Organisational Change

Answer

Introduction

As business processes and systems have become multifaceted, teams –not individuals- have become an essential ingredient and a basic working unit in every organization. This is because teamwork encourages interaction and open communication and with it create a great environment for generating new ideas. Teamwork also nurtures individual strengths and the ability of the individual’s strength to be utilized within a group set up. The worldwide acceptance of teamwork as an effective approach to performance improvement and a tool of fostering organizational unity have transformed the work environment in organizations as all organizations strive to advocate for teamwork and develop efficient communication ways within these teams. However like with all systems a break down or failure is always a possibility, teams are collaborative divisions of people brought together with an aim of achieving a common objective.

Background of the case study

The output of the entire team should be greater than that of individuals within the team and when individual performance rather than the set objective is the goal, teamwork fails. Such was the experience of one sales intern in one of the local manufacturing industries. The team was composed of two senior and permanent employees and four interns of whom he was part of. They had a sales target to achieve and above all two of the interns who stood out had the chance of getting employed and being part of the team. As much as the team had one objective, the drive among the interns was fiercely towards the selfish end, all wanted the permanent position within the organization. Power by design is meant to start from the top trickling downwards through a series of subordinate relationships and the team leaders mould the objectives for the team (Belbin 2010). This team was headed by two of the employees of the firm and a lady was the team leader and under her a male employee and the interns. The objective was to achieve a specific sales target. With the objective in mind they set off to work. The failure to deliver started off at the top. While objectives are meant to cascade downwards the leadership structure and the objectives should be well defined and tools to measure their success or failure put in place (Antonio 2005), our team leaders had trouble working together the problem being the lady who was the team leader had been made the leader over a man who had worked in the organization for a much longer period. The division in the leadership meant that two of the interns would report to the lady and the other two to the other leader. 

The Crisis and subsequent failure

The main force or drive in a team should be end goal inspired by the leaders. Strained relationships especially in the team leadership can lead to an eventual crisis (Belbin 2012). Such was our predicament and tat the end of the term specified, the team had not only disintegrated but the objectives had not been met. The most effective way to salvage the downward spiral of an organization is to change the topmost person in the structure but with due diligence, this is because it is not easy to ascertain whom an effective leader is, whether it is the most acceptable among the employees or the one that will push the team towards the set goals and objectives The impact of leadership wrangles is detrimental to the goals and objectives of any organization and without help the organization could crumble (Belbin 2010). 

As for the interns, there was no trust which is a prerequisite for any team to work together, they were all after their own success and without stable leadership, and the goal was diverted to each one giving his best in order to get the employment position within the organization. There should be a distinction between a team role and personal roles. 

In the world of team building, trust is the confidence among the team members that the intentions of their team mates are not evil or against them and that they can conduct themselves freely within the surrounding of the group and should be vulnerable as the team is working for the attainment of a sole goal to which all of them are charged with accomplishing. Conflicts are inevitable in any setting and this applies to the work setting too, however, productive conflict which is majorly intended to produce the best possible results and in the shortest possible time is what each organization should drive towards (Lencioni 2002).

The interns were more motivated by the position and benefits that would come to the one with the outstanding performance. As a result each individual adopted the desire to attain the own goals and objective, this superseded the main goal of achieving the stipulated sales target. The ultimate dysfunction of a team is the team members’ inability to keep the goals and objective as the aim. Such a group stagnates, often loses employees who are driven by the desire to accomplish set goals and are usually distracted by events around them (Lencioni 2002). The lack of a well coordinated head a source of motivation and authority was lacking in the group. Components of a highly effective team

even though the business world relies more on teamwork, it always does so without a solid knowledge of it takes to make a formidable team and make it work. The remedies and theories that flourish in the organization and management literature often overlook the hidden and in-depth secrets of how high performing teams attain peak performance () Well functioning team are often rewarding and have common traits. They often revolve around the four C’s of team performance. These are the context, change, composition and competencies. The context is in reference to the work environment and how it influences work and performance. This is done by designing team performance goals that are compelling and clear and ensuring that all team members are aware that the goals set are critical to the team. They also design a clear communication path to facilitate the relay of communication across the team.

