Introduction
A team is a group of people that are working towards the achievement of the same target or goal. A team can be made up of people with very different educational backgrounds, experience so as to be able to achieve the target or the goals of a certain organization. The mixture of people with different backgrounds in a team makes the team stronger, very flexible and very effective when it comes to managing the tasks that are assigned to them (Heller, 2009).
Managing a team can be a very challenging task and requires highly skilled people so as to be able to understand what the team needs in terms of team members so as to be able to achieve the intended goals. Research analysts have studied the factors that are to be considered when forming a team and the importance of teamwork in achieving the target needs and goals.
It was found that more that 80% of the workers today, are involved in teams in one way or the other meaning that most of the corporate companies have taken the initiative of forming teams so as to be able to achieve their specific goals and targets (Heller, 2009).
Some authors have also cast doubt over the high percentage of team workers in the world by research analysts. They continue to say that, most of the corporate companies that they have interviewed do not have teams in place to cater for the specific needs of the company.
They also agree with the analysts that teamwork is a very important part of the corporate world and more and more corporate companies are beginning to realize the need for forming teams in their organizations that are aimed at achieving the specific goals and targets of the organization. The right composition in terms of experience is needed for the team to be effective so as to be able to lead to the realization of the organizations targets and goals translating to the good performance of the corporate organizations (Heller, 2009).
Thesis Statement
With reference to the given question, this paper will discuss the relationship between group mechanisms such as teams and company performance. This paper will also discuss how these group mechanisms have been modified over the years by the company’s culture. The paper will also discuss an effective way of developing and managing teams.
Relationship Between Group Mechanisms Such As Teams And Company Performance
For a very long time corporate organizations have been trying to develop ways in which they can be able to achieve their specific goals and targets and that is the main reason why they came up with the idea of having teams set up so as to be able to communicate effectively on the way in which they can be able to achieve their targets and goals. Teammates are able to communicate effectively and thereby giving them one target and goal across space, time and organization.
Teams have become a major tool in the performance of the companies in that most of the corporate organizations that are able to achieve their targets today, are using teams so as to be able to do so. Corporate organizations have begun developing the need for teams and teamwork among the members of staff so as to be able to achieve their targets and goals more easily (Hayes, 2002).
In addition to that, working as a team has a more effective way of making an impact to the customers and consumers thus leading the improvement of the performance of an organization. The teams must have the right composition in terms of experience and education backgrounds for them to become effective thus leading to realization of the organization’s targets and goals.
Most research analysts are unanimous about the fact that the most successful corporate organizations today are working in teams within the several sections in their organization so as to be able to work faster and more effectively (Hayes, 2002).
Working as an individual takes more time because that individual works slow and not everything the individuals do is accurate or according to the specified requirements but working as a team gives the team members the ability to work much faster and more accurately in an aim of realizing the organizational targets and objectives.
When working as a team, obligations are distributed amongst the team members and this means that specific tasks can be accomplished much faster thus saving the time that would have been spent by the specific individuals working alone while doing the task.
Some of the teams in the departmental structures of the corporate organizations have also been credited with the poor performance that specific corporate organizations are facing.
This has been credited to the poor composition of teams and thus making the team less effective than it was intended to be during the formation. Poor performance in the team structures has also been credited to the lack of cooperation within the team members thereby making them work less seriously leading to the poor performance of the corporate organizations (Daft, 2012).
When the members of a team are not working together as one, this means that the team lost its initial goal and target which is helping the corporate organizations to achieve their organizational targets and dreams. Research analysts have credited lack of cooperation or oneness among the members of a team to the poor performance of the corporate organization as a whole.
Some of the factors that have been mentioned to have led to the formation of a less effective team include low working experience among the members of a team. When the team is comprised of members who have very low working experience it means that they will not be able to accomplish the tasks that they are mandated and in turn translate to the poor performance of the corporate organizations.
On the other hand, if there is rivalry among the members of a team, this will mean that the team members will start competing amongst themselves which is not healthy for the corporate organizations as a whole.
It has been seen that some of the members of a team always want to impress more than others and this will lead into a competition among the members of a team which will in turn lead to poor performance by the team as a whole and poor performance by the corporate organization as a whole too. Not all of the factors that lead to the failure of the teams are caused by the members of the teams. Some of the factors are caused by the corporate organizations as a whole (Daft, 2012).
In this instance, some of the corporate organizations do not share the necessary information with the members of the teams and yet expect them to be able to work effectively in the achievement of the organizational targets and goals.
For a team to be effective in the task they are trying to accomplish, they must be able to have all the necessary information that is needed for them to be able to understand what they are supposed to do and know how to tackle the task that is before them. The corporate organizations must be able to provide all the necessary equipment that is needed by the teams so as to be able to accomplish the task that they are tackling which will in turn lead to profitability of the corporate organizations as a whole.
