HR assignment essay help writing on: Team skills and decision making process

1. Introduction

This project report is based on theories and aspects related to team based performance. Actually team is defined as combination of likeminded people who have been composed and engaged for fulfilling particular objective.  In an era of globalization team based working culture is being developed for meeting drivers of business such as cost development, innovation, learning, technologies and motivation. Teams are effective enough to achieve output with synergic effects.  Organizations apply team based concepts for completing projects domestically and internationally (About.com    2013). The several types of team based theories are explained on detail manner with respect to its members, composition structure, team skills and decision making process.

• Aim of the Study

According to me the aim of this project report is to study how team based performance can help Electron to improve productivity within two months.

• Background of Organization

Electron is a company which has been manufacturing components for telecom sector. Previously it followed departmental organizational structure.  In 1990’s Electron was struggling due to competition and they lacked creativity. It was being noticed by management of Electron that they need to improve working culture, productivity, customer services by creating a team based working structure. A manufacturing component department is being purchased by Electron which is composed of eight teams and represented with several colors. The team age group range from 25 to 50 years of age group. Each team is composed of ten members are being given an objective to improve productivity within two months.

• It’s Importance

In this project report, important theories related to team based concepts are being integrated will and discussed on detail basis. The analysis of team based values/ norms, its group &interpersonal skills development with respect to structure and cohesiveness are being discussed. Several factors which might hinder performance of Electron and its team members are being highlighted. The strategies for resolving conflicts, applying leadership styles for decision making process are being described on detail basis (Hearst Communication Inc     2013).  In 2000 Electron hired new workers and tried to engage them in teams with older workers. Some of the old team workers were also asked to engage themselves with new team members for understanding work value and ethics.  After 2008 it was being observed by the old team members that new team members were not obeying the norms and showed negative attitude towards work.  To engage team members for effective works rewards were being offered them to deliver successful results.

2. Discussion

The several important aspects related to team based performance at Electron are being explained on detail basis.

• Theories and concepts for analyzing team dynamics

There are several types of teams which can be created at organization according to their suitability.  There are three types of teams such as functional, diverse, and virtual teams.  Functional teams are being composed of members who belong to several departments such as finance, marketing, Human Resource, Informational Technology and etc. Virtual teams are considered to be important when business needs to be globalized by integrating all countries. Diverse teams/Cross cultural teams are those where members belong to different age group, religion, culture and race. The cross cultural teams are considered to be most suitable for organizations such as Electron where creativity and innovation matters a lot.  Although there are high chances of disputes in diverse teams but there are multiple advantages because it helps to facilitate in appropriate and effective decision making process, integration issues can be handled, and it will help in learning and development process.  Several researchers have highlighted theories related to team work.   The teams must be composed of 3-4 members at Electron rather than composing of ten members where chances of social loafing are more. According to Belbin’s team based theory many organizations create teams without clarifying the objectives in a team (Sakarya University Turkey   2008 (Mind Tools Ltd   2008). As per this team based theory members in a team must act as worker, chairman, shaper, resource allocator, investigator, monitor, team worker, monitor and finisher. At Electron the teams must be engaged in several types of role for enhancing their performance.  There are several concepts to analyze the team dynamics and performance at Electron with support of psychological factors such as anxiety, determination, extroversion, Introversion, Intelligence and domicile. It is being considered that dynamic composition is being required at Electron to fix problems within their team members which might hamper its overall progress.  To create dynamic team management of Electron must create about team based goals, team members must be focused on serving the customers, there must track of member’s performance on continuous basis, and rewards & recognition must be aligned on systematic basis. The team dynamic at Electron can be analyzed with support of three factors such as correct aptitude of team members, temperament and their behavior. This process will help to provide numbers of advantages to Electron by creating unity among members, reducing the level of business related risks, dividing the work in equal ratios, specializing the process of work, effectively utilizing the time, producing high quality of output, aligning personal interest of team members with electron’s interest, and maintaining reputation and goodwill of Electron and it’s teams (Penn State University     2004).   There have been certain factors which are affecting team composition and its dynamics because of its composition, technology and empowerment process.  At Electron meeting should be conducted among team members on regular basis for aligning members towards electrons goals by communicating in a transparent manner with process of motivation and inspiration.  It also helps teams to get empowered which facilitates in decision making process of Electron. It also helps in meeting drivers of Electron and bridge gaps that hinders overall performance of the team by creating an edge over the competitors.

