Three Criteria to Evaluate Teams and Groups - Essay Example

Three criteria that can be used to evaluate teams and groups are job-specific competencies, morale, and leadership competencies (Duggan, 2017). In the criteria of job-specific competencies, the evaluation involves measurement of each team or group members ability to complete a job or assignment. On the aspect of morale, the idea is to measure the morale of each team or group member. Evaluation in morale also focuses on whether there are differing opinions on strategy, interpersonal conflicts, and other issues that can derail the team from achieving its goals. Evaluation of leadership competencies will seek to assess each team members willingness to work in collaboratively, personal effectiveness, and make strategic decisions. After watching the team, it is evident that the team not effective. Team members appear to lack job-specific competencies to complete the tasks assigned to them. There is also a low morale among the team members since there are differing opinions, interpersonal conflicts, and other issues that work to derail the team from achieving its goal. On the aspect of leadership competencies, none of the members appears effective, collaborative, or able to make strategic decisions.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Tuckmanpostulated that there five stages of group formation are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (OConnel & Cuthbertson, 2009). The video shows that the group is at the storming stage. Tuckman explained that tension characterizes the storming stage during the development of norms, goals, decision making, and roles. Other behaviors associated with this group include distrust of the process, jealousy, and defensiveness. In storming stage, Tuckman also pointed out that there is a lot of tension when there is no identifiable leader of the group with conflicts arising from members challenging the leaders decision or authority. In the video, all these characteristics can be observed from the members. For example, Jing is defensive that he cannot complete the task while Mahoney distrusts the process. Denson appears to be tense and challenges Tanneys decisions and authority.

Maintenance-related roles are the kind of behaviors required to focus on people as well as their relationships. They perform a critical role in enabling the group process by keeping the group to stay together so that the members can complete the task. Task-related roles are those behaviors that are required to for members to focus on the groups goals to be completed so that the group can achieve its purpose. Dysfunctional roles, however, are those intentional behaviors that tend to distract a group from focusing on its purpose or inhibit progress toward the groups goals (Dwyer, 2013). In the video, Tanney is playing a task-related role because he wants the other members to focus on the goals so that they can complete the tasks so that the group can achieve its objectives. Mahoney is playing maintenance-related roles because he is interested in keeping the group together so that they can complete the tasks. He helps relationships in the group and acts as a harmonizer. Denson is playing a dysfunctional role because she distracts the group from focusing on its purpose and thereby inhibiting the groups progress by introducing topics that are unrelated to the agenda of the meeting.

From the video, there is a lot of evidence of poor communication among the participants. According to Gluck (2017), effective communication in a team is characterized by open-mindedness, active listening, and also a clear understanding of project requirements and goals. An analysis of the communication among the participants shows that all these were missing. There was no message or meaning conveyed. Tanney was trying to brief the other members of the project, but Jing was responding in a defensively while Denson was talking about her personal affairs and cutting short Tanney. Mahoney was also suggesting other alternatives before Tanney finished talking. Active listening involves repeating what the speaker said to verify its clarity, taking notes, and asking relevant questions (Gluck, 2017) but no member demonstrated any of these. Types of noise in communication are physical noise, semantic noise, and psychological noise (Dyke, 2017). The kind of noise that is evident from the video is psychological noise.

Two main types of conflicts that can be observed in the video are goals or expectations conflict and value conflicts. Goals and expectations conflicts involve group members holding different expectations on standards of work performance, the level of effort, punctuality, and efficiency (Wolski, 2017). There is a lack of coordination in such a team, and it is characterized by resentment and hostility. In the case of values conflict, there is different prioritization of the company, group, and personal goals. Some team members can be more interested in pursuing their individual or personal affairs instead of collaborating to achieve team or groups goal (Wolski, 2017). Both of these conflicts are evident in the video. There are value conflicts between Denson and Tanney. Denson is advancing her private affairs instead of collaborating with the group members to complete the task. One of the direct methods Tanney need to employ to resolve the conflict with Denson is to collaborate. When he collaborate, both wins. He should this by examining Densons issue together and work creatively to help her resolve them with other participants. One indirect method Tanney can employ to resolve the conflict is avoidance. In this method, he can just avoid addressing or mentioning Densons issue. This can act to minimise Densons annoyance.

A group is a collection of people who share something in common, but a team is a group of people must collaborate to achieve a common goal or outcome (Weiss, Tilin & Morgan, 2017). In a group, members share information about the goal while on a team members have a collective performance toward the goal. On synergy, there is neutral synergy in a group while synergy is positive in a team. Skills are random and varied in a group, but skills are complimentary in a team (Zayed & Kamel, 2005). Based on this definition, the people in the video make up a team.

The major motivational problems in the video are a lack of commitment, achievement anxiety, fear of failure, and low expectation of success. To motivate the employees, various motivational models can be utilized. To motivate team members with low expectations of success such as Mahoney, Tanney should use job enrichment model by assigning him more engaging tasks. This will help increase his self-esteem and subsequently his confidence. In the process, he will perform better on the job. He is also likely to accept future challenges. A participant like Jing who has a fear of failure and who also wants to avoid work lacks the confidence to complete the job. He perceives his lack of success as a failure. Through reinforcement theory, Tanney can motivate Jing to perform better by rewarding him for success. Even when he fails to achieve the goal, he should congratulate him for trying. Rewards will motivate him to employees who have achievement anxiety are sensitive about being punished for not performing well. Tanney can use reinforcement theory by rewarding the employees when they succeed and thanking them for trying. Employees like Denson who lacks interest in the agenda of the meeting. She has her agenda focused on matters which are not related to the meeting. Motivating her requires the application of process theories such as goal setting. Tanney can set goals with the team where each member, including Denson, are expected to achieve. Setting goals will force Denson to focus on the agenda of future meetings.

References

Duggan, T. (2017). Evaluation Criteria for High-Performance Teams. Retrieved from:www.smallbusiness.chron.com/evaluation-criteria-high-performance-teams-57312.html

Dwyer, J. (2013). Communication for Business and the Professions: Strategies s and Skills. Frenchs Forest NSW: Pearson Australia.

Dyke, K. (2017). Types of Noise in Communication. Retrieved from:www.peopleof.oureverydaylife.com/types-noise-communication-6306.html

Gluck, S. (2017). Effective Communication & Team Work. Retrieved from:www.smallbusiness.chron.com/effective-communication-team-work-3167.html

OConnel & Cuthbertson, (2009). Group Dynamics in Recreation and Leisure: Creating Conscious Groups through Experiential Approach. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Weiss, D., Tilin, F. & Morgan, M.J. (2017). Interprofessional Health Care Team: Leadership and development. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Wolski, C. (2017). Types of Conflict in Teams. Retrieved from: www.smallbusiness.chron.com/types-conflict-teams-2659.html

Zayed, A.D. & Kamel, M.M. (2005). Teams and Work Groups. Cairo: CAPSCU