Effective Teamwork

Nitish Srivastava Vivekanand Gond Anil Chandrakar Toppo Pratyaksha Tripathi Sonali Ghosh Chandra Prakash Rohit Seksaria Md.Hasnain

INTRODUCTION
A team comprises a group of people working together to

achieve a common purpose or goal. A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximise his/her strengths and minimise his/her weaknesses. Fostering teamwork is a top priority for many leaders. The benefits are clear: increased productivity, improved customer service, more flexible systems, employee empowerment

7 components of effective teamwork:1. Commitment

2. Contribution 3. Communication 4. Cooperation 5. Conflict management 6. Change management 7. Connections

The Science of Team Effectiveness

(Michelle Marks, George Mason University)

Teams are ubiquitous-In areas from innovative product design to drug development to international negotiation has come from team efforts. The first half of the article of author tells us about the characteristics of effective teams. We learn that the best teams are able to leverage the knowledge and expertise of their members, are cohesive and confident, allocate their resources appropriately, and coordinate their collective actions well. The worst teams do not have a collective mindset that incorporates their strategic imperative.

Con.
The second half of the manuscript responds to the question: So if we know what types of teamwork processes are important for teams, how can we leverage them to promote effectiveness? The author describe research findings related to team leadership, training, and design interventions that tell us when each is valuable and for what purposes. we understand that teams that have ability to learn from their experiences will perform better, but we dont yet know how to create teams that are primed for learning. Similarly, there is research that links team emotions and mood to team performance, but we need to know much more about the factors that determine team affect.

THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF TEAMS: AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL OF NATIONAL CULTURE, WORK TEAM CHARACTERISTICS, AND TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
(JASMINE TATA, Management Department, Loyola University Chicago)

This paper develops an integrative model of the relationships between national culture, work team characteristics, and team effectiveness. National culture This paper focuses on five cultural dimensions that can be connected to work team characteristics: Uncertainty Avoidance Power distance Orientation toward Time Individualism-Collectivism Masculinity-Femininity

WORK TEAM CHARACTERISTICS Team Composition Team Structure Team Interdependence Team Process.

 This article tells how group work can create powerful learning experiences for students. From understanding course content to developing problem solving, teamwork and communication skills, group work is an effective teaching strategy whose lessons may endure well beyond the end of a course. Group Quizzes: More Positive Outcomes Pairing vs. Small Groups: A Model for Analytical Collaboration Leaders with Incentives: Groups That Performed Better Dealing with Students Who Hate Working in Groups Group Work That Inspires Cooperation and Competition Better Understanding the Group Exam Experience Use the Power of Groups to Help You Teach Feedback Forms for Peer Assessment in Groups Using Collaborative Groups to Teach Literature and Theory Small Group Discussion Tasks

Effective Group Work Strategies for the College Classroom.

Effective Teamwork
(by Eclipse Research Consultants.)

Construction is a collaborative activity. But simply bringing people together does not necessarily ensure they will function effectively as a team.as variety of problems arise. This guide suggests ways in which construction teams can ensure they harness the collective energy of all their members. and it applies to teams formed within organizations and those formed across two or more organizations.

 The self-assessment matrix used by teams to identify the strength and weaknesses of their approach consists of 6 elements Team identity Shared vision and team objectives Communication Collaboration and participation Issue negotiation and resolution Reflection and self-assessment. Good practice guidance on each of these elements is provided. The aim is to help teams make progress against each of the elements.

The author has defined teams as groups of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose and hold themselves mutually accountable for its achievement. Effective teamwork results from - good leadership ,Commitment, development of team goals- a shared vision, sense of common ownership, and co-ordinated effort . So-called dissatisfaction can occur when a team is lulled into a false sense of satisfaction and loses its critical edge. Team members can waste time and energy in disputes and some members may opt out of the process 'social loafing' leaving others to do all the work. This can occur particularly when people feel they are dispensable.

COOPERATION AND TEAMWORK CONCEPTS IN ANCIENT INDIA (M.R.Subramanya Sastry)

Author talks about teamwork with respect to Indian culture & Indian mythology. From Urban to rural area, Irrespective of the place, when the religious functions & festivals are conducted, setting aside their state, language, caste and all such differences, people gather there, share the workload and work for total success. This is a specialty of Indian culture. In Indian mythology Hanuman located the place where Sita was hidden. The army of monkeys which marched towards Lanka had to cross an endless deep sea where they built the setubandhan (bridge) to reach lanka. Rama is searching for Sita he meets Sugreeva.

