people and self management (team leader development).pdf

People and SelfMANAGEMENT

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People and SelfMANAGEMENTTeam Leader Development Series

Sally Palmer

OXFORD BOSTON JOHANNESBURG MELBOURNE NEW DELHI SINGAPORE

Butterworth-HeinemannLinacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 018012041A division of Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd

A member of the Reed Elsevier plc group

First published 1998

Sally Palmer 1998

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced inany material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium byelectronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to someother use of this publication) without the written permission of thecopyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by theCopyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London,England W1P 9HE. Applications for the copyright holders writtenpermission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressedto the publishers

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 7506 3861 3

Composition by Genesis Typesetting, Rochester, KentPrinted and bound in Great Britain

Contents

Introduction xi

1 The job of a team leader 1

Learning objectives 1Introduction 1What team leaders do 2Setting objectives 4Planning 5Organizing and coordinating 9Motivating 10Communicating 11Monitoring and controlling 11Evaluating 12The importance of managing people and yourself 12Summary 13Review and discussion questions 13Case study 13Work-based assignment 14

2 Team leaders and organizations 15

Learning objectives 15Introduction 15Why we have organizations 16Organizational objectives 17Targets 19Types of organization structure 19Organization charts 23Tall organizations and flat organizations 24The limitations of organization charts 25Organizational culture 25 C

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Roles 27Managerial roles 31Summary 33Review and discussion questions 33Case study 34Work-based assignment 34

3 Workteams 35

Learning objectives 35Introduction 35Groups and teams 35The importance of belonging to a team at work 36Team formation and development 38Team norms 38Team boundaries 40Team cohesiveness 40Effective and ineffective teams 42Management team roles the work of Belbin 45Summary 46Review and discussion questions 46Case study 47Work-based assignment 48

4 Recruiting and selecting your team 49

Learning objectives 49Introduction 49Human resource planning 50The law and recruitment and selection 54The recruitment and selection process 55What job? the job analysis and job description 57What sort of person? the personnel specification 59Getting approval 63Where to look to attract the right people toapply for the job 63How to attract candidates the job advertisement 64How to choose people to interview 64How to select the right person 67Review and evaluate the selection process 73Induction 73Summary 76C

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Review and discussion questions 76Case study 77Work-based assignment 77

5 Leading your team 78

Learning objectives 78Introduction 78Management and leadership 79Can leadership be learnt? 79The qualities of a good leader 80Leadership and power 80Types of leadership 83Management by walking about 90Delegation 90Types of delegation 91The benefits of delegation 92How to delegate successfully 93The risks of delegation 96Summary 98Review and discussion questions 98Case study 99Work-based assignment 100

6 Training and developing your team 101

Learning objectives 101Introduction 101The purpose of appraisal 101The features of a good appraisal system 102The benefits of an appraisal system 104Potential problems with an appraisal system 104The appraisal interview 105Giving feedback 106Reward reviews 109Personal development planning 110Your responsibility to develop your team 110Types of training 112The training gap and the training cycle 120Identification and analysis of training needs 122Planning training 124Carry out training 124 C

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Evaluate the training 125The benefits of training 125Summary 126Review and discussion questions 126Case study 127Work-based assignment 127

7 Assessing and developing your ownperformance 128

Learning objectives 128Introduction 128Self development 129How people learn 129The learning cycle 130Learning styles 130The stages of self development 133Undertaking a personal audit 134Setting self-development objectives 137Identifying your own development needs 138Your self-development plan 139Recording your progress 141Summary 142Review and discussion questions 142Case study 143Work-based assignment 143

8 Managing yourself 144

Learning objectives 144Introduction 144Time management 144Assertive behaviour 150The difference between assertive, aggressive andsubmissive behaviour 151Your rights 154Assertiveness skills 155Advantages of assertive behaviour 156Managing stress 156Summary 158Review and discussion questions 159Case study 159Work-based assignment 159C

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9 Managing individuals 160

Learning objectives 160Introduction 160Personality 161Transactional analysis 164Motivation 168Signs of motivation 176Practical steps to deal with demotivation 176Job rotation, job enlargement, job enrichment 177Reward and motivation 179Summary 180Review and discussion questions 180Case study 1 181Case study 2 182Work-based assignment 182

10 Decision making and problem solving 183

Learning objectives 183Introduction 183Types of decisions 184Who should make the decision? 184Key steps in decision making 185Common faults in decision making 187Group decision making 187Problem solving 188The stages of problem solving 189Summary 193Review and discussion questions 193Case study 194Work-based assignment 194

11 Working with others 195

Learning objectives 195Introduction 195Constructive working relationships 195Counselling at work 196Rules at work 199Disciplinary procedures 199Grievance procedures 206Employee relations 208 C

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xManaging conflict 212Summary 213Review and discussion questions 214Case study 215Work-based assignment 216

12 Managing change 218

Learning objectives 218Introduction 218Forces for change 219Resistance to change 220The positive aspects of change 222The stages of introducing change 222Summary 227Review and discussion questions 227Case study 228Work-based assignment 228

References 234

Further Reading 236

Index 237

CONTENTS

Introduction

Introduction

There are four books in the Team Leader Development Series,People and Self Management, Information Management,Resources Management and Activities Management, coveringkey topics from the four principal roles of management. Theseries has been designed to provide you with the knowledgeand skills needed to carry out the role of team leader. Theactual name of the job role of a team leader will vary fromorganization to organization. In your organization, the job rolemight be called any of the following:

team leader supervisor first line manager section leader junior manager chargehand foreman assistant manager administrator.

If you work in the services or a hospital, team leaders may becalled by another name not on the above list. However, in thisseries team leader has been used throughout to describe thejob role.

Who the series is intended for

If you have line-management responsibility for people withinyour organization, or you are hoping to progress to a positionin which you will have this responsibility, then this series isfor you. You may have been recently promoted into a team I

NTRODUCTION

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leader position or you may have been a team leader for sometime. The series is relevant for you whether you work in asmall organization or a large organization, whether you workin the public sector, private sector or voluntary sector. Thebooks are designed to provide you with practical help whichwill enable you to perform better at work and to providesupport to a range of programmes of study which have beendesigned specifically for team leaders.

Related programmes of study

There are a number of management qualifications that havebeen designed for team leaders. The titles in this series havebeen structured around the four key roles of management:Managing People, Managing Activities, Managing Resourcesand Managing Information. The content of each title has beendeveloped in accordance with all the main qualifications inthis area. Your tutor, manager or trainer will help you design aprogramme of study for your particular qualification route.Further details about each syllabus can be found in the tutorsupplement that accompanies this textbook.

People and Self Management covers the core topics in thiskey role of management detailed in the programmes of studyfrom the National Examining Board of Supervision andManagement, the Institute of Supervisory Management, Edexeland the Institute of Management who all award qualificationsin Supervisory Management. The Team Leader DevelopmentSeries has also been devised to provide material that isrelevant for those who are working towards a NVQ or SVQ atlevel 3 in management. The national management standards atthis level cover the full range of general management activitieswhich all managers working in a team leader position areexpected to carry out. The Team Leader Development Seriescovers all the core topics involved with the activities definedin each of the key roles of management listed above. Yourtutor will have full details about the national standards.

The content of People and Self Management covers theessential underpinning knowledge for the followingunits:

C1 Manage oneself (mandatory)C4 Create effective working relationships (mandatory)I

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C7 Contribute to the selection of personnel for activities(mandatory)

C9 Contribute to the development of teams andindividuals (optional)

C12 Lead the work of teams and individuals to achievetheir objectives (optional)

C15 Respond to poor performance in your team(optional)

These units of competence consist of the following elements:C1.1 Develop your own skills to improve your

performanceC1.2 Manage your time to meet your objectivesC4.1 Gain the trust and support of colleagues and team

membersC4.2 Gain the trust and support of your managerC4.3 Minimise conflict in your teamC7.1 Contribute to identifying personnel requirementsC7.2 Contribute to selecting required personnelC9.1 Contribute to the identification of development needsC9.2 Contribute to planning the development of teams and

individualsC9.3 Contribute to development activitiesC9.4 Contribute to the assessment of people against

development objectivesC12.1 Plan the work of teams and individualsC12.2 Assess the work of teams and individualsC12.3 Provide feedback to teams and individuals on their

workC15.1 Help team members who have problems affecting

their performanceC15.2 Contribute to implementing disciplinary and grievance

procedures

The work-based assignments, which can be used to gatherevidence for your portfolio, are mapped to the relevantelements of competence so that you can see which elementsyou are working towards.

