Posts by John Dudovskiy

It is important to stress that “the group definition describes the individuals within it as having a common interest, while the team definition describes the members within it as striving for a common goal” (Carter, 2009, p.4). Moreover, there is an individual accountability for group members, whereas the level of accountability for team members can be individual, as well as, mutual. Also, groups and teams differ in terms of creativity in a way that in groups creativity may be suppressed due to distrust and lack of communication amongst group members, while in effective teams high level of creativity is achieved through synergy and communication (Schermerhorn, 2011). The following figure illustrates the main points of differences between teams and groups:   References Carter, M. (2009) “Unique Team Enhancement: All About Team Building and How to Build a Great Team” Dorrance Publishing Schermerhorn, J.R. Jr. (2011) “Introduction to Management” 11th edition, John Wiley & Sons

Team building blocks can be explained as foundations for effective teambuilding. The following most essential team building blocks are going to contribute to the success of HSBC customer service team: Appropriate leadership. Effective leadership practices are in place in HSBC derived from strong leadership of HSBC Group CEO Stuart Gulliver. Clear goals and objectives. Team goals and objectives to be developed according to SMART principle, the abbreviation standing for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (Courtis et al., 2006) is going to contribute to successful team operations. Effective operating procedures. The latest IT facilities have been integrated within HSBC customer services and these make team operating procedures more convenient. Developing individuals. The issues of developing individuals are approached effectively by HSBC management with specifically designed ‘learning pods’ within some branches and a range of relevant programs available. Openness and confrontation. HSBC organisational culture is associated with openness to new ideas and viewpoints (O’Donnell and Boyle, 2008) and this may have positive contribution on new customer services team performance. Regular review. Regular individual performance appraisals and group performance reviews conducted at HSBC is going to serve as one of the important customer services team building blocks References  Courtis, J., Ratcliffe, E.B. & Allsop, D. (2006) “The Bluffer’s Guide to Management”, Oval Projects O’Donnell, O. & Boyle, R. (2008) “Understanding and Managing Organisational Culture” CPMR Discussion Paper

Important features of successful teams can be specified as effective leadership, availability of resources, mutual trust, appropriate atmosphere, intensive communication, and clear goals (Marr, 2009). The following diagram illustrates the most common features and characteristics present in successful teams.   References  Marr, B. (2009) “Managing and Delivering Performance”, Butterworth-Heinemann

The importance of teamwork can be explained in a way that it  “builds morale and actually results in getting more accomplished with the resources you have because the team members develop ownership of the solution to a problem and want make it work” (Lindh et al., 2009, p. 1011). According to Badaki (2007, p.192) as taken from Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary teamwork can be defined as “work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole”. Business Dictionary (online, 2012), on the other hand, defines teamwork as “the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal”.   References  Badaki, F. (2007) “Team Art: The Science of Success in the Primary Human Organisations” Azuri Editions Lindh, W.Q., Pooler, M., Tamparo, C. & Dahl., B.M. (2009) “Delmar’s Clinical Medical Assisting” Cengage Learning Teamwork (2012) Business Dictionary, Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/teamwork.html

A team can be defined as “group of people who work together to achieve a common goal or objective, who produce high-quality results, and who enjoy doing so” (Lewis, 2004, p.66). An alternative, more comprehensive definition of the term has been proposed by Halverson and Tirmizi (2008, p.4) as taken from Bailey and Cohen (1997, p.241) as “a collection of individuals who are independent in their tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, who see themselves and are seen by others as an intact social entity, embedded in one or more social systems and who manage their relationships across organisational boundaries”. Winning team members believe their goal is relevant, possible, and worthy of effort and sacrifice” (Miller, 2009, p.60). Teams have become the main units to rely on to achieve organisation’s aims and objectives in today’s workplaces. In order for a team-work based project to be successful it is important that various talents and skills are gathered and good working atmosphere is created for them, taking into account the fact that different kind of motivation is required for each role and providing the relevant kind of motivation (Shermon, 2004). Sharma (2009) mentions team life cycle to consist of the following stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning. Roles and Relevant Skills that are Important for the Team There are different roles to be played within the teams in order for the teamwork to be a successful one. Belbin (1981) distinguishes ‘plant’, monitor evaluator, co-ordinators, resource investigator, implementers, completer finishers, team-workers, shapers, and ‘specialists’. There are also other classification offered by other researchers as well, however, Belbin’s work is considered to be the most comprehensive in that aspect. Each of above characters should be present within a team for the team to function in an efficient manner. However, if looked at individually the personalities…