Running head: TEAM BASED ORGANIZATIONS 1
Team Based Organizations
Darlene Maney
GB600-1019-1129-03N
Leadership Strategies for a Changing World
November 15, 2011
Professor
Dr. Richard D. Rowlett
TEAM BASED ORGANIZATIONS 2
Introduction
According to businessdictionary.com, the definition of a team based organization is a “non-traditional, innovative work environment relying on teams to achieve its objectives. TBO's major characteristics include (1) mutual trust, (2) employee empowerment in planning, organization, and goal-setting, (3) shared responsibility for self-management, (4) shared accountability for performance, and (5) shared leadership” ("Team Based," 2011) Traditionally, only the people at the top level of the organization are involved in the management functions of leading, organizing, controlling, and planning. In team based organizations, management decisions are delegated to employees and they are engaged in decision making on a collective basis. By doing this, managers have more time to collect and analyze data before making their own key decisions. “Managers are experimenting with participation, high-commitment
organizations, self-managing work teams, labor–management cooperation, and gain-sharing programs. These innovations, though they have different backgrounds, all involve the explicit
use of teams to accomplish central organizational tasks. The team rather than the individual is increasingly considered the basic building block of organizations.” (“Introduction to Team”, n.d.) This paper will discuss team based organizations, motivating team members through recognition, and recommendations for leading teams to long term effectiveness.
Working as a Team
Working as a collective is intrinsic to human nature. We work together as families and friends to achieve certain goals. “To live, work, and play in human society is to cooperate with others.” ("Introduction to Team", n.d.) It is not a stretch to extend this to the workplace. Teams can develop and market products, solve production problems and participate in developing corporate strategy. Allowing employees to make decisions and delegate responsibilities is very empowering. They begin to own their jobs and a sense of loyalty to the company is fostered. The company benefits from this because more ideas are generated, communication is improved, absenteeism and turnover are reduced, and management has more time to make decisions that affect the whole organization. According to Tom Feinberg, “By implementing a team-based organization system, a company not only improves its operating effectiveness and creates a competitive advantage, but also increases communication within the organization and establishes collective decision-making which in turn helps the organization achieve its goals and objectives” (Feinberg, 2011)
Companies whose strategy includes speed have found that teams are effective when it comes to introducing new products to win in a competitive market. A positive out-growth of a team environment includes cross-discipline innovations. This comes from joining together persons of diverse knowledge to “reframe problems and traditional solutions” ("Team Based," 2011) An additional benefit of being team-based is that of commitment. Committed employees are found more in team based organizations than in a traditional workplace. “And research has shown that a committed workforce increasingly is essential for creating a committed customer base.” (“Team Based,” 2011) Information sharing is still yet another benefit. Organizational information can be moved and used quickly, across all levels of the organization. This shared understanding of information can align everyone with the same goal and/or strategy. Overall, “team-based organizations run more efficiently and effectively, giving them a competitive edge in today's global market” (“Team Based,”2011).
Disadvantages
There is a disadvantage to being team-based, and that is the problem of recognition of effort. Because being team-based focuses on team performance rather than individual performance, motivating employees can be a challenge. Individuals like to be recognized for their participation and contributions. Another disadvantage is that these organizations are decentralized, causing problems for management when it comes to coordination and control. In addition, teams need to have a strong leader because the constant change that results from decisions being made quickly can lead to instability which can result in chaos and confusion. It takes a competent, highly trained team leader to “provide good communication, effective project management and efficient resource allocation” (Duggan, 2011)
Recognition
As mentioned above, recognition of effort is one area of team-based work that presents a challenge. Recognition programs reward efforts designed to improve performance and employee motivation. A properly designed and applied program can build a high performance team, but “misapplication could lead to unhealthy competition, lack of cooperation, and ultimately severe financial consequences for the organization” ("Team Rewards and," 2005). There are the options of merit pay, bonuses, and awards that can be awarded to team members based on performance, meeting the set goals for the team, and customer satisfaction. “Aspects of the organization context such as reward systems or organizational structure can have strong impacts on team functioning.” (Cohen & Bailey, 1997) There should be a guideline for receiving these rewards on an individual and a team basis. The recognition should be fair and equitable, plus be consistent with the rest of the company. Employees will do the job for their payday but with the promise of a reward for going over and above in accomplishing the goals of the company, they will go the extra mile to step up their job performance.
