BUILDING TEAM WORK
MWEMFULA, A
Introduction
Teamwork is defined by Scarnati (2001) “as a
cooperative process that allows ordinary people
to achieve extraordinary results.
Teamwork replies upon individuals working
together in a cooperative environment to achieve
common team goals through sharing knowledge
and skills.
Cont…
Team work is a Groups of employees who have at
least some collective tasks and where the team
members are authorised to regulate mutually the
execution of these collective tasks’ (Delarue, 2003).
Team work is a group of workers who has to
perform a common task requiring interdependent
work and successive or integrative action’ (Hacker,
1998).
Cont…
Luca & Tarricone ( 2001) provide that,
Teams are an integral part of many
organizations and should be incorporated as
part of service delivery units. Successful
teamwork relies upon synergism existing
between all team members creating an
environment where they are all willing to
contribute and participate in order to
promote and nurture a positive, effective
team environment.
Intro cont..
Although some scholars distinguish work teams
and work groups (Katzenbach & Smith,
1993)provide that , there is no need to
distinguish Work Groups and hence the terms are
used interchangeably.
Cont..
Several features provide a foundation for a basic
definition. Work teams and groups: (a) are
composed of two or more individuals, (b) who exist
to perform organizationally relevant tasks, (c) share
one or more common goals, (d) interact socially, (e)
exhibit task interdependencies (i.e., workflow,
goals, outcomes), (f) maintain and manage
boundaries, and (g) are embedded in an
organizational context that sets boundaries,
constrains the team, and influences exchanges with
other units in the broader entity.
Types of work teams
Many organizations recognize the benefit of
having multiple people working together in a
collaborative and cooperative environment to
develop and deliver its products. For this reason,
the use of work teams has become a routine
way of managing organizations. There fore in
the contemporary organizations the commonly
found types of team are;
Functional Work Teams
Functional
teams
are
composed
of
organizational members from several vertical
levels of the organizational hierarchy who
perform specific organizational functions. A
typical functional team will have several
subordinates and a manager who has authority
to manage internal operations and external
relationships of a particular department or
division of the organization.
Cont..
Accounting, marketing, finance and human
resources are examples of functional work
teams. Therefore Functional team members
usually have different responsibilities but all
work to perform the same function of the
department or organization.
Cross-Functional Teams
These cross-functional teams are composed of
experts from various functional areas and work
cooperatively towards some organizational goal.
Because these members are considered experts of
their individual functional area, they are usually
empowered to make decisions on their own
without needing to consult management. Crossfunctional teams are believed to improve
coordination of interdependent activities between
specialized subunits.
Self directed work teams
These are teams which operate without
supervision from the management. They have a
high level of autonomy.
Attributes of Effective Teamwork
Johnson, Heimann, & O'Neill (2000) provided,
a number of attributes are required for successful
teamwork.
Commitment to team success and shared
goals; Team members are committed to the
success of the team and their shared goals for
the project.
Interdependence
Team members need to create an environment
where together they can contribute far more
than as individuals. A positive interdependent
team environment brings out the best in each
person enabling the team to achieve their goals at
a far superior level.
Cont…
Working in a team enables individuals promote
and encourage their fellow team members to
achieve, contribute, and learn.
Interpersonal Skills
This includes the ability to discuss issues openly
with team members, be honest, trustworthy,
supportive and show respect and commitment to
the team and to its individuals. Fostering a
caring work environment is important
including the ability to work effectively with
other team members.
Commitment to team processes, leadership &
accountability
Team members need to be accountable for their
contribution to the team and the project. They
need to be aware of team processes, best practice
and new ideas. Effective leadership is essential
for team success including shared decisionmaking and problem solving.
Appropriate team composition
This is essential in the creation of a successful
team. Team members need to be fully aware of
their specific team role and understand what is
expected of them in terms of their contribution to
the team and the project.
Importance of work Team
It enhances employees performance
Through the increased scope it gives employees
to use their knowledge, skills and abilities
effectively.
Commitment to the job
Workers with higher control over their jobs are
likely to feel more committed to their
organisations and more satisfied with their jobs.
As a result, they will be more willing to deploy
discretionary efforts.
Increased efficiency
Teams are working towards a common goal or
set of objectives. The whole process of work
becomes more efficient, for example if there is a
problem faced along the way there are more
‘hands on deck’ to help solve the issue. Similarly,
having multiple team members on board allows
to get the work done faster with shared
responsibilities.
cont…
From a management perspective, encouraging
teamwork in the workplace will allow the
company or department to take on additional
work, and in turn generate extra revenue
without having to hire more staff.
