building effective teams (report)

ni adalah report building effective teams aku

wan khairul azman
ec110
6b

LECTURER’S : MUHAMMAD ISHA BIN ISMAIL

CONTENT

NO	TITLE	PAGES
1	Introduction	1
2	Type of teams	1-5
3	Meaning of effective teams	5
4	Characteristics effective teams	5
5	Ways to build an effective teams	6-7
6	Step to better team works	8-9
7	Factor that make team failure	10-11
8	Conclusion	11
9	References	12
10	appendix	13-17

Introduction

We have a lot definition of team. In general definition, team is a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. Team members operate with a high degree of interdependence,  share authority and responsibility for self-management, are accountable for the collective performance, and  work toward a common goal and shared rewards(s). A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members( Jafni, 2008)

Teams that are cohesive, productive, and efficient and whose members enjoy doing their work and working together don’t happen by accident. Successful teams are cohesive because team members work cooperatively, sharing common goals as well as the resources to achieve them. They are productive, not because team members never disagree, but because they have worked out ways to resolve conflicts when they occur. They are efficient because tasks are assigned in a way that takes into account each member’s skills and interests, rather than letting the team be dominated by the most verbal, most aggressive, or most popular personalities. Managers play an essential role in developing and leading teams that work in these ways.

Type of team

Team can be divided into seven types. It is permanent teams, temporary teams, task force, committee, work force; self managed teams, and visual teams.

Firstly, lets we discuss about permanent teams. These teams perform on a permanent basis and are not dissolved once the task is accomplished.(kuok,2009) Let us understand the concept with an example. Mike, Peter, Joe and Ana had a strong inclination towards branding as well as promotions and hence were a part of the branding team with a leading organization. They were primarily responsible for promoting their brand and designing marketing strategies to generate maximum revenue for their organization. They worked extremely hard and always managed to achieve their targets well in advance, but their team was always in place and never dissolved. Their organization never asked them to leave or ever dissolved their team. Such teams are called permanent teams. Work or no work, the human resources team, operation team, administration team always function effectively throughout the year and hence are permanent teams.

Besides that, temporary teams also are a some from type of teams. Temporary teams are unlike permanent teams, temporary teams lose their importance, once the task is accomplished. Such teams are usually formed for a shorter duration either to assist the permanent team or work when the members of the permanent team are busy in some other project(kuok, 2009). When organizations have excess of work, they generally form temporary teams which work in association with the members of the permanent team for the accomplishment of the task within the stipulated time.

Task force also is a type of teams. If we are talking about task force we should know the meaning task force is teams are formed for a special purpose of working on any specific project or finding a solution to a very critical problem. The government generally appoints special teams to investigate critical issues like bomb blasts, terrorist attacks and so on. The task force explores all the possible reasons which led to a severe problem and tries to resolve it within a given deadline.

Furthermore, committees are generally formed to work on a particular assignment either permanently or on a temporary basis. Individuals with common interests, more or less from the same background, attitude comes together on a common platform to form a committee and work on any matter. To organize any cultural event, organizations generally make committees to raise funds, invite celebrities and all the major tasks involved to successfully organize any event. The committee members work together, design strategies to successfully accomplish the task. In educational institutes, various committees are formed where students with a common interest join hands to organize cultural events and various other activities required for the all round development of students.

Organization or work force is groups are formed in organizations where team members work together under the expert guidance of leader. A leader or a supervisor is generally appointed among the members itself and he along with his team works hard to achieve a common goal. The leader all through must stand by his team and extract the best out of each team member. He must not underestimate any of his team members and take his team along to avoid conflicts. Samuel was working with a leading advertising firm with two members reporting to him. Samuel always believed in his team members and worked together with his team and no doubts his team always did wonders and was way ahead of others.

Self Managed Teams consist of individuals who work together again for a common purpose but without the supervision of any leader. Here as the name suggests every individual is accountable for his individual performance. The team members of self managed teams must respect each other and should never lose focus on their target. No leader is appointed and the team members have to take their own responsibility. Individuals take the initiative on their own and are their own guides and mentors.

