1.2 Effecitve Teams Flashcards
Types of teams
Hierarchical teams (permanent)
Specialist teams (permanent)
Ad-hoc teams (temporary)
Matrix teams (temporary )
Hierarchical teams
Between line manager(s) and subordinates
Eg departments such as marketing, admin IT etc
Specialist teams
Tasked with a function, for example electricians within a maintenance department, health and safety committee etc
Ad-hoc teams
Established for a purpose and disbanded when it is complete such as a research committee or focus group
Matrix teams
Involving specialists from different departments and management levels to solve complex problems
Team characteristics
- Shared aims so minimal conflict
- supporting each other =listening
-range of knowledge and skills (roles)
-4-6 members (or use subgroups)
-strong leadership and coordination
Large team size
Advantages
- a range of skills and experience available from different members
-many members to split work down into many tasks
Disadvantages
-difficult to supervise a larger group
-communication problems can arise
-team members may feel left out
-limit contributions fro members
-lengthier decision making
Belbin team theory
According to Belbin a team should be between 4 and 6 people depending on the task. If there are more people in the team then sub teams should be created
Belbin team roles
Plant. Coordinator. Complete-finisher
Implementer. Specialist. Resource investigator
Shaper. Team worker Monitor evaluator
Must be a balance between thinkers, doers and carers
Belbin team role
plant
Someone who is creative, good at coming up with clever ideas and visionary solutions
Belbin team role
Shaper
Someone who gets things going and makes people work towards the goal.
Good at inspiring fellow team mates
Belbin team roles
Coordinator
Organises resources and people, manages time well and plans thoroughly
Belbin team roles
Implementor
Someone of action, gets tasks started and makes things happen
Belbin team roles
Monitor- evaluator
Someone who is methodical and meticulous, who pays close attention to detail and evaluates well
Belbin team roles
Complete finisher
Someone who makes sure a task is not left incomplete, will commit to the completion
Belbin team roles
Resource investigator
Someone who will network well, seek suppliers and resources, find good deals and opportunities
Belbin team roles
Team worker
Someone who works well with others, listens to others and considers their feelings
Belbin team roles
Specialist
Someone with specific knowledge and skills
Team member skills
Creative Self confident. Listener
Good communicator. Mature. Problem solver
Enthusiastic and motivated. Committed Focused and determined
Dedicated. Organised. Negotiation skills
Leadership ability. Analytical. Assertive
Pays attention to details
Stages of team development (Tuckman)
Forming- team members introduced
Storming - members complete for roles, disputes and power struggles arise
Norming- conflicts are resolved and the team begins to work together
Performing- the team works towards effectively reaching its goal
Team conflicts
Conflicting goals
Personal disputes
Lack of resources
Changing expectations
Loyalty issues
Leadership styles
A leader p can be described as someone who influences others towards the achievement of goals
Autocratic
Democratic
Laissez-faire
Autocratic
Makes decisions without consulting team members tends not to involve staff or listen
Democratic
Involves staff in decision making and values their opinion
Emphasises on quality circles and work councils
Laissez-faire
This leader empowers team members to take control
Works well when creative solutions are needed
Benefits of team work
-Draws skills and experiences from various team members allowing multi-tasking
-Quality decisions are made with fewer errors
-Allows brain storming of ideas to lead to innovative solutions
-Empowers employees in decision making which motivates them reducing staff turnover and absenteeism
-Can process large volumes of information and complex tasks efficiently and productively
Costs of team work
-Decisions can be lengthy paralysis by analysis
-Conflicts can arise meaning longer storming less performing
-Expensive for team training or if bad decisions are made
-Poor decision may be taken as people feel they may not be completely to blame if all goes wrong
-Lack of motivation may occur, informality may increase if teams are not well led and therefore efficiency will reduce
