MG311

Total Quality Management

Team Participation

Name: Kevin Kailash Krishnan

Student ID: S11186309

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Campus: Laucala

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to evaluate team participation at a local company in Fiji. The
evaluation includes the type of team found and the effectiveness of the particular type of
team.

For the successful completion of this research article. Questionnaires were distributed to the
employees of Lovely Kiddy. An interview was also conducted with the manager to get an in-
depth knowledge of the organization as well as to know the company’s history.

The research includes the background and history of Lovely Kiddy, the types of teams and
the type of team implemented by the company. This research article also discusses the
benefits and costs of applying this type of team.

Lastly this article will conclude its findings and recommend on how they minimize the costs
and maximize the costs of the team implemented by the company.

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1.0 Introduction

“Great things are not done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” (Jobs,
2003). This a quote by Steve Jobs that shows the importance of a team participation in
organizations. A team is defined as a group of individuals who work together and
cooperate with each other to share responsibility and workload (James R. Evans, 2020).
Having a good team can build a company to great heights and a bad team can put a
company down. Steve Jobs constantly emphasized on the importance of teamwork which
has brought the company to great heights making it one leading companies in m\the
smartphone and computer industry.

1.1 Overview of the organization

Mr. James Chong is a retired army veteran from Singapore. He is the youngest sibling out
of the 8. The family has a family business known as Rowell Home entertainment in
Singapore. Mr. Chong Decided to build a business in Fiji. Mr. Chong as in various
businesses which included a pastries business and a sound system business then moving
from movies and gaming systems which known as Rowell Home entertainment. Due to
fierce competition Mr. Chong was forced to change his strategy. This meant a focusing on
a new market in which a new company was born known as Lovely Kiddy.

Lovely Kiddy is a small retail store situated in Damodar City in Suva, Fiji. The company
Deals with sale of kids and baby products like clothes, shoes, toys and many more. The
company was founded in 2013 and is owned by Mr. James Chong and Mr. Sheena Chong.
The company consists of 10 employees which includes 7 sales staff, 2 office
administration staff and 1 manager.

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 Research Objective

The objectives of this research assignment are:

 To collect information on Lovely Kiddy (history and background)
 Identify the types of teams used by organizations.
 Identify the type of team structure used by Lovely Kiddy
 List and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the team structure
implemented by Lovely Kiddy.

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 Literature Review
Teamwork is an important part for the success of any workplace. Even in team sports like
rugby, soccer and basketball requires the cooperation of all the team members to win a game.
Each member in a team has a role to play for the success of the team whether its on the field
or in an organizational setting. In today’s job market one of the most important skills
employers look for in an employee is the ability to work in a team (US Department of
Labour, n.d.).

There are certain attributes that can lead to success in a team. These attributes are:

 Commitment to the team’s success and goals

 Interpersonal skills
 Interdependence
 Positive feedback and open communication
 Commitment to the leadership, team process and accountability.

An experiment was conducted which heavily focused on problem solving and

teamwork. One team as successful in the development of the product whereas the
other team faced severe problems. One of the reasons for the failure of the second
team included lack of communication and lack of participation (Pina T, 2002).

Teamwork is regarded as more effective compared to other work forms which is

working independently. Not only do individuals improve effectiveness in a team but
they also improve the overall structure of the team (Ashley M. Khawama, n.d.).

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 Methodology
Two types of research as conducted for the successful completion of this research article. The
methods used in the research are:

Primary method

To gain more information on the team structure of Lovel Kiddy an interview was conducted
with the owner and manager. Questionnaires were also distributed to the employees of
Lovely Kiddy (excluding the manager). There was a total of 10 staff members who handed
out the questionnaires which comprised of 7 females and 3 males. A total of 5 days as given
to the employees to complete questionnaires.

Secondary method

This method relied on the use of the internet and the prescribed course textbook to conduct
research on team structures to gain knowledge and better understand the topic. The
information used for the success of this research was extracted from legitimate sources like
scholar articles.

Limitations

Due to the size of the company the sample size was limited. The research conducted is
limited to one particular company.

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 Analysis of results
Team participation is an important part of Lovely Kiddy. The manager believes that team
work has been an integral part of the success of the organization. The type of team that best
describes this organization is natural team. Working as a team makes it easier to achieve
organization goals as workload is shared.

The natural work team has certain objectives one of which includes enhancing the knowledge
and skills of each member. For example, in Lovely Kiddy employees are regularly trained in
terms of the products and prices. They are also trained to improve certain skills especially
their communication skills.

According to the manager the company prefers hiring individuals that work well with team.
There have been cases where employees had been fired just because they were a threat to the
team as whole which would have affected their performance. The company also prefers to
employ with various ethnic groups to promote diversity. This also provides an advantage to
the employees working in a team to communicate and understand those ethnic groups.

