In today’s health care organizations, fewer and fewer individuals are working as solo practitioners ; instead, health care is increasingly delivered through teamwork, and teams are a vital component in health care organizations(McConnell,2006). Bauer and Erdogen (2009) define a team as a “cohesive coalition of people working together to achieve mutual goals”. (p.213). According to McConnell (2006) , teams are united by a shared purpose , regardless of the team’s type, composition, degree of performance, or reason for being. In health care organizations, teams are utilized by leaders to address problems and perform tasks. McConnell (2006) states that teams can benefit the organization because they provide greater expertise, enhance morale, improve personnel retention, increase flexibility, and create synergy in the workplace.. An effective team typically develops through several stages. Tuckman and Jensen developed a model for how teams should develop that includes five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (as cited in Martin ,2006 and Fulk, Bell,& Bodie ,2011). In forming, the first stage in team development, team members are introduced to the team’s purpose and goals(Martin, 2006 ; Fulk et al. ,2011). Fulk et al. (2011) explain that members are usually motivated and excited about working together to accomplish the specific goal, but they point out that interactions among team members can be affected by uncertainty about purpose, anxiety, mistrust ,and reluctance to share ideas and opinions. Nevertheless, despite such uncertainties, team members usually avoid conflict and move on to the next stage, storming(Fulk et al.,2011). Unlike the forming stage, the storming stage is marked by conflict (Martin... ... middle of paper ... ...team dynamics “depends largely on how willing team leaders are to share authority, responsibility, information, and resources”(p.119). Hence, it is important that managers are actively involved in the development of teams, address conflicts immediately, and allow team members to participate in the planning, decision making, and problem solving in regards to team goals. Works Cited Bauer. T & Erdrogen .B (2009). Organizational behavior. Nyjack, N.J: Flat World Knowledge Inc. Fulk, H., Bell, R. L., & Bodie, N. (2011). Team management by objectives: Enhancing developing teams' performance. Journal of Management Policy & Practice, 12(3), 17-26. Martin, V. (2006). Leading in teams: Part 2. Nursing Management - UK, 13(2), 32-35 McConnell, C, R. (2006). Umiker management skills for the new health care supervisor (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
McConnell, C, R. (2006). Umiker management skills for the new health care supervisor (4th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers
“The Forming – Norming – Storming – Performing model of team development was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965. This model has become the basis for subsequent models of team dynamics and frequently used management theory to describe the behavior of existing teams (Wikipedia).”
This is where the team comes together and get to know each other and feel each team member out and work on finding each member’s strengths and weaknesses. During forming, the team will begin working on establishing trust and getting over their fear of conflict. Lencioni recommends that the team members spend some time talking about their personal lives to help establish trust. He also suggests taking the Myer-Briggs personality profiles to help facilitate learning each member’s strengths and weaknesses (2002). According to Prytherch, et.al. (2012), when individuals are brought together into a team, it can take a long time for that group to bond cohesively and reach the stage where it is working well. Trust and confidence between team members also takes time. To hasten the process, the new team should first undergo a team-building activity. The goal of team building activities is to promote greater interaction and cohesiveness among employees (Schnall
Developing and improving the team work in my organization is one of my key responsibilities. I work in a military department with about thirty different personnel. Each individual has certain skills, age, rank, and motivation. These attributes can make my department effective or ineffective.
Seven tasks must be included in consideration of team dynamics and structure. The first of which is defining the goal, mission or function of a specific team. The team must know what it is being asked to accomplish. The second area of consideration is assessing what skills, abilities, knowledge or potential to acquire such would be needed amongst selected team members. Identification of potential team members should include an assessment of the skills, knowledge and abilities or the potential to acquire such so that ultimately the team has the building blocks with which to succeed in its mission, goal or function. This assessment must include an understanding of realistic potential contributions by potential team members with the included assessment of whether or not the acquisition of skills and knowledge can be made available through research and analysis.
As the processes and systems used in business have become more complex, teams, not individuals, have become popular in many organizations. Teams are made up of individuals from an organization brought together to solve a problem, improve a process or implement a new process. “A major advantage that a team has over an individual is its diversity of resources and ideas” (Burns, 1995, p. 52). However, this diversity can cause conflict within the team. The success of the team is strongly influenced by the team’s ability to recognize the causes of, manage and resolve conflict.
When first being introduced to a group, it can be quite stressful trying to figure out how you and your team members are going to function together. As with any group, there are a few milestones that need to be reached in order to ensure a functional and successful relationship. Specifically, groups need to go through Tuckman’s Group Development Stages. These stages consist of forming, storming, norming, performing, and in some scenarios, a final stage of adjourning may be reached. After participating in this assignment, we as a group were easily able to identify, and analyze, each stage of our development.