A learning experience
Teamwork is important in the workplace as it
brings people together from different
backgrounds and levels of experience.
Consequently, projects which involve teamwork
serve also as an opportunity for professional
development and learning. This may be
conscious learning during a meeting, or learning
which occurs without even realising whilst
listing to others.
Cont..
‘Individual team members serve as educational
resources to other employees in a team
environment’. It is also important to note that as
employees become more knowledgeable, their
confidence increases.
Enhanced communication
Communication is key to the success of many
projects so why not engage in an activity that
can help enhance your communication skills?
Teamwork activities such as meeting together to
discuss ideas or collaborating information to
contribute to a project /task require both verbal
and written communication skills.
speedily develop and deliver products and
services
Teams enable organizations to speedily develop
and deliver products and services quickly and
cost effectively. Teams can work faster and more
effectively with members working in parallel and
interdependently whereas individuals working
serially are much slower (van Knippenburg and
Schippers, 2007)
Cont..
For example, in writing complex software for
modern computer games, different teams can
take responsibility for working in parallel on key
elements of the overall program. Their separate
contributions can then be combined to ensure
quick delivery of the final product.
Enact organizational strategy
Teams are a very good way to enact
organizational strategy, because of the need
for consistency between rapidly changing
organizational environments, strategy and
structure. When organizations adopt teambased structures, there is less need for the
ponderous
hierarchies
that
slow
organizational decision making because the
team rather than the individual becomes the
work unit.
Cont…
Team-based organizations, with their flat
structures, can respond quickly and effectively in
the
fast-changing
environments
most
organizations now encounter (Cohen and Bailey,
1997
Improved quality management
Cross-functional teams promote improved
quality management. By combining team
members’ diverse perspectives, decision making
is more comprehensive because team members
from diverse functional backgrounds question
ideas and decisions about how best to provide
products and services to clients.
Cont..
For example, in a team involved in developing
cosmetics, the marketing specialist is likely to
challenge decisions made by a chemist about
product appearance, based on his or her knowledge
of customer preferences. The chemist may be
focused on the effectiveness of the product rather
than its appearance. The perspectives of other team
members around production processes, packaging,
promotion and cost will all contribute to a more
informed outcome.
Managerial skills needed in
Managing Work Teams.
Teams are made up of individuals who have
different outlooks and abilities, and are at
different stages of their careers. Some may
find that the tasks you've allocated to them
are challenging, and they may need support
Cont…
Your skills in this aspect of management will
define your long-term success as a manager. If
you can help team members to become better
at what they do, you'll be a manager who
people aspire to work for, and you'll make a
great contribution to your organization. There
fore in Managing work teams, the following key
managerial skills are needed.
Communication skills
Good Coordinators, Team-Workers and Resource
Investigators are good at Verbal Communication,
Listening, and Questioning. They work hard to
ensure that the group communicates well,
helping to make sure that there are no
misunderstandings or unexpressed difficulties
between team members.
Analytical skills
Analytical skill is the ability to visualize,
articulate, conceptualize or solve both complex
and uncomplicated problems by making
decisions that are sensible given the available
information. Such skills include demonstration
of the ability to apply logical thinking to
gathering and analysing information, designing
and testing solutions to problems, and
formulating plans.
Cont…
Although there is no question that analytical
skills are essential, other skills are equally
required. For instance in systems analysis the
systems analyst should focus on four sets of
analytical skills: systems thinking, organizational
knowledge, problem identification, and problem
analysing and solving. It also can describe how
one identifies a problem and subsequently
works out the solutions.
Human skills
These skills are essential in interacting with
others. These are the basic skills in building
harmonious relations at work.
Reference
Luca, J., & Tarricone, P. (2001). Does emotional
intelligence affect successful teamwork
University of Melbourne.
Johnson, P. R., Heimann, V. L., & O'Neill, K.
(2000). The wolf pack: team dynamics for the
21st century.Journal of Workplace Learning:
Employee Counselling Today, 12(4), 159-164.
Reference
Delarue, A. and De Prins, P., ‘Teamwerk in
Vlaanderen: Universele praktijk of selectief
toegepast principe?’, in Van Hootegem, G. and
Cambre, B ., Overwerk(t) , Leuven, Acco, 2003,
pp. 116-136.