BS2530 Organisational Behaviour Assignment Sample
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Introduction:
The present task would present critical analysis of three different sources of articles by focussing on the significance of team working in the organisation. Three articles are ‘The Super team’ by Tu, K., ‘Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered’ by Knights and Mccabe and ‘Ferguson’s Formula’ by Elberse and Ferguson. This critical analysis would present different range of ideas regarding team working in the contemporary workplace.
Critical analysis 1:
Source 1: Tu, K. (2012) ‘The Super Team’, Management Today, December, pp.54-56.
The source of information is here the article ‘The Super Team’ written by Khoi Tu. Khoi is the renowned teamwork and leadership consultant. He has also advised few of the influential individual and leading entrepreneurs of the world. The article has been written as an extract from the ‘Superteams: The Secret of stellar Performance from Seven Legendary Teams’.
Khoi had highlighted that the magic of teamwork is there in the mix. There is crucial significance of individual excellence within a team. It is that vital chemistry which combines different talent for delivering to form a super team. The stated aim of Khoi is that teams require heavy abrasion for fanning the sparks about creativity except burning down total edifice.
There are several secrets for forming super teams. These are forging common purpose, leading the team, creating environment for success, building cohesion, pursuing quest for best, mastering conflict and adapting. Khoi has also discovered seven in every walks of life involving global aid agency the British Red Cross, animation wizard Pixar and sexagenarian rockers the Rolling Stones. To form a super team the common purpose should be attract the right talent and also inspire those for working together. As per Khoi, it is also vital to structure the team in respect to its sizes and roles and to manage the relationship and resources to become successful. Both collaboration and teamwork are critical for any organisation for responding quickly at any changing circumstances. On the other hand, Ashkanasy and Zerbe (2010) argued without the ability to master conflict, it is not possible to avoid the huge friction which generates among the team members. The actual ability for mastering than avoiding the conflict creates the crucial part to form better team. When the conflict is well focussed and managed over a team’s objective, then it can generate largely creative solutions by generating conflict-free groups. However, excellence is something which the team must always identify as per Khoi. The Toy Story crisis had forced entire team to become self-confident being individuals and also become less ego-driven for the whole team. The success of the Stones came by being every member distinctive but having the complementary roles. It has helped each member of the Stones to achieve own individual goal which made the team to become super team.
For staying ahead it is often needed to adjust with the shared approach (Alan, 2015). Cohesion is that magnetic force which needs to be implemented for binding a team together and enabling for performing effectively as the unit. In this regard, trust is most vital element in a team which helps a team to play and also stay together. True collaboration is totally impossible if the trust is not there among the members of the team. However, Barker (2013) raised the point that the most difficult thing during working in any team is to able to hear the opinion of others without being very judgemental. The ability to provide constructive criticism to others for the team’s betterment is really hard. It is highly difficult to point out the work which needs the improvement. Overall, this is also equally critical to take the constructive criticism for own also during working in the team (Belbin, 2009). Teams are always required to invest in mastering conflict and building cohesion for getting the benefit of creating abrasion. The argument has been made by the critics that it is most vital to define own protocols for collaboration which is the secret for making effective team. Practicing of such protocol could make the high-performance habit which is the actual secret for making a team to become super teams (Benders, and Van Hootegem, 2008). The intention for avoiding conflict is wrathful but it is highly debilitating factors in any organisational life. The lack of candor easily contributes to the longer cycle times, unnecessary iterative discussions and slow decision making.
However, it has to be kept in mind that all teams are not same. The essence of effective teamwork is the hard work. During learning the proper behaviour of teamwork for building superteam, it is highly needed to learn about the way for connecting with other fellow members of the team. Being connected generates effective relationship and respect with other members of the team. The appropriate commitment and practice have no substitute for building a team to be better team.
Critical analysis 2:
Source 2: Knights, D. and McCabe, D (2000) ‘Bewitched, Bothered and bewildered: the Meaning and Experience of Team working for Employees in an Automobile Company’, Human Relations, 53(11), pp. 1481-1517.
The present article ‘Bewitched, Bothered and bewildered: the Meaning and Experience of Team working for Employees in an Automobile Company’ has been presented by David Knights and Darren Mccabe. Both authors have published several articles since then.
The article was published in the journal ‘Human Relation’ in the year 2000.