Recommendations
Team based organizations have been proven to be a success in that they utilize the experience and creativity of all employees to further the goals of the organization. The disadvantages that have been noted above are challenges that should be recognized and steps put in place to resolve said challenges. One challenge is the one of effective team leadership. This writer’s recommendation would be that organizations utilizing teams should set aside the time and money necessary to effectively train the team leaders in skills such as group dynamics and team building skills, and then hold them accountable for utilizing those skills in team management. Another recommendation would be for the organization to design a reward/recognition system that rewards the team performance AND individual performance, when merited. These should include monetary and non-monetary rewards, as it has been proven that non-monetary rewards can also satisfy the need for recognition of effort. “A January 2007 survey by staffing firm Accountemps found that “frequent recognition of accomplishments” was the top non-monetary compensation named by full- and part-time office workers” (Tynan, 2011). This type of compensation can include things like flex-time, a hand-written note from the CEO, or a recognition of their efforts recorded in the company newsletter. By recognizing the challenges facing work teams and designing programs to address those challenges, an organization can achieve long term success.
Conclusion
Team based organizations have been proven to be effective and successful by employing the ideas and efforts of everyone in the company in making decisions, designing processes, and, in general, working together to accomplish the goals and strategy of the organization. By working as teams to accomplish tasks, organizations have found there are less absenteeism, lower turnover, and a higher level of commitment on the part of the employees. There are, however, challenges to be overcome in order for the organization to achieve long term success. Group cohesiveness has been proven to be a factor in the success of the team, so the team must have a strong leader with the training necessary to build and maintain this cohesiveness. There are various studies that have been done on the effectiveness of team-based organizations. Companies should be aware of these studies, and the results indicated by these studies, and utilize the information to design their work teams. These companies should also conduct ongoing training for the team leaders so that they will provide strong leadership in those concerns that affect teams. And lastly, companies should develop reward systems (monetary and non-monetary) that will reward both the team and individual performances.
TEAM BASED ORGANIZATIONS 8
References
Cohen, S., & Bailey, D. (1997). What Makes Teams Work: Group Effectiveness Research From the Shop Floor to the Executive Suite. Journal of Management, 23(3), 239 - 290. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from http://www.stanford.edu/group/wto/cgi-bin/docs/Cohen_Bailey_97.pdf
Duggan, T. (2011). The Disadvantages of Team Based Organizational Structure. Retrieved November 15, 2011, from Chron.com Web site: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-teambased-organizational-structure-22216.html
Feinberg, T. (2011). Team Based Organizations. Retrieved November 14, 2011, from Self Growth Web site: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Team_Based_Organizations.html
Introduction to Team Based Organizations (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2011, from Blackwell Publishing Web site: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/1405106115/001.pdf
Team Based Organization. (2011). Retrieved November 14, 2011, from businessdictionary.com Web site: http://www
Team Based Organizations Out-Compete in Speed Driven Markets. (2011, June 22). Retrieved November 14, 2011, from Time Driven Performance Web site: http://timedrivenperformance.com/2011/06/22/team-based-organizations-out-compete-in-speed-driven-markets/
Team Rewards and Employee Motivation. (2005). Retrieved November 15, 2011, from 101 Rewards Web site: http://www.101rewards.com/
Tynan, D. (2011). 25 Ways to Reward Employees (Without Spending a Dime). Retrieved November 15, 2011, from HR World Web site: http://www.hrworld.com/features/25-employee-rewards/