Team Issues in Organizations - Example

Team Issues in Organizations A team is a group of individuals who are put together to accomplish a common goal. These individuals are interdependent and they may need to interact with other teams within the organization (Encyclopedia of management). Generally teams are made to improve the productivity and to reach a goal, but many a times, this desired result is not achieved. There are many factors involved in working as a team and they need to be addressed correctly in order to get the results. Since it s a group of people, it is important to understand and resolve the issues related to people. At the same time since it is working within an organization to achieve an organizational goal, it is important to have proper leadership, clear goals and strategies with well defined tasks and the commitment of the participants. Definition of a team Sometimes people use ‘groups’ and ‘teams’ as synonyms (Elisa Mendzela,1997). But a team has some specific definitions like: - A unified, interdependent, cohesive group of people working together to achieve common objectives (Recardo, 1996, p. 6) People with complementary skills, committed to a common purpose approach, who work together effectively and hold themselves mutually accountable (Mendzela, 1997,p.62) A number of persons associated together in work or activity (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 1999) For effective working of a team it is important to know the dynamics and principles of team development. A team should be guided by the ground rules that help the growth and effectiveness of the team. It is helpful to determine, develop and practice team member’s behavioural styles. For effective working it is important to define each person’s contribution to the team and also the final goal of the team. That requires an action plan and periodical review of the same. Working in the team will need group problem solving and group decision making.(Management and staff development services, Georgia state University, http://www2.gsu.edu/) Types of Teams There are various ways team types have been defined. classifies them as - the Leadership teams, motivation team, safety and environmental team, employee wellness team and culture and communication team.( Susan Heathfield, The Five teams every organization needs, Human Resources) some writers sum up the teams in three basic types as the work team, the project team and the focus team.(Kevin, greatsystems.com) Normally there are six major types of teams:- Informal – these are social in nature. It may have leaders from outside the organization. Traditional- these are the normally found departmental or functional teams. Here the organization appoints the supervisors or the managers. Problem solving- these are temporary teams. They are normally cross-functional and focused on a particular project. Leadership- these are steering committees and advisory council. Self directed – these are small teams where most of the members are at the same status and they have the authority to decide the strategies to get the work done. Virtual- these teams are geographically apart and they work with the aid of high technology. For the purpose of our study here we are talking about teams within an organization that are formed to achieve a particular goal or objective. Forming a Team It is being said that the traditional structure of organizations are undergoing a change and the old traditional model is an ‘endagered species’.(David Cleland,1996 p. vii) more and more organizations are using teams as an effective way of working. Consequently, teams have become the "common denominator of organizational change" (Cleland, 1996, p. 9). Teams are based on the basic idea that the employees will be more productive when “they have a high feeling of self-worth and of identification with the success of the organization" (Ketchum and Trist, 1992,p. 18). Before a team is formed, one must weigh the basic reasons of forming the team. Mendzela(1997) has suggested to consider four questions and get their satisfactory answers to justify team forming. These are :- 1. Why the team would be helpful 2. What the current situation is not able to satisfy? 3. What are its possible causes and solutions? 4. Will the team get the support of the organization? If there are satisfactory and specific answers to the above questions then that itself will define the team’s mission statement. There should be clear objective and goal of the team. The organization should proceed with team forming by analyzing team performance and planning for improvement. There should be provision for evaluation and follow-ups. Challenges and Issues There could be certain challenges related to the decision of building the team. There should be possible conflicts and also power struggle. As success is going to be shared by the team and not the individual, it may cause some friction. Some of the common problems mentioned by Scholtes are overbearing, dominating or reluctant participants; digression; a rush tro accomplish goals, acceptance of opinions as facts; feuding members etc.(Scholtes, 1988) These may lead to loss of focus from the goal. Although teams are formed with the aim of increased output but according to Mendzela (1997), 60% of the teams fail. The different reasons for the challenges and issues that crop up in a team can be divided into two broad categories- the conflict among the participants and the lack of clear goals. Leadership Leadership in a team is not just setting the agenda but also getting it done. A good team needs a good leader. A leader can be collaborative or directive. The important thing for the leader is to have the respect of the participants. It requires the leader’s ability to perform not only on the team and work related issues but also the social and personal issues. If the participants look up to them as ‘the’ leader, then they are more likely to follow them. A team loses direction and focus in absence of a leader or a ‘good’ leader. The ‘good’ leader has to be a person of character to get the commitment of the people. Communication For effective working in a team, communication is very important. Since there are more than one person involved, if attention is not given to proper communication, the gaps could be fatal. One can not assume that everyone is aware of changes and problems. Sometimes a participant may not know or may not be aware of the importance of an information and may fail to convey it to others. Sometimes the participants may realize the importance of sharing the information but may not have the required means or forums to exchange information. Sometimes negative information may not be brought up for the fear of being perceived as a negative person. For effective working of the team, these issues need to be looked into and a proactive and clearly defined inflow of communication is required. Team Decision Making Decision making is an important factor in working in teams. There are various methods and they may be applied as per the requirement. According to Johnson & Johnson, there could be seven different ways of decision making for a team. A leader may make a decision without consulting anyone. This saves time and can be used for routine administrative decisions. But in absence of consultation with the team, it lacks cooperation or commitment from the team members. Another method could be to select an expert from the group and entrust him with making the decision. It works when there is a clear expert in the team otherwise it may become an issue in itself. A decision can be taken by pooling in everyone’s idea. This needs talking to