It has been observed that the culture of an organization that is built around teams is strikingly different from an organization built in a traditional hierarchical fashion.
Some of the differences lie in commitment to goals, representation / awareness of strategic plans consistent presence of job performance indicators, employees dividing tasks and taking ownership of work and setting / meeting of new levels of performance are common to organizations built around teams (Dew 3). However it is also important to know when it is important to form teams as teams are known to work well where the tasks involved are complex and can be fragmented.
The task of selecting when to form teams is a management role and the communication and leadership of the team must be directed from the administration (Dew 5). In this report the discussion presented will provide information on a team activity and reasons based on principles of team management in support of the activity as well as areas that could have been improved.
The Team Activity
The activity involved was the organization of a cultural night show by a group of students from my home country. Once the date was set the group sat down and had a meeting to select a leader. In the selection of a leader the group felt it was important to select an individual with strong leadership qualities.
Among the qualities desired included; an ability to withhold personal opinions to allow other members have a say, good listening ability, ability to direct a discussion without favoritism, draw out opinions of all participants and ability to build consensus rather forcing decisions on members (Kriel, Singh, de Beer, Louw, Muton, Roussouw, Berning and du Toit 42). Following this initial discussion a vote was conducted and a leader was selected.
Once the team leader was in place the discussion continued and selected the various officials that would be required to complete the task successfully. After forming a complete team of leaders the committee formed set about preparing a timetable and order of tasks to be completed. In addition to this it was also mentioned that random meetings could be called among selected individuals to brainstorm and complete the various tasks.
The event was eventually completed successfully but not without some unexpected problems. Among the problems that were identified was the case that some of the members were given more tasks than they could handle in the allocated time.
Owing to this there were numerous delays which could have been avoided had there been better communication and additional support for the officials (Kriel et al. 41). One of the strengths of teamwork is the ability to utilize on the support of other members and this is one area where the team failed to fully comprehend.
Another problem that was experienced in the team was poor conflict management. Despite the fact that the leader selected was good for the job the team consisted of several members all with different ideas and opinions. The result was that during brain storming exercises there was too much time wasted on trying to push various opinions home.
It appeared that the team lacked a unified goal and this led to wastage of time. It is reported that poor communication can prevent a team from achieving its goal and threaten its survival (Kriel et al. 38). This point was most evident in the initial planning meetings held by the group.
On the other hand one of the best outcomes of the event was the increased rapport that arose between members as the days progressed. Owing to the ability of the leader to keep the members focused as well as remind team members of the goal of the committee it was much easier to overcome hurdles caused by different opinions.
It was through the persistence of the group leader that members were constantly reminded of individual accountability and group responsibility (Kriel et al. 41). The cultural night ended up a successful event and the group managed to generate a reasonable amount of revenue from various sources.
Bibliography
Dew, John Robert. Managing in a Team Environment. Westport: Quorum Books, 1998.
Kriel, G., D. Singh, A. de Beer, H, Louw, J. Mouton, D. Rossouw, J. Berning and D. du Toit. Focus on Management Principles: A Generic Approach. South Africa: Paarl print.
The fact that people come from diverse cultural backgrounds plays an important role in human interaction. This happens when they exhibit their diversities during normal interaction. People coming from different cultures normally have unique ways of doing certain things. There are conflicting perceptions about time and its management in different cultural societies.
The conflict in perception about time is a predominant problem in many global organizations and corporations. The problems emerge because people attach different meanings to time management. Therefore, their take on project activity tasks such as when to submit reports and complete certain tasks are different. (Curtis and Dreachslin, 2008).
The notable regions where such challenges have been reported include Russia and Western Europe. The many conflicts between top management and workers in these regions have been associated with issues of time management.
These disagreements have presented difficulties in project management (Dubrin, 2012). These challenges necessitate innovative ways through which project managers can deal with the project team who come from different cultures with then.
This paper seeks to discuss how a project manager can deal with members of the team when their approach to time management conflict the leaders perception. This paper seeks to discuss the relevant issues by borrowing ideas from theoretical insights as well as realistic advice. It uses theories to explain some pressing global work environment challenges.