As part of your work towards a vocational qualification inmanagement at level 3, you also have to demonstrate that youhave developed a number of personal competencies (in otherwords, skills and attitudes) that will enable you to apply yourknowledge and understanding to a range of different situationsat work. You will cover the range of personal competencies inmany aspects of your work. This book will be particularly I

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helpful in providing support for the following personalcompetencies:

acting assertively behaving ethically building teams focusing on results influencing others managing self thinking and taking decisions

Synopsis of People and Self Management

This book starts by looking at the role of a team leader andthe factors that influence the way in which people behave atwork. If you can improve your understanding of the way inwhich individuals behave, it will be easier to understandhow to become a more effective team leader. The book thenexamines the organizations in which you work, and moveson to cover how you can effectively manage your workteam,by understanding how teams behave, how to select newteam members and how to lead your team. The importantaspects of developing your team, problem solving, decisionmaking and handling conflict, including how to deal withgrievance and disciplinary procedures are also covered. Awhole chapter is devoted to managing change; this isbecause this is such an important aspect of a team leadersrole in organizations today. Last, but certainly not least, thisvolume covers managing yourself including key aspects suchas managing time, stress and your own workload.Assertiveness and planning for your own future developmentare also covered in this section.

Learning structure

Each chapter begins with Learning objectives, a list ofstatements which say what you will be able to do, after youhave worked through the chapter. This is followed by theIntroduction, a few lines which introduce the material that iscovered in the chapter.

There are several Activities in each chapter. You will findthe answers at the end of the book.I

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There are also Investigates in each chapter, these arerelated to something which has been covered in the text. Thesuggestion is that you investigate the matter that has just beencovered in your own organization. It is important, that youunderstand what you have learned, but also that you canrelate what you have learned to your own organization.

Each chapter has a Summary, the summary recaps themain points that have been covered in the chapter, it round ofthe knowledge and skill areas that have been covered in themain body of the chapter, before the text moves into a rangeof tasks that you can complete to consolidate your learning.

There are a set of Review and discussion questionsfollowing the summary. You answer these after you haveworked through the chapter to check whether you haveunderstood and remembered the information that you havejust read. Answers and guidelines to these questions can befound in the tutor resource material.

You are provided with an opportunity to deal with theissues raised in the chapter that you have just read byanalysing the Case study. The case study is a scenario basedin the workplace and a chance to practice how you mightdeal with a situation at work.

There is a Work-based assignment at the end of eachchapter, these have been designed, so that if you completethe assignment, you will be able to apply the knowledge andskills that you have covered in the chapter in the workplace.The relevant units of competence are shown in the portfolioicon where applicable. These will be of use to you if you arestudying towards an S/NVQ at Level 3 in management.

INTRODUCTION

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1 The job of a team leader

Learning objectives

On completion of this chapter you will be able to:

describe the term team leader describe the key managerial tasks that make up the job of a team leader appreciate the importance of setting smart objectives describe the organizational hierarchy of objectives and plans differentiate between different types of plans explain the planning cycle describe the benefits of planning describe the stages in organizing understand the importance of monitoring and controlling plans.

Introduction

As a team leader you will have first line responsibility forpeople within your organization. Many of you will not only beresponsible for leading your team but also be involved inday-to-day operations, so you are not only involved inmanaging the team but also in making the product ordelivering the service. Your role as a team leader means thatyou are part of the management team and so there are manymanagerial aspects to your job. You are at the front line ofmanagement and have a major responsibility for seeing thatwork is done by others. Team leaders are involved insupervisory management; you are the link between moresenior managers and the operatives that work in theorganization. You will probably have noticed that there arefewer layers of management in organizations these days. Asthis process of reducing the number of management levels hastaken place, the team leader has taken on more responsibility.In this chapter we will examine the management elements ofa team leaders role. T

HE JOB OF A TEAM LEADER

2What team leaders do

As a team leader you are concerned with making sure thework is done. Your manager will give you the information youneed about what you have to achieve and your job is to getthe team organized to produce the work.

Activity 1What do you think are the main activities of a team leader?

Compare your answers to the key managerial functionsshown in Figure 1.1.

Like all managers at every level within the organization youneed to carry out key managerial functions. These areillustrated in Figure 1.1.

Figure 1.2 gives more detail on each of the managerialfunctions as they apply to a team leader.

PEOPLE AND SELF MANAGEMENT

Figure 1.1Managerial functions

3THE JOB OF A TEAM LEADER

1 Settingobjectives

As a team leader you must obtain clear objectives from yourline manager and then agree and set objectives for yourworkteam. You need to check that the objectives are clearlycommunicated to your team and make plans to ensure thatthe objectives are achieved.

2 Planning Objectives are where we want to get to. Plans are the meansof getting there. It is the plans that calculate how to turn theobjectives into reality. It is important to plan so thateverybody knows what they have to do to achieve theobjectives.

3 Organizing andcoordinating

The activities of team members must be organized to ensurethat everything runs smoothly and that problems are dealtwith as they arise. Linked to organization is coordination; thisis about coordinating everybodys efforts to make sure thatthe objectives are achieved. Also, your team will have tocoordinate with other teams and departments within theorganization.

4 Motivating A team leader must ensure that the staff are motivated atwork, that they are given opportunities to obtain jobsatisfaction and so are committed to the work of theorganization and the team. This can be done by making surethat they are encouraged, developed, given responsibilityand varied tasks, possibly through delegation; they will thenfeel valued by the organization.

5 Communicating Keeping in touch with everything, keeping everybodyinformed about what is happening, listening to your team andconsulting with your team.

6 Monitoring andcontrolling

When the objectives are clear, plans have been made for theachievement of the objectives, the work is organized andcoordinated, the team leader must continue to be vigilant.Systems have to be put in place for monitoring progressagainst the plans, and control systems put in place so that ifsomething is not going as planned it is picked up immediatelyby the team leader and corrective action is taken.

7 Evaluating Evaluating is about appraising performance and assessinghow you and your team are doing.

Figure 1.2 Managerial functions and the job of a team leader

4Activity 2Consider your job as a team leader and complete the tablebelow.

Managerialelement

Example of an activity carried outby me, in my role as a team leaderin my organization, thatdemonstrates that this is part of ateam leaders role

1 Setting objectives

2 Planning

3 Organizing andcoordinating

4 Motivating

5 Communicating

6 Monitoring andcontrolling

7 Evaluating

We will now look at each one of these key functions in moredetail.

Setting objectives

You need to obtain clear objectives from your line manager. Ifyour team is to perform well, you will need to agree and setobjectives with your workteam. Setting objectives involvesthree main stages:

clarifying the overall purpose of the team identifying the objectives that will have to be achieved by

the team in order to achieve the overall purpose deciding what tasks will have to be completed to achieve

the team objectives and purpose.PEOPLE AND SELF MANAGEMENT

5Your job is to is to clarify the team purpose and set clearobjectives. You will need to keep a record of performanceagainst the objectives which will help you to monitor thesituation and keep your team and your line manager informedof progress.

Good objectives are SMART:

Specific everybody needs to know what has to beachieved. It is better if each objective consists of a single idea.

Measurable you need to consider how to measure theobjective so that you will know how successful you have been.

Achievable objectives should stretch and develop theteam members and yet be achievable.

Realistic the objective needs to be realistic; you canensure this by using information to assess what has beenachieved in the past and to predict what is realistic for thefuture.

Timed you need to be clear about the timescale withinwhich the objective should be achieved.

(See Activities Management, Chapter 2, for more details.)

