Common Goal and Ground Rules for Team, Team Building, Advantages and Disadvantages of Teamwork - Assignment Example

INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION REPORT by Student’s name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION REPORT. Introduction I hereby present my individual reflection report based on the discussions which we had in our group. Our group was headed by Eugene. I was the coordinator and implementer of the group. This role was in accordance to the Belbin team role self-perception inventory (BTRSPI) which was structured to measure the traits which people display when working in a team. The individual traits assist in designing the role which a person is awarded in the group. Other group members were given different roles depending on the characteristics they displayed. Proper role allocation was essential in the effective achievement of the set group objectives (Belbin 2013). As the group coordinator and implementer I had a task of looking at organizational development and its relations with the human resource department in an organization. Basically organizational development can be defined as a deliberate effort which has been planned and managed by top executives to promote organizational performance in the implementation of organizational activities through application of behavior science knowledge. (Richard 1969). It is clear from this definition that organization development mainly emphasizes on organizational performance which can only be attained through employee motivation. There is a close connection which is evident between organization development and human resource department. They both focus on the important people processes. For organizational performance to be attained human resources require an effective management. The top executive has to ensure that their demands are met appropriately. However, it is worthy loking at the distinction that exists between the two fields. Human resource mainly focuses on short-term processes such as employee performance reviews, remuneration and recruitment. Organizational development on the other hand aims at long-term people processes such as organizational mission, training and management. (Terrence 2010). Human resource supplements organizational development processes. (Kandula 2006) Common goal and ground rules for team To promote unity of effort, our team formulated common goals and ground rules for the team members. They were binding to all members, and they were under duty to observe them. Ground rules were meant to attain group objectives for example completing the assignment on time. Every group member had to understand the group mission for them to comply by the group rules. While structuring our team goals, we considered the main aspects of team goals. First there was the basic requirement of a team. The physical presence of presence of the team members was necessary. Our group was comprised of five members, and they all actively participated in the goal formulation process. Secondly, the success of our group in accomplishing the assignment was dependent on goals. Hence, our goals were more directed on the side of academics because we were handling an assignment together. Thirdly, the aspect of individual motivation was evident in our goals. The goals clearly depicted the individual inspiration for academic success which was in all the members. Members' motivation was examined by their willingness to contribute in the goal formulation process. They had believed that they would accomplish team goals. Finally the feature of clarity in goal setting was properly followed. The ground rules were clear and consistent with the team goals. Group members were able to clearly tell what we're looking for and how we were bound to attain it. The goup was focused, and had a significant level of Cohesiveness. (David 2014). I would like to look at the main ground rules which were important in the group discussion. First we had the rule concerning common goals. Normally, common goals give group members a common sense of direction. For example, in our group each member was committed towards handling of the group assignment that would otherwise not have been completed by one member. Secondly the members were to maintain high levels of punctuality when attending group meetings and submitting their research work. Assignments are supposed to be finished within one week before the submission date. Maintaining a conducive environment for the group meetings was another matter that the rules checked on. Everyone had to ensure that the mobile phones were switched off during group meetings to avoid disruptions. Fourth, the group rules provided for the freedom of expression. Individuals feel a sense of belonging when their views are accepted in a group. Members of our group for example have proposed that we maintain the same groups while handling other assignments. This is a good idea though we are still waiting for official communication. Extending a helping hand is another principle successfully structured in the team. Whenever one member is in need, the others are willing to help. Team building Team building is management of individuals so that they can reach the set objectives of the group. The process of team building is continuous, and this helps the teams to maintain their level of togetherness. For a team to exhibit high performance level, the team members have to share a common goal, trust, respect and supportive values. Team builders have a role to guide their teams towards attainment of high performance levels. This is because organizational development is directly related to teamwork. That is to mean poor team performance will be depicted in organizational performance. (California 2014) In the current environmental setting, the composition of teams is continually changing, and there is more urge to develop competitive skills in members so that their presence in the team can be effective. In summary the main stage involved in team building are: setting clear goals. This will involve communicating the objectives of the team in a clear manner. Secondly, the team builder will be needed to establish the challenges to attaining group performance and finally dealing with those challenges appropriately for the common goals to be attained. The solutions to challenges could be attained through forums such as discussions and performance evaluation. (Steve 2014) Advantages of teamwork Teamwork promotes synergy whereby individuals with varied talents are integrated together in a group. Much more is attained when employees work together as a group. They inspire each other, and this boosts individual's intrinsic motivation. The individuals are willing to offer more. Improve motivation will inspire organizational development through the improved performance. Secondly, we noted that teamwork gives the members a good opportunity of learning from one another. Their skills and personal performance at the workplace is improved by their participation in teamwork. Group and teams formation should thus be emphasized in organizations. (Medsker 1997) Disadvantages of teamwork According to the team building process we analyzed, we realized that the process of building stable and performing teams is time consuming. Normally team formation needs