The paper has significantly featured Greet Hofstedes servant leadership theory and its application in management. It has used it to build a compelling argument about how the project leader can effectively handle program team members who have a different approach to time management based on their cultural origins.
Varying Perceptions about Time and its Management
Differences in the way people approach time in cross-cultural regions can present massive challenges for leaders. Coordinating project members when they are from multicultural backgrounds appears to be the most difficult thing for managers (dekola and Sergi, 2012).
In cases where a project manager is working with team members from other cultures who have a different approach to time management, issues such as project forecasting, decision-making, or timelines normally becomes challenging. These challenges normally emanate from miscommunication and conflicting expectations (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012).
For example, a German project manager leading a multicultural group of Indians might face frustrations because he may think that the Indians like meandering and lack exigency. On the other hand, Indian workforce may consider their German leader as being forceful and insensitive about the need for team harmony.
Application of Servant Leadership Theory and Principles
The project manager whose cultural background differs from that of the project team will definitely experience challenges in attaining program deliverables. Therefore, in order to enhance the realization of project objectives, managers should inculcate servant leadership in their lives. Servant leadership is crucial in enhancing how project managers handle their subjects (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
The project manager should implement servant leadership model according the theoretical proposals fronted by Hofstede. The theorist mentioned five cultural elements that give a framework for identifying likeness and distinctions across cultures and their application in management (Tassell, 2006).
Power Distance
First, Hofstede identified power distance as a critical element of cultural difference in management. He argued that power distance represent the degree of inequality among people, which the population of a nation considers usual.
He classified power distance from equal, which means small power distance and tremendously unequal representing large power distance (Tassell, 2006). Hofstede argued that for any leader to be effective, they require momentous participation and interaction with their workforce (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
This element of Hofstedes theory is highly applicable in project management for managers working with subjects from multicultural backgrounds. This is because the project manager who practices servant leadership enables the program team to feel free in their work environment.
Therefore, the project team members are able to contribute their feelings, opinions, and suggestions (Tassell, 2006). The theory indicates that while the project team enjoys the freedom, the leader should also respect their contributions and apply them in building a more collaborative workplace (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
It is my suggestion that a project manager should apply the power distance element to build a working relationship with the members of the team.
The power distance element also suggests that managers should pay close attention to subjects empowerment in order to enhance their effectiveness at work (Tassell, 2006). In the current scenario entailing conflicting approach to time management, the project manager can handle the team by working towards their empowerment.
The empowerment of the team can focus on building their skills to work and ensure project deliverables are met accordingly (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). It is notable that empowered workforce share in both preparation and decision making of project activities, which ultimately result into more dispersed working team where everyone recognize they have a role to play towards achieving success (Tassell, 2006).
Dealing with Individualism
Hofstede also identified individualism as the second element of servant leadership theory to management. He defines individualism as the extent to which people have a preference to perform as individuals as opposed to acting at members of a team (Tassell, 2006).
The servant leadership theory demands that the project director and the team work jointly much more strongly as a group. The project manager and the team jointly discuss issues in their work environment and as a group agrees on the outcome, which is of significance to everyone working in the same project (Steers, Sanchez-Runde & Nardon, 2012).
The project leader working with a multicultural team who has a different approach to time management identifies the most appropriate ways the team can deliver in their project areas (Tassell, 2006). The project leader must do this jointly with the members of the group. This is because the project manager must comprehend that success is not tenable as an individual but as a group.
Therefore, when the project manager is looking forward to succeed in managing the program towards achieving success, then the team must be involved at every stage.
The conflicts about time management between the project manager and the team can no doubt present challenges to the leader (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). This is because failure to address such conflicts early enough can lead to factions and in fighting within the project team thus leading to withdrawal of support required to attain project goals.
The project leader must recognize that the attainment of project goals is not a one-man show, but a process that requires cooperation and involvement of all relevant persons (Tassell, 2006). Therefore, the manager can handle the team by developing and applying strategies aimed at reducing individualism in project activities implementation.