Planning

Objectives are where we want to get to; plans are the means ofgetting there. Plans show how you are going to turn theobjectives into reality. Planning will help to ensure that theorganizational and team objectives are achieved. Good planningmeans that everybody knows what they have to do to achievethe objectives. Good planning is essential for personal andorganizational effectiveness. Planning is the most basic andprobably the most important management function. Organizing,monitoring and controlling are linked to good planning.Organization and coordination turn plans into action, andmonitoring and controlling keep plans on course.

Planning is about designing future action to cope withforecast situations. Planning sets down a course of action thatgets us from where we are now, to where we want to be.

Plans are a management tool; once they are written down itwould be a mistake to consider them to be fixed; as things arechanging all the time, we might have to change our plans. Itis, however, important to set them down even if we do notalways stick to them, because they provide a sense ofpurpose, a direction in which we are travelling. In essence,planning is establishing a course of action. T


6Planning to support objectives takes place at different levelswithin organizations. As objectives are set at differentorganizational levels, there are plans at each level to supportthe achievement of the objectives. So in your organizationthere will be a hierarchy of objectives and plans. See Figure1.3 for an illustration of the organizational hierarchy ofobjectives and plans. (See Activities Management, Chapter 2,for more details.)

Activity 3What sort of planning activities are you involved in at work?

See Feedback section for answer to this activity.

Investigate 1Find out what you can about the objectives of yourorganization and department. How are you performing againstyour objectives? How is organizational and team performancemeasured?

Types of plansStrategic plans

Strategic planning is long-term planning carried out by seniormanagers. The time scale for this type of planning can be upto five years.P

EOPLE AND SELF MANAGEMENT

Figure 1.3The organizationalhierarchy ofobjectives and plans.The exact way inwhich the hierarchyworks will depend onthe structure of yourorganization but thisfigure serves as anexample

7Operational plans

Operational planning is medium-term planning carried out bymiddle managers and departmental managers. The time scaleis usually one year. (See Activities Management, Chapter 2,for more details.)

Action plans

Action plans are the level of planning in which the teamleader is most intimately involved. Action plans are aboutgetting things done at work on a day-by-day, week-by-week,basis. Action planning tends to be short-term planning carriedout by first line managers and supervisors.

We will concentrate on looking at action planning, which isa vital part of a team leaders role. An action plan is astep-by-step approach detailing the breakdown of tasks toachieve a specific objective. By using an action plan in yourrole as a team leader you will be able to organize and planyour work schedule, enabling you to set targets and agreegoals with your team. If you want to achieve your objectives,it is important to set aside time to plan. See Figure 1.4 for asample action plan. (See Activities Management, Chapter 2,for more details.)

THE JOB OF A TEAM LEADER

Objective Actions (specific tasksthat need to be done

to achieve overall objective)

Bywhen

Bywhom

Notes onprogress

Figure 1.4 Action plan

8Personal plans

Personal plans are often the product of an appraisal interviewbut can be much less formal. These are your own plans (andthe plans of your colleagues) showing how you will achieveyour objectives.

Investigate 2Discover all that you can about the planning process in yourorganization. What are your personal objectives and plans?Were these agreed at your last appraisal interview?

Project plans

These are one-off plans which relate to a specific project. Forexample manufacturing a new product or introducing a newquality system.

Financial plans budgets

A budget is a financial plan which is prepared in advance.Initially budgets are prepared for the entire organization andthen, as with objectives and plans, they filter down theorganization so that every department has its own budget forthe financial year.

A budget expresses in financial terms the performance tobe achieved during the period. In other words, it is thefinancial aspect of the overall plan. It will detail plannedincome and expenditure for the period.

A budget enables managers to have clear and specifictargets for the generation of income and control of costs. Abudgetary control system reports the state of the budgets on aregular basis, so that managers can continually checkperformance against targets and pick up any problem areassuch as overspending or lack of income generation in acertain area of the business.

The planning cycle

All plans have to be carefully constructed if they are going toachieve their objectives. We will now look at a model that canbe used to aid the planning process. Figure 1.5 shows theplanning cycle.P


9Investigate 3In what ways do you think that the managers in yourorganization plan for future events? How are these planscommunicated to the staff? (See Activities Management,Chapter 2, for more details.)

The benefits of planning

There are many benefits of using systematic planning in yourwork:

everyone in the team has a sense of purpose the working team is utilized effectively resources are used effectively planning produces better results.

(See Activities Management, Chapter 2, for more details.)

Organizing and coordinating

All of the activities of the team must be organized. Organizingis about making sure that all the required resources are in theright place at the right time. Organizing is about turning theplans into action. Organizing skills will be required here. It isabout assigning personnel and appropriately allocatingresources to accomplish a specific task. All of the activities ofthe team leaders work group must be organized andcoordinated to ensure that everything runs smoothly and thatproblems are dealt with as they arise. T


Figure 1.5The planning cycle

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Organizing is ensuring that the people, instructions,equipment, materials and finance are available to complete theplan. An important part of organizing is communicating to all thepeople involved in doing work just what is expected of themand getting their commitment to the achievement of the plan.

Organizing is primarily concerned with deciding how thework will be done. Organizing is a primary part of the workof a team leader. It involves identifying the key tasks that needto be carried out to achieve the planning objective. Toorganize effectively you need to:

Decide what actions need to be taken, by when and bywhom

gather relevant information consult with managers, your staff, other staff decide on utilization of resources staff, materials and

equipment delegate relevant tasks make sure instructions are understood.

To summarize, the stages involved in organizing are:

examine the tasks involved in the work communicate the plan to everyone concerned and allocate

tasks to individuals ensure that the necessary resources are available get the job started keep the momentum going.

Coordinating is about making sure that the team is workingwell together and that your team is working in a coordinatedway with other teams and sections of the organization.

Motivating

The best plans, organization and coordination will not achievethe best results without a motivated team. It is part of theteam leaders role to ensure that their team is motivated atwork. You need to ensure that members of your team aregiven opportunities to obtain job satisfaction whilst they areat work. This will help to develop a team which is committedto the objectives of the organization and the team. You can dothis by ensuring that your team are encouraged and developedby being given responsibility and varied tasks.

Motivation is covered in detail in Chapter 9 of this book.PEOPLE AND SELF MANAGEMENT

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Communicating

Objectives and plans need to be communicated to yourworkteam. A good team leader needs to keep in touch witheverything that is going on in the organization. You need tokeep everybody informed about what is happening. A teamleader needs to have excellent communication skills; you willnot be surprised to know that research has shown that teamleaders spend up to 70 per cent of their day communicatingwith others. You need to be clear about what you need toachieve and ensure that you can communicate this clearly toyour team. Communication is covered in more detail in thebooks in this series entitled Information Management andActivities Management (Chapter 2 for more details oncommunication plans).

Activity 4How do you communicate with your team?


Monitoring and controlling

Things rarely go according to plan, without any difficulties. Itis important that the work of the team is coordinated and thatyou check progress against the plans. Monitoring systemsneed to be put in place for checking progress and controlsystems put in place so that if things are not going as planned,action can be taken.

After the plans are in place it is important that you considerhow the situation will be monitored and controlled. Once theactivity is planned, organized and set into motion, you havethe final stage to perform: that of controlling what is goingon. This entails seeing how things are going and comparingprogress against the plan. If everything is running satisfactorilyit is only necessary to continue to monitor the situation.However, if there is a variation from the plan, action must betaken to bring everything back in line or the plan needs to beadjusted to reflect the changed situation.

You will need to monitor progress by:

keeping the plan in front of you measuring actual progress comparing actual progress against planned progress T


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taking corrective action if there are any variances making adjustments to the original plan if necessary.

When the plan is completed, always take a few moments toreflect on the overall success, or otherwise, of the plan. Beprepared to learn from any mistakes and anything that wentwell to improve your planning skills. (See ActivitiesManagement, Chapter 3 for more details.)

Activity 5Describe how you monitor and control progress against plansat work.


Evaluating

A good team leader always evaluates performance and assessesthe results. Evaluation is part of the control process. It is,however, important to carry out formal evaluations at regularintervals to check the performance of the team, theindividuals that make up the team and the performance inrelation to the task.

Activity 6How do you evaluate the performance of your team, theindividuals in the team and the teams performance in relationto the task? If you find this question difficult to answer,perhaps you need to consider what systems you need to putin place to evaluate performance in these three areas.

