Scenario:
When the team members at Widgets, Inc. sat down for their next meeting, they were surprised to see a single piece of paper at each chair.
“What is this?” asked Linda from IT, picking up the single sheet from her chair. “It looks like…”
“A contract,” chimed in Frank from the marketing department, as he turned the sheet over in his hands.
“Exactly,” said Tim. “It’s a team contract. Just like all of you are familiar with your employment contract, this team contract spells out the specifics of your roles and responsibilities for participating on the team. Unlike an employment contract, it’s not legally binding. But it does state how you’re expected to behave in a respectful manner to others—and also the protections you enjoy against disrespectful behavior.”
“But surely we all know each other, Tim,” said Linda. “We’re familiar with one another. We’re practically old friends.”
“Think of the concept of the Johari window,” said Tim. “It’s a concept that dates back to the 1950s that suggests there are certain elements of everyone’s character that are knowable to yourself and to others. But there are other qualities that are only knowable to yourself and still others that are only knowable to others, but not to yourself. In other words, we all have to engage in continual exploration of the self and the impressions we create. Quite often, we may engage in behaviors that are unknowingly harmful.”
“But is this really necessary to achieve our goals?” asked Frank. “Isn’t that what good teamwork is all about? Achieving goals?”
“A more productive way to think of teamwork may be using the GRPI model, or to see effective teams as consisting of goals, roles, processes, and interpersonal relationships. It’s necessary for people to be self-aware about the roles they are playing to improve the processes and their interpersonal relationships to achieve those goals.”
“It’s true,” said Linda. “None of us here want to be offensive to one another, but when we’re focused on an idea, sometimes it can be easy to be dismissive of another person’s feelings, especially when delegating tasks.”
“Rather than delegation, or simply telling you what to do, I prefer to think of myself as empowering you as a leader, or making you aware of your strengths so you don’t feel hampered to take the initiative. That’s another reason for this contract, however, so we’re all able to do so without making other people feel as if their boundaries are being violated. These are also known as high leader-member exchange(LMX) relationships, which are founded upon a mutual sense of trust that members want to do things—and that you know I, as a leader, set rules for the good of the team, not because I’m engaged in egotistical wish fulfillment. I hope to offer you guidance, rather than leading in an authoritarian manner.”
“I’ve always appreciated how you encourage multiskilling,” said Beth from human resources. “In other words, encouraging people to develop skills that stretch beyond those of narrowly defined competencies. For example, you allowed me to give input into the training for the new software we installed, even though I don’t have technical skills, because I was able to use my understanding of learning to determine what aspects of the program would be the most challenging for laypersons. Now, I feel much better equipped to comment on how technology can be integrated into the workday.”
“Anyway, although a contract sounds like a very formal and intimidating document, think of it as something that protects your rights as a team member, not as signing your lives away!” said Tim.
The team members looked visibly more relaxed.
Address the following questions in your response:
What is a team contract?
What is the Johari window?
What are high-LMX relationships beneficial to?
What do the letters in the GRPI model stand for?
How can the GRPI model be used?
What factors are unproductive in team exercises?
What is the key difference between empowerment and delegation?
What does the term multiskilling refer to, and how is it used?
What measures are not advisable to use when measuring team performance?
What is the SMART acronym used for in management?
What should generally be avoided when giving feedback?
What is not beneficial when building a collaborative work environment?
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following:
Title page: Remember the running head. The title should be in all capitals.
Length: 3 pages minimum
Body: This begins on the page following the title page and abstract page and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The typeface should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics, except as required for APA-level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your paper for this assignment is 3 pages. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged.
