Kalinga Keshari Samal

10RDM-19
TEAMWORK IS MORE ADVOCATED THAN BEING PRACTICED
IN ORGANIZATIONS
INTRODUCTION
The sum of the efforts undertaken by each team member for the achievement of the teams
objective is called team work. In other words, team work is the backbone of any team. Every
member in a team has to perform and contribute in his best possible way to achieve a common
predefined goal. Individual performances do not count in a team and it is the collective
performance of the team workers which matters the most.
Let us go through a real life situation. One cannot work alone in any organization and thus teams
are formed where individuals work together for a common objective. Peter, Michael, Jackson and
Sandra represented the legal team in a leading organization. Peter and Michael always took the
initiative and performed their level best while Jackson and Sandra had a laidback attitude towards
work. Their team could never meet their targets in spite of Peter and Michaels hard work. Peter
and Michael worked hard, then why do you think their team fell short of targets?
In a team; everyone has to work equally for the maximum output. Team work is actually the
collective effort of each and every team member to achieve their assigned goal. No member can
afford to sit back and expect the other member to perform on his behalf. The team members must
be committed towards their team as well as their organization to avoid conflicts. Nothing
productive comes out of unnecessary conflict and in turn diverts the concentration and focus of
the team members. Every member should adopt an adjusting and a flexible attitude. One should
consider his team members as a part of his extended family all working together towards a common
goal. The team members must be dependent on each other for the best to come out.
The study on working in team and its benefit was first conducted in 1920s by Elton Mayo and his
team which is known as Hawthorne studies. This study shows some of the essential elements that
are important in team effectiveness. The discussions of the Hawthorne group of researchers
indicate a few critical factors contributing to team development. The study brought about
awareness that social and psychological factors influenced productivity more strongly than
physical working conditions. This study brought on the idea that awareness in an organizations are
made up of people who continuously interact with each other, either formally or informally. It is
these very interactions that ultimately facilitate or impede the accomplishment of organizational
goals.

STATUS OF TEAMWORK IN ORGANIZATIONS

Teamwork is relied upon everywhere to streamline process, enhance participation, and improve
performance. A good teamwork in an organizations yield good result while a bad teamwork results
into bad result. We have case study of an organization named The Morning Star Company which
is an example of good teamwork with better performance and better result. Morning Star is a
tomato processing company based in California, with revenues of $700 million and over 400
employees. This company is unique of its kind. What makes it remarkable is that it has no bosses,
titles or promotions. Then the question comes that how it manages? Here, this company adopts the
concept of Self-management among its employees. Anybody can spend the companys money;
job responsibilities are negotiated among peers and compensation is peer-based. With this kind of
radical approach to management, Morning Star claims it has had double-digit growth in revenues
and profits; the industry rate is 1%. This company claims to be the most efficient tomato processor
in the world.
One reason firms exist is that markets cannot coordinate amongst the sort of complex activities
that are required in, say, a manufacturing operation. Within a firm, the coordination happens
through a hierarchical structure. Those at the higher levels of the hierarchy direct and monitor the
ones below. Morning Star defies this assumption.
The idea is not entirely novel. In the mid-1960s, Peter Drucker had propounded the idea of the
modern organization of knowledge workers (distinct from manual workers) in which it would be
necessary to reduce the levels of hierarchy. Drucker argued that people with highly developed
skills or expertise can give their best only through self-motivation, not guidance from above. He
forecast that with the rise of knowledge workers, firms would tend to become flatter. He was
proved right. Morning Stars achievement is that it has been able to abolish hierarchy altogether
and that too in a manufacturing context. How does it all work? Who takes decisions, sets targets
and reviews performance? The answer, it turns out, is: everybody. A key element in Morning Stars
model is what is called the Colleague Letter of Understanding (CLOU). Every employee negotiates
his CLOU with all those affected by his work. This letter sets out what each employee is to
accomplish in a given year. Disputes are settled via discussion, mediation or decision taken by
groups of six people.

PROBLEM FACED WITH TEAMWORK

There are basically four problems that destroy teamwork. As it is said that just as a chain is as
strong as its weakest link, so a team is as strong as its weakest member. A single problem member
will have a dangerous effect on the strength of the entire team.

