A work team is a set of individuals who cooperate to achieve a single overall result.
The division of effort is linked into a single coordinated result, where the total is more and different than the sum of its individual parts.
- It is a set of people who must collaborate to a certain degree to achieve common goals. A structured set of relationships in which the members have responsibilities that they must fulfill together, an objective or goals for productive purposes, etc. and in which from the beginning the authority relations are clarified to some degree.
HOW DOES TEAM WORK ARISE?
This is born as a need to have relationships with other people, which is one of the strongest and most constant.
Team development must begin with the feeling of a strong need to improve some basic conditions or processes that are interfering with the achievement of organizational goals.
When people are grouped together as a team, turnover decreases and a much better job is done.
Certain trades can be performed by workers in isolation, but group work often results in better individual motivation and a faster pace of work. Even in schools I know she is experimenting with good success, with groups of students working as a team rather than letting each student work on their own. Group members help each other which increases the speed of learning.
HOW ARE TEAMS FORMED?
A fundamental unit of the organization, the team or work group, can be the logical center of the improvement of the effectiveness of the organization. Activities related to team building for organizational development enhance team activity and the sense of participation among their members. Team building can address two different types of teams or work groups: first, a current or permanent team made up of a manager and his or her subordinates, often called a family group; and second, a new group that can be created through a merger or some other structural change in the company or formed to solve a specific problem; We call this group special.
For both types of groups, the activities related to team building aim to diagnose the barriers to good group performance, improve the performance of tasks, the relationships between team members and the team's operational processes, such as communication and homework assignment. The table summarizes these activities for family and special groups.
EXERCISE
- Diagnosis Carrying out tasks Establishing and maintaining relationships Managing group processes Analysis and negotiation of roles
FAMILY GROUPS
- Diagnostic meetings: "How are things going?" Problem solving, decision making, role definition, goal setting, etc. Orientation towards good interpersonal relationships, including those between boss and subordinate Orientation towards knowledge of processes and culture of the group Techniques applied in the clarification and definition of roles.
SPECIAL GROUPS
- Diagnostic meetings: “Where would we like to go?” Special problems, definition of roles and goals, use of resources, etc. Orientation towards interpersonal conflict or between units and underuse of other team members as resources Orientation towards communication, decision making and task assignments Techniques applied in clarifying and defining roles
Diagnostic meetings can include the whole group or several subgroups, sometimes requiring little time to identify forces and problem areas. Forming a team requires a longer subsequent meeting; ideally, it should be held outside the workplace. The consultant interviews the participants beforehand and organizes the meeting around common themes. The group examines the issues, ranks them in order of importance, studies the dynamics on which they are based, and chooses a course of action to introduce the changes it deems necessary. In a follow-up meeting, to be held later, the success of the measures applied will be evaluated.
TYPES OF EQUIPMENT
There are different types of equipment:
- Functional teams Teams to solve problems and make decisions
Functional Teams can be special forces designated to integrate efforts and execute an extraordinary task.
A more consistent functional group would be exemplified by a team of employees who work together every day on an assembly line to assemble televisions.
These teams have their own goals; for example, the performance of certain organizational functions (usually federal on a continuous basis). Between the team members there is a differentiation of functions. In addition to interaction roles, functional team members perform functional duties as part of their own organizational responsibilities.
Teams to solve problems and make decisions.
Groups created with the goal of solving problems and making decisions deserve special attention because their activities are particularly important and because information related to this team effort is obtained more quickly than between functional teams. Decision-making teams have been at the center of many controversies. The following paragraphs will attempt to sketch an overview of this controversy.
TECHNIQUES FOR GROUP DECISION MAKING
The aim of this technique is to overcome the pressures of conformity in the
interaction group that delays the appearance of creative alternatives. And this is achieved using an idea generating process that feeds all the options without preventing criticism of them.
In a typical brainstorming session, 6 to 12 people sit around a table. The group leader formulates the problem clearly so that all participants understand it. And then they present, with absolute freedom, all the alternatives that occur to them in a certain period of time. No criticism is allowed, and all alternatives are noted for discussion and analysis later. The fact that one idea stimulates another and that the judgment of even the most implausible suggestions does not occur until later encourages participants to think the unusual.
However, brainstorming is nothing more than a process for generating ideas.
TECHNIQUES OF THE NOMINAL GROUP
This technique limits interpersonal discussion or communication during the decision-making process. The group members are physically present, as in the traditional committee meeting, but they operate independently. It's concrete, a problem is formulated, and then the following steps take place:
1. Participants meet as a group but before starting the discussion, each one writes their ideas regarding the problem on their own.
2. The period of silence is followed by the presentation of an idea by each member. All members take their turn, going around the table, and present a single idea until all have been presented and noted. The discussion begins when all the ideas have been written down.
3. The group discusses the clarity of the ideas and evaluates them.
4. Each member of the group classifies the ideas silently and independently. The final decision is made based on the idea that achieves the highest global ranking.
The main advantage of the nominal group technique is that it allows the group to meet formally, but without limiting independent thinking as much as the interaction group does.
