jimtrue.com : school : CUL137 : CH17: Teamwork and Teambuilding

Posted by Jim True on August 24, 2009 7:16 PM. Last Updated August 24, 2009 7:16 PM

Disclaimer for all material noted here is at the bottom of this web page.

CH17: Teamwork and Teambuilding

Group Versus Team

• A group is a large number of people working together because of similarities, yet remain neutral. They interact only to achieve the objective
• A Team attempts to establish a positive collaboration among its members. The team encourages each other to excel which creates synergy.
• Know the difference!

The Formally Appointed Team

• Has an appointed team leader
• The team leader may have more decision making authority than others
• Power may be delegated to them
• Delegation is when one gives a portion of their responsibility and authority to a subordinate

The Informally Appointed Team

• Evolves on its own
• Has a rotation of leadership
• The group leader does not have formal power over the group
• The informally appointed team has some advantages over the formally appointed teams
• Advantages
• One person probably does not possess every quality needed to be the perfect leader
• Everyone has a chance
• Formally appointed team leaders may also lose popularity among the group because of their connection with management
• In an informal team, eventually everyone is linked with management

Why do people join teams?

• to accomplish tasks efficiently and swiftly as possible
• To feel like they are part of a whole (remember!)
• To feel like they contribute something to the overall success of the team
• To develop, enhance, and/or confirm some underlying identity needs

Teamwork

• The actual action that a team performs
• Cooperative effort by a group of persons acting together as a team
• Team players are individuals that participate...

Norms

• Defined as implicit, in addition to explicit rules of behavior
• Norms occur within every type of team interaction
• Norms work best when the team creates them
• Positive team norms are behaviors that are agreed upon and accepted within the group
• One way a manager may increase positive team norms in the hospitality industry is by giving rewards

A Cohesive Team

• Communicates well with each other and has well defined norms, unity, respect, and trust among its members
• Strengths and weakness: hopefully what one member lacks another will make up for
• If a team lacks cohesion, the group will not have any sense of unity which will result in a hindered performance

3 Ways to Influence an Informal Team

• Feedback: The type (positive or negative) and amount should even itself off, or meet in the middle
• Identification: Identity the key players within the group
• Communication: builds trust and helps to confirm that you are addressing the right issues

Before Building a Team

• First consider what they want out of the team they are about to build and clarify these goals to preexisting members
• Be very selective with who is hired, and always conduct a reference check!
• Remember that one team member's problem affects the whole group in a downward spiral
• Build a positive work environment

Formal vs Informal Groups

• Formal groups are work groups established by the company. They include committees, group meetings, work teams and task forces
• Informal groups are more social...

Changing the group into a team

• Get the teams input towards establishing team goals
• Allow some team decision-making
• Stress communication within the team
• Have collaboration among team members

A Successful Team

• Understands and is committed to the vision, mission, and goals of the company
• Is mature
• Works to continually improve how it operates and meets or exceeds its goals
• Treat each other with respect
• Differences are handled in a professional manner
• Members are consulted and their input is requested in decision-making
• Members encourage and assist other team members to succeed
• Has synergy

Total Quality Management (TQM)

• Goal is to ensure continuous quality improvement of services and products for guests
• TQM is applied ...

10 steps of TQM (need to know)

1. Have excellent leaders as supervisors and managers
2. Build and train teams of volunteer associates within each department and later cross departmentally in problem solving
3. Teams decide on and write down the appropriate levels of guest service and relative weighing for "their guests"
4. ...
5. ...
6. Identify deficiencies, which are areas where service falls below expectations
7. Analyze and resolve identified deficiencies
8. Modify processes to incorporate corrections to improve service to expected levels
9. Track results - improvements in service, guest satisfaction, employee satisfaction, cost reduction and profit
10. Evaluate and support the process

Types of Empowerment

• Know definition Empowerment: ensuring that employees have the skills, knowledge, and authority to make decisions that would otherwise be made by management
• Types of Empowerment:
• Structuredempowerment: allows employees to make decisions within specified limits
• Flexible empowerment: gives employees...

Major Team Challenges

• Overcoming negativity
• Learning how to delegate (appropriate) responsibilities
• Overcoming high turnover
• Gaining respect from and within the team

The Coach

• Does not use fear or status as a form of motivation to get the job done. The coach uses positive energy
• Coaches must organize, give moral support, delegate, challenge and inspire their team members
• A few ways that a manager may learn how to turn into a team coach:
• Have a pre-shift meeting
• Take advantage of moments that you may be able to use to teach a team member something
• Organize team activities

Disclaimer: These are MY notes taken from classroom lectures while I'm in the classroom. While I'm perfectly happy to share my notes with my classmates and I know I take very good notes, you should still make every effort to attend the class and TAKE YOUR OWN NOTES. I will not transcribe everything the instructor says in the classroom, and I will NEVER post pre-exam reviews. My notes will not replace the value of actually attending class and taking your own class notes.I also cannot attest to their accuracy, other than they are what was provided in the lecture; you should not reference my notes as "expert opionion" by any means, and if you notice an error or omission, please do me the favor of e-mailing me with the correction and I will re-post my notes. End of Disclaimer.