The project manager can also handle the team by empowering them to take responsibility and act like project leaders in their own portfolios Steers, Sanchez-Runde & Nardon, 2012). This is because the project team is only capable of offering their best at work when they feel a sense of responsibility and dependability to the achievement of the project objectives (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
The element also constitutes the peer comment system of a 360-degree feedback mechanism, which project managers can adopt. The 360-degree peer feedback is designed in such a way that there is all round exchange of information within a team.
This is critical for project managers because, once the sense of responsibility is inculcated among the team members then they should be able to find ways of providing feedback to each other (Tassell, 2006).
This strategy is crucial because when the team has a sense of responsibility then there will be an internal motivation from the members to perform the tasks appropriately to deliver on the project goals. The project leader can better handle the team when the team itself already applying self-management strategies, which must be put in place and be strengthened by the manager (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
The project manager can handle the team effectively by allowing them to devise their own strategy for managing time in such a way that the realization of project outcomes remains a priority Steers, Sanchez-Runde & Nardon, 2012).
The project manager should be there to develop the team into project leaders. The project team will undoubtedly perform to their best when they have a feeling that their project leader is working towards developing them and improving their personal growth.
In order to a work well with a highly multicultural team, the project manager should adopt a low to reasonably individualistic culture within the project team (Tassell, 2006).
Applying the Feminist Attributes to Management of Team Members
Hofstede also identified masculinity as the third element in the servant leadership that is crucial to management (Tassell, 2006). He distinguishes between attributes, which are considered culturally masculine against those considered feminine.
He points out that a servant leader should espouse attributes considered feminine at the workplace. The feminine like attributes include quality of life, maintaining affectionate individual relations, service, and solidarity (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010).
The servant leader functions while working with a multicultural team is to espouse the culturally female attributes. The project leader should develop a personal connection with the team in order to be effective.
The leader must handle the team through developing awareness on their needs and desires Steers, Sanchez-Runde & Nardon, 2012). This is of significance because if provides the manager with insights on how to individualize the team members jobs demands and relevant training to enhance their skills.
The manager should also build trust and loyalty with the team in order to create an enabling environment for enhancing their performance.
Hofstede also identified uncertainty avoidance as a critical aspect of managing a team.
Enhance Effectiveness through Uncertainty Avoidance Practices
He defines uncertainty avoidance as the extent to which individuals desire structured situations as opposed to unstructured circumstances (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). The uncertainty avoidance element is critical because the team leader should push the traditional responsibilities of management such as setting rules, assignment of roles, and evaluation of performance back to the team members (Tassell, 2006).
The project leader should be able to handle the team effectively through this, as there will no imposition of rules, tasks, and expectations on the members. However, every aspect of the team performance and expectation will be discussed to ensure that they are agreed (Tassell, 2006). The project leader will therefore embark on new management roles such as team excellence growth and development.
Putting Project Team to Work in Groups
The project manager working with a multicultural group can also develop strategies to enable the members work in groups whenever there are tasks to be completed urgently (Puck, Rygl and Kittler, 2007). It is notable that time management challenges among workforce from diverse cultures can lead to delays in meeting certain deadlines (Gassmann, 2001).
The project leader cannot allow people to work independently because they may fail to prioritize urgent activities. Therefore, the leader should assign urgent responsibilities to the team and ensure they work on it jointly (Jackson, Schuler & Werner, 2012).
The notable advantages for this approach may include improved completion of tasks and delivery of results within the timelines. The project team can also develop a sense of ownership when they feel that their joint approach to completion of tasks lead to quality outcomes (Silverthorne, 2005).
Furthermore, working as a group can make the team to learn about the roles and responsibilities of their colleagues. This is critical in project management because other workers can easily step in and assist others with a lot of ease.
Conducting Effective Meetings with Project Team
Project leader should also conduct effective meetings with project team to improve understanding of tasks and achievements. In global work environments where time management is a challenge, project managers can schedule daily meetings with the team. The team to brief the leader on their tasks for the next few days as well as achievements over the previous days can use the meeting (Falkheimer and Heide, 2006).
