Teamworking-“A working group is a set of individuals who are aware of each other; interact with one another and have a sense that they are a group” (Schein, 1988).
There are four types of Teams;
· Formal-A formal or official team is “one that is created for a specific purpose” (Dooley et al, 2007). A Sales team is a formal team because it was created for a definite purpose for example, to increase sales. They normally are set up to perform a set task day to day.
· Informal-Informal teams “develop in a less structured way than a formal team” (Dooley et al, 2007). Informal teams usually have less people than a formal team. They normally have no leader.
· Permanent-A permanent team is put together in the hopes that it will be together in the foreseeable future. All members of the permanent team work continuously.
· Temporary-Temporary team are set up for a short amount of time to complete a set task. For example in my temporary we were only higher to the Christmas holidays.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Team work
· One of the benefits of team work is the possibility of shared workload.
· Another benefit is that problems are easier to solve because there are more people to come up with good solutions
· Team work also gives the opportunity to learn from other people by sharing ideas which helps to motivate.
· One disadvantage to working in a team is that there is sometimes conflict among the team members which may hinder the progress of the team.
· Another problem to working in a team is that some people are used to working alone which makes working in a team difficult
The most successful team I have ever worked in is my current team at work. The reason why I feel that this team is so successful is because everyone understands what their role is. The team consists of 5 employees plus a supervisor, each employee has their own strengths. The key to our team success is because it is well balance. This according to Belbin’s is very important as having more than one member of the team with the same team role limits how effective the team is.
· Our team work according to this model to some extent for example there was a period of getting to know one another since it was the first time each individual has worked together, this would come on the first stage which is Forming. This was important as it allow each team member to identify their strengths and weakness.
· Surprisingly there was on infighting at the Storming stage however there was a period of confusion as the members weren’t sure how to start the task. There was a long of idling as the task that the team was set was not taken seriously from the beginning. The group diary shows that not all the team members were present at the first couple of meets which resulted in a slow start and the team being unprepared for the first presentation to the tutor to sure what the group had achieve.
· It took a while before the group got to the Norming in Tuckman’s stage of development however eventually when the task was on the way it was left to a few individuals to organise and establish a system in which the group would operate. It was about this time there was some confrontation between team members as some individuals weren’t pulling their weight.
· Eventually the team got to the point where each member knew what was expected of them and what was their set role was Storming. The team faced some problem at the end as one member handed in their half of the report late which made it difficult for the team to keep on task as there where delayers that wasn’t plan for. This affected the effectiveness of the team.
· According to Tuckman Adjourning is the final stage where the group is dismantled, this did not happen to our group as all team members knew each other on a personal level.
Stockport College and Environmental conservation
Stockport College provides vocational and academical qualifications for students age 14 upwards. It has 934 employees, 94% of the staff have a positive can do approach to their job. This is due to the fact that they have a good leader (Principal Merilion), who understands the importance of teamwork. This enables the staff to work better together as a result 76% of the staff are positive. Environmental conservation is another organisation that owes its success to their employees. As a result of good team work the company was able to cut there carbon emission by 25%. One of the reasons why Environmental conservation has such good team work between its employees is due to the fact that the employees understand that they’re making a positive difference in the world.
Conclusion
All of the information above shows the importance of teamwork. The information also shows that for any organisation to be successful the employees need to be able to work cohesively. This will ensure high productivity and good quality of work.
Reference
1. Dooley, D; Dransfield, R; Goymer, J; Guy, P; Richards, C (2007), ‘BTEC National Business Book 1: 2nd Edition’, Heinemann: Oxford.
2. Edgar H. Schein. Published (1988), Subsequent edition
3. Mullins. L. J. Published 1985. Latest edition (9th) 2010.Management & Organisational Behaviour. Essex. Pearson Education Limited