 Rama killed Vali and crowned his brother Sugreeva as king of Kishkinda. Sugreeva formed teams of the monkeys with effective leaders and sent them in all the four directions. It is very difficult to say when this sacred thought of cooperation and teamwork faded away. Generally speaking, according to author, at some point of time, in the society the insecurity feeling and selfish thoughts of people gained upper hand and gradually they might have lost. If everyone participate and encourage it ,the prosperity and success are bound to materialize. This is the permanent truth.

THE MAGIC OF TEAM WORK

(Sam Pitroda -CEO of WORLD TEL.)

The key problem in India is always implementation, not lack of policies. Indians lack team spirit and co-operation. "crab" mentality - if someone is trying to climb higher and achieve more, the others just drag him down. This article deals with handling these problems. Next the author mentions about his visit to an executive seminar for Rockwell International, where about 25 senior company executives had congregated for a week for strategic discussion. Hierarchy comes naturally to Indian minds.

What Derails a Team? Being a good team player implies respect for others, tolerance of different points of view and willingness to give. The ability to resolve conflicts without either egotism or sycophancy is a very important aspect of being a team player. Constructive criticism is not accepted. The fundamental Issues are respect for others, openness, honesty, communication, willingness to disagree, resolution of conflict, and recognition that the larger goal of the team as a whole rumps Individual or personal agendas.

The Ten Characteristics of Effective Team Members

The following ten characteristics of high performance teams deal with both team members and team leaders. Committed to Goals Express Interest in Others Confronting Conflicts Listening Empathetically Including Others in Decisions Value Differences Contributing Idea Freely Provides Feedback Celebrates Accomplishments Building Trust

Teamwork: Components of an Effective Teamwork

(Randy Slechta, President of Leadership Management Inc.)

positive effects of productive teamwork can energize an entire organization, just as the negative effects of a lack of teamwork can cripple an organization. attracting and keeping the right team members. Positive Corporate Culture for recruiting long-term effective team members, the corporate culture of organization must be positive, open, and invigorating. Give Recognition . Team members will search out recognition failing to which employees will eventually resort to seeking out negative recognition. Outstanding performance ,Continued performance & Improved performance should be recognized.

 Positive Feedback -Without feedback, ones team members are unable to measure their results. A lack of feedback creates confusion, missed expectations, and disappointment Provide New Opportunities . In order to keep the most effective team members, one must provide new opportunities and challenges. . The alternative is boredom and eventual mediocrity of ones team members. Lastly the author states that by creating an organizational environment rich in creativity, openness, and energy, one can expect to attract and keep vital team members that are a major part of the Keys to Ones Future.

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS :THE SUCCESS MANTRA

A TEAM can be conceptualized as a formal association of two or more people to attain a specific goal by complementing skills and supplementing shortcoming. To make this endeavor a success members must attain non-aligned unbiased mindset that anyone can learn from anybody. The concepts and practices of individuality, rigid, org. hierarchy, concentration of power at points, etc. has become obsolete. In actual practice, teams comprise of propel from diverse background wherein by utilizing each others skills they can increase the effectiveness of the group. CASESThe cross functional teams in Kodak have enhanced the work process and operational flow in the companys trans-border organizational structure. This has proved to be an edge over its competitors. Harley Davidson inc are not only known worldwide for heavy duty motorcycles, but also contains, motorcycles riding appeals, accessories and collectibles. Cross functional teams were successfully engaged to design and manufacture these new products. Cross-functionality of the teams helps in improvising through three waysLearning about self Learning about the organization learning about other specialism

Team Work training for improving performanceNuclear Power Plant Case

In NPPs construction, operations and maintenance are extremely critical functions for high performance; performance is emerging as a key issue in the nuclear industry. In an intervention to improve performance management and prevent errors, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India, jointly with a team of consultants, developed a customized team building programme for its nuclear power plants and construction power projects. The following were found to be the key characteristics of an effective team as identified by NPCIL in structured brainstorming sessions: Anticipation: Members anticipated problems in sensitive situations Communication: All status information, likely changes and instructions were clear Use of Resources: All available procedures, tools, and resource persons were utilized Error Prevention: Team members detected and prevented others from making errors Cooperation: Members supported other members to achieve common goals Leadership: Members influenced others to do the right things.