Advantages of natural work teams

Natural work teams have many advantages one of which includes the ability to make work
easier and increase productivity. For example, in Lovely Kiddy each department is put in
teams to make it easier to manage customers in each department. It also makes it easier for
the employees to do stock take in each department thus improving productivity.

Furthermore, natural work teams enhance thinking ability where employees are able to come
with different ideas. For example, if products are to be rearranged in the shop, then
employees get together and bring about ideas on how rearrangement can occur. This brings
and multiple ideas the best is put on the table.

Lastly, the natural work team promotes a good healthy environment which gives the
employees the motivation to work. This boosts staff morale as well improves the productivity
of each employee thus benefitting the organization as a whole.

Disadvantage of natural work teams

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One of the problems that can arise is conflict. Since there are multiple members in a team
there are different ideas which means those ideas could clash which could lead to a conflict
which could bring disharmony in the team.

Furthermore, there can be a sought of resentment or jealousy between employees in a team

especially when one employee feels his/her contributions are not recognized by the employer
in comparison to another employee who gets some sought of recognition. This can cause
division among employees which would affect productivity and if not resolved in time could
affect the company.

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 Discussion of results
This section will discuss the results made from questionnaires distributed to the staff of
Lovely Kiddy. The sample size includes 10 employees which consists of 7 females and 3
males.

Figure 1.0 illustrates the effectiveness of team participation from a scale of 1 to 10.

Team participation effectiveness (1-10

100%

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This pie chart shows that all employees agree that team participation is effective in a scale of
10. This shows that the strategies used by the company is effective.

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Figure 1.2

Team meetings
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frequently sometimes rarely never

Employees

This graph illustrates on how often team meetings are conducted. 7 employees ticked on
frequently whereas 2 employees ticked that meetings are conducted sometimes. One
employee ticked that meetings are conducted rarely. One of the reasons why employees
ticked sometimes and rarely could be because those employees are absent when those
meetings are conducted or they could be new employees who haven’t had attended much
meetings since the start of their employment.

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Figure 1.3

Sales

100%

Yes No

This pie chart illustrates the number of respondents that agree that benefits of team
participation outweigh the costs. This means that all 10 respondents agree that there are
benefits and that strategies implanted for the are successful. This also shows that the
relationship between team members is fruitful.

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Figure 1.4

Conflicts in a team
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0
very often not often rarely not at all

Employees

This graph illustrates the number of respondents of how often conflict arises in a team. Six
employees ticked that conflicts do not happen often in the team whereas two respondents
ticked that conflict does not happen rarely and the remaining two respondents ticked that
conflict is nonexistent. The reason why the 4 respondents ticked rarely and not at all could
because they are new employees or because they did not have much conflicts or no conflicts
during their time.

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 Limitations

The limitations that affected this research are:

 Some questions were not answered in the questionnaire. Incomplete questionnaires

made it difficult to reach a conclusion.
 Sample size is limited as data is based on a single company with a small number of
employees.
 Delay in questionnaires received by the staff had a little effect on the research.

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 Recommendations
o As a manager avoid favoritism if one employee does a good job ensure to
recognize their efforts to avoid conflict or jealousy within the team.
o Invest in team building exercises to improve communication and relationship
between employees.
o Ensure meetings held by manager or supervisor is productive and employees
gain something.
o Allow flexibility in the team. This will allow them to grow and become even
more productive.

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 Conclusion

To conclude, teamwork is an essential part of every organization and is

recommended to gain the most benefits. The implementation of teams brings a
positive workplace environment and promotes strong working relationships
which will improve productivity thus improving results. However, teams must
be managed wisely. Assigning inappropriate tasks and resources in a team can
lead to the failure of the team. It important that managers learn the strength
and weaknesses of their team members and act on it to avoid problems.

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 Appendix
1) How would you rate the effectiveness of team participation on a scale of 1 to 10?

2) How often does conflicts arise when working in a team?

very often not often rarely Not at all

3) Do the benefits of team participation outweigh the costs?

yes no

4) do you believe that working as a team boosts morale and productivity?

yes no

5) How often are team meetings conducted?

very often not often rarely Not at all

6) If you had a choice to work alone rather than working in a team. Would you take that
chance?
yes no

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References
Ashley M. Khawama, T. D. B. S. H., n.d. Effectiveness of teamwork in the workplace. International
Journal of Science.

James R. Evans, W. M. L., 2020. Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence. 11 ed. Boston:
Cengage.

Jobs, S., 2003. [Interview] 2003.

Pina T, J. L., 2002. Successful teamwork: A case study.

US Department of Labour, n.d. teamwork, s.l.: s.n.

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