• Team Norms, values, structuring, interpersonal skills and cohesiveness

In this paragraph we will highlight team norms, structuring and process of developing cohesiveness for members of Electron.   The new team members can apply norms and values in their existing team by learning from their older employees. It can be carried on by listening well to others in a team, understanding emotions of other team members,  resolving and analyzing problems without blaming to other members, respecting and maintaining dignity of other members, clarifying things in a pacified manner, and applying positive attitude while working in teams at Electron.  There are several methods how norms can be created and maintained by all the team members at Electron by conducting meeting and maintain transparency in their activities by following ethical standards.  It is being observed that norms were not being followed by new team members at Electron because of confrontational nature of members, bringing of unrelated topics for discussion and members started to break the team rules for getting early results.  The values can be developed among the team members of electron team by creating proper corporate culture for where work related conflicts are being accepted and personal conflicts between team members are being avoided.  The rules being set for the team members should be followed by all members at Electron. The rewards and recognition process can help team members at Electron to get motivated and inspired for enhancing their performance on superior basis. The values can be set for all the teams and its members at Electron by creating dedications towards mission of Electron, driving excellence among the performance of all team members, respecting and treating people with dignity, focusing upon the requirements of the customers, maintaining integrity and steering for innovation for growing overall business of  Electron.  The diverse team based structure must be created because it will help in fostering creativity and innovation for producing more output to grow the business of Electron. It is well known that teams are considered effective for handling the projects and completing projects in successful manner. The Interpersonal skills can be developed among teams members at Electron by engaging, empowering and encouraging them (Skills You need.com   2013).  To develop interpersonal skills among team members of Electron, management needs to appoint team leaders who can provide trainings related to interpersonal skills.  It can be developed by applying team building exercises by leaders of Electron for promoting cohesiveness. Interpersonal skills are being developed in a team by listening well to other team members, focusing upon common goals, negotiating well with teams, showing empathy, and coming up to the consensus with commitment. The interpersonal skills being developed by leaders must be evaluated according to team member’s performance by applying 360 degree feedback process (My Interpersonal.Com     2011).  The cohesiveness among team members can be developed by promoting team spirit at Electron.

3. Critical factors impacting team performance

There are many critical factors which affect performance of the teams. They are in form of team size, emotional intelligence and social loafing process.  At Electron teams are being composed consist of large number of members.  In such situation the cohesiveness is being reduced and group start to form where each member will try to work for achieving his/ her goals rather than the common goal of Electron.  There are several methods of team formation and they are storming, forming, norming, performing and adjouring.  The focus and concentration gets diluted in large teams where conflicts related to personal factors occur and synergic effect is being reduced.  While working in teams, emotions of team members need to be valued for engaging and encouraging them in difficult tasks. This process will ensure team members to follow rules and regulations which will help in developing Electron and its working culture.          Emotional Intelligence is being defined as the emotions which are being controlled by controlled while working in a team. At electron there was a problem faced due to emotional intelligence because older team members always expected new members to act according to their team values. The factors which highlights that emotional intelligence was being not maintained are team members talking in informal manner during meetings, and working according to their own will. The emotional intelligence can be developed among the team members by creating self awareness, motivation self regulation, developing social skills and empathy.   The conflicts that occur in teams because unrelated factors are being considered which can hamper the productivity of an organization. Social Loafing process occurs in a team when an individual team member performs less as compared to other team members. At electron one of team member refused to sit in an assembly line because he wanted to work in his own way. In such case there is a problem of coordination because it dilutes team based goals. Social Loafing occurs in a team when work is not divided among the members on equal ratio basis and members lack commitment because of lower motivation level.  It is being considered that teams become dysfunctional because of inattention, lack of accountability, lower commitment, fear of conflicts and lack of trust.  It also occurs when roles and responsibilities of team members are unclear.  It is also caused due to lack of cohesiveness and when rewards and recognition process is not being linked with performance of team members (Anne Loehr   2013).  There are several factors which also affect’s performance of team members such as technology, culture, changing demands of customers, and expectations of the stakeholders. 

4. Effective Team and Performance Management Recommendations

At Electron effective team and their performance can be managed by identifying the factors influencing team work, differentiating theories related to teamwork, and evaluating performance of the team. The performances of teams are based upon factors such as skills, attitudes and knowledge which are required for achieving set goals and targets. The certain steps can help in managing performance of team are recommended below (Susanne G. Scott and Walter O. Einstein        2001).

