Introduction
The success of the company, in the majority of cases, depends on the individuals that work there. Member satisfaction and team viability usually result in high productivity and lead to great results. As a result, when it comes to the team and the members, it is vital to not only maintain a healthy environment and eliminate any conflicts but also encourage employees to work efficiently. Team efficiency can be accomplished via positive enforcement and motivation of the staff. Hence, workplace dynamics must be not only regulated but reinforced through efficient approaches, communication, and incentivization.
Three Criteria for Evaluating Effective Team
Like people, groups of all kinds should be held responsible for their actions. A successful team is one that produces high levels of task performance, member satisfaction, and team viability (Osborn et al., 2014). Regarding task performance, a successful team meets its objectives in terms of number, accuracy, and speed of deliverables. An efficient group is one whose members perceive their involvement and accomplishments as good and fulfilling significant personal needs (Osborn et al., 2014). In terms of team viability, workers of a successful team are particularly pleased to continue getting along and working well together over the long term.
In the given case, West Coast Transit meets the high level of team viability. The majority of West Coast Transit workers are extremely supportive of the business and value its warm, employee-focused culture. Employees are happy about their contribution to clients, their compensation and benefits, and the prospects for growth the business offers. However, when it comes to task performance and member satisfaction, there is a challenge. The requirement for quick turnaround is one of the main issues. Employees are provided a meagre amount of time and assistance to do an assignment.
Five Stages of Group Formation
Without question, the route to effective teamwork is frequently treacherous and challenging. Whether it is a traditional employment group, a remote unit, or a self-managing group, one of the primary factors to keep in mind is the idea that the group goes through several life cycle stages (Osborn et al., 2014). The group’s members and the leader may have numerous challenges according to the stage they are in, and the group may be more or less efficient. As a team develops, it goes through five stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
The stages are evident in the case of the new project in West Coast Transit and the formation of the team for this project, consisting of Jing, Mahonney, and Tanney. The stages of forming and storming are the most evident in the case. The first entry of individuals into a team is a major issue in the forming stage of team formation. At the start of the new project, the individuals who entered it were Jing, Mahonney, and Tanney. Yet, the storming phase of team development is characterized by intense energy and conflict within the team, which is seen through misunderstanding and poor communication between the team members. In this situation, the team might go through a lot of adjustments and animosity and conflict may happen.
Schein’s Three Behavioral Profiles
Edgar Schein claimed that people could make self-serving attempts to deal with individual entry challenges, which may impede team effectiveness and productivity. According to Schein, there are three types of profiles: tough battler, friendly helper, and objective thinker (Osborn et al., 2014). When analyzing Jing, Mahonney, and Tanney, the former team member, Lea Jing, can be categorized as a tough battler. She was the only person who had read the itinerary, printed it, and responded with some recommendations during the meeting concerning the new project. As was described, Jing has always been meticulous.
As for Mahonney and Tanney, they both confirmed the receipt of the initiative but stated that, given the restrictions of time and responsibilities, the initiative and recommended strategy are vast and unrealistic. However, Mahonney can be categorized as a friendly helper since he supported his teammates by saying: “Lea, Katarina, you ladies are the best at what you do” (West Coast Transit case study, n.d., p.1). Lastly, Tanney is an objective thinker since this person’s performance is dependent on personal gain.
Effectiveness of Communication and Barriers to Communication
Any high-performance company is built on individuals who are capable and eager to work together and devote their unique talents and efforts to the issues at hand. It is critical to comprehend the hurdles that can readily cause communication issues when engaging in interpersonal conversation. Interpersonal barriers, actual distractions, and meaning- or semantic-based barriers are the most typical workplace obstacles (Osborn et al., 2014). In the given situation, communication between Jing, Mahonney, and Tanney is poor and results in a conflict. While some employees were eager to listen and support, others did not show a willingness to participate in such discussion and blocked the information they were receiving. As a result, when Mahonney was expressing words of support, Tanney only concentrated on her issues and demonstrated selective listening and filtering. This implies that Tanney blocked out information and only took in what confirmed their preconceptions.
Types of Conflict
In relationships, at work, and in our daily affairs, disagreements can be described as either emotional or substantive conflicts. A basic dispute about the purposes or objectives to be achieved and the methods to do so results in a substantive conflict (Osborn et al., 2014). In the case of the formation of the new team for the project, the question of reward allocation was raised by Tanney, stating that “it doesn’t help when one does not get paid for doing this” (West Coast Transit case study, n.d., p.1). However, employees can occasionally differ on issues, including group or organizational objectives, capital allocation, guidelines and procedures, and work delegation.