DELPHI TECHNIQUE
It is a more complex and slow alternative, it is similar to that of the nominal group, except that it does not require the physical presentation of the participants. Indeed, she never allows them to meet. The following steps characterize this method:
1. The problem is identified and group members are asked to provide possible solutions through a series of carefully designed questionnaires.
2. Each member completes the first questionnaire anonymously and independently.
3. The results of the first questionnaire are collected, transcribed and reproduced at the central office.
4. Each member receives a copy of the results.
5. After viewing the results, the members are asked for the solution again.
The results usually give rise to new solutions or modifications in the initial position.
6. Steps 4 and 5 are repeated as many times as necessary to reach consensus.
This technique isolates the members from the influence of others, as it does not require the physical presence of the participants, it can be used in decision-making among geographically dispersed groups.
Being extremely slow, it is often not applicable when a quick decision is needed. Furthermore, it does not give rise to the rich array of options that are achieved with the nominal or interaction group technique. Insights that come from the Direct Interaction dynamic may never emerge.
The Permanent Teams, which are together for months or years.
A Temporary Team is the relationship of individuals who work interrelated to each other to achieve a goal during a predetermined time of days, weeks or months.
An example of a Temporary Team of this type would be the formation of a special promotional team, created by a real estate company, to advertise and sell in a new industrial subdivision.
- QUALITY CIRCLES:
Quality circles are groups of 5-10 employees who do similar or related work and meet regularly to identify, analyze, and suggest solutions to shared problems. They are used as a means for employees to participate in organizational goals through their suggestions to improve work flow, reduce costs, etc.
The process of participating in quality circles begins with members brainstorming work-related problems or concerns and gathering data on these issues. The process continues when solutions and recommendations are generated and communicated to management. Quality circles almost always meet 4 or more hours a month and the meetings are led by a group leader chosen by the same. The leader does not have an authoritative role, but serves as a facilitator of the discussion process.
AUTONOMOUS WORKING GROUPS
Autonomous work groups are made up of workers without a formal leader appointed by the company. These groups decide on various matters traditionally reserved for supervisors. It is common for these groups to decide on various matters traditionally reserved for supervisors. It is common for these groups to decide on the daily work assignment, the use of job rotation, what orientation will be given to new employees, what training needs are experienced, and the schedules that will govern. Some groups even take care of recruiting, selection, and discipline.
It is not yet clear if this new technique constitutes the advance of a practice that will become widespread throughout the industrial world. Undoubtedly, these innovations indicate unequivocally that there is a demand for new solutions to the balance between efficiency - behavioral elements in job design.
EQUIPMENT CHARACTERISTICS
Teams are also different in terms of size, longevity, (some last for years, while others, such as workforces, may only last a few months), intensity and frequency of interaction, importance of team volunteers to clean up the neighborhood.
Teams have central goals and objectives, differentiation of roles among their members, standard value systems or norms of behavior, levels of power and influence, and degrees of cohesion.
Your training based from 2 or more people. Also by the influence of a leader, whether assigned by the team or spontaneously arisen to meet that need.
ALL TEAMS MUST DO THE FOLLOWING:
- Set goals or priorities. Analyze or assign the way to do the work. Study the way a group is working, its processes such as rules, decision making, communications. Examine the relationships between the people doing the work.
ADEQUATE CONDITIONS FOR THE GROUP'S INTERACTION
- A common goal, homogeneous personal values. Proper reward structure. Similar authority and status. Conditions for objectivity and open criteria. Satisfactory group work. And other useful conditions (etcetera).
LEADER INFLUENCE WITHIN THE TEAM
THE LEADER AND THE TEAM PERFORMANCE
- Have the trust and respect of the other participants, if they want to contribute fully to the group process. Able to have situational leadership. Be strong and dynamic to activate the interest and commitment of the participants. Silent and observant. He must know before the group both the task and the objectives pursued.
The leader should not be dominant but his function may consist of receiving information, facilitating communication between individuals, giving messages and integrating all the propositions so that a single, unified response is given.
ACTIONS THAT A LEADER MAY PERFORM BEFORE THE GROUP MEETS TO DELIBERATE.
1. If the problem or responsibility of the group is known in advance, the leader can try to clarify the responsibilities of the team and define the problem areas more precisely. If problems or tasks are known before starting. You can review the symptoms and try to focus on the problems, goals, and needs.
2. The leader can gather all the pertinent data and can prompt others to seek out important information before the group begins to interact.
3. If group members have not yet been determined, the leader can influence to choose members who not only have common interests in the task and homogeneous value systems (which is very convenient, but also knowledgeable people and experts who will help the group in achieving its responsibilities.
4. The leader should start by solving participation, presenting all the pertinent facts to the team members together and encouraging them to come up with new ideas. Before meetings. They should provide agendas for participants so that their ideas can focus on areas of importance. The agenda can be as rigid or flexible as the situation requires.
5. The leader can arrange for meetings to be held at the right time, in a suitable place (free from distractions), etc.
FUNCTIONS PERFORMED BY A LEADER
- Start the Action. Facilitates consensus Acts as a link to the outside world: managers, other work groups, the union.
