The ability for students to work within a team environment has long been a skill set prized by

most marketing educators and practitioners. What has not been altogether clear is how to best
learn such skills. Some educators would argue that along with the “good,” there is truly some
“bad” and “ugly” inherent in the framework many use to teach teamwork. The authors of this
study focus on the use of group projects in the classroom. Results suggest that educators need to
reexamine this issue to ensure that marketing students are developing both discipline-related and
support skills.

Answer each question by entering the number below that best describes your
current team.4 - Absolutely 3 - Mostly True 2- Occasionally 1-Never

1. As a team member I am committed to making changes.

2. I clearly understand the purpose of my team.
3. The team leader has a process for sharing information with all team
members.
4. Our team has the right members to be successful.
5. As a team member I understand how our work affects the larger goals of
our department.
6. Our team is recognized for its accomplishments.
7. Team members openly express their ideas and opinions
8. Team members have a means to see progress toward important objectives.
9. My team members want to be on our team.
10. I want to be on our team.
11. Our team is able to make thoughtful decisions that all team members
support.
12. Our team can have productive meetings without the influence of a team
leader.
13. Our team members trust and respect each other.
14. Team members express disagreements constructively.
15. Team members willingly take on new responsibilities.
16. Team members follow through on decisions and action items.
17. Our team has established a set of ground rules and guidelines for team
performance and behaviors.
18. Team members are encouraged to express different points of view.
19. Our team makes time to evaluate how effective they work as a group.
20. Members of our team are held accountable for their responsibilities and
assignments.
Five work group teams participated in the survey. The teams were selected on
the basis that they had been together for over a year with no change in
leadership or membership,

Team Analysis Questionnaire:

1. Do team members understand what is expected of them?

2. Does the team as a whole understand what the goals and vision of the organization are?

3. Are all team members aware of resources available to them as a team to achieve their
goals?

4. Are individual’s talents and strengths utilized effectively within the team and
individually?

5. Does each team member understand their strengths and value to the organization?

6. Is there an effective feedback process in place to coach for performance?

7. Are there performance targets for team goals to reduce time in goal achievement?

8. Is the team struggling with low employee morale, retention and/or frequent
miscommunication barriers?

9. Is there a policy in place for conflict resolution?

10. Does the team adjust well to the fluent and changing nature of the work place?

11. How are team members encouraged to work for the common good of the organization?
12. How have the indicators of success been evaluated within the organization? Are they
reached frequently?

The Team Effectiveness Questionnairesimply provides people with a

mechanism for exploring and discussing aspects of behaviour, found
to lie at the heart of effective teams. The higher the positive score, the
greater the potential for effectiveness. But more importantly, from a
learning perspective, the more variation in those scores between team
members, the more there is to understand about why perspectives
differ.

The TEQ clusters behavioursinto eight attributes or qualities.

Clarify vision, set targets and boundaries(A). Members of effective

(hi TEQ) teams are clear about what they have to do, where their
individual responsibility lies and how what they do is contributing to
the overall(organisational) picture. They are likely to be led by
someone who is able to clarify roles, give clear direction and create a
sense of purpose. As demands change, roles and boundaries are
reviewed and adjusted. Bothwoods and trees can be seen by
everyone.

Empower and authorise (B). In addition to knowing what to do,

members of effective teams also have the power to do what they need
to do. They are trusted to act professionally and authorised to do so.
Authority and decision-making capability is delegated to the level at
which it is needed. Seeking authorisation from higher up is kept to a
responsible minimum. People outside the team are encouraged to
deal with the appropriate team member, regardless of grade.

Praise and acknowledge(C). People’s specific contributions are

acknowledged and praise is given for both achievements and effort.
Leaders and colleagues understand the importance of acknowledging
particular behaviour rather than offering generic praise. (‘You have
really put some effortinto building a relationship with that
Department...I know it has been hard for you. Thanks’, is far more
effective than, ‘Well done’). People feel valued for who they are and
what they contribute.

Maintain vibrant internal communication (D). Hi TEQ teams know

what to communicate and how best to do it. They do not rely on formal
occasions (reviews, meetings, summit conferences) but get in touch in
whatever way feels appropriate (given the importance and the urgency
of the message). People know what others need to know and actively
pass information around. They prefer face-to-face contact however
short, and will tend not to hide behind e-mails or letters when difficult
or emotionally-charged messages are required. Short, frequent and
informal contact is routine.

Encourage divergence and innovation(E). The effective team is

encouraged to be playful and creative. New ideas are welcomed and
actively sought out, and problems are often seen as opportunities.
Experiments are encouraged. Old systems and procedures are valued
as long as they are still effective, and innovation is not seen as a
threat. People feel able to ask ‘naïve’ questions (‘Why do we still do it
that way?’ or ‘Do we still need to do this?’). At any one time, at least
one person within the team is thinking about ‘how we might do
something better’.