The first major problem with teamwork is self-centeredness. A team is supposed to function in a
manner taking everyone together. If any individual will start caring about oneself only then that
damages interest of the team together. Selflessness is required to do away with self-centeredness.
If anyone is a selfish teammate then they can solve the problem by focusing on the teams goals
rather than their own.
The second problem with the team is half-heartedness. People exhibiting this problem perhaps do
not believe that the team is accomplishing anything useful or would simply rather be somewhere
else. Either way, their lack of interest will undermine the teams effectiveness and potentially
spread to other members. The solution to this problem is Dedication. People who are passionate
about the goal and who want to be in the team are good for the team. If a person does not want to
be in the team, the best choice might be to let them go and choose a new (dedicated) replacement
member.
The third problem with teamwork is uncooperative. Competition in teamwork destroys the
harmony among team members. Healthy competition is good for an organization but unhealthy
competition destroys ability to work. For example, teammates in the workplace who are competing
for a promotion or raise may be tempted to try to look better than their teammates. This action will
spread distrust, and the team will not be able to accomplish nearly as much as it could have in a
trusting environment. To avoid uncooperative environment, Collaboration is required.
Collaboration exponentially increases teams effectiveness. When team members end the internal
contentions, the team will be prepared to successfully compete with other teams.
The last problem with teamwork is Stubbornness. Some people are reluctant to change and come
out of their comfort-zone. Their refusal to work with new ideas and methods is a major problem.
Team members who refuse to consider new processes and procedures will destroy the cohesiveness
of a team. It can be avoided with Flexibility. The point to be noted here is that the good teammembers are open to ideas and willing to learn.
By conquering these four team destroying problems, we can turn a group of individuals into an
effective team.

REWARD MECHANISM FOR TEAMWORK

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
Performance based bonuses and profit or gain-sharing group incentives were traditionally based
on large work units, such as a whole department. However, these strategies can be applied to
smaller teams where members earn payouts for meeting group goals. This approach can boost
cooperation and productivity and helps teams stay focused on pre-established goals. Goal-sharing
is another financial incentive that rewards continuous improvement toward strategic business unit
goals, encouraging creativity, innovation and judicious risk taking.

RECOGNITION
Both formal and informal recognition reinforce the value of individual members and the team as a
whole. Public recognition can occur at a formal department or organization-wide event and be
commemorated with a plaque or posted on the company Web site or public bulletin board. It could
also take the form of a sincere thank you from upper leadership. Recognition can also come from
a team leader giving one-on-one positive feedback or highlighting team players in a group email
or meeting.

TEAM BUILDING
Group retreats before the project begins can help set a tone of collaboration and trust, while an
out-of-office activity can re-energize a team and boost morale. Work team celebrations like a
thank-you lunch can mark smaller achievements during the course of a project. Offering prizes for
team accomplishments or top contributors can also help maintain productivity and keep employees
engaged. Providing tools like technology upgrades, increased access to on-site resources,
additional staffing or financial resources, or expanded decision-making authority are other ways
to reward a team and increase their efficiency.

A GOOD MATCH
The type of team, its specific members and the groups role within the organization also influence
the effectiveness of a reward plan. For example, with management teams that coordinate work,
arent as interdependent and are rated on overall organizational success, a group gain-sharing
reward plan might be most effective. For members of a project team who use their diverse
knowledge and skill sets to work toward a defined goal, pay-for-performance strategies in
conjunction with rewards that maintain morale could yield the best results. For permanent work or
service teams who work closely together, collaboration is a priority, making equality-based
rewards and group recognition essential. Parallel teams whose collective efforts are evident at the
completion of a project also benefit from equality-based rewards that reflect the teams overall
work.