• Analyzing the current organizational team based measurement process of Electron
• Defining the objectives of Measurement
• Identifying and tracking performance of each individual in a team created by Electron.
• Weighting the process of Accomplishments
• Developing performance of whole team and its individual members.
• Comparing and reviewing it with the new standards without being biased.
• Reviewing it on timely basis to maintain the effectiveness.
• Producing effective results & linking it with rewards and recognition process of Electron.

5. Recommendations for managing changes in a team

There are several types of changes which can help the several teams and members to resolve the conflicts by applying leadership styles which can help in appropriate decision making process with conformance.  At electron conflicts occurred in new and old members of teams because of control process which was being exercised upon the new members. It created negative attitude among the new team members and reduced their effectiveness in performance.  The causes of conflicts with teams are lack of resource, unclear goals, ambiguity, personality and etc. The conflicts are process related, task related and personality related. It being considered that task related conflicts are good for teams. The conflicts between team members at Electron can be handled by avoiding, competing, compromising, accommodating and collaborating. For an example at Virgin group Richard Branson has been always accepting task related conflicts and has been handling in effective manner to grow its business (Global Knowledge Training LLC 2006). There are several types of Leadership styles which can be followed by Electron for growing their business by achieving the set goals and targets.  Leaders are those who have an ability to show direction to team members and ability of decision making process.  Transformation leadership can be applied by the team Leaders at Electron for generating self interest among members with leader member exchange relationships. The team leaders can act as a trainer, coach and mentor for their members. The Mc Gregor’s X & Y theory of Leadership can be applied at Electron. The theory X can be applied by team leader which depicts authoritarian leadership styles for engaging team members who avoid the work and engages in social loafing process. The theory Y states that leaders must be participative in nature where team members are self directed and motivated for achieving goals by ensuring commitment, accepting responsibility, and gaining competitive edge over competitors (Alan Chapman   2013). Appropriate decision at Electron can be framed when all team members come to common consensus.  The teams can use information from past decisions by prioritizing actions, developing timelines, anticipating outcomes, analyzing pitfalls, determining qualified personnel and utilizing appropriate resources.  The steps which can be followed for effective decision making process in a team are being explained below.

• Defining problems of a team on clear basis
• Identifying the factors which is hindering overall performance of Team members
• Developing alternatives for teams
• Analyzing solutions which can be implemented in teams
• Selecting the best Solutions for fixing problems of teams
• Implementing solutions in teams
• Controlling and evaluation implemented solutions in teams

Conformance can be generated at Electrons by teams when they follow ethical rules and standards for achieving set goals and targets.  It ensures that crucial data and information are not being shared outside the teams.  The team members self interest are being promoted and they are not being discriminated according to age, gender, race, and socio economic backgrounds (Tech Target    2013).

6. Changes related to Leadership styles

There is no single style of leadership which can be applied at teams leadership styles must be changed according to different situations. Changes are brought by organizational leaders at Electron for move their business from current position to desired position by meeting drivers such as technology, innovation, creativity, learning and motivation.  At electron the older team members wanted to follow an autocratic approach of management and leadership style which created problems for the new employees. The team leaders must be participative and supportive to the new team members of Electron. At organization’s management is required for managing complexities and leadership is required for managing changes. Team Leaders help teams to direct by applying management for accomplishing activities with effective planning process.  The team leaders help to align its members about the change process by equipping them with required skills and abilities. The appropriate Leadership development programs should be conducted for training the team leaders who can engage and encourage other members for superior performance.  The team leaders need to manage change in terms of composing teams according to urgency, guiding the members, explaining the vision, communicating transparently, empowering members, celebrating short term wins and generating effective results (Ryerson University    2011).

7. Conclusion

Thus it can be concluded from this project report that in an era of globalization Electron can explore business its business with team based organizational structure.   The several theories and concepts related to team formation and dynamics are being explained. Certain aspects related to team based norms/values, development, interpersonal skills, and team cohesiveness are highlighted in this project report (Brefi Group Limited      2011).   The strategies for avoiding team based conflict’s, overcoming emotional intelligence and social loafing process are being explained in context of Electron’s teams. It also being described how team based performance is helping in making appropriate decisions at Electron.   The change management and leadership process is also being highlighted with respect to Electron.  Therefore teams and its member’s performance play a vital role for organization such as Electron (The Inner Work Company         2009).

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