The composition of the team is another vital component of a successful team; it takes into consideration the specific skills of the group members in addition to their attitude. Members who are not contributing towards the team’s goals should be cut loose and replaced with those that share the same ideologies; it also looks into the problem solving processes within the group (Gibb, William & Jeffery 2013). The composition factors in issues such as the number of individuals that compose the group. Competence nurture the team towards growth and attainment of their goals, this is through proper decision making, effective communication and relay of feedback and encouraging risk taking and innovation. Lastly change management within the group is another key element of a successful team. Teams that are high performing must adapt to change throughout their time. A team should be able to monitor the performance not only of the team but of each member and showcase the strengths and weaknesses to enable it come up with improvement plans and effect the desired changes within the group (Gibb, William & Jeffery 2013). Regular evaluation of individual and group goals and objects helps attain this.

Advantages of Teamwork

Successful team work fosters creativity and learning, the ability of group members to brainstorm and work towards attaining the set goals and objectives. Working individually limits the creative thought process as compared to teamwork as it challenges groups towards creativity and simplifies problem solving. Team work additionally complements complementary strengths; it enables teammates build on each other’s talents as they all share within the team. One could be well versed in management while another in creative thinking and yet another in organization and planning. The success of a team is dependent on how well individuals with different strengths complement each other within the team and work towards a set goal. Another advantage of team work is that it promotes conflict resolution skills and instills a sense of ownership of the project the team undertakes.

In teams with strong work ethics and relationships, members of the team manage conflict productively. And even though relationships deteriorate over time they are handled wisely.  In less productive teams however, members try to reduce collaborating. They view the team as an obstruction to achieving their personal goals. One indicator of a poor functioning team is the sole dependence on the leader to ensure the smooth running of all aspects of the team. Brainstorming is not practiced and the leader does all including ensuring that the group is functioning as intended and managing conflicts amicably (Schwarz 2014). As it is inevitable to face conflicts more so in a team with individuals from different backgrounds and with different drives, team work makes it possible to work together and solve issues as they occur within the work setup. In addition to this, team work fosters a sense of ownership and belonging and makes the team members proud of their contributions. Tackling problems together not only works to the benefit of the team but to the organizations as well. This is because a bond is created between the employees and the team leaders which make it possible for an organization to retain its goal achieving staff.

Why this team failed

The successful impact of functional teamwork on an organization or departmental success is undeniable. Each organization needs a well designed team work the leadership of the team should be done with consideration with an individual’s performance and drive towards attaining the end goal of the team. This was the shortcoming of this team. The team leaders were involved in a leadership tussle that jeopardized the main aim of the team. The composition of the team should be well thought of before a reward scheme is made public as this affected the motivation of the interns, the deviated from the team goal and each worked hard towards employment rather than towards getting the sales target (Adair 2013).

Another factor was the gender issue within teamwork. Though not widely talked about as before the issue of gender disparity is still an issue of concern as more woman rise to leadership as a result of education and experience some men still find it challenging to be lead by women especially those perceived to have stayed long in the organization. The gender of one’s teammates may be a factor that determines whether working conditions are hostile or as encouraging, as interesting or oppressive (Inanova-stenzel & kubler 2011).

Teams fail as a result of selfish ambition and the lack of leadership strong enough to avert a crisis. Even though teamwork fails, the benefits of team work are far beneficial. Good Leadership is paramount and so is management especially in change management that will oversee replacement of non performing team members and push the group towards growth, conflict resolution mechanism is essential to manage misunderstandings and control issues before they go overboard.

Summary

Constant review of the team and progress towards the attainment of the set objectives should be carried out to ensure that the team is on the right track and any changes needed are implemented. Remuneration and gratitude should not be the main motivation in a group but rather the achievement of a goal after which the management can work out a model for remunerating the individuals as well as the team for their performance. It is not financial strength. It is not the strategic plan in place, not the technology. It is the joint effort of the team that stands out as the decisive competitive advantage for the reason that it is so dominant and so rare (Lencioni 2002).

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