CONFLICTS IN TEAMWORK
Conflict in a team is caused by different factors. It is a natural process which can be positive or
negative. Some conflict is good: it lays issues on the table, which brings more information to deal
with the situation. A positive conflict presents divergent views enriching constructive experiences.
It calls attention to systematic problems: bring diversity of opinions; ideal for brainstorming and
leading the team to think out of the box. Interpersonal conflict is the example of poor teamwork
where conflicting personalities have difficulty in working together. In this case the effectiveness
of the team suffers. It also led to the negative outcomes. In a productive teamwork environment,
roles are well-established and understood by all team members. Examples of poor teamwork often
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stem from situations in which roles overlap or team members fail to recognize their place in the
team environment. Overall, poor teamwork results from a lack of vision and a failure to
communicate goals and expectations. Continual feedback related to individual and team
accomplishments and effectiveness can help prevent poor teamwork and failure in a team
environment. Strong leadership skills and the ability to manage conflict in a positive manner can
help foster a productive team environment and corporate culture.
Thus, from the above observation we can say that teamwork is an essential tool for achieving goals
and objectives for an organization. Everywhere we study that it is good for the organization but
when it comes to practice the situation is not the same. Organizations are increasingly becoming
dynamic and unstable. This evolution has given rise to greater reliance on teams and increased
complexity in terms of team composition, skills required, and degree of risk involved. If there is
shift from this it is obvious for any organization to go into oblivion.

TEAM ROLES POSTULATED BY BELBIN

INTRODUCTION
Ever wondered why some teams just seem to work and others hit the rocks? When things dont
work, it is obvious to all and it often has a profound effect on the people involved, as well as the
project or objective to be achieved. In the 1970s, Dr. Meredith Belbin and his research team at
Henley Management College set about observing teams, with a view to finding out where and how
these differences come about. They wanted to control the dynamics of teams to discover if and
how, problems could be preempted and avoided. Over a period of nine years, international
management teams were studied. Each participant completed a battery of psychometric tests, so
that attributes such as personality and behavior could be brought into play and their effects on the
team could be accurately considered. As the research progressed, the research revealed that the
difference between success and failure for a team was not dependent on factors such as intellect,
but more on behavior. During the extensive experiments, it became clear that teams comprising a
balanced mix of Team Roles outperformed unbalanced teams. The research team began to identify
separate clusters of behavior, each of which formed distinct team contributions or Team Roles.
A Team Role came to be defined as: A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others
in a particular way. It was found that different individuals displayed different Team Roles to
varying degrees.
Subsequent research has also demonstrated that teams consistently outperform individuals when
dealing with high risk- high complex issues where a wide range of complementary is required.
Today, the Belbin Team Role model is used by over 40 percent of the top 100 companies in the
UK, the United Nations, the World Bank and thousands of organizations throughout the world to
enhance individual and team performance. Today the process takes a few minutes by using the
Belbin Inter-place computer system to process the results of the Belbin Self Perception Inventory,
Observer Assessments and Job Assessments.
Below is a brief summary of each of the nine Team Roles:

1. PLANT (PL)
Characteristics
Plants are innovators and inventors and can be highly creative. They provide the source of original
ideas to support innovation. Usually they prefer to operate by themselves at some distance from
other members of the team, using their imagination and often working in an unorthodox way. They
tend to be introverted and react strongly to criticism and praise. Their ideas may often be radical
and may lack practical constraint. They are independent, and usually regarded as being clever as a
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result of their original and radical perspective. They dont always manage to communicate in a
compelling way and offer their ideas in a practical and relevant framework.
Function
The main use of a PL is to challenge conventional and established ways of doing things and provide
suggested solutions for solving complex problems. PLs are often needed in the initial stages of a
project or when a project is failing to progress. PLs have usually made their mark as founders of
companies or as originators of new products. -However, too many PLs in one team or group may
be counter-productive as they tend to spend their time reinforcing their own ideas and engaging
each other in combat.

2. RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR (RI)

Characteristics
Resource Investigators are usually enthusiastic extroverts. They are natural communicators with
people both inside and outside the company. They are natural negotiators and are adept at exploring
new opportunities and developing contacts. Although not a great source of original ideas, the RI
is effective when it comes to picking up other people's ideas and promoting them. As the name
suggests, they are adept at finding out what is available and from whom. They usually receive a
warm reception from others because of their warm outgoing nature. RIs are generally relaxed
people with a strong inquisitive sense and a readiness to see the possibilities in anything new.
However, unless they remain stimulated by others, their enthusiasm can rapidly fade.
Function
RIs are good at exploring and reporting back on ideas, developments or resources outside their
immediate group. They are the natural people to set up external contacts and to carry out any
subsequent negotiations. They have an ability to think on their feet and to probe others for
information.

