Question 1: If your organization were contemplating using a team-based approach to increase productivity and reduce cost, what training issues would the organization be likely to face? How could the organization address these issues?
Using a Team-Based Approach to Increase Productivity and Reduce Cost
A team is a group of individuals who are considered a social entity, whether it be through an organization or community, that perform tasks together that affect others, whether it be customers, colleagues, family members, etc. (Werner, 2022). A team-based approach, also known as team training or team building, is an approach used by many organizations in order to unify individuals of the organization together, to find efficient ways to live by an organization’s values, to meet goals and outputs, and to make efforts to reach organizational results (Werner, 2022). Utilizing a team-based approach builds trust, responsibility, and togetherness within an organization to create an effective team overall. Research shows that organizations who have used a team-based approach have had success doing so in forming and reforming relationships with coworkers (Werner, 2022). The Bible incorporates a verse emphasizing the importance of teamwork, stating: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up…” (Christian Standard Bible, 2017, Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). This response will cover effective team building, the task skills and process skills that go into a team-based approach, potential issues that organizations could face when utilizing a team-based approach, and how to overcome those issues.
Effective Team Building
Most team building initiatives are led by a facilitator. The main role of the facilitator is to monitor and guide the team in finding ways to work together efficiently, improve communication amongst one another, and assist in finding effective ways to problem-solve and meet organizational goals. Teams are created strategically, in order to meet specific organizational goals. For example, if an organization has a specific goal that they would like to meet, they may gather a group of specific employees that harbor the same abilities and skills in order to meet those goals. Other conditions that organizations may form teams strategically is if there is a specific project at hand that needs a variety of perspectives. In this case, an organization may gather different employees that possess different skills, abilities, and ideas, in order to successfully complete the project (Werner, 2022). There are two team-related skills when it comes to effective team building, those being tasks skills and process skills.
Task Skills
Task skills are skills needed in order to accomplish the work assigned to the group. Employees that were designated to this group will acquire the needed skills, however, the team training will ensure that those employees can apply those skills and abilities in a group setting. The Bible states: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Christian Standard Bible, 2017, Proverbs 27:17). With that being said, being able to apply those skills in a group setting is important, as the interactions amongst team members can heavily influence others of the team. It is also possible, in this situation, that the employees of this group may undergo training in order to obtain skills that other members of the group have, in order to better work together as a team (Werner, 2022).
Process Skills
Process skills are important when it comes to a team-based approach because it focuses on specifically how employees are working together as a team, and what is needed to maintain the relationships amongst the employees to continue providing efficient teamwork. According to researchers, the most important process skills are those related to communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution (Werner, 2022).
Issues that Organizations Face When It Comes to a Team-Based Approach
While there are positives to a team-based approach, such as collaboration, open communication, and teamwork– there are also issues that have the potential to arise when it comes to a team-based approach.
Competitive Mania
One potential issue is competitive mania, which is when individuals of a team feel like they are in competition with their team members, rather than in kahoots working together (Dovleac&Ionică, 2021). This is because, when others are working side-by-side with other members of an organization, it is common that individuals will start comparing themselves to their team members as far as knowledge, skills, behaviors, and performance. If individuals of a team see other members of the team getting recognition and awarded for their good work, it could potentially cause the other team members to feel belittled, not appreciated, and not respected as part of the team (Pai et al., 2022). Alongside, competitiveness within the team can cause work efficiency to deteriorate.
Another issue that could arise when utilizing a team-based approach is the workload being distributed fairly amongst the group, and each group member carrying their weight, resulting in aimlessness (Dovleac&Ionică, 2021). This can become an issue, negatively impacting the teams’ ability to meet deadlines, achieve goals, and properly work together, causing lack of communication amongst the team members. This can also pose as an issue when certain team members are doing more work than others within the team, however, everyone on the team gets the same reward, recognition, and credit.