The importance of managing people and yourself

Management has been described by a famous Americanmanagement writer, F. W. Taylor, who said that Management isgetting things done through people. You are only going to beable to carry out your role as a team leader if you are able tomanage your team and yourself effectively. The work of amanager is about achieving the objectives by planning andorganizing other people, rather than by doing the workyourself. This book concentrates on looking at how you canbest manage your team and yourself to enable you to achieveyour team objectives and your personal objectives. If youcannot manage your team and/or yourself, you will never bean effective team leader.P


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Summary If you are a team leader you will already know that the job iscomplex and demanding. This chapter has covered briefly thekey managerial functions carried out by a team leader. Dealingwith people and managing yourself effectively will enable youto carry out your job professionally.

Review and discussion questions

1 Why do plans need to be flexible?2 What are budgets and what are their uses?3 List the stages of the planning cycle.4 What are the qualities of good objectives?5 What do you need to do, when organizing, to turn plans

into actions?6 What headings could you use to construct an action plan?7 Why is it important to monitor and control the progress of

plans?8 What are the benefits of planning?9 Why is it important to evaluate performance?

10 Things happen too quickly in our job for us to do anyeffective planning. Discuss this statement.

Case study Paula is a team leader of another section of yourorganization. She is always overworked, she starts workearly and finishes late. Her team do not appear to beoverworked, they always seem to be bothering her with thetype of problems that your team deal with themselves,without reference to you. She seems to just succeed inavoiding disasters. She can solve problems and handle acrisis well she has to, because they are usually her fault.She rarely looks beyond tomorrow, and indeed she rarelyhas time to do so because she is handling the difficultsituations that her lack of foresight causes.

Paula mentions in conversation that the job is getting ontop of her. She says that she just seems to lurch from crisisto crisis. Youve been doing this job for longer than me andyou always seem to be so efficient, says Paula. She asks foryour advice. What advice would you give her to improveher performance at work?

THE JOB OF A TEAM LEADER

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Work-basedassignment

Select a task at work that you need to plan. Complete adetailed action plan using the format below.

Objective Actions (specific tasksthat need to be done

to achieve overallobjective)

Bywhen

Bywhom

Notes onprogress

Monitor progress regularly. When the task is complete, write abrief commentary on the task which reflects on how well theplan worked and what you have learnt from the exercise. Youcan use headings given below.

1 The objective2 Drawing up the plan3 Implementing the plan4 Monitoring the plan5 Evaluating the plan what I have learnt.


C12.1

2 Team leaders and organizations

Learning objectives


define the term organization differentiate between objectives and targets list and describe the various types of organization structure understand the uses and limitations of organization charts differentiate between tall and flat organizations describe the term culture differentiate between the formal and informal culture explain the types of culture described by Handy and Deal and Kennedy appreciate the complex nature of organizational roles identify contributing factors to role conflict understand what can be done to avoid role conflict and role stress.

Introduction

In Chapter 1 we considered the job of a team leader. In thischapter we will examine the organizations in which teamleaders work. The goal of all organizations is to accomplishsome purpose that individuals working on their own cannotachieve. There is no widely accepted definition of the wordorganization, in fact the word can be used in two ways.Firstly to describe the planning and coordination of activitiesand, secondly, to describe the entity formed by a group ofpeople. For the purposes of this chapter, we are concernedwith the latter meaning of the word organization. It isimportant that you, as a team leader working in anorganization, understand the objectives of your organization.You also need to understand how your organization isstructured to achieve the organizations objectives.Organizations are made up of the people who work for them;the way in which organizations work and behave cannot beexplained just by analysing organizational structure, it is alittle more complicated than that! T

EAM LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS

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In this chapter we also examine the concept oforganizational culture. Organizational culture is about the waywe do things around here; it explains differences betweenorganizations and why the people who work in differentorganizations do things in different ways and see thingsdifferently. Finally in this chapter, we look at roles that wehave within organizations and some of the difficulties that areencountered in relation to job roles, we also cover themultiple roles that managers carry out in organizations.

Why we have organizations

Activity 7Jot down your thoughts on why we have organizations.

Organizations exist for a wide variety of purposes. They allhave some function to perform. They exist to achieveobjectives and provide satisfaction for their members. There isa wide variety of organizations and they are all different.Examples of different types of organizations you may havebeen in contact with today are: school, shop, hotel, bank, buscompany.

An organization could be described as a group of rolesarranged in a structure to pursue a set of objectives. The rolesare the job roles that people have within an organization,such as Manager, Operative or Team leader. The structure isthe way in which the organization is designed, i.e. how all theroles fit together in the organization. The objectives are thereasons that the organization exists, the things that theorganization has been formed to achieve. This will be stated inthe organizations mission statement.

Organizations are structured in a variety of different ways.The structure of the organization creates a framework withinwhich the activities of the organization can be managed toachieve organizational objectives. In small organizations thestructure is usually quite simple but in large organizationsstructures can be very complex. It is important that anorganization is structured in the correct way so that theP


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activities of the organization can be planned, organized,directed and controlled. The right structure will ensure that:

resources are used effectively the activities of the organization are monitored and

controlled people are accountable the work of the organization is coordinated people have a sense of belonging and the satisfaction of

working in teams.

A good organization structure that supports the businessobjectives will assist the organization in maximizing itsperformance. A badly designed organization results in lowmorale as staff are uncertain about reporting lines and uncertainabout where decisions are made. There is often insufficientdelegation, conflict, lack of coordination and the organization isslow to respond to changes in the environment. Poor structuresare inefficient and wasteful of resources.

Organizational objectives

We know already that organizations are formed to enable theachievement of objectives; we have looked at objectives inrelation to the work of a team leader in Chapter 1. We willnow look at organizational objectives in a little more detail.

What is an objective?

An objective is an end result, goal or target that anorganization, department or an individual seeks to reach.Organizational objectives flow from the organizations missionor vision statement. British Aerospaces vision statement isshown in Figure 2.1.

TEAM LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS

At British Aerospace we are dedicated to workingtogether, and with our partners, to become The Benchmarkfor our industry, setting the standard for customersatisfaction, technology, financial performance andquality in all that we do.

Figure 2.1British Aerospacesvision statement

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Investigate 4What is your organizations vision or mission statement?

Areas for which objectives are set

You can see that a mission statement is very general andso, if the overall mission is going to be achieved, morespecific objectives are required in order that the seniormanagers can see more clearly what needs to be done toachieve the overall aim set out in the mission statement.Objectives at this next level are often called strategicobjectives or corporate objectives. A writer, Peter Druckerhas suggested that organizational objectives should be set inthe following areas:

1 market standing2 productivity3 physical and financial resources4 profitability5 innovation6 manager performance and development7 worker performance and attitudes8 public and social responsibility.

Investigate 5Get a copy of the corporate objectives of your organization.Do they cover the eight areas that Drucker suggestedorganizational objectives should cover?

Once the strategic/corporate objectives have been decidedupon, objectives are set for each department in theorganization. Within each department, each team will haveobjectives and so every area and level within the organizationhas a set of objectives to achieve. If all the objectivesthroughout the organization are achieved, the organizationwill achieve its overall aims and so fulfil its mission statement.

Increasingly the payment of staff, particularly managers, islinked in some way to performance against the objectives, i.e.performance-related pay.P


19

Investigate 6Do you have performance-related pay in your organization? Ispayment under this system related to the achievement ofobjectives?

Targets

As objectives work their way down the organization theybecome much more specific; very specific objectives are knownas targets. If you are currently a team leader you may have targetsset which your team needs to achieve and the achievement ofthose targets may form the basis for some of the discussion atyour annual appraisal interview.

If you and your colleagues are to achieve your objectives andtargets they must be soundly conceived. In Chapter 1 weestablished that good objectives are SMART; so are good targets.In addition, objectives and targets should be worthwhile andinspiring, they should be visible, they should be communicatedto the people who need to achieve them and should be linked tothe higher objectives of the organization.

The team leaders role when dealing with objectives andtargets is to clarify them for the team, communicate them to theteam and make sure that the team members know what theymust do. It is also important to continually monitor performanceagainst targets and to let the team know how they are doing.

