Hrm 531 Week 6 Self Managed Team

Part 1:

Conventional leader-focused teams or work units miss out on the leadership potential of their members. Self-managed work teams are higher performing, more self-sufficient, and have more engaged members. Such teams set their own goals, plan and manage their work, and require little or no supervision. Their members are more accountable, better problem solvers, and more flexible. However, building effective self-managed teams requires personal and organizational commitment, considerable effort and time, and a willingness to change. Management must be willing to let go of authority, and team members must learn management skills and accept responsibility for their results. This transition is not easy, but it is possible. Total team cost includes the direct cost of team members salaries, wages, benefits, incentives, and discretionary expenses like travel and supplies and the indirect cost of management and organization overhead. These costs should be organized into a team “checkbook” showing budget, actual, and projected full-year amounts by category.

It is essential that the team determine the cost of both easier and more difficult tasks to get the most accurate picture of team value. This will also reward team members for working on more difficult tasks. Once the value creation model is built the team should review it regularly to see how they compare to other teams, ensure resources are well allocated and identify the team or organizational obstacles to improvement. The model itself should be periodically reviewed for accuracy and