Reference page: References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final page of your paper. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hanging indent, italics, and uppercase and lowercase usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference page is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation
The Team Management Practices at Widget, Inc:
Analyzing and Answering Scenario Questions
Name_______
Department of _____, Purdue University
Cause Name
Professor Name
Date
Abstract
In a Widget, Inc. scenario, management established a contract for a team and decided to place a copy of the document on each member's chair. The research topic suggested is team management practices and the scenario-related questions posed were: What is a team contract? What is the Johari window, What are high-LMX relationships beneficial to? What do the letters in the GRPI model stand for? How can the GRPI model be used? What factors are unproductive in team exercises? What is the key difference between empowerment and delegation? What does the term multiskilling refer to, and how is it used? What measures are not advisable to use when measuring team performance? What is the SMART acronym used for in management? What should generally be avoided when giving feedback? What is not beneficial when building a collaborative work environment?. As a result, this paper tackles the concerns raised by assessing and responding to the twelve questions posed with guidance from secondary data from online journals. The results from the analysis are that a team contract includes members’ duties and responsibilities in the team and the benefits of being part of the team. Through effective team management practices, a team can achieve its objectives, and the practices are Goal setting, Johari Window, high-LMX relationships, team collaboration, multiskilling, GRPI model, empowerment, performance evaluation, and feedback. In conclusion, addressing the questions helped in finding the reasons why the team members accepted the team contract in the scenario.
Keywords: Team contract, team management, meeting
Answering The Twelve Questions From The Scenario
What Is A Team Contract?
A team contract outlines each member's expectations, tasks, and obligations (Psu, 2015). According to Tim, the team contract details each member's roles and responsibilities, as well as the benefits of being a team member. A team contract, while comparable to an employment contract, is not legally binding.
What Is The Johari Window
The Johari Window is a notion of personal awareness that was introduced in 1955. A complete feedback assessment approach, it assists individuals in understanding how they can perceive themselves and how others can view them, and so it is effective in improving each member's self-awareness so that they can work well with others (Oliver & Duncan, 2019). According to Tim, this notion will help team members who may inadvertently engage in damaging actions to others.
What Are High-Lmx Relationships?
The high-LMX relationships benefit the leader and the team members. It is a relationship management technique centered on a healthy or two-way relationship between the leader and the members. There is a sense of trust, respect, and concern for one another in the high-LMX relationship (Fatima et al., 2020). It also benefits the whole of Widget, Inc by increasing the productivity and performance of both leaders and team members. Leaders empower team members and focus on assisting them in achieving goals, whereas team members use their abilities with greater independence to take initiative.
What Is The GRPI Model?
According to Jaiswal et al. (2020a), the letters in the GRPI model indicate the four essential characteristics of an effective team: G for goals, R for roles, P for processes, and I for interpersonal relationships.
How can the GRPI model be used?
The GRPI model may be used by Widget, Inc. to investigate and assess all parts of each team's cooperation that can meet the specified goals, with the correct team member responsibilities, processes in place, and relationships that increase teamwork. The approach may be used to enhance awareness of the factors that are limiting team performance in order to improve team performance and development (Jaiswal et al., 2021b).
What Factors Are Unproductive In A-Team?
Unproductive factors in team exercises include: a) being offensive to one another, as Linda mentioned; b) a lack of defined goals; c) poor communication between members and leader; d) insufficient team meetings; e) conflicts; f) ineffective leadership; g) low engagement from members; h) a lack of skill training; and a lack of trust and care.
What Is The Difference Between Empowerment And Delegation?
The primary distinction between empowering and delegating is that empowering provides team members with the required skills and accountability to take initiative (on a variety of activities) and make crucial decisions. Delegating, on the other hand, is task-based, which means that a leader permits a specific work to be performed on behalf of that leader by a team member (Yammarino et al., 2020).
What Is Multiskilling?
Multiskilling refers to teaching individuals to undertake a variety of activities outside of their specialty. It is used to improve a team member's competency, efficiency, and productivity, allowing the entire team to perform better and adapt to changes (Nasirian et al., 2019).
What Are The Cons Of Measuring Team Performance?