If an organization does not have targets it, and the people whocomprise it, lack a sense of direction, initiative is notencouraged, effort can be badly aimed, opportunities are missedto motivate staff by recognizing achievement and, at worst,there may be no improvement, or even a decline, in overallperformance.

Types of organization structure

There are various ways in which organizations are structured.Large organizations may display different structures at differentlevels within the organization. Some of the most commonstructures are described below.

Functional

In a functional structure, the common functions or similaractivities are grouped together to form a unit within the T


20

organization, such as marketing, accounting, personnel,production and so on. Functional departmentalization mayoccur at any level within the organization and it is often foundnear the top. A typical chart of a functional organization isshown in Figure 2.2.

Product

Some organizations group activities on the basis of product.This is particularly popular in organizations that produce awide range of products or provide a wide range of services.An example of a chart illustrating a product-based structure isshown in Figure 2.3.


Figure 2.2 A typical functional organization. Reprinted by permission of Bankers Books.From Supervisory Skills by Sally Palmer (1996).

Figure 2.3 Example of a product-based structure. Reprinted by permission of BankersBooks. From Supervisory Skills by Sally Palmer (1996).

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Geographical

As businesses expand, an organization structure is oftendesigned around the geography of the business. This structureis often adopted in a large business where there is a nationalor international network of branches. A typical structure isshown in Figure 2.4.

Customer type

Some businesses are structured around the type of customer.This structure is sometimes called a market-based structure, asthe organization is structured around various marketsegments. See Figure 2.5 for an example of an organizationstructured around customer type.

Matrix

The matrix structure usually combines a functional structurewith a project-based structure. A chart illustrating a matrix T


Figure 2.4 A typical geographical structure. Reprinted by permission of Bankers Books.From Supervisory Skills by Sally Palmer (1996).

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structure is shown in Figure 2.6. The project managers are incharge of their projects and the functional managers haveinput and provide a service to each of the project managers.This structure tends to be more flexible; the focus of thestructure is to support the projects, although conflicts canoccur between project groups and functional managers canfeel pulled in too many directions.


Figure 2.5Example of acustomer-typestructure. Reprintedby permission ofBankers Books. FromSupervisory Skills bySally Palmer (1996).

Figure 2.6Example of a matrixstructure. Reprintedby permission ofBankers Books. FromSupervisory Skills bySally Palmer (1996).

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Activity 8Draw an organization chart of your own organization. Howwould you describe the structure?

Organization charts

The structure of an organization is usually illustrated in theform of an organization chart. The chart shows the reader apicture of the organization. Organization charts can be veryuseful and can be used as a management tool to indicateweaknesses and to review the organizational structure. Theycan be used as a guide for staff and outsiders, a map toexplain the organization to newcomers, a means of identifyingundefined responsibilities or overlaps. A chart could assist inlocating the person to report to, re-allocating duties, to helpto sort out demarcation disputes, to aid the process of jobevaluation. An organization chart shows several key aspects ofthe organization, as shown below:

Division of labour an organization chart illustrates howhuman resources are organized to benefit from the divisionof labour which allows people to specialize and concentrateon doing jobs for which they have been specifically trainedor have specific expertise.

Chain of command the chart depicts the formal authorityresponsibility relationships throughout the organization.

Unity of command the chart illustrates whether there isunity of command, i.e. whether each individual isaccountable to only one person.

Departmentalization an organization chart illustrates howthe organization has grouped its activities to best achieve itsobjectives.

Levels of hierarchy the chart demonstrates how manylevels there are in the hierarchy.

Span of control the span of control refers to the numberof subordinates responsible to each superior so, forexample, if a team leader has five team members, the spanof control is five. A narrow span of control allows for closesupervision, better communication and reduced delegation.A wide span of control gives subordinates greaterdecision-making authority, means lower management costsand less control, but it can result in greater motivationthrough job satisfaction. T


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Activity 9Now draw an organization chart of your department. Ensurethat the chart clearly demonstrates all the features describedon page 23.

Tall organizations and flat organizations

The span of control determines the shape of theorganization. A tall organization has a long managementhierarchy with many layers of management between thelowest and the highest level in the organization, spans ofcontrol tend to be smaller in a tall organization. Figure 2.7depicts a tall organization.

A flat organization, as shown in Figure 2.8, is one in whichthere are wider spans of control and fewer levels in thehierarchy. Over recent years, many organizations have tendedto de-layer, that is, remove layers of management from thehierarchy resulting in flatter organizations and wider spans ofcontrol.


Chief Executive|

Divisional Directors|

Departmental Managers|

Section Heads|

Group Team Leaders|

Team Leaders|

Assistant Team Leaders|

Operatives

Figure 2.7A tall organization.Reprinted bypermission of BankersBooks. FromSupervisory Skills bySally Palmer (1996).

Figure 2.8A flat organization

Principal|

Heads of Faculties|

Heads of Department|

Lecturers

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Activity 10Look at the organization charts that you drew in Activities 8and 9 above. Is your organization flat or tall?

The limitations of organization charts

Organization charts do have limitations, however. Theorganization chart does not show how informal groupsoperate within the formal organizational structure. They donot show the extent of delegation and it is sometimes difficultto show lateral/horizontal communication across theorganization. They also become out of date very quickly.

Organizational culture

Another important aspect of an organization is organizationalculture. The culture of an organization is something thatdevelops and changes over a period of time. Culture is oftendescribed as the way we do things around here. It is aboutthe organizations past achievements, present mission andobjectives, attitudes to staff, customers and suppliers. Everyorganization has its own unique culture. Culture helps toexplain differences between organizations and it helps toexplain why different organizations and the people who workin the organizations see things differently. There are two typesof culture:

The formal culture the formal culture is represented bythe companys annual report, the organizational mission,organizational beliefs and organizational objectives. Theformal organizational culture creates the way in which theorganization behaves and organizational attitudes tocustomers, staff and suppliers.

The informal culture the way in which the cultureoperates may be different from the official definitions. Theinformal culture is about the beliefs and behaviour of thestaff in the organization; the informal culture is based onthe reality.

Handy on cultureCharles Handy wrote about organizational culture. He definedfour types of culture which are described in Figure 2.9. T


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Type ofculture

Diagrammaticrepresentationof the culture

Description of the culture

Power Depicted as aweb

Centralization of power is a key feature of this culture.Frequently found in small organizations where power rests withan individual or a small group of individuals.AdvantagesDecisions made quickly by a few powerful individuals.DisadvantagesIndividuals suppressed by a few powerful people.Individuals not motivated because there is a lack of challenge.If the organization gets too big the web will break.

Role Depicted as aGreek temple

Typically a bureaucratic organization.Hierarchical, officers and officials.Functional structure.Job descriptions, rules and procedures.Power is hierarchical and determined by position.AdvantagesRules and procedures are the main source of influence and jobdescriptions ensure that people carry out their jobs.DisadvantagesLittle scope for initiative and individual growth anddevelopment.

Task Depicted as anet

Project orientated.A team culture with an emphasis on the task.The task determines the way in which the work is organized.AdvantagesEmployees have considerable freedom.Flexibility makes task cultures rewarding to work in.DisadvantagesLack of formal authority can make task cultures difficult tomanage.

Person Depicted as acluster agalaxy ofindividual stars

The organization exists to serve the needs of the individuals init.Individuals are central.Not often found in profit-motivated enterprises.No hierarchies.AdvantagesHighly satisfying to some individualsDisadvantagesDifficult to remain as an organization


Figure 2.9 Culture according to Handy

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Deal and Kennedy on culture

Deal and Kennedy studied hundreds of organizations andcategorized culture in a different way. They found four typesof culture in the organizations they studied: the tough-guymacho culture, the work-hard/play-hard culture, thebet-your-company culture, the process culture.

Tough-guy macho culture find a mountain and climbit. An organization of individuals. High risk, high financialstakes, focus on speed. Intense pressure. Internalcompetition. Examples: police departments, surgeons,construction, cosmetics, management consulting and theentertainment industry.

