The time when I worked in a successful team:
An example of a time when I worked in a team and was successful was in year 11 where I was apart of the lunchtime supervisor scheme. During lunchtime our school canteen was always jam-packed with the school pupils from all years waiting to get into the canteen and purchase their lunch. It wasn’t very much organised. So senior members of staff decided to have lunchtime supervisors during lunchtime period to help manage and deal with the situation. I had to apply for the job like all other students and even have an interview with the head teacher and luckily enough I was one of the pupils selected out of 10 to get this position. We had been told from the start we had to work as a team; even though we all in the same year and were familiar with each other we all did not know each other well enough. One the first week we were all very much alert of the duties we had. However on the first week we all started to get to know each other and according to Tuckman’s Theory on stages of team development we were at the ‘forming’ stage. We were all trying to make a good impression to the staff and showing we knew what we were doing. At the start I was quite lenient with other pupils especially the younger kids who I saw jump the queue to the canteen and did not take action.
After a little while the situation was not improving as much and kids were staring to sneak into lines through the back doors and were leaving litter behind after eating making the canteen look like a mess by the time lunch was over and the school canteen dinner ladies who had to clean at the end were complaining. At this point then, we were at the ‘storming’ stage of team development as conflicts had risen and it was quite de-motivating as we had to clean up after the pupils left. Two of the members of our group actually opted out and did not want to take the responsibility anymore and they thought it was hard work and were not prepared to loose their lunch hour to supervise. This put pressure on us as we were now short of helpers.
We thought of having a group meeting with the senior member of staff who was in charge of us and discuss the issues. We all thought of splitting the group and getting organised. For example having 1 person at the corridors, having another near the queue to make sure there were no pushing and shoving. Another at the entrance of the canteen, who let pupils in a group at a time. One near the food where the tills were so no one would steal and the rest scattered around the canteen to make sure pupils picked up their rubbish on the way out. I think that our team worked successfully during this period because we acted as one team splitting the group up and giving different roles which made it efficient for us. At this point we were at the ‘Norming’ stage of team development.
Once we started to get more organised this made it a lot easier for us and as soon as lunchtime would start we all would go straight to the lunch hall and do our duty. As we got stricter with our duty, no one misbehaved infact younger pupils had fear for us. The dinner ladies were very pleased with our effort and passed on the good word to our senior member of staff. We all were comfortable with each other and resolved any problems without conflict. At this point, we had reached the ‘Performing’ stage of team development as we were at our most productive.
When it came to the end of the year, we felt we achieved a lot and became much apart of the school as we devoted out lunch break to help and we enjoyed it. The last stage of Tuckman’s theory is the ‘mourning’ stage and we did not want to leave because we had gone so far and were successful in working as a team.
Review of my first assignment for people and organisation
The people in my group were me, Grace, Aminah and Ruth for the People and Organisations group assignment. We decided to research on the organisational culture of Body shop and Marks and Spencer. Overall I felt we did not achieve the best mark for the assignment infact I was quite disappointed with the end result. The reason for this is because we did not work entirely as a team. Instead we split up the work into 4 sections between us four and did the research separately and then put all the work together at the end without relating and analysing the theories and explaining them. The overall piece of assignment was supposed to flow and the theories should have all linked in but it looked like 4 separate pieces of work.
According to the model by Tuckman it identifies the five main stages of group development (Mullins, 2007). Our group did not develop through all the stages of the theory therefore that’s the reason why we were not quite successful in working as a team. The first 2 stages ‘forming’ and ‘storming’ were the stages we got up to but stopped there and did not progress. We advanced through the ‘Forming’ stage by being friendly to each other and making a joint decision on the topic we were going to do our assignment on. We split the research we had to do into 4 sections and we all agreed to research the part we had without any disagreements.
During the ‘storming’ stage of development there were many difficulties as we did not manage to meet up after lectures to discuss the work we had done so far. We just did the work ourselves at home and did not do the work as a team. There were times when I needed help because I got stuck with a certain part. We managed confronting each other to talk about the assignment but one member was not there so we were not completely clear with the task. Also with the time of the assignment deadline was getting close, this made it difficult and de-motivating at times. But we managed to complete the assignment on time, so we were successful going through the storming stage.
We did not reach the ‘Norming’ stage of development as we did not establish set systems and procedures on how we were going to tackle the assignment. Even though I felt that we confronted issues regarding the assignment, I don't think we developed our skills as a team as we should have planned it out more carefully. I think this stopped us from achieving a higher grade for our assignment, as the analysis of the theories and the conclusion was the major part that carried forward the most marks which we lacked on as we didn't study the content to a high level.