The meetings will also enable the team to talk about how they plan to meet project activity deadlines. Furthermore, the meetings will allow the project team members with massive workload that cannot be achieved over a given period to request assistance from colleagues (Terry, 2011).
The daily meeting may also be crucial for joint planning of project activities. For example, mounting a chart on the meeting table where different program members can indicate the timelines for their activities (Dowling, Festing & Engle, 2008).
The chart can act as a reminder to the members whenever they see them so that they can embark on completing the tasks as scheduled in the charts. The meetings also allow the project team to develop a common plan and strategy for integrated approach to implementing project activities.
Cross Cultural Training
A project manager should undergo a cultural training in order to develop competence on how to deal with the group under their leadership. The training equips managers with skills on systematic cross cultural understanding and appreciation.
Cultural training is crucial for program delivery team because it enhances awareness and understanding of limitations of different cultural perceptions such as time management (Bhattacharyya 2010, pg. 106). Organization of the training can take the form of role-plays, field trips, simulations, films, and sensitivity learning to enhance effectiveness.
Project leaders should also undertake cross cultural training at diverse phases such as in country socialization, departure induction, and debriefing (Bhattacharyya, 2010). Multi cultural training enhance leaders cultural literacy and ability to handle others by accommodating their traditional norms, proactiveness in cultural manners, and assimilation of varying norms into alternative manners (Bhattacharyya, 2010).
Strengthening Positive Workplace Relations
Project leaders should also purposefully strengthen positive workplace relationships and strive to develop inclusive work environments (Flannery, Stevens, Plaut and Sanchez Burks, 2008).
This will ensure that the issues of time management conflicts do not emerge because the project leader will always interact with program team in order to understand the progress they are making in the implementation of project activities (Federman, 2009). This initiative can help project leaders a great deal, because workforce will rarely come up with such strategies.
The project leader will be able to realize increased performance of the team. Through, this strategy the project leader can also manage to create work schedule in partnership with the team (Latting & Ramsey, 2009). The leader can discuss with the team on how they can improve their performance in the workplace through proper planning, scheduling activities, and report writing according to the deadline for implementing such activities.
The leader can also strive to create team leadership and ensure that members develop cultural awareness of the others in terms of their time management (Sias, 2009). This strategy will help realize improvement in team performance across cultures.
Enhancing Open Communication
The project leader can also enhance open and inclusive communication strategies, which enable team members to share their reservations about time management issues. This strategy is highly effective in scenarios where the team members see their project leader as a superior person they cannot approach easily (Puck, Rygl and Kittler, 2007).
The project manager can initiate an interactive working relationship with the team members in order to obtain opportunities to know their feelings with certain tasks assigned to them.
Furthermore, the project leader can extend the open communication with the team members to periods when they are having breaks (Puck, Rygl and Kittler, 2007). For example, a project can take advantage of tea break discussion with the team members to remind them about pending activity deadlines.
Conclusion
In summary, project implementation in global organizations with teams from multicultural backgrounds present massive challenges to managers. This is because members of the team from different cultural regions have varying attitude and approach to time and its management. The difference normally causes conflicts between project managers and their assonants.
The project manager can employ diverse strategies to handle a team with a multicultural diversity. Firstly, the project manager can make the group to work as team in order to minimize delays associated with individual engagement. Secondly, the manager can schedule daily meetings for the team to enable members give feedback on their achievements over the last days as well as highlight their plans for the day.
Thirdly, the manager can strengthen workplace relations in order to promote free consultation between them and the team. Finally, the project manager can undertake cross cultural training in order to develop competence on handling a culturally diverse workforce.
It is notable that multi cultural training normally boost peoples cultural awareness and ability to handle others. This is possible because the training provides skills for accommodating other peoples traditional norms, and adjustment to varying norms appropriately.
List of References
Adekola, A and Sergi, B 2012, Global Business Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Hampshire.
Bhattacharyya, D 2010, Cross-cultural management texts and cases, New Delhi: PHI Learning Ldt.