Key to off shoring is co-ordination and teamwork

Western companies often decide to source work from abroad , which are routine, standardized and easy to learn- software applications, call centers. Based on the study of 130 offshore operations in India, it was found that its not the ease with which knowledge can be transferred from one location to another but the key factor is managing teamwork. If companies start focusing on collaboration between workers

separated by culture, geography rather than on assigning only specific

tasks to them, the range of outsourced work can be expanded.

Certain strategic options which can be used to manage co-ordination

between off-shore and on-shore sites are: Black Box- minimizing the ad-hoc basis of interaction between employees.

Easing communication- various channels like e-mail, calling, video

conferencing, allocating travel budgets eases up interaction between different sites.

Common background- shared knowledge needs to be created so that offshore workers can anticipate the actions and decisions without any need for discussion.

How effectively can this business be co-ordinated with other work?

NOT How easily can off-shore be employees taught to do this job?

Spirit Of Teamwork: An Empirical Study

TEAMWORK is "The ability of group of people to cooperate and work effectively together, the possibility of each participant to think and act for the group rather than for self benefit. 3 typical stages in the evolution of any team are: Forming , Storming , Performing stage. Basically the teams can be categorized as follows: Functional Teams Problem solving Teams Cross functional Teams Self-managed Teams Virtual teams Task Teams There is a wide scope of benefit elicited by teamwork like completion of large scale projects, develop solutions, detect flaws, build social connections. Coca Cola Co has developed specialized training process at its Baltimore Syrup Operation Plant. Team action addresses skills like team leadership, members role and responsibilities, group dynamics, problem solving. Team focus seems to be working quite well leading to increased productivity.

Research study on team work: Objectives To study the teamwork practices in organizations To find out the teamwork effectiveness. Sample Consisted of managers working in private and public sector org in and around Delhi.

In all 150 questionnaires were distributed among public sector( BHEL,IOCL, SAIL) ,
private sector (Luxar, Xerox, Kwality-Walls, HCL Info system Ltd etc.) Findings

Teamwork practices- on avg 60% respondents agreed to overall effectiveness of

teamwork practices , followed by 30% who moderately agree. Team effectiveness- 61% respondents agreed to overall team effectiveness , 30% moderately agree for the same.

Principles for effective teamwork

Teamwork despite of being an important element for organizations is languid when in practice , and becomes more of a clich.

There are certain principles which drives the practice of teamwork in organizations.
1. A Single entity with clear goals and responsibility. 2. Willingness to learn from each other 3. Two-way communication among members. 4. Avoiding too much interference. 5. Involvement of members 6. Reward and recognition initiatives.

7. Healthy competition.
Although there are no hard and fast rules guiding team effort but these principles prove to be effective when practiced sincerely .

Principles for Effective Virtual Teamwork

Principle 1: Realign reward structures for virtual teams :find ways to make virtual work consistent with the team members often by routinely evaluating and rewarding performance in virtual teams. Principle 2: Find new ways to focus attention on task:To focus the attention to enable team to establish and maintain a shared understanding about the nature of their task. Principle 3: Design activities that cause people to get to know each other: design explicit activities to promote team building. Principle 4: Agree on standards and terminology:- In any kind of virtual interactions, however, standards and explicit definitions of terms need to be agreed upon throughout the life of a project.

Con.
Principle 5: Leverage anonymity when appropriate:Anonymous discussions tend to elicit more critical analysis of the topic under consideration and reduce politically- based decision making. Principle 6: Be more explicit:-Virtual team members must define their work processes in far more detail. Principle 7: Train teams to self-facilitate:- Ideally, virtual teams can self-facilitate effective work processes independent of outside expertise. Principle 8: Embed collaboration technology into everyday work:- Small computer cameras, desktop messaging, discussion and voting tools, for example, can be made a part of daily work.

 The practice of teamwork in companies are very much required for achieving goal of the companies whether it be short term goal or long term goal. Effective teamwork has a vital impact on productivity. By effective use of teams in industries the competitiveness of the industries can be increased. While discussion on the topic we found that there are lots of good theories but the problem is that theories didnt transform into practice. The key problem in India is also implementation, not lack of policies. It must be realized that individuals have lower self-esteem to begin with and therefore have to be pampered and encouraged a little more because they need it. This makes them feel better and work better. No Substitute for Teamwork. Teamwork is key to corporate and national governance, and to get anything done.

CONCLUSION

Don't be afraid of pressure. Remember that Pressure is what turns a lump of coal into a diamond.

Thank you