The authors have presented that there is the faith about team working to be a method to ensure that all human resources can be mobilised effectively for achieving unquestioned benefits. This article has also explored that how the team working is meaningful for the lives of employee in an automobile manufacturing company. One of crucial reason for recent aura regarding team working is prevailing humanistic assumption regarding responsibility and autonomy (Bratton et al. 2007). This presumes that the incorporation of managerial activities in team working is welcome by the employees as the unconditional benefit. The aim of this paper is not to present the types of framework but to offer the tentative analysis regarding the effects regarding subjectivity over the employees and the behaviour. The paper has presented several necessary literature to understand the significance of team working. Here the focus has also been put on at Intermotors, how the employees had made the working arrangements through the developed team working. There is the taken for granted assumption in the accounts of managers that the team working is simple beneficial and welcomed by employees. However, for the critics it can be said that there is no such normal format for team working. Briggs (2011) also argued that there is no such single experience also for team working. Three types of employee reactions have been identified as the heuristic device. Firstly there are those employees who feel bewitched by the discourse with team working and those who has realised the values and norms. Secondly, there are those employees who have bothered through the ideology that the employees re disturbed through incessant intrusion into the lives. On the other hand, the reactions of the colleagues who consider enthralled through team discourse are also counted in this case. Thirdly, the employees who have been bewildered by the team working due to the attack have established way for doing things. However, there are also the variations and overlaps within and between such categories although it offers the useful method for demonstrating the complex set about research findings. Moreover, the argument can also be made that the employees cannot be as convinced through the discourse of team working as it seems to be advocated presume or fear. However, argument is there about the autonomous team concept. This is highly talked about both the supporters and critics. According to such critics the flexibility and speed which are required by the organization to achieve competitive position in the world is found in temporary team organizing around few projects.
Hence, there is no such single experience of teamwork as the findings of Knight and McCabe have shown through three classes of employees as bothered, bewildered or bewitched. Hence, it is inappropriate for claiming that teamwork is beneficial always for its members. Adding to this, the team systems might open up the possibilities beyond the extent to which management actually intends (Burrell and Morgan, 2008). Thus, the teamwork in the workplace provides any company and its employees the capability for becoming largely familiar with other and how working together. There are different ways by which the teamwork becomes crucial for the success of the organisation and development for every employee. Recognsing such element assists the company towards encouraging the team growth in any workplace.
Critical analysis: 3
Source 3: Elberse, A. and Ferguson, A. (2013) ‘Ferguson’s Formula’ Harvard Business Review, October, pp. 116-125.
The current article ‘Ferguson’s Formula’ has been written by authors Anita Elberse and Alex Ferguson which would be critically evaluated here. The major focus has been put on the team working skill which is even helpful in the workplace.
When Alex Ferguson had taken over as the manager of English Football team of the Manchester United, the club was in straits. The situation was that no league had been won by the club nearly 20 years and also faced the real threat for becoming relegated to the lower division. Under the managerial role of Ferguson in 26th season, the Manchester United club won 38 international and domestic trophies. Thus United became one of the significant franchises in the sports. During Ferguson’s final season in 2012 before retiring, Anita Elberse, a professor of Harvard Business School received the crucial opportunity for observing the management style of Ferguson through in-depth interview and series of visits. Through this collaborative explication, Anita revealed eight significant parts of the ‘formula’ of Ferguson as she observed those and received the manager’s say. This had ranged from the need for maintaining the control over the high performance team members up to the significance of observation including inevitability for change. There was always focus on teamwork by Ferguson. This kind of vital approach had brought the team of Ferguson immense success and also staying power to be well beyond football starting from business up to life.
There are eight crucial elements which Ferguson used as the model for success. Starting with basic foundation is the primary approach of Ferguson’s formula. Ferguson used to consider that his first level of business is to bring the young players and to build an efficient youth system, so that it could sustain the club for many years. This would be helpful more in comparison to signing the veterans for the short-gain success (Cohen et al. 2006). On the other hand, Sir Alex had highlighted on the approach of dare for rebuilding a team. As Ferguson was never afraid of becoming fired, he used to make decisions depending on which the team would foresee for coming four years. There was the vital thought that each team need to be restored for every four years. Adding to this, Ferguson set the high standard and also holds everyone to that. According to the thinking of Ferguson, the great anecdote regarding how to meet high standard can be contagious. On the other hand, Anita also identified that Ferguson’s formula also used to believe never ceding control. Being a manager, it is not needed to think whether the employee like you or not. The manager is needed to get rid of the employee if there is creation of discord and attempt to wresting power from the manager (Covey et al. 2012). The crucial formula for maintaining high standard throughout the board was the willingness for responding forcefully and quickly when the players violate the standards. Thus, it is highly desired to maintain proper standards sometimes forcefully also to maintain the team working ability in the workplace. According to Ferguson, there is no such general rule regarding the moment when the manager should make criticism about the players and when the players should be encouraged. It is the contexts of the situation which set the best message which can be send to the team. Although the negative feedback might hurt, but it is essential gift for individual to help the recipient for improving the performance and voiding mistakes (Cully et al. 2013). For a team it is really easy to win by focusing on the strengths of own team. Being a manager, it is also required to play various roles at different times.