Curtis, J and Dreachslin, J 2008, Integrative Literature Review: Diversity Management Interventions and Organizational Performance: A Synthesis of Current Literature, Human Resource Development Review, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 107-134, via SAGE Journals Database.
Dierendonck, D & Patterson, K 2010, Servant leadership: developments in theory and research, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire.
Dowling, P, Festing, M & Engle, A 2008, International human resource management: managing people in a multinational context, London: Thomson Learning.
Dubrin, A 2012, Essentials of management, South-Western/Thomson Learning, Mason, Ohio.
Falkheimer, J and Heide, M 2006, Multicultural Crisis Communication: Towards a Social Constructionist Perspective , Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Vol.14, pp. 180189, via Willey Online Library.
Federman, B 2009, Employee Engagement A Roadmap for Creating Profits, Optimizing Performance, and Increasing Loyalty, John Wiley & Sons Inc, New York, NY.
Flannery, G., Stevens, F., Plaut, V and Sanchez Burks, J 2008, Unlocking the Benefits of Diversity All-Inclusive Multiculturalism and Positive Organizational Change , Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, Vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 116-133, via SAGE Journals Database.
Gassmann, O 2001, Multicultural Teams: Increasing Creativity and Innovation by Diversity , Creativity and Innovation Management, Vol. 10, pp. 8895, via Willey Online Library.
Jackson, S, Schuler, R & Werner, S 2012, Managing human resources, South Western cengage learning, Mason, Ohio.
Latting, J & Ramsey, V 2009, Reframing change: how to deal with workplace dynamics, influence others, and bring people together to initiate positive change, Praeger, California, CA.
Puck, J., Rygl, D and Kittler, M 2007, Cultural antecedents and performance consequences of open communication and knowledge transfer in multicultural process-innovation teams , Journal of Organisational Transformation & Social Change, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 223-241, via EBSCO Host.
Sias, P 2009, Organizing relationships: traditional and emerging perspectives on workplace relationships, SAGE, California, CA.
Silverthorne, C 2005, Organizational Psychology in Cross-cultural Perspective, NYU Press, New York, NY.
Steers, R, Sanchez-Runde, C & Nardon, L 2012, Management across cultures: developing global competencies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Tassell, M 2006, Called to Serve: Servant-leadership Perceptions at a Franciscan-sponsored University Correlated with Job Satisfaction. ProQuest, Michigan, MI..
Terry, J 2011, Managing a Multicultural Workforce, Human Resource Development, Massachusetts, MA.
What are the different types of evaluation options for achieving project goals for both team-based and financial analysis?
According to Brown and Hyer (2010), the first evaluation type is process evaluation which is used to select the best project that delivers the best value at individual and project levels, based on the strategic goal and mission of the organization. It helps to determine project attributes such as productivity, organizational reach, degree of certainty, degree of complexity, expected outcomes, changes that need to be introduced and to assess whether project activities are on track (Heerkens, 2002). The second type is the impact or outcome evaluation which measures the extent to which the project is aligned to short-term and long term project goals based on project milestones and project success factors. Success factors include unfailing customer orientation and efficiency (Subramaniam, 2009). The underlying factors include physical and financial outputs, performance measures, time, operational, and cost factors. The third type is the summative evaluation. This option is for evaluating the project as a whole to determine project milestones, areas of success and failure, and whether to proceed with the project or not. It informs the project manager whether the project has made the impact it was intended for, project scope creep, the critical factors to be sustained, and emerging recommendations.
Portfolio Map
How does an organization benefit from having a portfolio map? Explain how this process continues to help the team reach its project goals.
Brown and Hyer (2010) argue that the portfolio map enables project managers to optimize investment decisions, assess, review, and ensure that the project remains on course and complies with the project goals. The PPM provides the project manager with the graphic and charting tools and techniques to identify project risks and to efficiently select and allocate resources to projects aligned to the strategic direction and enables a disciplined project selection process. The PPM framework enables managers to provide effective team governance, communication and helps identify the best approach to align project progress with the corporate strategy (Ciliberti, 2005). The PPM process enables managers to identify and change priorities, and establish the best approach to use to identify areas to introduce changes. PPM enables low-value projects to be easily identified and removed from the portfolio and new and existing projects to be aligned to the project goals. It provides a clear and comprehensive picture of the projects being undertaken, correctly ranks projects, accurate understanding of project progress, and correct identification and assessment of projects. It enables capacity planning, identification of existing opportunities and capacity planning, determination of return on investment, project performance and value assessment, and work scheduling (Ciliberti, 2005).