CONFLICTS IN A WORK TEAM
One of the great problems in teamwork is the fact that not everyone can think alike and that antagonisms and dissensions can arise if participants are allowed to take positions of winning.
Lose and compete and fight.
The team that has worked together for some time often has a different set of problems or concerns than the new team has.
Sometimes a group has worked together for many years, but the basic assignments have never been clarified, or the conditions have changed and the old definitions of roles are no longer adequate.
Most teams have never spent adequate time to ensure that all members understand their roles and what is expected of them.
Sometimes it can be observed that the basic problem of a work unit is the prevalence of disturbing conflict and hostility. In some departments the feelings of hostility between individuals and cliques have reached such a point that people who need to work together do not speak to each other.
Why do conflicts occur within a work group?
You could say that it is when 2 people do not get along, one of the most common explanations is to say that their "personalities" collide. Sometimes also their social status
The personality of one is supposed to be so different from the personality of the other that it cannot function in a compatible way.
HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS
To deal with the conflict, it is necessary for the parties in conflict to reach certain agreements:
1. All parties must agree to meet and work to solve problems.
2. It helps if people agree that there are problems, that these problems need to be fixed, and that all parties have some responsibility to work on them.
3. People may find it easier to cope with conflict if they can accept that the end result of the team building session is not that people sympathize with one another but that they understand each other and are able to work together.
EFFICIENCY AND EFFICIENCIES (GROUP) -
If the effectiveness of their decisions is defined by speed, the individual is superior. If creativity is important, groups tend to be better than the individual. When efficiency means the degree of acceptance that the final solution achieves, the group is more appropriate. But effectiveness cannot be considered if you evaluate efficiency at the same time. Taking the latter as a criterion, groups almost always lag behind the individual. With few exceptions, group decision-making requires more hours of work than if one person tackled the same problem alone. The exceptions tend to be represented by those in which, to achieve similar amounts of diverse contributions. The individual has to spend a lot of time analyzing the files and talking to people.As groups can include people from various disciplines, information search time is reduced. However, as noted earlier, these efficiency advantages are usually the exception. In general, groups are less efficient than people. When deciding whether to use them, it is first necessary to assess whether a better efficiency justifies the loss of efficiency.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES (Of the groups)
ADVANTAGE:
-Scope of the information: To accumulate the resources of several individuals we have more elements in the decision process.
-Diversity of information: Apart from providing several elements, the groups give heterogeneity to the decision process. This gives us the opportunity to have more approaches and to have more alternatives.
-Acceptance of the solution: Many decisions fail after the final choice because people do not accept the solution. But if those who will be affected by it and will have to intervene in their relationship participate in the decision, there will be a greater chance that they will accept it and make others accept it as well. This results in firmer support for the decision and produces more satisfaction among those who must implement it.
-Legitimacy of the process: Modern society greatly appreciates democratic methods. The group decision-making process conforms to democratic ideals and is consequently considered more legitimate than decisions made by a single person. When the maker does not consult others before reaching a determination, the fact that he has absolute power can give the impression that the decision is autocratic and arbitrary.
DISADVANTAGES:
-Slowness: It takes time to gather a group. The interaction that takes place after the group is assembled is sometimes inefficient. As a result, groups take longer to reach a solution than if one individual took it. This can reduce management's ability to intervene immediately with decisive action when needed.
-Conformity: There are social pressures in the group. The desire that members have to be accepted and considered a positive element fosters the disillusionment of dissent, thereby favoring conformism between the various perspectives.
-Discussion domain: One or some members sometimes dominate the group discussion. Without the dominant coalition composed of people of low and medium ability, the overall effectiveness of the group will decrease.
- Ambiguous responsibility: Group members share responsibility, but who is responsible for the end result? In the case of an individual decision, it is clear that it is. In a collective decision, the responsibility of the members is diluted.
IMPORTANCE
Clearly, team information has gone beyond just looking at relationships between individuals and providing feedback to people.
They are a source of enrichment and depth in obtaining information. If they are made up of people with diverse backgrounds, the options produced will be broader and the analysis more critical.
The formation of work groups is like a suggestion system, which is also an important means of motivating employees, involving them in the reward systems and decision-making of the organization, (assuming that the management takes seriously suggestions from your employees).
Which also implies a better and increased participation of the team members in the work, towards the company.
It creates a way of commitment to the company, I motivate him to be more and better in his performance.
Groups usually tend to have many points in common:
group objectives, differentiation of functions, value systems, norms of behavior, levels of power, influence and degrees of cohesion. Better interpersonal relationships will develop, personal goals will be met, and other positive dividends will be produced. All this for personal and organizational achievements simultaneously.
Currently work teams (or teamwork) are considered essential to generate new ideas and better solutions, especially in the middle and upper management levels of companies.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it can be determined according to the data obtained that teamwork is of great importance, since the use of a team to solve a problem is more efficient, due to the great help that the members provide by offering a great offer of ideas and / or opinions which come to facilitate the group or the company to make decisions, and solve the problem more efficiently.
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