Finally, Virtual teams consist of individuals who are separated by distances and connected through computer. Here individuals communicate with each other online through internet. Sam at Los Angeles can form a team with Mandy at Mexico and Sara at Denver all working for a common objective but the communication is totally digital through internet. Such teams are helpful when employees need to connect with each other and are located at different places. Individuals supporting any community in social networking sites such as face book also form a virtual team as all the members are from different locations but support a common community. They all have a common objective -to support and promote their community.

Meaning of effective teams

An effective team has certain characteristics that allow the teams members to function more efficiently and productively. They develop ways to share leadership roles and ways to share accountability for their work products, shifting the emphasis from the individual to several individuals within the teams.

Characteristics effective teams

Effective teams have a special characteristic that to make it call “effective”. Some from the characteristic is teams members share leadership roles. Secondly, they develop their own scope of work. Thirdly, the team’s schedules work to be done and commits to taking time allotted to do work. Furthermore, they develop tangible work products. They also have mutually accountable for work products. Individual performance is based on achieving team’s products. Lastly, the problem are discussed and resolved by the teams.

Ways to build an effective team

All people want have an effective team. But just a little from them that got the effective team. We have a lot way to follow to make a team become more effective.

Firstly, clarify the common goals and purposes. Make the team’s purposes clear. Take the time to articulate the team’s performance goals and how the team contributes to the company’s success. Even a work group that has existed for some time may never have done this. In any case, the purposes and conditions change over time. If you are a new boss, you will be putting your own stamp on the group’s common goals.

Secondly, clarify each person’s role in achieving the common purpose. Define each person’s job in terms of its contribution to the group’s and the company’s overall goals.

Thirdly, put team members in touch with the people who use they do. Confirm the needs of the team’s external or internal customers or clients on an ongoing basis. For example, tom ,be sure to talk with both materials management and the folks in production to make sure they’re aware of the changes we have planned. Our changes could affect their work if we’re all not in sync.

After that, pay attention to conflicts when they arise. It is natural for conflict to arise when people work in group. Conflict, handled well, can actually produce constructive ideals. Sometimes team members will annoy each other, step on each other’s toes, or hurt each other’s feelings. Honest disagreements can become personal and heated. Work processes that seemed efficient can break down. it is important to recognize that some degree of conflict among co-works is normal. Let problems come to the surface. Avoid the impulse to demand that your employees “drop it” or “just cut it out”. Also, anticipate that more conflicts may occur whenever there are changes that affect the team’s membership or goals.

Besides that, work out ways to resolve conflicts. What works as an effective style of conflicts resolution varies from team to team, and may vary over time on the same team. Teams whose members all have similar experience and seniority may be able to settle problems more informally, for example, than a team with more diversity.

Others ways is remember your leadership role. While you need to encourage your employees to feel a healthy “ownership” of the team’s work, you need to avoid trying to be “just one of the team”. You not your team’s work, you need to avoid trying to be your own boss for the team’s results. You are expected to get result through your people. Hold each employee responsible for meeting goals and for solving or helping to solve problems.

Besides that, allow team members to have input into their jobs. when you can, give your employees flexibility on how they meet their work goals. Encourage employees to make suggestions about changes in what they do and how they do it, base on their direct and daily experience of what work, what does not work, and what could work better. Of course, the only way to encourage employees to make suggestions over the long run is to show them that you will act on some of their suggestions.

Finally, appraise and reward each employee individually, including a review of his or her teamwork. As members of a team, the expectations and criteria for their performance include showing a spirit of cooperation’s, developing conflict resolution skill, engaging in good communication with others , and being willing to help others solve problems or get through crutch efforts. If feasible, encourage all team members to provide meaningful feedback to one another. Be sure to give each team member specific feedback about his or her strengths and any unique role that the person served on the team rather than just focusing on problems or performance gaps.

Step to betters teams work

To make a team’s betters do the work. We should follow a little simple step. The step is most important because it will affect so mush of team. Below is a little step that should be follow to achieve the target:

Firstly, think about your teams first. Every individual should think of his team first and his personal interests should take a backseat. Do not mix your personal issues with your professional life. Keep them separate. Besides that, never underestimate your team member. Do not neglect any of the members, instead work together and also listen to them as well. Never try to impose your ideas on any member. Avoid demotivating any team member.

Secondly, we should discuss everything. Before implementing any new idea, it must be discussed with each and every member on an open platform. Never ever discuss with anyone separately as the other person feels left out and reluctant to perform and contribute to the team.