Teams
What are possible sources of conflict within a project team? What approach can a project manager use to keep the project on track and not be negatively impacted by such conflicts?
According to Brown and Hyer (2010), the sources of conflict include scope creep, communication breakdown, personality clashes, poor time management, lack of agreements on project goals, lack of understanding of project schedules, poor project priorities, and interpersonal issues. Project managers can manage conflicts within teams by identifying the root cause of the conflict to ensure that the conflict does not recur (Subramaniam, 2009). According to Brown and Hyer (2010), recommended conflict resolution methods include soothing, the give and take strategy, and the compromising situations technique, which compels interested parties to keep away from areas of conflict. According to Subramaniam (2009), the best approach to keep track of project progress includes using the principle of consistency to encourage people to debate on different sides of issues to encourage them to give their opinions about an issue that is causing conflicts, encouraging project team members to share different opinions about issues, and encouraging all sides to respect the opinion of others (Stanleigh, n.d). It is also important for the project manager to arbitrate between the parties engaged in a conflict by emphasizing the urgency to resolve the conflict, and the benefits of a conflict-free environment (Holahan & Mooney, 2004).
Motivation
Why is it important to keep the project team motivated? In your experience, what factors have been implemented to keep a team motivated? What benefits did you see as a result of these motivating factors?
Brown and Hyer (2010) argue that it is important to keep the project team members motivated to ensure team synergy, improved creativity and productivity, shared technical expertise, personal learning, and organizational development, and increased motivational energy. A motivated team will learn how to reduce the time required to make corrections, avoid errors, and work efficiently together. Motivated team members seek the best methods to improve processes and procedures and reduce overlapping work. It is possible for a team to generate different ideas that can make positive contributions to the success of a project. Brown and Hyer (2010) argue that motivated teams encourage members to work harder to achieve project goals and objectives by improving the working environment (Lewis, 2006). The factors that motivated team members include clear goals, strong customer orientation, better communication mechanisms, clear roles and responsibilities, satisfactory management support, and effective leadership. A motivated team builds confidence in members which leads to job satisfaction and trust among team members. Research by Lewis (2006) shows that team member who trust the project manager easily commit to the decisions and actions arrived at as a team. Team members should focus on making achievements that reflect collective results (Kerzner, 2009).
References
Brown, K. A., & Hyer, N. L. (2010). Managing projects: A team-based approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Heerkens, G. (2002). Project Management. New York: McGraw-Hill
Holahan, P., & Mooney, A. (2004). Conflict in project teams: Gaining the benefits, Avoiding the costs. Current Issues in Technology Management, 3 (8), 1-8. Web.
Kerzner, H. (2009). ProjectManagement: Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. New York: Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, J. (2006). The Project Managers Desk Reference. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Stanleigh, M. (n.d). Optimize organizational performance. Dealing with conflict in Project teams. Web.
Overview of the Methodology Used to Develop these Guidelines
The RNAO undertook numerous steps before developing the guidelines that contain the recommendations provided for the interprofessional teams. The first phase in the development process was guideline development (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2016). In this stage, research was the main activity done to develop the drafts of the recommendations. Research gaps were identified, and the future implications of these solutions were determined. Practice, outcome, and health system research were conducted to develop the guidelines.
The next steps included dissemination, implementation, and proving the sustainability of the research findings. The suggested recommendations were shared with professionals to obtain their assessment (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2016). The recommendations that made it to the guideline were then put through the evaluation and monitoring process to determine their effectiveness in the management of pressure injuries. The professionals gave their opinions on the new guidelines to establish efficacy.
