TEAM BUILDING

DEFINITION

 A work team consists of a small number of

employees with complementary skills who
collaborate of a project, are committed to a
common purpose, and are jointly accountable
for performing tasks that contribute to
achieving an organization’s goals.
INFORMAL GROUPS

 An informal group consists of a number of

individuals who frequently participate together in
activities and share feelings for the purpose of
meeting their mutual needs.
 Informal groups may support, oppose or have no
interest in organizational goals, rules or higher
authority.
 An organization may encourage employees to
participate in more positive informal groups such
as those based on shared hobbies or other
interests.
BENEFITS OF WORK TEAMS

 Innovation: Bringing together people who

have a variety of experiences and expertise to
address a common problem or tasks can
increase creativity.
 Speed: Teams can reduce the time required
for product development as serial
development (one task after the other) is
replaced by parallel development
(simultaneous completion of tasks).
BENEFITS OF WORK TEAMS

 Cost: Teams help to reduce cost and respond

quickly to consumers.
 Quality: Teams enhance the quality of the
task being completed.
TYPES OF TEAMS – PROBLEM
SOLVING WORK TEAMS
 Problem-solving work team consists of employees
from different areas of an organization whose goal
is to consider how something can be done better.
 These may be temporary and task-based.
 A quality circle (or TQM) team) is a group of employees
who meet regularly to identify, analyse and propose
solutions to various types of production problems.
Quality circles normally don’t have the authority to
implement their proposed solutions, which are
presented to the management for further action.
TYPES OF TEAMS – PROBLEM
SOLVING WORK TEAMS
 Task force is a team that is formed to accomplish a
specific, highly important goal for an organization.
They often meet intensively during the course of a
few weeks or months and then disband. They are
expected to continue working at their normal jobs
during the duration of the task force.
 This usually includes goals such as strategic
reorientation, gathering data about the external
environment and designing approaches for
implementing a new strategy.
TYPES OF TEAMS – FUNCTIONAL
WORK TEAMS
 Functional Work Team includes members from
a single department who have the common goal
of considering issues and solving problems
within their area of responsibility and expertise.
 Functional teams formed for the purpose of
completing their daily tasks are quite stable,
enduring for as long as the organization
maintains its basic structure.
TYPES OF TEAMS –
MULTIDISCIPINARY WORK TEAMS
 Multidisciplinary work team consists of employees from
various functional areas and levels who collectively work on a
specific task.
 They differ from task forces in that they are the primary
vehicles for accomplishing the core work of the organization.
 A product development team is a common type of
multidisciplinary team. It exists for the period of time
required to bring a product to the market, and brings
together experts having a variety of knowledge and
backgrounds to generate ideas for new products and
services.
TYPES OF TEAMS – SELF-MANAGING
WORK TEAMS
 Self-managing work team consists of
employees who work together daily to make an
entire product or deliver an entire service.
 The members may be from a single functional
area but more often such teams are
multidisciplinary.
TYPES OF TEAMS – SELF-MANAGING
WORK TEAMS
 Distinctive feature is the level of responsibility
the team has for managerial tasks including:
 Scheduling member’s work and vacations
 Rotating job tasks and assignments among members
 Ordering materials
 Deciding on team leadership
 Providing feedback to team members
 Setting performance goals
 Monitoring progress toward team goals.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

 Forming
 Storming
 Norming
 Performing
 Adjourning
 DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

 Forming: During the forming stage, a work team focuses on

the orientation of its goals and procedures. Relationships
are often guarded, cautious and noncommittal.

 Storming: Begins when competitive or strained behaviours

emerge.
 It may involve resistance and impatience with lack of progress.
 Dominant members may force an agenda disregarding the needs
of others.
 Team members may challenge the leader and isolate themselves.
 If conflict is not resolved, resentment and bitterness may result
leading to apathy and abandonment.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

 Norming: Team members become increasingly

positive about the team as a whole, the other
members as individuals, and what the team is
doing.
 They may begin to develop a sense of belonging and
commitment.
 Problems are resolved through cooperation, open
communication and acceptance of mutual influence.
 However, when the work team focuses too much on ‘we-
ness’, harmony and conformity, task related conflicts
may be avoided and this may affect the quality and
quantity of performance.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

 Performing: Members usually have come to

trust and accept each other and are focused
on accomplishing their goals.
 Performance becomes productive.
 Diversity of viewpoints (rather than we-ness) is
supported and encouraged.
 Members are willing to risk presenting ‘wild’ ideas
without fear of being put down.
 Leadership is flexible and may shift.
 DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

 Characteristics leading to high levels of team

performance:
 Members direct their energies toward the twin
goals of getting things done (task behaviours) and
building constructive interpersonal ties and
processes (relationship behaviours).
 Members use procedures for making decisions,
including how to share leadership.
 Members trust each other and are open.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES
 Members receive help from and give help.
 Members accept and deal with conflicts.
 Members are free to be themselves while feeling
a sense of belonging with others.
 Members diagnose and improve their own
functioning.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

 Adjourning: This involves terminating task

behaviours and disengaging from
relationships.
 This stage is not always planned and may be abrupt.
 However, a planned team conclusion involves
recognition for participation and achievement as
well as an opportunity for members to say personal
good byes.
 Some teams are ongoing, some change at a fixed
period of time.