The most important is please avoiding criticism. Stay away from criticism and making fun of your team members. Help each other and be a good team player. Be the first one to break the ice and always create a friendly ambience. If you do not agree with any of your team member, make him understand his mistakes but in a polite tone and do guide him. Avoid negativity within the team.

Besides that, the transparency must be maintained and healthy interaction must be promoted among the team members. The communication must be effective, crystal clear and precise so that every team member gets a common picture. Effective communication also nullifies misunderstandings and confusions. Confusions lead to conflicts and individuals waste their time and energy in fighting rather than working.

Furthermore, the team leader must take the responsibility of encouraging the team members to give their level best and should intervene immediately in cases of conflicts. The personality of the leader should be such that every team member should look up to him and take his advice whenever required. He should not be partial to any member and support each of them equally. It is the duty of the team leader to extract the best out of his team members. For better team work, try to understand your team members well. Do not just always talk business, it is okay if you go out with your team members for lunch or catch a movie together. It improves the relations and strengthens the bond among the team members. The team members must trust each other for maximum output.(caty,2008)

Other than that, the step that are you should be follow is avoid conflicts in your teams. Don’t fight over petty issues and find faults in others. One should be a little adjusting with each other and try to find an alternative best suited to all the team members.

The last step is rewards and recognition. Healthy competition must be encouraged among the team members. The performance of every team member must be evaluated timely and the best performer should be rewarded suitably so that the other members also get motivated to perform. Recognitions like “The Best Team Player” or the “The Best Performer” go a long way in motivating the team members. Appreciate the member who performs the best or does something unique.

Factor that make teams failure

Have some factor that will affect the power of team. We should know the factor and try to avoid it to make teams more effective. There is some factor that makes teams failure:

Firstly, environmental influences. The team members may be placed at different location making it difficult for them to meet frequently. Hence a solution needs to be found to resolve this issue. Communication is vital for any team to work well. Physical distances can always be overcome with the use of technology. The team is not given adequate resources in order to do its job. Besides that, you cannot expect an employee to work with his hands tied, can you? Team efforts can be recognized. This is a key human trait. Appreciation is a big morale booster for any employee. A lack of recognition by the organization or its leaders about the existence of a team can also lead a team to its failure.

Secondly, the factor that will affect is goals. No participation from members in setting goals. This takes away the ownership from the team. It reduces the commitment of the team members. Furthermore, team is not clear about the goals. Communication is vital, whether to a team or to an organization. Besides that, the goals are not effectively communicated. Everybody is doing his own thing with no attention to team goals. Working in silos leads to duplication of work as well as ruining the organization culture.

Thirdly, the factor will effect is roles. Role is no clear leader identified.. A good leader outlines the strategy and charts the path to reach the goal. There is buck-passing of responsibility, which shows lack of commitment. Besides that, members indulge in power plays for authority and control. This is a problem of attitudes which needs to be managed accordingly by the leader and the organization. Members refuse to recognize their interdependence and act as if they were independent. This will lead to the failure of the team.

Other than that, the other factor is process. Lack of processes makes decisions always a crisis situation. A case of decision-making being dominated by one person leads to poor commitment of the team. Besides that, communications are one way: top down and channeled through the leader. This is not the feature of a team. Negligible points are debated continuously. This leads to waste of time as well as energy. Furthermore, meetings are unproductive with the issues unresolved implies that poor planning has been done. Meetings cover trivia versus significant issues as the way to achieve goals is not clear. In case, actions are taken without planning, the team will fail.

The last factor will effect is relationships. The members are unwilling to be identified with the team. There is disguised conflict between the team members as well as severe personality conflicts. Relationships are competitive.

Conclusion

Team is some of the main factor to make a business success. The project also easy to handle when we get a effective teams. Something that we should know is not easy to get the effective team. But is not impossible to get it. We must follow simple tips to make sure we got a goal. To get the best result we should avoid something that makes the teams not effective. Is not easy to success but is not impossible to get it. So try your best to get a effective team.

References

1. Brian Cole Miller,R.(2007). Quick Team- Building Activities for busy managers.
2. Deborah Mackin, (2008). The Team-Building Tool Kit.
3. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/team.html
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9mdHMtxOjY
5. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/team-work.htm
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team