3. CO-ORDINATOR (CO)
Characteristics
The distinguishing feature of coordinators is their propensity for helping others to work towards
shared goals. Mature, trusting and confident, they delegate readily. In interpersonal relations they
are quick to spot individual talents and to use them in pursuit of group objectives. While COs are
not necessarily the cleverest or most senior member of a team, they are likely to have a broad
outlook and perspective. The natural goal focus of COs can sometimes lead to them manipulating
others to achieve their personal objectives. In some situations COs are inclined to clash with
Shapers due to their contrasting management styles.

Functions
COs are well placed when put in charge of a team of people with diverse skills and personal
characteristics. They perform better in dealing with colleagues of near or equal rank than in
directing junior subordinates. Their motto might well be "consultation with control" and they
usually believe in tackling problems calmly.

4. SHAPER (SH)
Characteristics
Shapers are highly goal and oriented people with great drive and energy. They push themselves
and others and tend to overcome obstacles by sheer determination. They tend to be highly assertive
and have very directive management styles. Shapers also tend to be competitive and like to win.
They frequently progress upward in organizations because they get results and because many
people are impressed by their courageous and decisive leadership style. SHs are not noted for their
interpersonal sensitivities and can be argumentative and even aggressive.
Functions
SHs are generally perceived as ideal managers because they generate action and thrive under
pressure. They come into their own when quick and decisive action is called for to overcome
threats and difficulties or when progress towards goals and objectives is unacceptably slow.

5. MONITOR EVALUATOR (ME)

Characteristics
Monitor Evaluators are serious-minded, prudent individuals with a built-in immunity for being
over-enthusiastic. They are likely to be slow in making decisions preferring to carefully think
things over. Usually they have a high critical thinking ability. They have a good capacity for
shrewd judgments that take all factors into account. A good ME is unlikely to make intuitive and
reckless mistakes. They deal in facts and logic rather than emotion when considering options. They
are often regarded as over-critical and can be seen to be slow and boring.
Functions
MEs are best suited to analyzing problems and evaluating ideas and suggestions.
They are very good at weighing up the pros and cons of options. In a managerial position their
ability to make high quality decisions consistently is likely to make them highly regarded.

6. IMPLEMENTER (IMP)
Characteristics
Implementers are characterized by their practical approach and possess higher than normal levels
of self-control and discipline. They are prepared to work hard to ensure things are done as
prescribed in a systematic way. They are typically loyal to the organization and prescribed and
established ways of doing things. They are likely to be regarded as someone who will not seek
personal agendas and self-interest. On the downside IMPs may be inflexible in accepting new ways
of doing things, particularly if they are radical or impracticable.
Functions
IMPS are valuable in an organization because of their reliability and capacity for application. They
succeed because they are efficient and because they have a sense of what is feasible and relevant.
While many people might stray favoring the tasks they like to do and neglect things they find not
to be to their liking an IMP is more likely to do what needs to be done in a systematic and relentless
way.

7. TEAMWORKER (TW)
Characteristics
Team workers possess a mild and sociable disposition and are generally supportive and concerned
about others. They have a great capacity for flexibility and adapting to different situations and
people. TWs are perceptive, diplomatic and caring and tend to be good listeners. Because of these
qualities it is hardly surprising that they are popular with their colleagues.
Their concern about creating harmony and avoiding conflict can make them indecisive when faced
with having to make difficult solo decisions.
Functions
The TW may be legitimately compared to the lubricating oil in a car engine. We dont always
appreciate how important it is until it isnt there. Because of their ability to be able to resolve
interpersonal problems TWs come into their own when situations are tense and people feel
uncared for and not appreciated. They can rise to senior positions because they have few enemies
and the fact that they are ready to listen to the views and suggestions of others.

8. COMPLETER-FINISHER (CF)
Characteristics
Completer Finishers have a great capacity for the attention to detail. They constantly strive for
perfection and correct errors. CFs are quite introvert and require less external stimulus than most
people. The CF can be trusted to do work to the highest standard and to complete it on time. The
combination of striving for perfection and meeting deadlines often creates anxiety though and CFs
are likely to be reluctant to trust others to do work to their own high standards.
Functions
The Completer Finisher is invaluable where tasks demand close concentration and a high degree
of accuracy. The standards they set make them well suited to situations where precision and high
standards are essential. CFs will also demand the same high standards from people around them
and therefore create their own micro culture where the only standard acceptable is perfection.