Work-hard/play-hard culture find a need and fill it. Funand action. Few risks. Dynamic organizations focusing oncustomers and their needs. Examples: estate agents,computer companies and retail stores.

Bet-your-company culture slow and steady wins therace. Large-stake, high-risk decisions. Hierarchical decisionsmade from the top down. Examples: oil companies,investment banks, architectural firms and the forces. Aslow-moving culture.

Process culture its not what you do its the way thatyou do it. A low-risk culture. Employees find it difficult tomeasure what they do. Reports and memos seem todisappear. Lack of feedback forces employees toconcentrate on how they do something, not what they do.Attention to trivial events, minor detail and technicalperfection. Examples: banks, insurance companies, financialservices and the civil service.

Activity 11Think about your own organization, compare it with theclassifications of organizational culture described by Handyand Deal and Kennedy. How would you describe the cultureof your organization?

Roles

We have already defined an organization as a group of rolesarranged in a structure to pursue a set of objectives. We haveexamined the terms objectives and structure mentioned inthe above definition. We will now examine the term role. T


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In an organizational sense roles are the jobs that people dowithin the organization. The organization achieves itsobjectives through the role structure of the organization. Theterm role has been defined by Laurie Mullins, as theexpected pattern of behaviours associated with membersoccupying a particular position within the structure of anorganization. The role that we have within an organizationhas a strong influence on how we behave in the workplace.

Our role determines how we dress and how we speak. Wenot only have roles that influence our behaviour at work, butwe have a multitude of other roles in life such as child to ourparents, parent of our children, partner or spouse, treasurer ofthe squash club, student at college. When we adopt each rolethat we have in our life, we behave and react in differentways.

Activity 12List eight roles that you play in your private and working life.


Activity 13Did you change any aspect of your behaviour at work whenyou were promoted to the role of team leader?

If you are absolutely honest with yourself you probably didchange some aspects of the way you behave at work.

New roles

When we move into a new role, for example, a new job orparenthood for the first time, we watch how others behaveand adapt our behaviour to the new role. When we start anew job we have to learn how to behave in the new role.

Role set

A role set is the set of roles that a person has contact with intheir job role. Examples of a team leaders role set might be,senior managers, line manager, other supervisors, thesupervisors team, customers, friends, colleagues in otherteams, personnel department, the Trade Union.P


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Role expectations

This term describes what a person is expected to do in theirrole. Formal expectations relating to the role are specified bythe organization, they will be set down in a job descriptionand in a persons contract of employment. There are alsoinformal role expectations which are imposed by the workinggroup, such as methods of communicating, dress, supportingteam members and attitudes towards senior managers.

Role conflict

Role conflict occurs when a person in a role has difficulty incarrying out that role for one reason or another. There arevarious aspects of role conflict, these are described below.

Role incompatibility

This arises when a person faces a situation in which differentpeople have different expectations of that person and theexpectations are incompatible. For example, the team that yousupervise expects you to be able to arrange for them all toleave early to attend a Christmas celebration but themanagement expect you to ensure that all the work is finishedbefore anyone leaves work.

Role ambiguity

This occurs when it is not made clear exactly what a personsjob role is. The person in the role is then not sure exactlywhat is expected of them. This often occurs when a new jobis created and a satisfactory job description has not beendrawn up.

Role overload

If a person has too many roles to handle in their job they maysuffer from role overload. For example, if a person, in additionto their normal job role as a team leader, is leading a qualityimprovement team, is the Union representative for the officeand the safety representative for the office, there could be a T


30

conflict of priority. Role conflict could result as the personattempts to prioritize and juggle all their roles. (Role overloadmust not be confused with work overload, which is when aperson has too much work to do.)

Role underload

This occurs when the role which needs fulfilling to meet theobjectives of the organization is held by a person whobelieves that the role is not sufficiently demanding to satisfythem. The person may feel that they are not stretched enoughand could do a more demanding job.

Role stress

All of the situations described and explained above under roleconflict can lead to role stress. If a person suffers from rolestress their performance will decline and they will not besatisfied in their work.

Avoiding role conflict and role stress

It is important for organizations to have systems in place toavoid problems with role conflict and role stress. This can bedone by ensuring that:

there are detailed job descriptions in place the organizations recruitment and selection procedures

match the right people to the right jobs people are properly trained and prepared for the role that

they are expected to undertake managers and supervisors are trained to spot stress-related

problems staff clearly understand what is expected of them.

Investigate 7Think carefully about the above ways of avoiding role conflict.Does your organization ensure that everything possible isdone to avoid role conflict?P


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Managerial roles

Henry Mintzberg made a study of how executives spent theirtime whilst they were at work. His research was based on seniormanagers within an organization, but it is just as important thatyou understand the various roles that your managers undertake,as well as understanding the various roles that you carry out. Agood team leader needs to view their role in the context of theroles of everyone in the organization. Mintzberg identified tendifferent managerial roles which he classified into three areas.These are explained in Figure 2.10.

TEAM LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS

INTERPERSONALROLES

These roles arise from the managers position and status in the organization andare related to relations with other people.

Figurehead Being available for people who want to speak to the person in charge or at thetop, entertaining visitors, attending social events, making speeches. Activitieswhere the manager is the symbol of the organization.

Leader A very important role, motivating and guiding staff and maintaining morale.

Liaison Relationships with individuals and groups outside the department or organization,establishing and being in networks outside the group for the benefit of the group

INFORMATIONALROLES

These roles are about the communication and information aspects of a managersjob.

Monitor Gathering information, from inside and outside the organization and using it tomonitor the environment.

Disseminator Passing external information into the organization, and clarifying and interpretingthat information.

Spokesperson The manager as an expert on group activities dealing with people outside thegroup.

DECISIONAL ROLES This set of roles relates to decision making and access to information. They arebased on the managers status and authority.

Entrepreneur Initiating business projects, bringing about change by seeking and exploiting newopportunities for the group.

Disturbance handler Monitoring and handling unusual situations and unpredicted events which disturbthe normal work.

Resource allocator The manager ensures the effective allocation and use of organizational resourcesto achieve organizational objectives.

Negotiator Negotiating both inside and outside the organization and representing andobtaining the best possible deal for the group in these negotiations.

Figure 2.10 Mintzbergs managerial roles. Reprinted by permission of Bankers Books.From Supervisory Skills by Sally Palmer (1996).

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Activity 14Consider the job of a manager in your organization. Thinkabout each one of the managerial roles described byMintzberg and complete the table below.

INTERPERSONALROLES

Example of an activity carried out by amanager in my organization that fulfillsthis role

Figurehead

Leader

Liaison

INFORMATIONALROLES


Monitor

Disseminator

Spokesperson

DECISIONALROLES


Entrepreneur

Disturbancehandler

Resource allocator

Negotiator


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Summary In this chapter we have looked at why we have organizationsand the importance of organizational objectives, organizationalstructure and culture. An understanding of the type oforganization in which you work will help you to understandyour role in the organization.

We have looked at the role of the team leader within theorganization. We know that the role is demanding andcomplex you will definitely already know this if you are ateam leader! Team leaders are generally being given more andmore responsibility as organizations become flatter, there arefewer layers of management and decision-making is beingpushed further down the organization. You need drive andenergy, good management skills and the knowledge requiredto do the job. You have a responsibility for the well-being ofyour team, for delivering products or services on time and ofa high quality and you are part of the management team. Thisbook and all the books in the Team Leader Series will helpyou to improve all aspects of your management skills andbecome more effective in your increasingly demanding firstline management role. For those of you who are not yet ateam leader, this text will provide you with an excellentgrounding to help you face the challenges of being in yourfirst management role.

Review and discussion questions

1 Define the term organization.2 What is a mission statement?3 What do you understand by the term hierarchy of

objectives?4 What is the difference between objectives and targets?5 Describe the supervisors role in dealing with objectives

and targets.6 What are the uses of organization charts?7 Explain the term span of control.8 Differentiate between a tall and a flat organization.9 In an organizational sense, what are roles?

