Analyzing the Team Building Phenomenon

Team Development

The following will be answers to questions given in instructions.

Reducing the frequency of official meetings will help the team stay focused on their goal. Don't just schedule meetings because it is what every team does. Just remember: the team's main aim is to keep it collectively engaged in the project at hand. Make sure the team has a very clear focus that interests every member. One way to increase team participation is to give every team member a responsible part to play in the meeting presentation. (Keep Them Interested: How to Increase Participation in Team Meetings, 2014). Making them understand the role each of them has to play in the success of the meeting And establishes the fact that each of the team members has a vested interest in the job. Furthermore, this encourages positive interaction among the members of the team. Even the workers who are likely to participate minimally will start making more contributions. This is aimed at encouraging better interactions that can lead to the expected outcome required for maximum success. Ensure that the director of the center take the discipline chiefs whereas involving two members from each discipline along with their chief as representatives from the different groups.

It is equally important to make provisions for as much chances as possible for the affected team members through this coordination to get involved in the planning of the implementation. Thus, involvement and collaboration of members of staff in the process structure and design becomes a top priority, so is maintaining a balanced task force (Writer Thoughts). Thus, when organizing the task force, ensure that each agency is well represented in the task force with the aim of achieving a perfect balance. A total of 100 individuals will be involved with regards to adequate people representation.

Almost all teams have to make decisions at one or another point. This, however, doesn't imply that every team member will be engaged in every decision, nor does it imply that decisions are made by the team by itself. For explaining it more clearly, the senior management of a hospital may be asked for recommendations on any particular decision by its president, while actual, final decision-making right remains with the president. Likewise, a doctor can take the input of several professionals, whilst personally making final treatment decisions. Team leaders and management can reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings through clarification of team role and individual members' roles in every decision to be made (Burns, et.al). Members of the team can handle limitations imposed upon their influence, so long as clearly-defined boundaries exist. In my opinion, adhering to the above techniques will be the optimal course for the necessary improvements in team management.

The communication and decision-making process is of utmost importance. Naturally, every team endeavors to make the right decisions, through the application of all available facts to the matter in question. One commonly-witnessed issue that dissuades team members from freely sharing information with fellow team members is the "social loafing" or "free rider" issue. Free riders or social loafers are team members who enjoy group membership benefits but do not bear a proportional part of membership costs (Burns, et.al). Such an individual is perceived to give priority to self-interest (personal benefit acquisition) over public interest (or a need to make some contribution to the effort that is generating those benefits). Often, one observes that this "social loafing" effect increases with increase in size of the group. How can management curb free riding? Managers can mold behavior of team members by effectively employing power, organizational design (including organizational unit size), and incentive system control. At the everyday level, such influence can be attained by providing certain team members with special recognition or financial incentives. From a longer-term perspective, it is imperative for team managers to tackle the free riding issue by trying to broaden problem individuals' self-interest notion, through the development, communication, and maintenance of a team culture that considers effort devoted to team processes a contribution to a common, meaningful goal to all team members.