controversy, whereas an implementer works with the interests of the company and not his own. A monitor evaluates proposals with a detached mind (Parker 2004; Rees 2001). A plant is an intellect that solves difficult problems, whereas, a resource investigator is always in a position to relate to people and explore things associated with outsiders.

A shaper considers all possible means, to solve a problem and leaves out the unnecessary ones. A specialist provides rare expertise and skills, whereas a team worker promotes team spirit (Gardenswartz 2003; Belbin 2006).Meredith Belbin is a British researcher, born in the year 1926. He obtained a first and second degree at Clare College, Cambridge, in Classics and later Psychology. He worked as a researcher upon completion of his doctorate at Cranfield College. Later, he became the chairman of the Industrial Training Research Unit (Carr 2001).

He and three other scholars, Bill Hartston, Jeanne Fisher and Roger Mottram, began a seven year task. They held three games a year, and each game constituted eight teams. In each meeting, they observed and recorded the contribution of each team. Belbin established Belbin Associates, with an aim to publish and promote his research in the year 1988 (Belbin 2003; Maginn 2007). The theory is of immense importance, because it helps understand individuals own behavior and those of our team members.

It promotes self- awareness and assists candidates to explore team dynamics. Candidates are also able to explore trust and respect issues related to team working. The theory is distinct from others, because the team roles are a representation of tasks in the team’s activities self- management (Weiss 2001; Harrington- Mackin 2004).Belbin’s model has been criticized for a number of reasons. Research done to establish the team roles, was conducted on established executives, hence the sample was selective.

It is argued that for a team to function well, all roles must be present. The actors of the different roles have limitations (Fisher 2004). For instance, a shaper might become bad tempered in the course of work. A finisher can concentrate more on one part and thus not follow the given time frame. These and other factors make it difficult for individuals and groups to apply the theory (Hitchcock 2005; Lencioni 2002).ReferencesAdair, J 2007, Effective Team Building, Prentice Hall, London.Belbin, M 2007, Beyond the Team, Oxford Publishers, Cambridge.

Belbin, M 2006, Management Teams: Why they succeed or Fail, Oxford Publishers, Cambridge.Belbin, M 2003, Team Roles at Work, Oxford Publishers, Cambridge.Carr, C 2001, Team Leaders Problem Solver, AMACOM, New York.Fisher, K 2004, Leading Self- Directed Work Teams, McGraw- Hill, New York. Gardenswartz, L 2003, Diverse Teams at Work: Capitalizing on the Power of Diversity, Society for Human Resource Management, London.Harrington- Mackin, D 2004, The Team- Building Toolkit: Tips, Tactics, and Rules for effective workplace Teams, Prentice Hall, London.

Hitchcock, D 2005, Why Teams Can Fail and What to do A bout It: Essential Tools for Anyone Implementing Self Directed Work Teams, McGraw-Hill, New York.Larson, C & LaFasto, F 2006, Team Work: What Must Go Right/ What can Go Wrong, New York Times Publishers, New York.Lencioni, P 2002, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Prentice Hall, London.Maginn, M 2007, Making Teams Work: 24 Lessons for Working Together Successfully, McGraw- Hill, New York.Maxwell, J 2001, The 17 Indisputable Laws of Team Work: Embrace them and empower your Team, Oxford University Publishers, Oxford.

Parker, G 2004, Team Work and Team play: Games and Activities for Building and Training Teams, Pfeiffer, Chicago.Rees, F 2001, How to Lead Work Teams: Facilitation Skills, Pfeiffer, Chicago.Weiss, D 2001, The Self- Management Workshop: Helping People take Control of their Lives and their Work, AMACOM, London.