individuals to get their opinion which may be time-consuming and still some conflict may remain. A leader may get everyone’s idea in a meeting and then give a decision. Although this sounds a fair method but due to personality issues the participants may not put up a genuine opinion and still not be satisfied with the final decision. Sometimes decisions can be made by a small team within the team or by voting on an issue. But even more effective is the majority vote. Although it may consume more time as each participant is given a chance to speak, and to be understood, the final decision is by consensus. With the support and commitment of the team this looks like the best decision making method. Teams vs. Individuals Although any organization hires individuals who have certain capabilities but when a team of the individuals is formed, it is more capable than an individual. Since the team has combined capabilities of many individuals and they have been put together for increased productivity, its power is more than an individual. Since everyone does not have skills needed for working in a team, it could pose some problems. For effective working of a team, individuals will have to change their traditional communication methods and adopt new methods to work with the team. (Pucel and Fruehling,1997). It is necessary to impart training and teach skills needed for working in a team to attain the team objective as well as individual satisfaction(Ozols, 1996). Motivation of the team Motivation of a team has different issues as compared to an individual. Trust and belief play an important role here. The members of a team must have the belief that the other team members have the required skills to meet the common goal. They should also have the belief that team as a collaborative effort will be able to reach its objective. If there is any doubt on these issues, the motivation suffers badly. Therefore it is important to encourage the team members to have faith in each other’s capabilities. If there is any issue related to this, it should be handled immediately and directly. If the doubt is correct then it is better to replace the questioned team member in the benefit of the team and its objective. It may also happen that the individual members are very efficient but they doubt that the team can work. Generally highly efficient people have doubts regarding other people’s efficiency and they find it difficult to collaborate with others. On one hand high efficiency and high talent is good but if it hampers the team’s success in absence of collaboration and cooperation, then it is not advisable to have highly independent people in a team that is supposed to work on collaboration. Social Loafing Another problem could be ‘social loafing’. It means that when people are put together in a team they get the inclination of not working as hard as they would do as an individual. Studies have shown this phenomenon in context of rope pulling. As more members were added to the team, individual members put in lesser effort. This can be eliminated very quickly and effectively if by assessing each member’s individual effort or contribution. If members know that their own strengths will be examined as well then they will not be able to hide behind the team’s achievement. (Clark, R. E. 2003) Management -related Issues When the goal of the team is not clear, the participants are confused. Apart from not knowing what they are expected to do they lack trust and belief in the team. They have no faith that the supposed outcome is possible, that they are not clear if ‘that’ is the supposed outcome.(Robbins and Finley, 1995) If the management forms a team on the general idea that people enjoy working together, they may be in for a surprise. Not everyone likes working together. Some people have the need for their own space and working with a group makes them feel confined. If the management assumes that their enthusiasm about the team and the goals achievable by the team is automatically transferred to each participant, then they are mistaken. According to Ozlos(1996), when a team is set up to achieve management results, it fails to recognize a vital point, i.e. employee satisfaction. Unless the recognition and job satisfaction of the employee is taken into consideration, the team may not be successful. Resolving Team issues A team can be successful if the basic issues are dealt with. The most important thing for the team to be successful is for the team members to understand that they are part of the ‘team’. This needs clear definition of their ‘roles’ in the teams. Doing this gives them recognition and they do not feel lost in the team. A clear definition of roles also helps to avoid the tendency of hiding behind the team when the blame cannot come on one particular person. When the team members participate in the decision making for the team, their involvement grows and the commitment also increases. For effective working of the team, communication pattern is very important. It needs to be open and clear. There should be infra structural support for proper and timely communication and also clearly defined nature of communication to avoid confusions. The leadership of the team plays a vital role. Their integrity and their focus lends itself to the team. It is vary important to attract the commitment of the team. The leadership needs to provide the team with a clear goal. With regular and personal interaction with them they can be focused at getting the goal done. Rewards for personal achievements can be useful for motivating the team. With the well-defined goal, the priorities should also be clearly laid out. Training for the required areas must be provided and especially there should be training on working together as a team as all the participants may not be familiar with this environment. The norms of working within the group should be made clear to provide smooth functioning. Despite this some conflicts may arise. They need to be resolved quickly. Although the team has to have a clearly defined way of working but flexibility also has a part in it. To summarize it, it can be said that a team needs to work like a ‘team’. There should be participation from all the participants in all the areas. When they have the freedom to contribute their ideas and they feel it is valued, they are more inclined to work for the common goal. The leader should create an atmosphere where people can ask questions and get clarifications. This shares the responsibility of the team among all the members, which is very important. Reference: 1. Encyclopedia of management, http://www.referencefor business.com/management/Str-Ti/Teams-ands-Teamwork/> 2. Fostering the Work Motivation of Individuals and Teams ; Richard E. Clark, Rossier School of Education ,University of Southern California Published as:) Fostering the work motivation of individuals and teams. Performance Improvement, 42(3), 21-29. 3. Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., and Holubec, E.J., 1986. Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom, rev. ed. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Co. 4. Johnson, D.W., and Johnson, F.P. (2000). Joining together: Group theory and group skills, 7th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. 5. Scholtes, P.R., Joiner, B.L., Streibel, B.J., and Mann, D. (1996). The Team Handbook, 2d ed., Oriel, Inc. 6. Kevin, http://www.greatsystems.com/teams/ 7. Management and staff development services, Georgia state University, http://www2.gsu.edu/ 8. Susan Heathfield, The Five teams every organization needs, Human Resources) http://www.humanresources.about.com/ Read More