Teamworking

Teams are an important part of the successful running of the business or an event. Team forming is when teams go through a pattern of development and this is explained below these are the stages in which teams may go through. (Tuckmans Model).
Stage 1: Forming- This stage is when we came together as a group not knowing what exactly to do but discussion was made about the objectives and composition of the group. At this stage team members begin to establish their roles within the team to seek recognition and position.
Stage 2: Storming- At this stage we began to exchange ideas and views, but as yet there is little structure to the group, and there are no clear plans to take the group forward.
Stage 3: Norming- The group begins to share ideas, a leadership pattern was beginning to develop, and the group starts to a give set of ideas to each other.
Stage 4: Performing- At this stage a clear organised pattern was established, which is based on a mutual respect, the sharing ideas and the drawing out of plans and proposals from all members of the team.
Stage 5: Dorming- this is when we become to comfortable with your team members and you don’t really take work much seriously and you become too nice.
Teams area more than a group of individuals, they are based on co-operation, shared endeavours and recognition of the importance’s of the team to all its members. Reasons why some people may form groups are to help carry out aims and objectives in which to achieve a goal which we did for our motivation presentation.
Teams can be managed more effectively than many individuals each doing their own thing. Working in a team can increase commitment and motivation; people in a group are likely to feel a commitment to that group and want to work for the success of the group, it is an understanding of and commitment to group goals on the part of all team members. When holding any event working in a team is very important and there can be many types of benefits and limitations. When working in a team you need to make sure everyone feels equal and involved, you also need to make sure there is:
Quality, Flexibility, Coordination, Satisfaction and Development and Productivity/Cost.
An example of a time where I have worked in a team where it was successful was when we held the Charity event for Haiti, this was an Asian food stall where we set up a stall and offered henna painting, fresh arisen food and raffle tickets. The Actual event went smoothly as everyone came together really well in the end and put in a joint team effort as we listened to each other and helped out without having major problems even though we were one team member down on the day we still managed to raise a lot of money and make it successful with everyone joint team work,I think that the meetings helped our team working to be successful as this everyone felt involved more flexible and everyone got to have their own say. The disadvantage of working in a tem was that some team members were not serious or focused at certain times. I think everyone discussed everything properly, and solved any problems that arose. At times we did have disagreements and found it hard to make decisions but it all worked out in the end.
Dr. Bruce Tuckman introduced the idea that groups develop in a sequences. He therefore published his Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing model in order to help teams. This was the four-stage model he created but later on added a fifth stage, I will be using and relating this Model with the group I worked with for my presentation and will describe how it fits in with my team. These are also similar to other models such as: Tannenbaum and Schmidt Continuum and especially with Hersey. The first group work assignment that was carried out was a group presentation on Motivation and the members that I worked with were Gagan, myself and Tyler.
Below I will review my group that I worked with and how I felt they worked within the team.
Rabia-I felt that being a team worker meant that I was socially oriented and allowed people to talk to me easily as I am an easy communicator who listen well and I feel that I have a rather mild and relaxed personality who can sorts out any problems and can get the work done in on time and effectively, but one of my weakness is that I can be indecisive which I do agree with as I allow others to make decision if I am not exactly sure but can take the lead to make decision at any moment of crisis.
Gagan- I felt that Gagan fitted in well with her role as I do strongly feel she is a Team worker as she has a socially oriented personality and she was co-operative with the rest of the team members and listened to each other but her weakness was to panic at times and also be very indecisive.
If Tyler did conduct the questionnaire then I felt that he would have been a Resource investigator this is because he was enthusiastic, curious and communicate with the team members and he explored opportunities with each other but his weakness were that he was lost interest with the group as soon as the work was done and he was unable to be contacted I felt that he was slightly laid back but over all he helped get the work done effectively on time.
Over I think that as we already knew each other we didn’t go through all the stages from the start I felt that we already had a good interaction with each other so therefore we already started on Norming stage this was because we were getting organised, developing new skills and trying to competence the assignment, I felt that knowing the team members was an advantages as we knew how they already work and what they are looking for which was a benefit to each other but an disadvantage was getting to friendly and being laid back was an issue to. I have come to a conclusion that my team members worked well with each other we all had good communication with one another and sorted out any issues quickly and without any problems.
The link below is to “The Times Top 100 companies to work for” I will review 2 companies where teamwork has been identified as a major contributory factor to their success
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/
The two that I have chosen are Nandos and Boots, The reason why I have chosen Nandos is because from my research it shows that has happy employees that rank it to be the best big company to work for in the UK this shows that employees are happy within the organisation which is a very key to becoming a successful company. It also shows that Nando's came second for Leadership (75%) and attained third place positions for Fair Deal (61%). Both managers and employees have the same set values and the managers believe in their staff, which is a key motivator. Employees say they love working for Nando's, giving an 80% positive score, they agree that there is a strong sense of family in their teams (81%) and not only feel that managers care about them as individuals (79%), but say they also talk openly and honestly with them (82%). Decisions are not always made from the top, they will listen to everyone in the company. Employees also feel that managers help them fulfil their potential managers share important knowledge and information, they listen and motivate. The reasons why I have chosen Boots was because it has kept students and has recognised them through out their education after them completing their degree and then offering them a management training route which moved them up within the organisation, it has shown that team-working in Boots has been very positive as everyone gets on well with each other as well working together in the same direction for the same achievement. From this research I have identified that yet again Boots have kept teenagers who work Saturdays and has worked for the firm ever since and after some picking a pharmacy degree along the way they were given the certificate awarded to staff for long service. I feel that this is a major factor which have kept staff going and allowed them to progress further on, this is a motivator to motivate them that there are a lot more opportunities and employees and managers will help them achieve that level. Boots has a strong brand image and provides a great services to customer this was shown by giving a questionnaire that scored 82%. It has been said that if you want to progress you got the opportunity. Staffs believe that they are paid fairly for the work they do and are very satisfied overall as they are able to balance work commitments with family ones.
Conclusion
Overall team-working is very useful for every organisation as it helps them to progress together which allows them to achieve a lot more goals, agree and get tasks done a lot more quicker, everyone gets to have their own say and the support and motivation helps and encourages each other to do well and to overcome any problems.
Reference
v Clegg, S, Kornberger,M. and Pitsis, T. (2008) Managing and Organizations: An Introduction to Theory and Practice, London: Sage
v Knights, D. and Willmott, H. (Eds.) (2006) Introducing Organisational Behaviour and Management. London, Thompson.
v Mullins, L. (2007) Management and Organizational Behaviour. 8th Ed.
v Class lecture notes from week 12
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/