On the other hand, interpersonal problems based on emotions such as rage, distrust, hatred, anxiety, and grudge are known as emotional conflicts. Emotional conflicts can deplete energy and cause people to lose focus on their tasks’ priorities and objectives when they arise at work (Osborn et al., 2014). However, they frequently occur in groups, among colleagues, and in superior-subordinate interactions and appear in a wide range of contexts. Yet again, in the situation with Tanney, the employee was concerned about their family issues, which led to counseling. As a result, this was partly an emotional conflict as well.
Direct Conflict Management Approach
When it comes to efficient project completion, it is vital to eliminate negativity, conflicts, and other possible impediments. In order to resolve the conflict in the team, Denson should rely on the direct conflict management approach. While there are several types of such approaches, including the lose-lose, win-lose, and win-win approaches, the most suitable for such conflict and employees is the win-win approach (Osborn et al., 2014). Combining high levels of persistence and cooperation leads to win-win negotiations. Collaboration and issue-solving require all sides involved in a conflict to acknowledge that there is a problem that requires addressing.
As can be seen from the situation with Jing, Mahonney, and Tanney, all of them lack incentives. For example, Jing lacks the motivation to complete the assignment since she will move to another division. In turn, Tanney lacks the motivation to dedicate her efforts to the project due to personal issues. Lastly, Mahonney might lack motivation due to a lack of acknowledgment and extra encouragement that make him think that the objective is unattainable. Thus, in order to incentivize the employees, monetary compensation can be made to pay for overtime. Moreover, the team members will need to be encouraged to commit to the project.
Leadership Activity, Maintenance Activity, and Disruptive Behavior
When eliminating all of the conflicts, it is important to maintain healthy activity and avoid the disruptive behavior of the team members. For example, leadership activities can be encouraged, such as starting a conversation, offering information, requesting information from others, elaborating on something mentioned, and reporting the outcome of a discussion (Osborn et al., 2014). In the team of West Coast Transit, Jing possesses the inclination to lead and deal with ideas and information. As a result, this employee will require extra encouragement with such activity.
Then, the group’s interpersonal and social interactions are supported by maintenance activities. By promoting others’ involvement, attempting to resolve differences of opinion, appreciating others’ efforts, and deciding to follow a well-liked plan of action, a group member or leader can offer maintenance leadership. Mahonney is especially adept at appreciating others’ efforts and promoting involvement, which could be used as a maintenance activity. Yet, team members have to make more effort to prevent and remove any disruptive actions that hurt the group dynamics, in addition to assisting in satisfying the team’s assignment and maintenance requirements. Team dynamics and productivity can be particularly disrupted by members’ rudeness or antisocial behavior. In this case, the environment must be free of any hostile attitude, which implies requesting Tanney to engage in active listening and limit aggression towards others.
Motivational Problem of Jing, Mahonney, and Tanney
When further motivating employees, content theories, process theories, and reinforcement strategies must be applied. For instance, the ERG theory by Alderfer outlines demands for existence, relatedness, and growth (Osborn et al., 2014). The need for ongoing personal improvement and growth is known as a growing demand, and in the case of Jing, this theory can be applied by expanding her responsibilities. This individual suits for leadership roles, and with the use of this theory, Jing can be encouraged to take on more responsibilities and express recommendations. Additionally, according to Victor Vroom’s expectation theory, people will act in accordance with their capabilities when they are motivated (Osborn et al., 2014). Thus, Tanney can be motivated with monetary rewards, which will incentivize her to work more productively. Lastly, organizational behavior modification is the methodical use of external motivators to promote desired workplace behavior and to deter undesirable workplace behavior. Positive reinforcement enhances that behavior by linking the desired outcome to an action (Osborn et al., 2014). For instance, with Mahonney, a team leader employs positive reinforcement by nodding when the employee offers insight or smiling when they complete a task successfully.
Conclusion
Hence, West Coast Transit proves to have a high level of team viability yet low levels of task performance and member satisfaction. Furthermore, the new team for a project demonstrated the first issues during the storming phase. In this case, poor communication was identified, which could be seen through inactive listening and filtering. As a result, it is important to manage conflicts and disruptive behavior while also paying attention to the motivation of the employees. This can be achieved by the application of Vroom’s theory, the ERG theory by Alderfer, and positive reinforcement.
Reference
Osborn, R. N., Uhl-Bien, M., Hunt, J. G., Schermerhorn, J. R. (2014). Organizational Behavior. Wiley.
West Coast Transit case study. (n.d.). [University Name].