10 Explain the term role set.11 What is meant by role expectations?12 List four problems with roles that can lead to role stress.13 List the three areas into which Mintzberg classified

managers roles.14 What phrase is often used to describe culture?15 Briefly describe the four cultures identified by Handy. T


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Case study Things had been going well for Abdul. His wife had just hadtheir first child, which he was delighted about. It did mean,though, that he was not getting much sleep and found itdifficult to stay late at work on the odd occasion when aproblem flared up, as he had to get home to help outthere.

Also, Abdul was recently promoted to the position ofteam leader. It was a well deserved promotion: he was ahard worker who showed great potential, he was generallyconsidered to be fair and was well liked by everybody. Hesaid when he first took the job, Im not going to changejust because Im a team leader now, Ive always been one ofthe lads, thats the way I am. When he first became a teamleader his team were delighted as they all liked Abdul.However, Abdul has started to experience a few problemsin his team. One or two people have been arriving for worka little late in the morning and taking extended coffeebreaks; the general consensus of opinion seems to be thatAbdul would not mind, he is a good bloke. Abdul has triedspeaking to the people who are causing the problems butthey do not seem to be taking him seriously.

On top of this problem he is finding being a first-timefather quite demanding, especially since his wife returnedto work full time. Abdul is now beginning to wonder if hedid the right thing in accepting the job; he likes the workand most of the team are working well but he does seem tohave problems getting some of the team to take himseriously. With this, and the pressures at home, he feels thateverything is getting on top of him.

Abdul asks for your advice. How do you explain thereasons for the pressures that Abdul feels to him? What canyou suggest that Abdul does to tackle his problems?

Work-basedassignment

1 Describe the way your organization is structured, thenexplain the reasons for the structure and comment on itseffectiveness.

2 What are organizational objectives and what should theirpurpose be? Comment on the way in which yourorganizational objectives are conveyed to you and to thestaff in your team. Give your opinion, with reasons, onwhether they have any practical effect on how you work.


C12.1

3 Workteams

Learning objectives


differentiate between groups and teams explain the importance of the Hawthorne Experiments explain the stages of team development recognize the importance of team norms and team boundaries describe the term team cohesiveness and appreciate the factors that

contribute to a cohesive team differentiate between effective and ineffective workteams describe Belbins nine management team roles.

Introduction

Work is a group activity and if an organization is to functioneffectively it requires teams of people to work well together.Teams are formed by the organization in order to get jobsdone most effectively. In the work situation most tasks areundertaken by teams, rather than by individuals. Team leadersmanage teams of people at work and ensure that the teamthey lead achieves the objectives it needs to in order that theorganization achieves its overall objectives. Obviously, it isimportant for you to understand a great deal about the wayteams behave at work.

Groups and teams

A group is more than an aimless crowd of people waiting fora train or standing in a queue in a shop. A group is acollection of individuals, with a central purpose, under the W

ORKTEAMS

36

direction of a leader and who share a sense of commonidentity. A group is:

any number of people who

interact with one another; are psychologically aware of one another; and perceive themselves to be a group.

A team is more than a group. Effective teams consist ofpeople who can:

work together are loyal to each other feel committed and are motivated to achieve a high level of

output care how other members of the team feel are open with each other and listen to each other have common goals are prepared to work conflict through.

Collaboration, i.e. working together is the keynote of teamactivity. Effective teams have clear objectives and agreed goals;they are open and do not avoid confrontation; the memberssupport and trust one another. The members all work togetherin an atmosphere of cooperation; conflicts are open andresolved by the team; there are sound procedures in place andgood leadership. The team regularly reviews its ownperformance and individuals are encouraged to develop withinthe team.

The importance of belonging to a team at work

It is very important to individuals to feel that they are amember of a team at work. A famous management writer,Elton Mayo, carried out a series of experiments in the late1920s to early 1930s which demonstrated how important itwas to people at work to be a member of a workteam. Theseexperiments became very famous and are known as TheHawthorne Experiments. See Figure 3.1 for a description ofthe experiments.

At the time the results generated new ideas about theimportance of work groups, leadership, communications,P


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From 1924 to 1932 a series of studies was carried out at the Hawthorne plant of the WesternElectric Company in the USA. The Hawthorne Experiments helped to bring in a new emphasison human relations. There were four main phases to the Hawthorne Experiments:

1 The illumination experimentsInitially the studies were concerned with testing scientific principles. The first experiment wasconcerned with measuring the effect on output of different levels of lighting. For this theexperimenters worked with two small samples of female employees, an experimental groupand a control group. However, a surprise result was that a reduction in lighting did not lead toa fall in output in fact output increased up to the point at which it was virtually too dark tosee.

What had happened? It was clear that the level of production was influenced by factorsother than the physical conditions at work. These results prompted a series of further tests.

To the surprise of the researchers, it was the taking an interest in what workers were doingthat had raised their motivation, interest and efforts. No longer were the women isolatedindividuals, working together only in the sense of being near each other. They had becomeparticipating members of a working group with all the psychological and social implicationspeculiar to such a group. Since that time the Hawthorne effect has been used to describe thesituation in which an experimenters interest in people being studied induces those people towork harder.

2 The relay assembly roomThe work in the relay assembly room was repetitive and boring. The researchers selected sixpeople and subjected them to a series of changes to their conditions of work, such as hours ofwork, rest pauses and provision of refreshments. The observers conducting the experimentsadopted a friendly manner to the workers, consulting with them and listening to any problemsthat occurred. Following all but one of the changes there was a continuous increase in thelevel of production. The researchers concluded that it was the extra attention given to theworkers that was the main reason for the higher productivity.

3 The interviewing programmeIn an attempt to find out more about the workers feelings towards their supervisors andconditions of work, an interviewing programme was introduced. More than 20 000 interviewswere conducted. The interviewers adopted a friendly approach to the interviewees. They foundout a great deal about the workers true feelings and attitudes towards, not just supervisionand working conditions, but to the company, management and group relations. Theinterviewing programme was significant as it highlighted the need to listen to the workersfeelings and problems.

4 The bank wiring observation roomThis experiment involved the observation of 14 men working in the bank wiring room. Theresearchers noticed that the men formed their own informal organization with sub-groups orcliques and that natural leaders emerged. There was a financial incentive scheme so that theworkers could earn more money, the more work that they produced. Despite this scheme themen limited output to well below the level they were capable of producing. This was becausethe group believed that if their output was too high, management would raise theirexpectations about what workers could produce whilst they were working. The group pressureson every member of the group from the rest of the group were stronger than the offer offinancial bonuses.

WORKTEAMS

Figure 3.1 The Hawthorne Experiments

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motivation and job design. The main conclusions from theexperiments were that:

work is a group activity, individual workers cannot be seenin isolation

workers have a need for recognition, security and a sense ofbelonging which is more important than financial incentivesand physical conditions at work

informal groups exercise a strong social control over workhabits and the attitudes of the individual worker

team leaders and managers need to be aware of these socialneeds and cater for them if workers are to collaborate withthe official organization rather than work against it.

The conclusions of the Hawthorne Experiments have somevery important messages for team leaders today. Theexperiments demonstrate how important it is to build teamspirit and to recognize and value the work of your team. Theyalso underline how important it is to ensure that informalgroups and the formal team at work are working towards thesame objectives.

Team formation and development

Teams take time to develop into a productive, efficientworking team. A writer, Tuckman, has studied thedevelopment of teams. He said that teams move through fourstages of development: forming, storming, norming andperforming, as illustrated in Figure 3.2.

If you are aware of these stages, it will help you tounderstand the behaviour of your team and the teams that youcome into contact with who are passing through the variousstages of team development.