The performance of the teams is also determined by the teams’ capability of completing the specific tasks that they are given. When the composition of the team has the capability of being able to accomplish the tasks that they are given in an effective way, this will mean that the composition of the team is correct and must not be changed in any way or for any reason because this team is the key to success for the corporate organization in question in that the success on the corporate organization will be determined by the team in question.
If a team is found not be completing the given tasks within the specified time, then it means that the team is not effective enough and may lead to very poor performance of the corporate organization as a whole. As such, teams must be disbanded and its composition reviewed again because maybe there is a lack of commitment amongst some of the members of the team or there is a lack of cooperation amongst some of the members of the same team (Daft, 2012).
In addition to that, for the teams to be effective leading to better performance of the corporate organizations, adequate supervision must be given to all the team members so as to know who among the team members is making the team lag behind in terms of performance. By this, the corporate organizations can be able to manage the teams effectively which will mean that the teams will perform accordingly and thus be able to accomplish the organizational targets and goals that are set by the corporate organizations in question.
By providing adequate supervision to the teams, the corporate organizations can see who among the team members has the desire to work in the team in question and who among the team members does not.
Some of the team members do not have the spirited desire to work amongst the other team members and thereby are lagging the team behind in terms of performance and this will lead to the poor performance of the corporate organizations. On the other hand, there must also be dedication amongst the team members so as to be able to achieve the goals and targets of the teams and those of the corporate organizations in general.
How Group Mechanisms Have Been Modifies by the Company’s Culture
Company Culture has been a key factor in determining how the group mechanisms such as teams work and how they perform. There are always cultural differences not only within the teams but also within other group mechanisms such as offices or other social groups and even sometimes within the same family.
Some of the cultural differences include language differences. Language difference is a key factor when it comes to the performance of the teams because, for the team members to be able to work more effectively, they must be able to communicate in one language and must be able to work together regardless of their difference in languages (Daft, 2012).
The other major factor that affects the teams in terms of performance is ethnicity. You may find that some of the team’s lack the cooperation that is needed for the team to be able to perform because of their ethnic differences. If the team members are able to work together regardless of their ethnic differences then they will be able to achieve the goals and targets of the teams and this will in turn translate to better performance of the corporate organizations as a whole (Heller, 2009).
In addition to that, there is also the issue of dressing. You may find that in some culture they may allow the females to wear long trousers but in some other cultures, a female wearing long trouser is considered a taboo.
In this sense, if a female whose culture allows long trousers goes into a team with a female whose culture does not allow the wearing of long trouser, the two may not work together in a good way because their two cultures are different but if they would find a common ground and settle their differences, then it means the team will be able to work and produce the needed results.
Another major cultural factor that affects the teams’ performance is the difference in cultural beliefs. This is an important factor because it has been noted by research analysts that when it comes to cultural beliefs which includes religion, the Christians do not go into teams with the Muslims or any other religious group mainly because they have a difference in beliefs.
It was also noted that the Muslims in some parts of the world like forming teams of their own because they believe that by this they will be able to make more effective teams that by working with the Christians. If they would settle their religious differences aside, they would be able to make more effective teams that would work together for the realization of the teams’ objectives, goals and targets and in turn translate to better performance of the corporate organizations as a whole.
An Effective Way of Developing and Managing Teams
For teams to be effective, it does not only mean that they just get the job done, it means that they get the job done in time and accurately. For a good performance from the team, the team members must be able to manage the process of working together. This means that the team members must be able to find a way of working together regardless of the differences so as to be able to achieve the targets and goals of the team and in turn translate to the good performance of the whole corporate organization.
In addition to that, for the team members to be able to work towards the achievement the targets and goals of the corporate organization, they must listen to all the members of the team.
The team members must listen to each other because this will mean that they respect each other which will bring out the full capability of all the team members and this will translate to better performance of the corporate organization in terms of profits. On the other hand, the team members must be able to communicate openly with all the other members of the team so as to be able to express their feelings towards the decisions that the team makes.
For the team to be more effective, it must also explore different approaches towards a task instead of approaching a task in one approach always. By doing this, the team will be able to come up with effective solutions to the tasks that they are working on faster. By the use of different approaches towards a task will mean that they will create an environment of surprise towards that customers and consumers which means that most of the customers and consumers will never be able to predict their next move.
In addition to that, the behavior of the team members must always be at its best because this will mean that their discipline is the best and will translate into a good performance in the team and in turn translate to better performance in achieving the targets and goals that were set by the corporate organization.
Conclusion
The composition of the teams is an effective factor in determining the capability of the team and how the team will perform. In addition to that, it is always important to put differences aside when it comes to forming a team so as to be able to form an effective team that will be able to accomplish the tasks in hand more effectively.
References
Daft, R. (2012). Understanding Team Management. Oklahoma, OK: Cengage Learning.
Hayes, N. (2002). Managing teams: a strategy for success. Oklahoma, OK: Cengage Learning.
Heller, R. (2009). Managing Teams. London, UK: John Wiley and Sons.