Ferguson’s main focus always remained on preparing to win which is more regarding risk-taking. The philosophy of Ferguson was if anyone is down 2-1, it is needed to put stress on extra offensive player. Anita also identified the relying on the observation power was one of the secret of success about Ferguson’s formula. Alex Ferguson delegated to manage practices by assistant coaches so that he could watch simply and can observe what is going on with every individual player. Derber and Schwartz (2010) cited that there is crucial value of totally observing anything. Being a regular observer, it is easy to easily spot the changes in the training patterns, work rates and energy levels. Thus, the vital key for delegating the direct supervision to others and trusting those for doing jobs is allowing the manager to observe truly. Thus, observation plays as the critical part of the team management skills. Ferguson’s tenure was never stop from adapting. There was high belief on the fact the change can be controlled only by accepting the same. The key factor for team working for the people like Ferguson, it is not needed to feel problems for changing. However, it is really difficult to respond to the change always (Ezzamel and Wilmott, 2007). Sometimes it is really harder when anyone is at the top for so long. Still, evidence is there about Ferguson’s willingness for changing in everywhere. When there is no other option, it should be looked for exploration of any kinds of improvement. Continuously working hard can bring any kind of success. This would give the best possible chance for winning.
Thus, Ferguson has crucially demonstrated the management approach as a football manager. This has not only helped to turn the Manchester United to be the valuable club globally, but his managerial skill has also become vital example of successful team working in the workplace also.
Conclusion:
By evaluating the potential strengths and weakness of three sources, it can be derived that team working is the key factor to achieve success in the workplace including personal life. Team work has been found to be essential in the corporate for better output and also bonding among the employees. The major strength of Khoi’s Superteam is that each team member has the responsibility for equal contribution in the team. On the other hand, Ferguson’s formula for maintaining effective teamwork in place is to put focus on observing and adapting to change always. However, Knight and McCabe have promoted the three types of employee reactions in respect to teamwork. Moreover, it can be inferred that when individuals work in the close coordination with other, then there is the chance for reducing unnecessary conflicts at the workplace. Every individual attempts for supporting other team member at level best. This kind of bonding enhances the probability to generate appropriate teamwork and to build superteam at workplace.
References:
Ashkanasy, N. M. and Zerbe, W. J. (2010) Emotions in the workplace: research, theory, and practice, Westport: Greenwood Publishing group, Inc.
Alan, P.R. (2015) ‘Emotions and team projects and processes’, Team Performance Management, 11(7), pp. 251-262
Barker, J. (2013) ‘Tightening the iron cage: Concertive control in self managing teams’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 38(3), pp.408-437.
Belbin, R.M. (2009). Beyond the Team. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Benders, J., and Van Hootegem, G. (2008) ‘Teams and the Context: Moving the Team Discussion beyond Existing Dichotomies’, Journal of Management Studies, 36(5), pp. 609-628.
Bratton, J., Callinan, M., Forshaw, C. and Sawchuk, P. (2007). Work and Organizationl Behaviour: Understand the Workplace, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Briggs, M.H. (2011). Building early intervention teams: Working together for children and families, Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen.
Burrell, G., and G. Morgan (2008). Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis. London: Heinemann.
Cohen, S., Ledford, G., and Spreitzer, G. (2006) ‘A Predictive Model of Self-Managing Work Team Effectiveness’, Human Relations, 49(5), pp. 643-676.
Covey, S. R., Merrill, A. R. and Merrill, R.R. (2012) First things first, New York: Simon and Schuster.
Cully, M., Woodland, S., O’Reilly, A., Dix, G., Millward, N., Bryson, A. and Forth, J. (2013). The 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey: First Findings, London: DTI.
Derber, C. and Schwartz, W. (2010) ‘Toward a Theory of Worker Participation’, Sociological Inquiry, 53, pp. 61-78.
Ezzamel, M. and Wilmott, H. (2007) ‘Accounting for teamwork: A critical study of group based system of organizational control’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 43(2), pp. 358-396.
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