9. SPECIALIST (SP)
Characteristics
The Specialist Team Role and the functional title of Specialist is often a cause for confusion. While
it is true that both uses of the term may relate to people who are a source of technical knowledge
and expertise the Specialist in Team Role terms has some very specific attributes. Their main
distinguishing feature is their love of learning. They see learning and the accumulation of
knowledge as the main reason for their existence and their single minded and resolute pursuit of
this end is their main motivation. The SP is likely to be recognized by colleagues as an expert to
turn to for help and guidance. The SP will usually try to avoid being involved in unstructured
meetings and discussions or those of a social nature. They may also be somewhat unyielding when
challenged about the validity of their knowledge or field of expertise.
Functions
While SPs may not be regarded as natural team players teams will be wise to engage the SP as a
means of providing in depth research. As managers, they command respect because of their indepth knowledge and they can be used to mentor others to raise their technical expertise.

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CONCLUSION
Team Roles describe the behavior that we can recognize when we work together with others. Each
team role is actually a strategy in dealing with work and with colleagues. In other words, a favorite
style of cooperation that can be seen by working with others. Team roles are the perfect instrument
to use these different styles to their fullest potential. A team must consist of different roles to
achieve maximum performance. The nine roles are essentially complementary. They complement
and reinforce each other, but they can also contradict and compete with each other. A team role
says a lot about the style of work of a team member and comes from the personality of the
individual.
From the above descriptions it can be seen that each Team Role has its own distinctive cluster of
behavioral characteristics - with potential strengths and allowable weaknesses. There are no good
or bad Team roles but it is important for each person to know their own Team Roles and those of
their colleagues with whom they interact. It is only by making use of complementary and collective
strengths that individuals and teams can achieve their full potential - in short, nobody is perfect,
but a team can be.

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TEAMWORK-PGDRDM
In our PGDRDM course, many a time, we are assigned to group activities in starting from the
induction field visit as well as other field visits and group task in the class. At the very first days,
we were sent to Anantapur district for 6 days for the induction program. Our group was of seven
in number out of which two were international and two are local to Telengana and Andhra Pradesh.
The task was to know the rural area, the people living there, their livelihood etc. As this was the
very first days of the course, the group member were not well known to each other. Also I was
unable to communicate to the people of that area due to language barrier. There I was playing more
as the team worker and the completer-finisher. More of the time I was trying to listen more and
more from the village people and trying to understand their feelings and was matching them after
getting clarified from my local classmates who were designated as the leader of the group. I was
looking over the things how to avoid any disturbing factor within the group.
I was asking for clarifications to my group-mates more particularly and trying to be get the indepth idea about the matter. The result I was trying to find was to be clear and with the effort of
the whole team members, we did a good job. Our group presentation was praised by the evaluator
a lot.

Then after in the last month of first trimester I was assigned with a group of six classmates to
MEDAK district. We stayed there for five full days. This time I was more acting like a monitorevaluator and completer-finisher, trying to get the accurate accomplishment. Our team was highly
successful in developing a quality report, as well as being highly collaborative. Team meetings
were always friendly, and at no stage were team issues discussed as being problematic. The team
always focused on the project and how the process of development could be improved by exploring
expectations of the course teacher. An analysis of the data collected from our team indicated that
we showed the attributes needed for successful teamwork. In almost all of our responses in
interviews, focus group meetings and questionnaires were evident that our team was committed.
My personality combination in Mayers-Briggs type indication is INTJ- Introvert-IntuitionThinking-Judging. I used to analyze things thoroughly before taking any decision

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REFERENCES
http://www.apaexcellence.org/resources/goodcompany/newsletter/article/48
https://vikasvani.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/teamwork-is-more-advocated-than-being-practicedin-organizations/
http://www.managementstudyguide.com/team-work.htm
The Belbin Guide to Succeeding at Work (BELBIN, 200812. ISBN: 978 0955297953)
http://www.werkenmetteamrollen.nl/werken-met-teamrollen/The-9teamroles.asp#.VrD9L9V97IU
http://www.leadershipsolutions.co.nz/belbin.cfm
www.belbin.com

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