Mod 01 Written Assignment - Designs of a Team

profilerengonap

There is no perfect way to design and maintain an effective team. Research Library Sources and find an academic article, news article or book chapter on a successful team design that was used within an organization. In 2 pages answer the following:

  • How was the team created or built?
  • What about the design made the team successful?

-HR Leadership and Teams Folder

 

Reference:

 

Thompson, L. (07/2013). Making the Team, 5th Edition. [Bookshelf Ambassadored]. Retrieved from https://ambassadored.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781323113950/

 

MORE SUPPORT INFO and Sources:

 

Effectiveness

Once you have decided the format and structure of your team, the next step is to compose a plan to ensure team effectiveness. What is team effectiveness? One definition states that team effectiveness is "based on the logic of an input-process-output (I-P-O)" (Kozlowski, S. J., & Ilgen, D. R. 2006), or input into a process will create an output which hopefully results in team effectiveness.

  • Inputs - refer to the composition of the team in terms of the constellation of individual characteristics and resources at multiple levels (individual, team, organization).
  • Processes - refer to activities that team members engage in, combining their resources to resolve (or fail to resolve) task demands. Processes thus mediate the translation of inputs to outcomes.
  • Outputs - the performance judged by relevant others external to the team (Kozlowski, S. J., & Ilgen, D. R. (2006).

Creating, monitoring, and evaluating a team's effectiveness is a major responsibility and will be required for a team to accomplish results. A plan must written to ensure a team has a structure, goals, resources to perform, ability to be open and creative (may require removing some organizational barriers), create an atmosphere where individuals can contribute, and ensure that everyone on the team creates resources that are valuable to the process.

The selection of team members becomes a top priority when looking at team effectiveness. High performing teams have team members that hold five critical knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs).

  1. Conflict resolution (recognize and encourage desirable team conflict, but discourage undesirable ones)
  2. Collaborative problem solving (recognize the obstacles to collaborative group problem solving and implement appropriate corrective actions)
  3. Communication (listen appropriately and use active listening techniques)
  4. Goal setting and performance management (establish specific, challenging, and accepted team goals)
  5. Planning and task coordination (coordinate and synchronize activities, information, and task interdependencies between team members) (Thompson, 2011)

When evaluating potential team members, try writing down specific examples of how they have accomplished each KSAs on a former team or as an individual.

Team Rewards

Creating an effective team should include creating a reward structure for the team and/or individuals. Employees that work for an organization are normally paid a "base pay' that includes an employee's salary or hour wage. Organizations that value team work will use a variable pay structure for a reward process.

  • Incentive Pay - money received by a team and/or individuals on the a team because of increased performance of the organization
  • Recognition - a reward given to a team and/or individual for work completed that meets the organizational goals, a completed project, product development or programs that enhance the organization
  • Profit Sharing - a process driven by corporate financials that distributes cash to employees based on performance
  • Gainsharing - a process based on a prearranged formula that an organization creates to determine the increased productivity from the team work accomplished (Thompson, 2011)

Other possible team rewards to include holiday parties, gift baskets, gift cards, extra time off, or raffling of gifts.

Use your imagination to create rewards that will motivate team members to stay involved and rewards that will show your appreciation for their work. Remember, to periodically review the current rewards system and ask for team member input to create changes.

Reward Plan

Your reward plan should include more than what type of rewards you will give, it needs details such as:

  • Purpose/objective
    • The efforts of the team should evaluated, recognized and compared to the organizations values, mission, and proposed outcome of team's goals.
  • Eligibility
    • Teams and/or individuals should understand the eligibility process for a reward system.
  • Program award levels
    • Different levels of rewards should be used to recognize different accomplishments and degrees of accomplishment.
  • Timing
  • Award presentation
    • Communication of the award to the team and/or individuals should be a prepared event and/or communicated clearly.
  • Program evaluation
    • Annually, semi-annually or quarterly the performance of the team and/or individuals should be evaluated for effectiveness

References:
Thompson, L. L. (2011). Making the Team: A Guide for Managers, Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall

Kozlowski, S. J., & Ilgen, D. R. (2006). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Work Groups and Teams. Psychological Science In The Public Interest (Wiley-Blackwell), 7(3), 77-124. doi:10.1111/j.1529-1006.2006.00030.x

    • 7 years ago
    • 10
    Answer(1)

    Purchase the answer to view it

    blurred-text
    NOT RATED
    • attachment
      mod_01_written_assignment_-_designs_of_a_team_answer.doc
    Bids(1)