As we did not pass the Norming stage we could not move onto the ‘Performing’ stage of development. I think we didn't progress through the Performing stage because I felt we never got organised in the first place and left it quite late to improve on the content which effected our overall success of this assignment. I think that we would have passed all five stages if we all met up regularly and discuss how to put the whole piece together for improvement.
Times Top 100 Companies
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/
Using the link above to the Times top 100 companies to work for Beaverbrooks the jewellery retailer is ranked as number one on Times Online Best 100 Companies. (Times online, 2009) Team work has been a major factor that has contributed to the success to this company. One of the aspects that contribute to effective teamwork is the low labour turnover rate of only 17%. This shows the commitment existing employees have and that they would not leave the workplace. Employees that work for Beaverbrook are trained that focuses on developing every aspect of the employee. This adds a huge achievement on their self-development and creates an interest with the company making them more motivated towards their job and increases productivity. 82% of employees feel a strong sense of family in their teams which brings them closer as a team as they are caring and feel and sense of belonging with one another.
Another company where teamwork has been identified as a major factor to their success is Microsoft. From the survey it is believed that People love working for the company (81% positive). This shows how happy employees are within their workplace and team and if they have an interest in the job they are going to have a positive effect toward the business. Employees say colleagues go out of their way to help each other (80%). This mainly due to teamwork where staff support and care for each other. Employees at Microsoft are the first to use the technology before it is launched. They find the work “stimulating” and believe they are apart of the valuable success of the company. This makes the working environment fun so the employees enjoy working there They have regular team meetings and team celebrations which keep the staff feel they are belonged within the business. This overall motivates staff to work harder and therefore team working at Microsoft clearly contributes to the success of the business. (Times online, 2009)
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I have found this topic really interesting as I have realised how important team work is within a business and what effective teams consist of. By just interacting and discussing issues can help resolve conflicts within individuals and make the workplace a pleasant environment. There can be many downsides of working as a team rather than working individually as you have to listen to other members of your group which can lead to disagreements but according to Belbin’s theory of teamwork , the individual roles within the team help put the group together and make working in teams a success.
Reference:
Mullins, L. (2007) Groups, Teams and leadership, Eighth edition, Chapter 8, pg 310
Times online (2009) Beaverbrooks the jewellers [online]. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article5701536.ece [Accessed 25 January 2010]
Times online Microsoft [online]. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article5703546.ece [Accessed 25 January 2010]
An example of a time when I worked in a team and was successful was in year 11 where I was apart of the lunchtime supervisor scheme. During lunchtime our school canteen was always jam-packed with the school pupils from all years waiting to get into the canteen and purchase their lunch. It wasn’t very much organised. So senior members of staff decided to have lunchtime supervisors during lunchtime period to help manage and deal with the situation. I had to apply for the job like all other students and even have an interview with the head teacher and luckily enough I was one of the pupils selected out of 10 to get this position. We had been told from the start we had to work as a team; even though we all in the same year and were familiar with each other we all did not know each other well enough. One the first week we were all very much alert of the duties we had. However on the first week we all started to get to know each other and according to Tuckman’s Theory on stages of team development we were at the ‘forming’ stage. We were all trying to make a good impression to the staff and showing we knew what we were doing. At the start I was quite lenient with other pupils especially the younger kids who I saw jump the queue to the canteen and did not take action.
After a little while the situation was not improving as much and kids were staring to sneak into lines through the back doors and were leaving litter behind after eating making the canteen look like a mess by the time lunch was over and the school canteen dinner ladies who had to clean at the end were complaining. At this point then, we were at the ‘storming’ stage of team development as conflicts had risen and it was quite de-motivating as we had to clean up after the pupils left. Two of the members of our group actually opted out and did not want to take the responsibility anymore and they thought it was hard work and were not prepared to loose their lunch hour to supervise. This put pressure on us as we were now short of helpers.
We thought of having a group meeting with the senior member of staff who was in charge of us and discuss the issues. We all thought of splitting the group and getting organised. For example having 1 person at the corridors, having another near the queue to make sure there were no pushing and shoving. Another at the entrance of the canteen, who let pupils in a group at a time. One near the food where the tills were so no one would steal and the rest scattered around the canteen to make sure pupils picked up their rubbish on the way out. I think that our team worked successfully during this period because we acted as one team splitting the group up and giving different roles which made it efficient for us. At this point we were at the ‘Norming’ stage of team development.
Once we started to get more organised this made it a lot easier for us and as soon as lunchtime would start we all would go straight to the lunch hall and do our duty. As we got stricter with our duty, no one misbehaved infact younger pupils had fear for us. The dinner ladies were very pleased with our effort and passed on the good word to our senior member of staff. We all were comfortable with each other and resolved any problems without conflict. At this point, we had reached the ‘Performing’ stage of team development as we were at our most productive.