The following measures are not advised for measuring team performance: a) Choosing bad key performance indicators (KPIs) that are not aligned with the goals of the team. This might include the number of hours the team members spend on the work or the number of resources squandered in a period. Bad KPIs do not accurately reflect the member’s performance, are frequently confusing, vague, and difficult to utilize when tracking performance (Domínguez et al., 2019).
How Is SMART Used In Team Management?
The SMART acronym is used in management to assist in goal formulation for people and organizations. The abbreviation stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely framed (D'Amato & Banfi, 2021). By considering all five factors in the acronym to define goals, management enhances the team's efforts toward success and the odds of attaining them.
What Is Avoided When Giving Feedback?
When providing feedback, the following should be avoided in general: providing feedback rarely or not in a timely manner, as this decreases the significance for changes or improvements. Giving feedback that is not specific enough makes it harder to understand. Giving one-way feedback, which contributes to the formation of an authoritarian culture. Effective feedback must come from a variety of sources, including fellow team members. Finally, delivering only negative or only positive feedback to team members, since such actions lead to no motivation to improve or change (Leading Effectively Staff, 2021).
What Is Not Beneficial When Building A-Team?
The following are not beneficial when establishing a collaborative work environment. a) conflicts Conflict may arise in collaborative work as a result of the diversity of members' talents, expertise, and working styles. These disagreements will hinder members' ideas, creativity, talents, and contributions. Loss of autonomy and decision-making complexity might create an environment in which some people establish groups – inside the team – that allow them to lead using their ideas rather than cooperating and helping the team.
References
D'Amato, V., & Banfi, A. (2021). Is performance appraisal still performing?. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 22(4), 443-460. https://www.inderscienceonline.com/doi/abs/10.1504/IJBPM.2021.118613
Domínguez, E., Pérez, B., Rubio, A. L., & Zapata, M. A. (2019). A taxonomy for key performance indicators management. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 64, 24-40. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0920548918300916
Fatima, T., Raja, U., Malik, M. A. R., & Jahanzeb, S. (2020). Leader–member exchange quality and employees job outcomes: a parallel mediation model. Eurasian Business Review,10(2), 309-332. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40821-020-00158-6
Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, May 27). 8 Team management skills every leader should know. Indeed Career Guide. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/team-management-skills#:%7E:text=Team%20management%20is%20a%20manager,continue%20to%20grow%20as%20professionals
Jaiswal, A., Karabiyik, T., Thomas, P., & Magana, A. J. (2021a). Characterizing Team Orientations and Academic Performance in Cooperative Project-Based Learning Environments. Education Sciences, 11(9), 520. https://www.mdpi.com/1262456
Jaiswal, A., Karabiyik, T., Thomas, P., & Magana, A. J. (2021b). Characterizing Team Orientations and Academic Performance in Cooperative Project-Based Learning Environments. Education Sciences, 11(9), 520. https://www.mdpi.com/1262456
Leading Effectively Staff. (2021, August 31). The Most Effective Types of Feedback | Center for Creative Leadership. Center For Creative Leadership. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/review-time-how-to-give-different-types-of-feedback/
Oliver, S., & Duncan, S. (2019). Looking through the Johari window. Research for All. https://www.scienceopen.com/document_file/995541ca-f57c-470b-ab68-5a1262803ac6/ScienceOpen/s1.pdf
Pennsylvania State University. (2015, January 21). SRA 111 SP 15: Team13. Pennsylvania State University. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://sites.psu.edu/sra111sp15team13/2015/01/21/milestone-1/
Nasirian, A., Arashpour, M., & Abbasi, B. (2019). Critical literature review of labor multiskilling in construction. Journal of construction engineering and management, 145(1), 04018113. https://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001577
Yammarino, F. J., Cheong, M., Kim, J., & Tsai, C. Y. (2020). Is leadership more than “I like my boss”?. In Research in personnel and human resources management. Emerald Publishing Limited. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S0742-730120200000038003
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