TEAMWORK The teamwork is usually defined as the process of working together in a group to achieve a common goal. These days working in groups is inevitable. Whether it is a school assignment or working in a clinical settings, we have to work in groups to accomplish a task. We cannot expect to work in isolation all the times. (Stonehouse, 2011) As far as our team is concerned, they worked in an organised manner to accomplish the task within the deadline. All the team members were well aware of their individual roles and their team’s role. As our team was multi-cultural, some arguments were already expected. GROUP STAGES Our group composed of six students which was made in the first week itself, with few additions and subtractions in next week. By second week our group was formed and proceeded to second stage known as Storming (Tuckman, 1965), where topic of the presentation was unanimously decided and each member was handed their topics in which they were supposed to do their research. Some of the members were happy with their topics while few were left with no options and finally agreed. In the third week, group reached Norming stage (Tuckman, 1965) and by considering everyone’s availability from classes and job commitments, every Wednesday’s were decided to meet for the team meetings. Besides, a group was created on ‘whatsapp’ (a smartphone application) known as ‘Healthcare assignment group’ for quick interactions and to update members about any changes to group meetings. It definitely proved an important application for completion of our team’s project. Then due to arguments regarding meetings and content of the presentation, the need for a group leader was felt who will make a final decision. Consequently, team member M nomi... ... middle of paper ... ...ap benefits for themselves and others. As described by Scarniti (2001, p.5) team work allows ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results. REFERNCES Tuckman, B. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-399. Belbin, R.M. (2010). Team Roles At Work. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Scarnati, J. T. (2001). Cooperative learning: make groupwork work. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 67(Fall), 71-82. Stonehouse, D. (2011). Teamwork, support workers and conduct at work. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, 5(7), 350-354. Tarricone, P., & Luca, J. (2002). Successful teamwork: A case study. (pp. 640-646). Milperra: Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia, Inc. DOI: www.herdsa.org.au Tuckman, B. (1965). Development sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-399.
In the "performing" stage, teams are functioning at a very high level. The focus is on reaching the goal as a group. The team members have gotten to know each other, trust each other and rely on each other. Not every team makes it to this level of team growth; some teams stop at Stage 3:
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a team as: “a number of persons associated together in work or activity,” or “a group of people who work together.” In the current information age more companies are relying on teams to solve challenging tasks and to reach more difficult goals. Since a team of professionals with varying expertise can produce solutions that an individual working alone would likely struggle with, it is no wonder teamwork is becoming increasingly valuable to companies across all industries.
During the norming stage, team members began to resolve the tensions and difficulties from the storming stage. The members began to cooperate and work together on a common ground. The group has encouraged open communication which results in increased productivity.
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.
Having now completed my group work task, I can look back and reflect upon the process that my group went thought it get to the presentation end point. Firstly my group had to form (Kottler, Englar-Carlson 2010 p.93). There are many theories on how groups come together and the stages they go though. Tuckman is a commonly used theories due to the simple nature of his five stage theory. Tuckman believes that in order for a group to form they must go through his five stages: forming, storming, norming and performing (Tuckman 1965 p.17). In 1977 along side Jensen Tuckman added mourning to his process.
Larson, C. and LaFasto, F. (1989), Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong. Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Stewart, G., Manz, C., & Sims, H., (1999). Teamwork and Group Dynamics. New York: Wiley. pp. 70- 125.
In David Wright’s “The Myths and Realities of Teamwork,” (Wright, D., 2013), he outlines six myths that are ubiquitous and perpetuated by many people. Here is a short examination of all six.
Works towards mutually beneficial outcomes by ensuring that all the members support each other and achievements are shared throughout the team
Working in teams provides an opportunity for individuals to come together and establish a rapport towards others within a group. Teamwork is classified as people with different strengths and skills who work together to achieve a common goal. When a team works well, specific objectives are fulfilled and satisfied. Teamwork plays a crucial role in implementing and fulfilling a common goal in a team project. Each member plays a role and takes on different responsibilities combined together. In different stages of teamwork, conflicts and arguments may occur for as members have different standpoints which need to be harmonized within the team. The key to having an effective teamwork is to explore each member's unique abilities to motivate them.
A work team will be defined for the purposes of this paper by a definition borrowed from Bateman and Snell (2004). A team is formed of people (usually a small number) with complementary skills who trust one another and are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and a common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Teams generally see themselves and are seen by others as a social entity, which is interdependent because of the tasks performed as members of a group.
After a review of my performance in the assigned group, I have learned a great deal about myself and behavior in the team-setting situation. This is not the first experience in a team-setting. Previous team setting experiences were conducted in sporting and recreational environments rather than academics. While the setting and the environments were indeed different, there were many commonalities and correlations between the team settings I previously experiences and the current academic team-setting experience for this academic course project.
Many businesses place an emphasis on the importance of teamwork. A good team consists of people with different skills, abilities and characters. A successful team is able to blend these differences together to enable the organisation to achieve its desired objectives.
It causes them to think, plan and make decisions according to the team. In the past teamwork culture has taken a backseat. However with changing times, organizations understood the importance of nurturing and promoting the culture of teamwork (p.1). In order to promote teamwork, management leaders need to clearly communicate to everyone that the expectation of exceptional work is not just an individual level but at a team level and collaboration is expected out of every team (p.2). Teams that are demonstrating teamwork should be recognized. According to Conway (n.d) “ set expectations that bonuses, rewards, or compensation will vary depending on the collaborative practices adopted and followed by each team along with the individual achievements and contribution as a team member (p.2). Management should also share the outstanding achievements with other teams and organizations, so that people feel encouraged to participate and nature the team work culture
The work community has several members, it is vital that these individuals act as a group, so that the common goal was achieved. This section describes the team, the team's importance, team building and why before-mentioned issues are important. This section also takes place through the cases and at the end of the self-evaluation.