Analyzing the Team Building Phenomenon

¶ … Team Building in the Workplace by Fapohunda Tinuke

Fapohunda, Tinuke

Effective Team Building in the Workplace

The article sets out eight important points identified by various other authors that promote effective team development. The eight points are decision making authority; clear goals; accountability and responsibility; training and development; effective leadership; provision of resources; organizational support; and rewarding team success.

The paper evaluates team development in organizations by exploring key issues linked to application of teamwork, and studies the projections and difficulties in team building in order to offer a realistic notion, regarding what is achievable through teamwork. Two primary skills in team building process exist. The first entails understanding the issues properly, while the second deals with tackling the issues appropriately, in a proper order and way. Usually, team building is made up of various forms defined by nature and the size of the team. For example, in circumstances where a team is constantly changing, the focus shifts to developing skills in people to ensure they are effective members of the team, since it is devoted to changing the skills and capabilities of people operating in a team or in multiple teams. Nevertheless, in cases where being a member of a team is pretty static, such as management teams, the focus changes to efforts directed at refining relations between members of a team. One important focus of team building involves changing the behaviours as well as attitudes prevailing in an organization that seem to be independent of the individuals working there. Owing to tasks usually being collective, naturally, the results of discussions in teamwork are negotiation and compromise. Although no members may receive all their wishes, the results always imply best thoughts as well as priorities in every group member. Teamwork seems to be quite efficient because its outcomes allow every member to feel that their perception is adequately accounted for and represented (Fapohunda, 2013).

Review and Evaluation

The author is a professor at Lagos State University, skilled in survey research, team building, research design and total quality management. Although the paper seems to lack a clear methodology, it appears to follow systematic literature review. Systematic literature reviews are usually acknowledged as the 'gold standard' for synthesising evidence since meta-analysis offers strong ways of analysing datasets. The author uses evidence and its interpretation in leading the reader toward a similar conclusion. The author builds a logical argument. For instance, the paper lists requirements for developing effective teams such as (i) adequate number of team members, (ii) adequate degree of corresponding skills, (iii) meaningful purpose, (iii) explicit goal or goals, (iv) an acknowledged approach for the team's work, (v) a feeling of mutual responsibility, and (vi) properly defined leadership structure (Fapohunda, 2013).

However, over a span of decades, Dyer and Dyer (2013) show that four factors must be understood in order for a team to attain superior performance. Dyer and Dyer (2013) refer to the four factors as the four Cs:

1. Context of the team

2. Composition of the team

3. Competency of the team

4. Change management skills of the team

The author was successful in presenting his point. For instance, he shows that effective team work requires time, selection of team members, authorization of team members, training offer in pertinent skills and knowledge, creating shared goals, and promoting team functionality --especially in early phases of the team's functioning. Usually, effective teams are designed carefully. Assembling a team demands consideration of the general dynamics within the team. The paper acknowledges that various authors came up with means of creating effective teams. Although no best way for designing, developing and supporting effective teams exists, the paper recaps the main components in developing effective teams such as:

i. Clarity of Expectations and Objectives

ii. Perspective

iv. Capability v. Contract

vi. Resources vii. Power viii. Cooperation ix. Communication

x. Creative Improvement

xi. Responsibility and Accountability xii. Harmonization and xiii. Cultural Change (Fapohunda, 2013)

Conclusion

I agree with the author with regards to the applications and assistance offered to teams within an organization that require considerable change and deliberation of various issues. The scope and depth of the paper shows that team building is a protracted process that presents many challenges. I learned that there are many benefits of effective team building since teams do not have plans of reverting to past structures. I would recommend the paper to a colleague because the article shows that in spite of the challenges facing team building, an effective team offers several benefits to an organization (Fapohunda, 2013).

Application

Several trends in the future will challenge enterprises as they attempt to ensure that teams are more effective:

The absence of teamwork skills within tomorrow's workforce

One main challenge facing future leaders in organizations will entail finding employees who have the skills to work efficiently within a team setting. Usually, they depend on educational institutions to impart potential recruits with the skills required in carrying out their functions. Though, according to Dyer and Dyer (2013), few teachers train learners to be efficient team players.