Team norms

At stage three of Tuckmans model, team norms develop. Theimportance of norms was first discovered in the HawthorneExperiments. Norms are standards of social and workbehaviour that are expected of individuals within the team bythe rest of the team. Once norms have developed, there arestrong pressures from other members of the team to conformto them.P


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WORKTEAMS

Stage 1, forming The initial formation of the group. Members are:

finding their feet finding out about the task, the boundaries and the rules finding ways of approaching the task anxious acquiring information and resources relying on the leader looking for guidance getting to know one another learning what kind of behaviour is appropriate

Stage 2, storming Members of the group get to know each other better. Theremay be:

internal conflict conflict between factions within the team flaring up of emotions challenges to the position of the leader an emotional reaction against the task

Stage 3, norming Conflict is settled, the team members are:

cooperating with one another exchanging views setting new standards and norms becoming cohesive supporting each other

Stage 4, performing The group has progressed successfully through its stages ofdevelopment, real progress is made, and:

teamwork is achieved roles are flexible solutions are found and implemented team energy is directed towards completion of the task constructive work forges ahead

Figure 3.2 Stages of team development

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Sometimes team norms and organizational norms are inconflict with one another, as in the Hawthorne Experimentswhen the workers restricted output. Typical team norms arenot to produce at too high a rate, not to shirk, not to sayanything to team leaders or managers which might harmmembers of the team, not to be officious where, for example,a member of the team has responsibility for quality control. Ifteam members do not conform to norms teams develop theirown sanctions, for example, sending a member of the teamto Coventry, being sarcastic to them, not passing oninformation to them or even expelling them from the team ortrying to damage their career.

The ideal situation for the organization is when the teamnorms and the organizational norms are in harmony with oneanother. It is important for you, as a team leader, to securethis harmony in your own section.

Activity 15List five of the work norms in your workteam.

Team boundaries

Teams have boundaries around them that define who is, andwho is not, in the team. Teams will only allow certain peopleto enter. Those within the team display the norms for thatteam and anybody entering the team has to conform to thosenorms to be accepted. People can be in several teams andwhen in a particular team display the norms of that team.When a new member joins the team, if they are welcome, theother team members or one member of the team will easethem into the team and explain the expected behaviours, i.e.the norms of the team.

Team cohesiveness

Team cohesiveness refers to the ability of team members tostick together and the ability of the team to attract newmembers. A very cohesive team demonstrates a strong loyaltyto individual members and a strong adherence to itsestablished norms. Individuals who cannot accept the teamnorms are cast out from the protection of the team. CohesiveP


41

teams do not necessarily produce a higher level of output, asdemonstrated by the Hawthorne Experiments, but cohesiveteams usually result in greater interaction between members,mutual help and social satisfaction. There are several factorswhich contribute to team cohesiveness. These are shown inFigure 3.3.

WORKTEAMS

Similarity of work Where the nature of the task is similarcohesiveness is usually greater

Physical setting Where workers are close togethercohesiveness is generally increased

Communications Where members can communicatefreely with each other there is a greaterlikelihood of team cohesiveness

Permanence ofgroup members

Team relationships take time todevelop. Frequent changes ofmembership tend to lead to a lesscohesive team

Group size Cohesiveness becomes more difficult toachieve when the team is too large

External threat Cohesiveness is often enhanced bymembers cooperating with one anotherwhen faced with a common externalthreat

Success The more successful the team, themore cohesive it is likely to be

Leadership styleof the manager

The form of management and style ofleadership will affect teamcohesiveness. Where the leader issupportive and participative,cohesiveness will increase

Common socialfactors (age, race,social status etc.)

The more similar background, interests,attitudes and values are, the morecohesive the team tends to be

Figure 3.3Factors contributingto cohesive teams

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Activity 16How cohesive is your team? Complete the table below.

Factorinfluencingcohesiveness

Comment in relation to my team

Similarity of work

Physical setting

Communications

Permanence ofgroup members

Group size

External threat

Success

My leadership style

Common socialfactors (age, race,social status etc.)

Effective and ineffective teams

Douglas McGregor, provided an account of the differencesbetween effective and ineffective work groups. These aresummarized in Figure 3.4.


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Effective teams Ineffective teams

1 Informal, relaxedatmosphere

Bored or tense atmosphere

2 Much relevant discussionwith a high degree ofparticipation

Discussion dominated byone or two people and oftenirrelevant

3 Team objectiveunderstood andcommitment to itobtained

No clear common objective

4 Members listen to eachother

Members tend not to listen toeach other

5 Conflict is not avoidedbut brought out into theopen and dealt withconstructively

Conflict is either avoided orallowed to develop into openwarfare

6 Most decisions arereached by generalconsensus

Simple majorities are seenas sufficient basis for groupdecisions, which the majorityhave to accept

7 Ideas are expressedfreely and openly

Personal feelings are kepthidden and criticism isembarrassing

8 Leadership is not alwayswith the formal leader buttends to be sharedopenly

Leadership is provided bythe formal leader

9 The team examines itsown progress andbehaviour

The team avoids anydiscussion about its ownbehaviour

10 Low staff turnover andabsenteeism

High staff turnover andabsenteeism

WORKTEAMS

Figure 3.4Effective andineffective teams

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Activity 17How effective is your team? Complete the table below.

Effective teams Ineffective teams My comments onhow effective myteam is

1 Informal, relaxedatmosphere

Bored or tenseatmosphere

2 Much relevantdiscussion with ahigh degree ofparticipation

Discussiondominated by one ortwo people, andoften irrelevant

3 Team objectiveunderstood, andcommitment to itobtained

No clear commonobjective

4 Members listen toeach other

Members tend not tolisten to each other

5 Conflict is notavoided butbrought out intothe open anddealt withconstructively

Conflict is eitheravoided or allowedto develop into openwarfare

6 Most decisionsare reached bygeneralconsensus

Simple majorities areseen as sufficientbasis for groupdecisions, which themajority have toaccept

7 Ideas areexpressed freelyand openly

Personal feelings arekept hidden andcriticism isembarrassing

8 Leadership is notalways with theformal leader buttends to beshared openly

Leadership isprovided by theformal leader

9 The teamexamines its ownprogress andbehaviour

The team avoids anydiscussion about itsown behaviour

10 Low staffturnover andabsenteeism

High staff turnoverand absenteeism


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Management team roles the work of BelbinA researcher from Cambridge, Meredith Belbin, hasconducted in-depth research into the membership ofsuccessful teams. He concluded that teams composed ofsimilar people will not work well together and lackcreativity. Belbin identified nine team roles. An explanationof these roles is given in Figure 3.5. Belbin states that these

WORKTEAMS

Roles and descriptions team-role contribution Allowable weaknesses

Plant: Creative, imaginative, unorthodox.Solves difficult problems.

Ignores details. Too preoccupied tocommunicate effectively.

Resource investigator: Extrovert, enthusiastic,communicative. Exploresopportunities. Develops contacts.

Overoptimistic. Loses interest onceinitial enthusiasm has passed.

Co-ordinator: Mature, confident, a goodchairperson. Clarifies goals,promotes decision-making.Delegates well.

Can be seen as manipulative.Delegates personal work.

Shaper: Challenging, dynamic, thrives onpressure. Has the drive and courageto overcome obstacles.

Can provoke others. Hurts peoplesfeelings.

Monitor-Evaluator: Sober, strategic and discerning.Sees all options. Judges accurately.

Lacks drive and ability to inspireothers. Overly critical.

Team Worker: Co-operative, mild, perceptive anddiplomatic. Listens, builds, avoids,friction, calms the waters.

Indecisive in crunch situations. Canbe easily influenced.

Implementer: Disciplined, reliable, conservativeand efficient. Turns ideas intopractical actions.

Somewhat inflexible. Slow torespond to new possibilities.

Completer: Painstaking, conscientious, anxious.Searches out errors and omissions.Delivers on time.

Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctantto delegate. Can be a nit-picker.

Specialist: Single-minded, self-sharing,dedicated. Provides knowledge andskills in rare supply.

Contributes on only a narrow front.Dwells on technicalities. Overlooksthe big picture.

Figure 3.5Belbins team roles.Reprinted withpermission fromBelbin, R.M. (1993)Team Roles at Work,Butterworth-Heinemann

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are the key team roles and that creative teams need abalance of these roles to be creative and successful. He hasdesigned a Self Perception Inventory (similar to aquestionnaire) which can be completed to establish what apersons key team role is; although a person usually has adominant role they will probably have a back-up role.Belbin claims that not all nine types are necessarily neededbut a good mix of roles is important. It is an interestingexercise to conduct the Belbin Self Perception Inventory foryour team. You can find out what roles people have withinyour team and see what team roles you are short of. If youhave this information you can more easily compensate forthe roles that you do not have. Some organizations useBelbins Self Percep

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