The last issue is the different work and learning styles and personalities that can arise amongst team members. While this can be beneficial to share ideas, when it comes to working together, it can cause issues as individuals process, perceive, and apply information (Scortan, 2021). When different working styles and personalities do not collaborate well together, the quality of the communication skills and the effectiveness of work can be found at a halt. According to researcher Hermann, individuals are attracted to other individuals and activities that allow them to use their preferred learning and working style. Hermann argues that, by working with similar individuals in a learning environment congruent with one’s work style, the performance of the work being done will be stronger (Scortan, 2021).
How Organizations Can Overcome Issues When Utilizing a Team-Based Approach
Organizations can overcome competitiveness when utilizing a team-based approach by encouraging and congratulating all employees of a team when the team meets goals or is successful (Dovleac&Ionică, 2021). It is important that the organization does not point out flaws or belittle specific coworkers of a team, and do not allow others of the team to belittle their colleagues. If this were to occur, the organization must address and stop the behavior once it is first noticed. Another way in which the organization can overcome this issue is by focusing on any issues within the team, and addressing it with the team as a whole, rather than singling out any particular team member. If there is an issue that must be addressed with a specific member of the team, the organization must identify the issue, and address the issue in private (Dovleac&Ionică, 2021). This allows all members of the team to be treated as equals in regard to the success as well as losses of the team.
When overcoming unfair workload distribution or specific members of the team not carrying their weight with their designated tasks, there are a number of tasks that the organization itself must complete, in order to properly overcome this issue. First, it is important that the organization delegates specific tasks to each employee, based on their skills and abilities. This must be clearly communicated to each employee before the start-up of a team (Dovleac&Ionică, 2021). This is beneficial, as it sets the expectations for each employee and allows them the chance to address any questions, if necessary. It could also be beneficial for the organization to assign a team lead. The team lead would have the authority to overlook each member of the team and check in to make sure that each member is carrying their weight and meeting deadlines. Lastly, implementing end-of-the-week review meetings would be especially beneficial to ensure that each team member is on the right track in meeting the organizational goals set in place for the team. These reviews would give the team members and those within the organization a chance to see where the team is currently at, where they need to be and when they need to be there, go over any goals and targets, and address any questions (Dovleac&Ionică, 2021).
In order for organizations to overcome the issue of different work and learning styles and personalities, organizations should first conduct an assessment or questionnaire to determine each employee’s work and learning style. Researcher, David Kolb, created a widely used model, identifying four different types of learners. He also created a questionnaire to determine which learning style individuals fall under. The questionnaire positions individuals under either the concrete/abstract dimension or the active/reflective dimension (Scortan, 2021). Once determining the dimension that one falls under based upon the answers on the questionnaire, that is when the organization can determine which type of learner the employee is – the divergent which is concrete-reflective using imagination and emotional intelligence, the convergent which is abstract-active by applying ideas, the accommodator which is concrete-active by using facts and action, and the assimilator which is abstract-reflective by focusing on concepts and theories (Scortan, 2021). It may be beneficial for organizations to first determine the type of learner and worker each employee is, in order to group them with similar individuals to ensure effective work and communication.
Conclusion
Using a team-based approach has been proved, through research, to be beneficial within organizations over the years by allowing colleagues to work together and collaborate, as well as form ongoing relationships. It allows individuals of a team to share different ideas with another, and incorporate those ideas into their work to meet deadlines and reach organizational goals. While team-based approaches have been proven successful, there are also issues that organizations can face when using a team-based approach (Werner, 2022). Organizations must be prepared to reflect on any issues that they may face, and find ways to overcome these issues in order to create effective teamwork.
References
Christian Standard Bible. (2017). Christian Standard Bible Online. https://read.csbible.comLinks to an external site. (Original work published 1999)
Dovleac, R., &Ionică, A. (2021). Can team building be a game changer for startups? MATEC Web of Conferences, 343, 5005. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202134305005Links to an external site.
Pai, C., Wang, Y., Shang, Y., & Hsu, T. (2022). A study on multimedia integrated pre-service education to learning behavior and competitiveness in workplace of employees in hospitality. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 817960-817960. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.817.960Links to an external site.
Scortan, D. (2021) Using students’ different learning styles to enhance classroom interaction. Revista De StiintePolitice, (72), 142.
Werner, J. M. (2022). Human Resource Development: Talent Development (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.
