Team Building

Team building is one of the fastest-growing areas on the business world. Usually the organizations are a mix of formal and informal groups in real world. The management must have the ability to identify these groups and their effects within the working environment and transform these groups in to working teams to achieve organization’s goals.

Factors impact the accomplishment of Team building

People like to surround by others because it gives them some kind of value and status that they are belonging to a unit. Also it gives the feeling that they are equal to others and the groups give them a security.

The companies were able to use this as an opportunity to design the jobs team basis. Individuals are better listened within a group also recognition, participation and communication needs are higher satisfied in a group.

Team building

Katzenbach and Smith (1993) note that teams are created by the organizations where the members are mutually accountable to accomplish high goals with the purpose to perform, achieve targets and to be successful in the organizations. There are many important factors to be considered when forming teams.

Team Roles

Team roles describe interactions of the team members. Different roles represent tasks and functions in the self management of team’s activities.

The Team Roles that Meredith Belbin pioneered are used widely across the world today. It is a practical and easy-to-use tool that can be applied to train the members of a team and it ensures that it is perfect for the workplace environment. His key conclusion was that an effective team should have members that cover nine key roles in managing the team.

   

Source: Belbin Team Roles (1993)

There are several forms of groups (work teams),

•        Functional group

•         Operational or task-dedicated group

•         Permanent Committee

•        Consultative Group

•        Self-managed group

•          Project teams

 

Stages in Team Development

Teams go through a life-cycle of stages (Tuckman, 1975).

Source: Tuckman team development model

Importance of team building

The basic motivation behind team building is to build up a more powerful work gathering. The organization has to forward the goal clearly and identify the type of teams and roles of the team members before they form a team (Field & Swift 1996). Also the organization’s support is immense important for teams to perform well.

Under the team building ‘virtual group’ and ‘team project’ are two important terms used in the global economy. 

Virtual group – it’s the modern type team, facilitated by the computer and INTERNET connection. Under this people who work interdependently and with shared purpose across space, time, and organization boundaries using technology to communicate and collaborate (Robbins, 1998). Virtual team members can be from different countries and rarely meet face-to-face.

A team project is when members of the team works interdependently towards the same goal. Every member in the group feels a sense of ownership of their role. In a group project, Teamwork has become an essential skill for employees in companies.

 

Conclusion

A team can find the best solution for a complex task than individuals. Its judgments increase the chance of success in solving problem by eliminating individual errors.  Nowadays teamwork has become so valued and many large corporations have developed it in their work setting.  Many companies are acknowledging their job titles by changing the designation of supervisors or managers to “team leader”. Carr (1992) observes that managers and supervisors who become team leaders experience a significant change of role because team leaders do not direct or control work, but instead work as coaches and mentors.

 

References

Belbin, M. (1993) Team Roles at Work. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Carr, C. (1992) Planning Priorities for Empowered Teams, Journal of Business Strategy, vol. 13, no. 5, p. 43-

Field, S.W. & Swift, K.G. (1996) Effecting a Quality Change: An Engineering Approach, Arnold, London.

Katzenbach, J.R. & Smith, D.K. (1993) The Wisdom of Teams, McKinsey &Company, New York.

Robbins, S.P. (1998) Organizational Behaviour: Concepts, Controversies, Applications, Prentice Hall, New York.

Tuckman, Bruce (1975) "Developmental sequence in small groups". Psychological Bulletin 63 (6): 384–99. doi:10.1037/h0022100. PMID 14314073. Retrieved 2013-04-06.