Development of effective teamwork and factors that promote or diminish this process

The process of teamwork development is complex. To start this procedure and achieve high
productivity and effective teamwork of employees in organizations, internal and external factors
should be carefully analyzed and potential risks and negative factors should be predicted and
prevented.
According to Mullins (2007), those factors could be divided into four broad categories:
membership, work environment, organizational factors and group development and maturity.
Membership
It includes four main factors that are size of group, members competency permanence of
membership.

Work environment

The tasks and their nature also determine the success of team
formation and development. Physical settings are constant environmental factors that influence
on the perception and attitude of teams. Communications and technology are being emphasized
more regularly at the present time since they transformed the way of communication and
interaction that team members carry.
Organizational factors
 As mentioned above, management and leadership decide the initial formations and distribution
of roles and thus, it is one of the major determinants of teamworks effectiveness. Managers and
leaders take responsibility of setting HR Policies and procedures. Furthermore, predicting
possible threats and risks of team management are also due to managers everyday objectives.
Group development and maturity
The stages of groups at which they are performing could be various. A group might be at the
stage of forming, storming, norming or performing stage. Mutual acceptance and feeling of
membership, decision making and motivations as well as many other factors contribute to how
effectively groups or teams function and develop.

Technology and its impact on teamwork and performance

Technology has been transforming the lives of humans drastically, impacting on all the fields of
the world and organizations are not the exclusion. Since, communication is the basis of team
work, its methods and speed and the nature of it hugely changed due to technological
progresses.
The comfort and ease of communication have great implications on the groups and teamwork
and their effectiveness. The easier the group members communicate and interact with each
other the more likely that their productivity will rise. Conversely, if the methods of
communication are inefficient, the pace and effectiveness of teamwork will suffer. That suggests
that internal unity and harmony of group works will be negatively affected.
There is a new notion appeared and it is being commonly used which is called virtual
communication which evolved in effect of technological changes. At the present time, the
nature of work involves use of craft or technological devices which all require new skills and
knowledge.
It is being argued if these technological changes and progresses are bringing positive outcomes
or more of drawbacks.
It can be said that technology has made it much easier and faster to exchange information in
teams and groups since for example, a member of a team from America is enabled to have a
link with another member of the team in Europe. This was not feasible in the last century and it
used take so long to deliver information and have a team work internationally. But, thanks to
technological advances, teams from different countries and nations are united globally.
Nevertheless, virtual communication may not be as effective as natural or face-to-face
communication. The feelings and perceptions of people using such methods may not be
affectively influential to the development of their teamwork.

Conclusion

Individual differences are inevitable in any organization. It is seen above that the main
contributor to the diversity are perceptions, attitudes, personality as well as abilities and skills.
 Group dynamics and roles of team members could potentially cause teamwork of groups to
either fail or succeed in their performance and in achieving organizational objectives. This is
also controlled by effective management and leadership approaches.
When it comes to factors that influence on the effectiveness of teamwork are basically
membership, work environment, organizational factors and the group development and maturity.
Virtual communication which is brought about by technology is seen as a new concept and
method of teamwork and interactions of team members.
While taking advantages, such as speed of communication and abolishment of distance barriers
for granted, it would be a responsible attitude to take drawbacks into account as well.
Focusing on Goals

According to Rice University Web Services, a team is driven by a common goal. In order to
have an effective team, that common goal needs to be spelled out in advance and understood
by team members. What helps a team achieve success is focusing on the team goals. Put the
goals in writing so everyone can see and understand what the objectives of the team are and
help to work toward accomplishing them.
Compensation

A team works well when the members understand what they will be compensated for their
efforts. All Business notes it is best to come up with a compensation plan before assembling the
team. When people have their compensation expectations laid out before they sign an
agreement to join the team, compensation can be removed as an obstacle to effective
teamwork. If all team members feel they are being compensated fairly, that can help lead to
maximum productivity.
Communication

Communication in developing an effective team happens on two levels: communication between

team members and communication from management to the team. Encourage open
communication among teammates so they can learn how each other communicates. According
to online business resource Business Town, this means informal communication as well as
professional communication. Encourage interaction between team members outside of the
office to develop better communication. Managers should hold regular meetings to keep a team
updated on important information and to offer training. These are the kinds of tools a team
needs from management and the company to be effective.
Deal With Conflict

Rice University Web Services suggests dealing with conflict within a team as it arises. Conflict
tends to throw a team off of its focus, getting it away from its goals and objectives. By learning
to deal with conflict immediately, a team can remain effective at all times.