Abstract This paper reviews Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which help in the understanding of team dynamics.The paper then discusses her experience with the managing individual performance simulation and relates that, in the first run of the simulation, she focused on matching individual profiles to tasks based on the skills each task required, but did not consider her own Myers-Briggs profile and how her decision-making process would impact the group. During the second run of the simulation, the writer instead focused on individual motivations and needs instead of her own inclinations in motivating each team member. The writer concludes that, from these simulations, the success of a team is dependent upon the team leader's ability to motivate each member of a team to complete the assigned tasks to the individual's best ability.
Table of Contents:
Abstract
The Impact of Personality on Motivation and Team Interaction
The Simulation
From the Paper "Daniel's love of cars and competition suggested to me that he was still working to fulfill his need for ego and status, Maslow's fourth level in the hierarchy of needs. In retrospect, John's propensity towards tasks as opposed to people should have prevented me from assigning him as supervisor of confrontation sessions. However, it was his reputation as a taskmaster and his enthusiasm for teaching others that convinced me he provide an effective balance in this position. These characteristics would also likely place him in the social hierarchy of needs."
Abstract Have you ever had a problem that you could not solve? Maybe if you presented the problem to a team this would help. This paper examines the advantages of building a team, team members responsibilities, and the expectation of the team. It shows how important it is to ensure that the team for any specific task is comprised of members who are knowledgeable and possess the required skills needed to carry out the task.
I - Team Building
II - Is a Team Needed?
III - The Benefits of Organization
IV - Selecting Team Players
V - Team Expectations
VI - Problems with Teams
From the Paper "Striving to meet organizational goals enables a team to reach their goals. Performance of a team in any organization is largely dependent on its members, their visions and goals, their individual performance, their willingness to work with each other and their desire to make the project a success. This is sometimes referred to as a group process and can be defined in teams to three maintenance behaviors - open communication, supportiveness, and conflict (Bottom & Baloff, 1994)."
Abstract The concept of the work team has grown in its application in the past decade. This discussion analyzes the use of work teams at Texas Instruments (TI). All TI employees receive team training to prepare them for work as team members. However, teams are only developed when they are the most appropriate solution to the problem-at-hand. Most importantly, TI is committed to self-directed work teams not simply work teams.
Abstract This paper considers training and development for a virtual team concept for a beer company expanding operations in Italy and Germany, noting how the team concept has become more common in recent years. It looks at how it has been used with problem-solving teams, cross-functional planning teams, sales teams, technology integration teams, with teams serving to improve coordination and cooperation, empower people, direct creativity and innovation and cut costs.
From the Paper "The move by this beer company to expand operations in Italy and Germany will follow the virtual team concept and requires particular emphasis on training and development, especially with reference to the creation of virtual teams. Italy and Germany are selected for their particularly advanced status as countries with strong brewing culture and so with an already-trained workforce for this sort of expansion. Longenecker and Neubert (2000) note how the use of teams has become more common in recent years and has been seen with problem-solving teams, cross-functional planning teams, sales teams, technology integration teams, and so on. Teams serve to improve coordination and cooperation, empower people, direct creativity and innovation, and cut costs. "
Abstract This paper reviews what it means to be part of a group or a team in a business environment and how the individuals in the group or team work together, as well as how that group or team functions and coordinates with other groups and/or teams within the business as a whole. This paper discusses the necessary actions when building a team that will function well collectively, and with other teams in the organization.
From the Paper "In business, it is not enough to have a group, or even groups, of employees. To have a successful organization, it is necessary for those groups to operate as part of the whole. These groups must work toward the same goal, both with the group members they are assembled with, and also with the other groups within the organization. This paper is intended to discuss the process of building a team that will function well both internally and externally, with other teams in the organization. Groups and Teams Defined What is the difference between a group and a team? Both words are used to describe a collection of people, after all. According to Dictionary.com, the word "group" is defined as "an assemblage of persons or objects gathered or located together; an aggregation," of which may or may not be related to each other in some way (2005a)."
Abstract This paper focuses on the trend of team projects in the business environment. The author examines the belief that employees working as a team enhances problem solving and performance. The paper describes a team environment.
From the Paper "Sanjib Chowdhur, Megan Endres and Thomas W. Lanis in "Journal of Managerial Issues" suggest that teams are becoming increasingly common as the preferred method of managing business operations and resolving business problems in modern organizations. As a result, managers must learn techniques to lead teams and to accommodate the special needs of employees working in a team environment. The philosophy behind a team approach involves the belief that performance and problem solving are enhanced when employees in a group take ownership of an ..."
Tags: management, team building, teams, high performance teams, cultural diversity
Abstract This paper examines how the membership and involvement of groups is a primary element in almost every aspect of life, both positively and negatively influencing individuals. It looks at how individuals come together to form groups for a variety of reasons, both personal and professional and how these groups include the formation and function of sports teams. It focuses on groups and their relationship with amateur sports teams. First, the sports team as an effective group is discussed, followed by team leadership development and a discussion on team morale.
This paper discusses team learning, through studying the book "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building A Learning Organization", by Peter Senge.