Champion the team externally(F). Effective teams know that others

outside the team hear about their successes. Team members are
openly upbeat about the team and the way it works. There is an
obvious respect for each other, and people outside the team are
aware of it. Leaders are strong advocates of the team externally, and
are seen to demonstrate their confidence and trust. They are effective
at negotiating for the resources theteam needs to do its job effectively.

Share learning and improve (G). Hi TEQ teams are constantly

improving –their skills, their processes and their performance. People
are curious; they experiment (see E above) and are keen to learn.
Time is not wasted on blame or recrimination. (Members are clear
about the difference between organisationally damaging mistakes -for
which there are clear sanctions -and day-to-day errors -which can be
used as a basis for improvement). People share their knowledgeand
skills willingly.

Celebrate and exploit diversity(H). Effective teams seek out

different opinions and perspectives in order to reach more robust or
innovative solutions. Hi TEQ teams will enjoy diversity and not be
afraid of exploring differences. They will have the skills to build
dialogue, confront stale assumptions and achieve mutually respectful
understanding, while still disagreeing. Constructive and creative
disagreement is seen as more productive than the effort to achieve
consensus at any cost.

(1) What exactly defines a work team? A work team is a group of

interdependent individuals who have complementary skills
and are committed to a shared, meaningful purpose and
specific goals.

(2) What are the reasons that organizations seek to use work
teams? In most cases, teams can achieve more than
individuals working on their own (Ray and Bronstein,1995).
They can produce better quality decisions than individuals
working alone (Manz & Sims, 1993) likely due to the fact that
teams bring a wider range of skills and experience to solve a
problem. Furthermore, when a team has been working on a
problem, they have a sense of commitment to the common
solution.

(3) With so many recognizable benefits, why aren’t all

organizations structured in teams?

There are many reasons. One major reason is that not all
tasks are appropriate for team work because they do not
require interdependency (Guzzo, 1986; Wageman, 1995). If a
group of workers does not rely upon each other in order to
accomplish common tasks or goals, it may be difficult to foster
the collaborative spirit that teams need to work effectively. We
can see this same concept in the world of sports. Some
activities are geared for individual contributors (e.g., the 50-
yard dash) and others are centered on teams (e.g., 4x100
meter relay race).
It is more logical to conceive of the relay team collaborating to
accomplish their common goal than a group of sprinters who
are individually competing in a dash.
A second major reason that all organizations are not
structured in work teams is that not all organizations are
properly structured to effectively support the work team
design. In my

10 years of experience in academic and professional

application of work team principles, I have identified a few of
the major structural elements that contribute to a successful
team-based organization as: (a) the recruiting and hiring
process to ensure employees have necessary skills to
collaborate in a team environment; (b) a compensation
system that addresses rewards and recognition from a team
perspective as well as an individual perspective; (c) a learning
and development system that focuses on developing teaming
skills as well as technical skills, and; (d) a leadership
approach that supports and fosters an empowered team
environment. The fact that work teams are often difficult to
implement (Orsburn et al., 1990) because of the effort that
goes into structuring or restructuring organizational systems
accordingly is likely a major reason, as well.
Here is a list of questions that you can use to assess your own team-ability. When you have the
answers, ask yourself: What can we do to have a positive influence on this within your own
team?

 How do we help people understand their roles and responsibilities?

 How do we deal with team motivation?
 How do we make decisions?
 How does our leader function in the team?
 How does our team deal with ambiguity and assumptions?
 How do we create team interaction?
 How do we evaluate our position as a team?
 What happens when we are under time pressure?
 How do we deal with frustration?
 How are we creative as a team within our own working environment?
 How do we deal with rules and processes?
 What do we do when things are not clear?
 How do we give each other constructive feedback?
 How do we deal with (lack of) resources?
 How do we create common understanding and a common vocabulary?
 What do we do with incompetent people?
 How do we encourage people?
 How do we get everyone involved?
 How do we react when things don’t go as planned?
 What happens when we really want to win?
 What do we do when our goals are not achieved?
 How can we be proactive as a team?

Teamwork Questions

 Do you feel you worked well as a team?

 How did you help your team during the activity?
 Did the whole team agree? Did everyone have an input?
 What did a fellow team member do that was really helpful?
 Did anyone in your team surprise you?
 How important was the support of your team? When do we need support from others in
life or the workplace?
 How did you support others in the team?
 Did anyone feel left out? Why?
 What helped you or stopped you from achieving the outcomes?
 Did you trust your team during the activity? Why was this important?
 How did you overcome negativity in the team? Did this affect, how you approached the
activity?
 Looking back, what do feel is the most important element of teamwork?
 How would you rate your teamwork between 1 and 10? 10 being the best value.