coordination, and it takes time to make decisions. Most organizations are not willing to concentrate their effort to such processes. Secondly, the possibility of conflicts arising in a group is very high especially when members fail to agree on a topic. Application of conflict resolution methods brings unnecessary expenses (Medsker 1997). Theories we applied when building our team. Belbin roles theory: we successfully applied Belbin roles in building our team. These roles majorly emphasize on individuals using their abilities for the benefit of the team. This enhances in the team performance because group members give their best to the team. He identified nine team roles which are classified under: intellectual roles, people oriented roles and action oriented roles. Intellectual roles: planter, monitor and specialist. Action oriented role: implementer, shaper and finisher. People skills oriented role: coordinator, team-worker and investigator. We appropriately applied these roles in our teambuilding whereby every member was allocated team roles. Advantages and disadvantages of Belbin role theory: Disadvantages: first, it is interesting to emphasize that this theory is specifically designed for teams. Information obtained can only be useful in cultural change, individual development and team development. Secondly, the theory is mainly concerned with behavior. It cares less on personality. When making decisions in an organization, information obtained from Belbin theory needs to be supplemented. Advantages: the theory gives team members an opportunity to share information and further unites the team. These are major aspects that attracts inspires team members and also attracts individuals to join the team. (Belbin 2013) Tuchman four stages: this team building model explains the different changes that happen when a team develops from formation stage to the later stages. In our discussion we noted that as the development proceeds to later stages, more decision are made, and the time required to make such agreements decreases. The stages can be explained as follows. Formation stage: the members of the group highly depend on the leader, there is little agreement and the duties of members lack clarity. Storming stage: the roles of group members are progressively determined but still there is uncertainty. Decisions are made at a slow rate. Team members are required to be focused to avoid distractions. Norming stage: the level of agreement is high, and the members cooperate with the leader. The level of commitment is high and it is common to have social activities. Performing stage: every member is aware of his roles. They have a common vision and the level of unity is high. Any disagreements arising are solved in a positive manner. The team leader is able to comfortably delegate tasks. The level of intrinsic motivation on members is high. (Alan 2013) Advantages: this model provides clearly detailed explanation of the stages which teams undergo and whenever one is planning to form a team he can use the model as a point of reference. Disadvantages: this method was specifically designed for small groups. It cannot be used to predict stages for larger groups. Secondly, it is difficult to determine when the team has proceeded to the next stage because we are dealing with human beings. A change in human traits is hard to determine. Team development process: in our team building we applied team development process whereby we evaluated the development of our team within a period of one and half years. During this process we used questionnaire to measure the development of the team. The level of productivity was high during this period and this promoted innovation in the team. (Quantum, 2014) Advantages: a closely monitored team development process improves the ability of the team achieve better performances because the process promotes innovation which is essential in organizational development. Secondly, the acts of team members are closely monitored to check on their accountability for team performance. Disadvantage: the level of rigidity of this method is very high in such a manner that the individuals' performance should be monitored closely. Failure to implement this monitoring brings poor performance. (Quantum, 2014). Challenges encountered While working has a team we encountered various challenges. Most of them were unexpected but others we expected their presence. As highlighted above in Tuchman's team development stages, there is reduced member integration in our stage during the first meetings. Members were not very cooperative and we entirely depended on our leader to offer guidance and carry out the tasks. Other members were confused because their role in the team was not clearly. This made me feel de-motivated during this period due to the failed expectations. However, we eventually solved the issue and our activities proceeded smoothly. There were also challenges when collecting information on organizational development from the field especially on measuring the contribution of organizational development. This is because organizational development has some aspects of behavioral science. As a result we could get varied results. We had to technically balance the results. Organizational development techniques applied We mainly applied the organizational development technique of management by objectives (MBO). We worked together with our team leader, Eugene to attain our objectives for the study. Whenever any member faced a challenge, we all participated to find a solution. Survey feedback technique was also applied in the part of team development process to acquire the required data. The information obtained was important in the planning process. Challenges encountered in the team were also analyzed. (Harshmandavia 2012) Conclusion Conclusively, developing teams face many challenges mostly in their early stages. There is a great need to put any team building process under the supervision of a professional human resource practitioner so the teams formed can reach the maturity stage. This will help to reduce team break-ups while in the initial stages. Reference list Allan Chapman, 2013, Tuchman stages, Retrieved from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Techniques-Of-Organizational-Development-Used-To-1299465.htm Belbin, 2013, A Comprehensive Review of Belbin Team Roles. Retrieved from www.belbin.com David Richards, 2014, Goals, Retrieved from http://www.odportal.com/teams/effective/chapter5.htm Kandula, S (2006), Human Resource Management and Organization Development Practitioner Readings, ICFAI Books, New York. Medsker, G.J., Campion, M.A., 1997 "Job and Team Design," in Salendy, G., Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics, Quantum Learning, 2014, Team Development Process, Retrieved from http://www.quantumlearn.com/team-building/team-development-process/ Richard Beckhard’s, 1969, Organization Development: Strategies and Models Steve Myers, 2014, Team Building, Retrieved from http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/tt/h-articl/tb-basic.htm Terrence Seamon, 2010, HR and OD- What Does the Future Hold. Retrieved from http://learningvoyager.blogspot.com/2010/10/hr-and-od-what-does-future-hold.html University of California, 2014, Team Building, California university press. Read More