Teamworking

Team working is a major part of any business and if not done correctly can cause
major problems for a business.

One successful team I have been a part of was my year 13 senior prefect team. This team work extremely well with each other and there were rarely any disputes within the group. One reason that the group worked so well together was because we all wanted to be there and take an active role in the running of our school, another reason why we worked so well together was because we were all highly motivated and wanted to succeed and achieve something good for the school while advancing our own skills and ambitions.

Tuckman’s theory

Tuckman looked at five main stages of group development
1. Forming – This is when the group first forms together, members of the group are likely to be nervous as the hierarchal structure of the group is figured out as each member of the group tries to assert their personality for different roles.

2. Storming – Members of the group are more comfortable and know each other better allowing the group to be more open, conflict can arise as each member tries to put forward their ideas.

3. Norming – Conflict in this stage of thee cycle is reduced as a general work behaviour is established within the group and each member will develop a effective way to work as a team, co-operate and agree standards of performance.

4. Performing – Once at this stage the group will be able to work as an effective team and have a well built structure and understanding, allowing the group to focus on their end goal.

5. Adjourning – Lastly this stage refers to the separation of the group due to completion or moving onto other tasks, this can result in some members feel a sense
of loss.

Did this related to our first piece of group work?

When carrying out our first assignment for people and organisation Tuckman’s theory could be easily identified in our group, the first stage could be seen as this as the we were still relatively new to university and had not done any group work people within the group were nervous, shy and reluctant to talk s it was the first time talking to each other. But as the assignment went on and a relationship was formed between the group members it became easier to talk and through ideas around the group. The group that I was a part of for the first assignment did follow the 5 stages and still carries on to in other group work we have done

Teamwork, how it can make you so successful

The first company that has had huge amounts of success due to their emphasis on teamwork is housing business Luminus. “Employees feel a strong sense of family in their teams”. (The times newspaper Ltd 2010) Luminus has become so successful due mainly to their staff loyalty, as staff are treated well they are motivated to give more back to the business. Staff work harder and are willing to partake in extra activities that can help the business.

Another business that has done well due to its focus on teamwork is Lush, by giving their employees benefits and discounts based on their hard work and how well they perform as a team. Resulting in the business having a very close relationship with its staff allowing easy communication, and high product turnover as staff are more motivated to work hard and sell more products.

Conclusion

Therefore it can be seen that teamwork is essential to a business and for a business to perform at their maximum capacity they need to make sure that their staff understand the importance of team work and are happy in their working teams

Reference

The Times Newspaper Ltd (2010) Top 100 companies. [online]http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/career_and_jobs/best_100_companies/article7030218.ece [Accessed 30 April 2010]