Article Review 1

Group 4
Professor Melinda Rose
BMGT 1307
September 7th, 2019

Our review will be on “Rewarding Teamwork” from an article on the www.upsizemag.com

website, written by Ann Bares, a consulting manager with RSM McGladrey in Minneapolis, a
management-consulting firm. She has more than 15 years of HR consulting experience in
compensation and performance management. Should it be all about individual recognition?
Should employees be rewarded by their efforts? Would the goal be achieved without every
team members input, not matter how small? Why is it important to ensure teams are
empowered through reward? These are some of the questions we will be dealing with in our
review of article one (1) located in chapter 3 of our Management text book.

It is quite obvious, as Ann stated, that our country has had a long standing history of honoring
the individual, which is very true and hard to argue with. Some individuals have earned
recognition and rewards because they were great visionaries. Their belief in changing the world
and achieving immense success were their driving forces and made sure they stopped at
nothing to attain their goal. But one has to ask, did Bill Gates become so successful all on his
own? Did Elon Musk bring all his amazing innovative ideas to life in a lab in his basement, like
Tony Stark? Does the President of The United States run the country without assistance? No
matter how much credit we give these individuals for having the vision to make life altering
discoveries, inventions, and decisions, none of them would be successful without their teams.
As Ann mentioned, companies are no longer stand alone, they are part of a much larger web of
networks, partnerships, alliances, all working towards the common goal. No matter how small a
part they play, every individual’s effort/role in the team is important, besides, if one link breaks,
the entire chain falls apart.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that teams have a significantly high rate of success, and
should be rewarded and recognized for their efforts. Group recognition and incentive plans are
essential to reinforce and celebrate team wins, and significant achievements. Tangible an non-
tangible incentives have been very reputable when working with a small budget. A paid team
breakfast, pizza lunches, tickets to games, are just a few ways to recognize the team. Incentives
like profit sharing when targets are met and surpassed are even more effective, but strict
guidelines need to be in place or the focus will just be on revenue generation, and other aspect
of the operation may suffer, e.g. customer service.

Summary

Ultimately, we need to recognize the importance of rewarding our teams, because working
effectively together is emerging as a critical competency in business. Sharing successes has
become more accepted, because well-structured teams succeed. Finding ways to compensate
and reward your team will ensure continued success and a more effective team.
 Article Review 1

Opinion

No matter how large a co-operation, the successes are not just the managers or supervisors, it’s
the team. Without the efforts of every individual, the whole would not materialize successfully.
One group member shared an experience recently where a store manager was announced as
being number 1 in the region and was expected to post a picture of himself to be recognized on
the company’s intranet. He advised his regional manager via conference call that he did not
want just his picture up there, but he wanted a picture of the team, because the success was
only possible because of the team’s effort, not just his. Other managers were shocked and even
upset at such a request, but his team’s morale has since increased. A small token of pizza lunch
reassured the team that this manager is more about working with them, not through them. This
selfless act surely gained more of his employees respect, but more importantly, it reinforced
the need to reward and recognize your team.

Source:

Bares, Ann. “Rewarding Teamwork - Human Resources.” Upsize Magazine, 25

June 2013, http://www.upsizemag.com/business-builders/rewarding-teamwork.