A group can only be called a team if the members are actively working together toward a common goal. A team must have the capability to set goals, make decisions, solve problems, and share responsibilities. For a team to be successful, trust must be earned between its members by being consistent and reliable (Temme & Katzel, 2005). When more than one person is working on a particular task, inconsistent views or opinions commonly arise. People come from different backgrounds and live through different life experiences therefore, even when working towards a common goal, they will not always see eye to eye. Major conflict that is not dealt with can devastate a team or organization (Make Conflict Work, 2008). In some situations, conflict can be more constructive than destructive. Recognizing the difference between conflict that is constructive to the team and conflict that is destructive to the team is important. Trying to prevent the conflict is not always the best way to manage conflict when working within a team setting. Understanding conflict, what causes it, and how to resolve conflict effectively, should consume full concentration.
When we think of the word team, individually many different ideas may come to mind about what a team really is. Some may think of an NFL team (Tennessee Titans), an NBA team (Sacramento Kings), or a NASA astronaut team with such pioneers as Edwin Aldrin, Jr. and Neil Armstrong as members. You might even think of the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, or Marines as teams. In fact they all are, and they have a great deal in common as teams. However, for the purposes of this paper I will examine the characteristics of work teams, as they apply to organizations and I will supply answers to the following questions: What is a team? Where did the team concept come from? What are the types of teams? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having teams in organizations? What does it take to make a team effective?
“Group members express themselves in a multitude a different ways ranging from productive to destructive (Griffith, Dunham, 2015, pg. 47, par. 4).” There are social behaviors that are developed when teams come together. There are four social style classifications, analytic, expressive, driver and amiable. The analytical social style are more precise and clear in whatever direction they need to complete a job (Farrington, 2013). Analytics will always be prepared for a task because the very nature of their behavior is to be astute and calculating. The upside to this social style is that their research or work is usually dependable but they also may not be open to criticism which can stifle progress. Expressive team members are involved heavily with interpersonal interactions (Farrington, 2013). Expressive people need to be and will be heard. The value in the expressive social style is that simply they are fun to be around and can be the cheerleader in the group which is conducive to team building.The down side to the expressive social type is that their interpersonal actions may not be the most focused in a group and therefore they are not usually the most dependable team member. The driver social style are more efficient and goal oriented (Farrington, 2013). A team member who is a driver is more than likely a leader but should not be allowed to supercede the actual team leads authority. Amiable members in a group value personal relationships and try to avoid conflict (Farrington, 2013). An amiable team members is primarily just that, a team member. It is important that team leaders identify which social style that their team members has and conduct business with said members accordingly
The perfect team is often seen as a team that lacks conflict and that enjoys a high level of togetherness. Lack of conflict in itself can only be achieved if the same group individuals do not generate conflicting or different ideas from each other. Turner and Pratkins (2003) in his research found that the current organization is so inclined towards teamwork that it is included as part of the measurements in a worker’s performance record. Team work surprisingly within the organization is defined as the ability to work with others in harmony. In doing so, the organization itself develops a dynamic form of group cohesiveness. Managers are tested on their ability to maintain and provide the organization within groups that work together uniquely, so much so that there is little conflict to be heard from the same group. The question remains therefore, is teamwork in the current organization a form of encouraging group thinking? Aldag and Fuller (1998) believe that this form of teamwork in itself provides a unique censorship of an individual’s thoughts. Individual thoughts which alter and question the thoughts of the majority are often considered grounds of conflict which in turn degrade and decrease the performance of the individual. The organization therefore trains its workers to develop uniformity in place of creativity and alternative thinking patterns. Members who do not immediately conform are considered
At the beginning, characteristics to make health care team effective and how to use them to become an effective team member are to be described. Teamwork is a complex activity, so team members should work collaboratively to achieve a goal. Teamwork is powerfully influenced by the members’ knowledge, skills and attitudes (Nelsey & Brownie 2012, p. 199). Well-functioning teams increase work performance, job satisfaction and productivity, while decrease group conflict and staff absenteeism (Nelsey & Brownie 2012, p. 199). There are certain values to positively impact on health care team. A person who is motivated, creative, empathetic, self-confident, accommodating, knowledgeable, and flexible can become an effective member in that team. There
Teams sometimes take some direct-control away from managers. While many may be fine with this others are most definitely not. The point is that not all managers promote and encourage teamwork.
The stages of team development are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Norming is the first stage that involves team members getting to know each other and trying to figure out where they fit in. As a leader, it is important to provide clear directions and set proper goals and expectations during this stage. Storming is the next stage and as the name suggest it is characterized with struggles, challenges, conflicts, and competition among team members. During this stage, I will provide a mediating role and facilitate conversations that steers the team towards the right
The first stage in developing a team as it relates to group dynamics is forming, this is the stage where team members come together and they question what they are therefore, who else is a part of the team, who they are comfortable with, and this enables them to get involved as well as allowing the team the opportunity to introduce themselves to each other. The second stage is storming, and in this stage the team members begin to voice their opinions and differences as well as align themselves with others who share their same beliefs. This is an important stage for the team because team members will begin to become more involved with one another, and when they voice their concerns, they can feel like they are being represented and understood. The third stage is norming in the stage team members begin to establish a shared common commitment to the purpose of why the team is there, where they can establish their overall goals and how the goals are going to be achieved. In the fourth stage, known as performing, the team works effectively and efficiently to gather towards achieving the goal.