Concrete Experience and Reflective Observation
Teamwork skills constitute some of the crucial components of a skill set required to be productive in any workplace setting. Therefore, as a leader and a manager, one needs to encourage staff members to cooperate in the corporate setting. However, as my experience has shown, encouraging people to collaborate is fraught with significant difficulties and requires managing numerous impediments. For instance, detecting the essential components of an effective group may be quite challenging given the rapidly changing global business environment and the constantly growing demand for quality performance. Nonetheless, as a manager, one has to ensure that a team collaborates to attain a common goal, with each team member conforming to the ethical principles provided by the organization. In the Bridgestone Aiken Plant setting, the principles of the Kaizen philosophy and the promotion of continuous quality increase have been maintained as the foundational concepts.
Theories and Principles/Abstract Conceptualization
When studying the properties of effective groups and workplace teams, one should mention that the theories scrutinizing the nature and constituents of effective work teams are extraordinarily numerous. In the specified context, the Model of Team Stages and the Theory of Team Role were integrated into the process of improving communication at Bridgestone Aiken.
Theories 1 and 2: MTS and TTR
Among the most notable ones, one should mention the Model of Team Stages (MTS) suggested by Bruce Tuckman and the Theory of Team Role (TTR) created by Belbin (Jones, Jowitt, & Holton, 2016). The MTS and TTR frameworks imply that each team member should be assigned a unique role that they need to perform for the team to function. The profound insight into teamwork and communication within a team is the main reason for choosing these frameworks.
Summary
Although the suggested approach toward enhancing teamwork seems legitimate, it sets significant constraints for the creativity and initiative of participants. Therefore, the introduction of a complex theory of communication that allows encompassing the demands of every stakeholder is required to support the team management process at the Bridgestone Aiken Plant. The theories under analysis allowed discovering important information about teamwork in the context of Bridgestone Aiken, such as the fact that the employees needed a greater amount of time spent together. Professional and personal bonding helped to increase the productivity of the staff significantly.
Testing and Application/Active Experimentation
As stressed above, the issue of quality remains an important constituent of the corporate philosophy of the Bridgestone Aiken Plant. However, connecting the issue of quality management to the corporate philosophy may become quite challenging due to the differences between staff members. Thus, as a team member, I will have to set common goals, at the same time encouraging staff members to learn to appreciate their differences and the characteristics that make them unique. The described objectives can be attained by ensuring that the communication between employees and managers remains uninhibited, at the same time checking that all employees are provided with detailed clarifications concerning their roles and responsibilities, as well as their contribution to the company’s performance. As a result, one will achieve even greater performance results due to improved cohesion between the actions of staff members and the enhanced information management process.
The role of a group manager should not be underestimated in the enhancement of the team’s performance and collaboration since a manager should act as a mediator and a counselor in advancing the quality of the information management process. Using the principle of the Model of Team Stages, a manager should assist employees in evolving from the focus on sociocultural homogeneity to the acceptance and promotion of cultural diversity (Milam, 2005). The social categorization process in which staff members participate once they start following the principles of diversity. In addition, splitting the process of acculturation and acceptance of corporate philosophy into stages will help the team members at the Bridgestone Aiken Plant to coordinate changes in their vision of workplace communication with their performance at the plant. As employees process the notions of the Theory of Team Role, which will assist them in determining their place in the corporate hierarchy, they will develop the strategies for maintaining communication in the selected environment and seek options for increasing its efficiency (Milam, 2005). Thus, the quality of services and end products will rise, whereas the threat of workplace errors and defects will be minimized.
References
Jones, P., Jowitt, A., & Holton, V. (2016). How to coach your team: Release team potential and hit peak performance. London, UK: Pearson.
Milam, P. (2005). The power of reflection in the research process. School Library Activity Media Monthly, 21(6), 26. Organizational communication: A Critical Introduction. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.