The case of Bell ExpressVu and the two former employees shows the importance of an effective team building in developing a successful business organization. In team building, the participants learn the spirit of teamwork and collaboration to accomplish effectively a given task.
To establish an effective team, an organization should maintain a clear communication among team members regularly regarding their tasks in a team-building event. In Bell ExpressVu case, the two women Fran Boutilier and Alison Green, were uninformed of the details of the retreat and even showed up in business attire. Members of a team must possess a shared purpose with specific goals to achieve in a team-building event.
The retreat organized by Bell ExpressVu was meant to make the team members interdependent and thus create an effective team. However, in team building, members have to agree on how to work together. A common agreement to collaborate in solving problems and share information helps them to work effectively together as a team.
The two women executives were not involved in team decision-making and this led to the differences with the other male members. Team building aims at promoting teamwork, promotes the performance of the team, and thus must involve all employees and other stakeholders.
The team members should be committed to the team building activities to ensure the team’s success. However, “…the female executives were apparently not committed to the team-building activities as Green refused to ‘pair off with a man to practice kicks, punches, and chokeholds” (Heathfield, 2000).
The management of the executive retreat in the Bell ExpressVu case failed to achieve the expected results because of the poor management decisions. Firstly, the management failed to define limits to employee empowerment activities and this led to the improper treatment of the female executives including ‘sexist, vulgar language and being frozen out of drinking sessions with the “boys’ club’.
The management also failed to provide directions regarding the theme of the retreat. The theme of the event was uninspiring particularly to the female participants. The managers failed to provide information to the two female employees and as a result were not well prepared for the team-building event.
The female executives were unaware of what was expected of them in the retreat and that explains why they wore office attire. It is the responsibility of the organization to provide information regarding its organizational practices to new employees. The blocked communication led to misinformation that particularly contributed to the failure of the team building in Bell ExpressVu case.
To organize an effective team-building event, the theme of the event should be exciting and inspiring to the employees. Such a theme helps to motivate and communicate effectively with the participants of team building (Diamond, 2007, p. 159).
In addition, clear communication through memos or posters of the team-building event details stimulates interest leading to full participation of members and enhances adequate preparation for the event. Planning for a team-building event should involve a team so the activities in the event are representative of the team members.
In Bell ExpressVu case, the event activities represented a ‘macho corporate culture’ and this made the female executives feel excluded. The team-building events can also be incorporated into the company practices to promote the spirit of teamwork and common purpose. However, the events should representative of cultural, gender and religious differences in order to generate interest and collaboration by team members.
Reference List
Diamond, L. (2007). Teambuilding That Gets Results: Essential Plans and Activities for Creating Effective Teams. Naperville: Sourcebooks Inc.
Heathfield, S. (2000). Twelve Tips for Team Building: How to Build Successful Work Teams. Web.