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses Peter Senge's book "The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building A Learning Organization". The writer notes that this is an excellent guide for building a learning organization in one's workplace. The writer is currently working in the project management department at Caterpillar, a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines and believes that this book has many ideas that could contribute to the growth of this organization. This paper focuses on team learning, as it is an area from which the writer believes that the project management team could greatly benefit. The writer concludes that team learning involves the promotion of team skills and development so that the team's collaborative ability is greater than the sum of the individuals' talents.
From the Paper "People working in a learning organization typically have many benefits that people in other fields may not have. They usually are fully engaged in their work and share a vision with their team members. In a learning organization, goals are usually clear and the work is usually satisfying. In this type of environment, team members are usually willing to learn new things and have a commitment to doing their jobs well.
While learning is a natural process, the process of learning is very complex. Learning incorporates three activities: thinking, communicating and cooperating. When our capacities to think, communicate and cooperate are improved upon, so is our ability to learn. In this light, a learning organization is one that enhances and promotes these activities for its employees and the organization as a whole. "
Abstract Arguably, the development and evolution of the team paradigm in the modern workforce is the greatest management development in the last fifty years. The paper shows that the team paradigm has literally meant that businesses no longer treat individual workers as cogs in a larger machine or even relegate workers to secondary status behind expensive machinery and new technology. Instead, the team paradigm has proven to be most effective at not only motivating the human side of any business, but also in helping businesses in all fields maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly complex economic climate.
Abstract This paper discusses how to effectively and efficiently manage teams from creation to deployment. According to this paper, the purpose of assembling a team is to accomplish bigger goals than any that would be possible for the individual working alone. The aim and purpose of a team is to perform, get results and achieve victory in the workplace and marketplace. The very best managers are those who can gather together a group of individuals and mold them into a team.
From the Paper "In the contemporary business environment the concept of using teams rather than individual expertise has become a popular management strategy. When creating teams, it is important for managers to try to match the right learning personality with the most appropriate work and implement initiatives that will encourage team members to stay focused and increase proficiency. It is also imperative for managers to provide team members with clear direction towards a specific goal. Building the most efficient team is not an easy task. Managers must identify and utilize top key characteristics that best suit the needs of the organization (i.e. style flexing)."
Abstract The paper contends that perhaps one of the most important aspects of team management is being aware of what factors are involved in facilitating the overall effectiveness of a team. This is a process that begins prior to beginning the selection process for team members. The paper notes factors that lead to successful team outcomes: clear goals, appropriate leadership, organizational support, suitable tasks and accountability.
From the Paper "These are all measures that can be taken and decided prior to considering the composition of a team. These factors are important to not only have in mind but to have completely accounted for prior to selecting team members, because they actually prevent and/or solve many common issues that arise during a project involving teams and team work."
Abstract This is a brief paper which discusses the importance of team-building in order to develop the perfect winning dream team. Areas covered include criteria for team-building and development, methods of effective leadership which tie into coaching and how coaches and leaders in the business world parallel each other in building effective dream teams within their respective business or sports organizations.
From the Paper "Dream teams are the stuff legends are made of. While most people think of dream teams in view of sports, big business boasts the creation of dream teams (Dwyer, 2004) as well. Effective team building skills for a coach are very similar to those of business leadership. Whether on the field or in the boardroom, one star cannot win a game; they can certainly help score the winning run, but one person cannot play all positions. As such, effective team-building efforts are critical. According to a study performed on U.S. Olympic teams from the Atlanta Summer Games several years ago (Goughnour & Pares, 2006) those teams that failed to perform had considerable areas of weakness including "team cohesion, experience, confidence, commitment and focus." Payne (as cited by Goughnour & Pares, 2006) states that in effective teams, each member works together to ensure the success of the whole."
A look why a technology support team should be comprised of individuals who not only are technically capable and knowledgeable but also have the personalities capable of supporting a team effort.
Abstract The paper presents a discussion about what it takes to build an effective technology support team. The paper explores the personality issues that can arise and how they impact on the relationships within the technical staff, as well as outside of the technical staff.
Outline:
Introduction
Who They Are
Outside of the Team Conclusion
From the Paper "Members who dominate discussions are a common problem in teams today. Sometimes personalities are overbearing and there are one or two team members who try to speak the entire time the team is meeting. This not only creates resentment among other team members, but it also can cause the team to miss out on valuable suggestions and insights from team members who are not a dominating during the team meetings(Personality and the Team. While putting together a successful technology support team it is important to find team members who are willing to speak up and voice their opinions but are also willing to sit back and allow other team members to voice their thoughts as well."
Tags: balance, of, strengths, personality, right, brain, activity, team
Abstract Self-managed teams make all the decisions themselves and help succeed their organization. Chevron is one such example where self-managed teams operate. This paper discusses why the Chevron experience has been successful supporting it with outside sources.
Abstract The paper describes the pros and cons of making decisions in a team context. It argues that culture of corporation must support employee empowerment and autonomy and non-authoritarian leadership and innovation in order that the team decision making to be effective.
Tags: work, teams, decision, making, Vroom-Yetton, model
