Introduction
Team’s motivation, satisfaction, and performance greatly affect the level of productivity of a given organization by either impacting positively or negatively on the overall production output through individual inputs in the production process. Thus individual workers level of motivation, satisfaction and performance is paramount to teams output.
Key to individual members of a team input in the production process is their behaviour which shapes their work pattern and productivity outcomes. Therefore, motivation, satisfaction, and performance of a team or a group largely are shaped by the behaviour of the team or group members.
In enhancing the three factors within the team, communication plays a major part. This is quite true since communication plays the following functions within a group or an organization: first, it controls member behaviour in a variety of ways. Secondly, it enhances motivation by giving clear directions about how a task should be done and how to improve performance.
Thirdly, it enhances emotional expression of feelings and fulfillment of social needs; and finally, it facilitates decision-making (Robbins & Judge, 2011, P.343). Communication appears to facilitate these factors while the behaviour mainly shapes their outcomes.
Within a team, behaviour is influenced by factors such as attitudes, emotions, personalities, and the values of the team members. The next part of this paper will address how these factors influence behaviour and team spirit, and eventually the overall team productivity.
Attitudes
Attitude and behaviour are quite interconnected with many studies reviewing that attitudes actually plays a key in shaping our behaviours. Attitudes are stable over time, and are directed towards a thing or a situation, thus they influence our behaviour (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2009, P.51). Hence, people mostly tend to behave in manners that match their feelings.
For example, in team meeting if a member has a dislike for coffee and the team is served with coffee that person will mostly likely turn down the offer. Though the relationship between attitude and behaviour is very visible, it is extremely complex to determine the effect of an attitude on the behaviour outcome.
Team members form attitudes about many objects in relation to their work, a thing that greatly influences their individual performances. In teamwork, individual attitudes that are vital are those that touch on hope, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2009, P.51).
It is through hope that individual members of a team are able to put together their willpower to tackle a given task. Within the team the high-hope persons are attentive, embrace the suitable behaviour for the task, and are motivated towards the achieving the desired output while avoiding negative influences and outcomes.
Low-hope individuals are apprehensive, shift their attention from the task easily, experience more job stress, and may harbor negative thoughts about the task. To increase the level of hope within the team the following can be done. First, the team leader should assist the members in setting clear goals for task and in monitoring their progress.
Additionally, the team leader should assist the member in breaking the large task into small tasks that are accomplished in gradual stages. Lastly, the team leader should strive to be a key motivational figure in the group, who inspires the members to accomplish their tasks.
Attitudes relating to job satisfaction and organizational commitments can reflect on team’s performance since the teamwork though is a collective effort it also depends on the individual inputs. Employees who are satisfied with their job are likely to be more focused on their tasks, highly motivated, work more regularly, and experience high job turnover.
While unsatisfied employees are likely to experience low job turnover, take more sick days, and pay poor attention to their tasks. Within the team to improve job satisfaction attitudes it appropriate to observe respect for each other in order to make each member to feel valued.
Additionally the human resource department should address issues of wage disparities, equitable pay and adequate compensation to enhance long-term job satisfaction level among the employees.
Emotions
Emotions and moods are part of individuals work life, since they are part of response to happenings within a work set up. Work events trigger both positive and negative emotional responses but it the mood and personality of the individual that regulate how the response will be perceived (Robbins, 2009, P.201).
Emotions thus influence the human behavior at work. It is this understanding that has led to emergency of the Emotional Intelligence concept.
Studies have shown that positive emotional expression can significantly improve work motivation, creativity, organizational commitment, work team performance, and the vice versa is true (Ortiz Bas, A. & Ortiz Bas, 2010, P.279). Display of emotions will thus have effect on behaviour and the outcomes of the teamwork depending on which emotions are expressed.
For example, display of anger by a team member towards team leader might hurt the whole group leading it not to achieve the task as expected (Robbins & Judge, 2011, P. 472).
To reap positive outcomes the team leader should encourage expression of positive moods during the project and avoidance of hurting or abusive conversations. Additionally the team members should be sensitized on the importance of observing emotional intelligence.
Personalities and values
Personality (the set of characteristics and values by which we identify a person’s uniqueness) partly determines the behaviour of a person (Fryer et al, 2004, P. 111). Personality can therefore influence individual’s behaviour and work performance. Studies have shown that personality is not completely a rigid aspect thus it may be altered as a result of experience or circumstances (Fryer et al, 2004, P. 111).
Through this dynamism, the individual behaviour can be influenced by the workings of a team. In assembling, a team what matter is choosing a certain type personality traits that are mostly defined by the type of the task. Therefore, members of the team are likely to be sharing some common behaviour.
By displaying a given set of behaviour, people can be described as friendly, rude, approachable, happy, strict, sadist, etc. Friendly and approachable members of a team can be a valuable component of the team spirit and work. This is because they are likely to assist other member to improve in their task, and are more open to sharing of ideas that lead to creativity. Hostile and introvert people can be hindrance to the team progress.
This is because they are likely to brew destructive conflicts, curtail creativity by not opening up, and can demoralize the teammates. To achieve positive outcomes, the team must be comprised of members with desired personality traits.
Further, members with unbecoming traits should be discouraged and be advised to change their behaviour. Lastly, the organizational culture should be shaped in a way that encourages positive behaviours.
References
Fryer, B.G. et al. (2004). The practice of construction management: people and business performance. NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J.W. (2009). Organizational Behavior. OH: Cengage Learning.
Ortiz Bas, A. & Ortiz Bas, A. (2010). Balanced Automation Systems for Future Manufacturing Networks: 9th IFIP WG 5.5 International Conference, BASYS 2010, Valencia, Spain, July 21-23, 2010, Proceedings. Berlin: Springer.
Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Robbins, S.P. (2009). Organisational behaviour: global and Southern African perspectives. Cape Town: Pearson South Africa.