When it came to the end of the year, we felt we achieved a lot and became much apart of the school as we devoted out lunch break to help and we enjoyed it. The last stage of Tuckman’s theory is the ‘mourning’ stage and we did not want to leave because we had gone so far and were successful in working as a team.
Review of my first assignment for people and organisation
The people in my group were me, Grace, Aminah and Ruth for the People and Organisations group assignment. We decided to research on the organisational culture of Body shop and Marks and Spencer. Overall I felt we did not achieve the best mark for the assignment infact I was quite disappointed with the end result. The reason for this is because we did not work entirely as a team. Instead we split up the work into 4 sections between us four and did the research separately and then put all the work together at the end without relating and analysing the theories and explaining them. The overall piece of assignment was supposed to flow and the theories should have all linked in but it looked like 4 separate pieces of work.
According to the model by Tuckman it identifies the five main stages of group development (Mullins, 2007). Our group did not develop through all the stages of the theory therefore that’s the reason why we were not quite successful in working as a team. The first 2 stages ‘forming’ and ‘storming’ were the stages we got up to but stopped there and did not progress. We advanced through the ‘Forming’ stage by being friendly to each other and making a joint decision on the topic we were going to do our assignment on. We split the research we had to do into 4 sections and we all agreed to research the part we had without any disagreements.
During the ‘storming’ stage of development there were many difficulties as we did not manage to meet up after lectures to discuss the work we had done so far. We just did the work ourselves at home and did not do the work as a team. There were times when I needed help because I got stuck with a certain part. We managed confronting each other to talk about the assignment but one member was not there so we were not completely clear with the task. Also with the time of the assignment deadline was getting close, this made it difficult and de-motivating at times. But we managed to complete the assignment on time, so we were successful going through the storming stage.
We did not reach the ‘Norming’ stage of development as we did not establish set systems and procedures on how we were going to tackle the assignment. Even though I felt that we confronted issues regarding the assignment, I don't think we developed our skills as a team as we should have planned it out more carefully. I think this stopped us from achieving a higher grade for our assignment, as the analysis of the theories and the conclusion was the major part that carried forward the most marks which we lacked on as we didn't study the content to a high level.
As we did not pass the Norming stage we could not move onto the ‘Performing’ stage of development. I think we didn't progress through the Performing stage because I felt we never got organised in the first place and left it quite late to improve on the content which effected our overall success of this assignment. I think that we would have passed all five stages if we all met up regularly and discuss how to put the whole piece together for improvement.
Times Top 100 Companies
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/
Using the link above to the Times top 100 companies to work for Beaverbrooks the jewellery retailer is ranked as number one on Times Online Best 100 Companies. (Times online, 2009) Team work has been a major factor that has contributed to the success to this company. One of the aspects that contribute to effective teamwork is the low labour turnover rate of only 17%. This shows the commitment existing employees have and that they would not leave the workplace. Employees that work for Beaverbrook are trained that focuses on developing every aspect of the employee. This adds a huge achievement on their self-development and creates an interest with the company making them more motivated towards their job and increases productivity. 82% of employees feel a strong sense of family in their teams which brings them closer as a team as they are caring and feel and sense of belonging with one another.
Another company where teamwork has been identified as a major factor to their success is Microsoft. From the survey it is believed that People love working for the company (81% positive). This shows how happy employees are within their workplace and team and if they have an interest in the job they are going to have a positive effect toward the business. Employees say colleagues go out of their way to help each other (80%). This mainly due to teamwork where staff support and care for each other. Employees at Microsoft are the first to use the technology before it is launched. They find the work “stimulating” and believe they are apart of the valuable success of the company. This makes the working environment fun so the employees enjoy working there They have regular team meetings and team celebrations which keep the staff feel they are belonged within the business. This overall motivates staff to work harder and therefore team working at Microsoft clearly contributes to the success of the business. (Times online, 2009)
Conclusion:
In conclusion, I have found this topic really interesting as I have realised how important team work is within a business and what effective teams consist of. By just interacting and discussing issues can help resolve conflicts within individuals and make the workplace a pleasant environment. There can be many downsides of working as a team rather than working individually as you have to listen to other members of your group which can lead to disagreements but according to Belbin’s theory of teamwork , the individual roles within the team help put the group together and make working in teams a success.
Reference:
Mullins, L. (2007) Groups, Teams and leadership, Eighth edition, Chapter 8, pg 310
Times online (2009) Beaverbrooks the jewellers [online]. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article5701536.ece [Accessed 25 January 2010]
Times online Microsoft [online]. Available from: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article5703546.ece [Accessed 25 January 2010]
Good reflections on the teams you have worked with, linking back to Tuckman's theory
ReplyDelete