How Research Contributed to the Best Practice Guideline
The research helped the team identify gaps in the management of pressure injuries, which helped develop research questions. The research questions led to the trials of various practices and the test of their efficacy and the long-term implications. Therefore, research enabled the best recommendations that are efficient to be adopted and put down as guidelines. These guidelines further improve the practices of interprofessionals when dealing with pressure injuries.
Recommendations Identified in the Guidelines that Are New to You and Will Help an Your Nursing Practice
Practice recommendation 3.3 on the importance of a nutritional plan to the person injured and to the caregiver. Nutrition is essential to the healing process of the person with the pressure injury. It was a new aspect to me but would prove helpful when dealing with a pressure injury in practice. Education recommendation 5.2 on the need for prior professional knowledge, attitude, and skills related to assessing and managing pressure injuries. These skills will make my work in actual practice easy and reduce the pressure and tension of first-time interaction with the injuries.
The system, organization, and policy recommendation 6.2 was new to me and would be of great importance to my work in the future. Lobbying and advocating for investment in pressure injury and management as a strategic safety priority in jurisdiction will ensure that funding and proper education are given to professionals dealing with pressure injuries (Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, 2016). It will open doors to better research and improved facilities to offer help to persons with pressure injuries.
Reference
Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario. (2016). Assessment and management of pressure injuries for the interprofessional team (3rd ed.), Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario.
It is important to first of all understand what management is before tackling the other aspects of management. Management is a factor of production that involves coordinating and supervising activities in an organizational setup (Drucker, 1999).
Any organization or enterprise requires proper management for it to realize its goals and objectives. The task of management is very challenging and it is therefore very important for any person or group of people aspiring to be managers to receive some training for them to be equipped with the necessary management skills.
In order to guide a group of people, one needs to apply a lot of effort and knowledge in order to guide the group towards achieving its short- term and long-term goals. Since the functions of management form the basic core of management, this presentation will highlight the various management functions in place and at the same time discuss delegation skills and benefits.
The roles and duties of a manager are normally in the functions of management. The functions of management are distinct and in most cases highlight the basic management process (Drucker, 1999). Management functions are useful in the process of classifying management information.
Any aspiring manager should be conversant with all the functions of management. These functions are universal and are applied by all managers across the world regardless of the type of group they are managing. The functional approach to management is applied by managers in governments, religious organizations, the military, businesses and companies (Dale, 1969).
The first function of management we will describe in this paper is planning. Planning is the process of coming up with objectives for the group and determining the various ways and means of achieving the objectives (Witzel, 2004). In the course of planning, the managers should be aware of the physical economic and environmental condition of the organization in order to make the right decisions and at the same time forecast the future situation of the organization.
In a business scenario, the managers must be aware of the competition in the market and the customer need for effective planning. The planners must be in a position to take the necessary steps and courses of action to ensure the set objectives are fully met (Taylor, 2010).
This involves making the right decisions and delegating roles and responsibilities to subordinates to ensure that there is collective effort in meeting organizational objectives. There are different types of planning including strategic planning, tactical planning and operational planning which are often applied according to the type of organization and the nature of the objectives to be met (Taylor, 2010).
The second function that management students should learn is organizing. The organizing function involves the process of establishing the organizational structure delegating responsibilities to the members or workers with an aim of achieving organizational objectives (Hodgetts, 1986).
The various efforts within the organization can only be effectively coordinated if the there is a clear organizational framework. The responsibilities and duties of a particular job or position are set up and decided upon by the management to ensure that there are no conflicting roles during delegation. This function enables the movement to carry out delegation easily because all the roles are clearly defined through organizing (Dale, 1969).
The third function of management is the leading function. The leading function entails having the ability to influence others towards achieving organizational goals and objectives (Witzel, 2004). The manager should have good motivational and communication skills necessary to inspire the subordinates to work towards achieving organizational goals.
In order to become a good leader, the manager should be able to understand each subordinate at an individual level. The manager must study the personalities of their subordinates and it is therefore important tor managers to have some knowledge in behavioral science for them carry out the leading function effectively. The managers should conduct a personality research on their subordinates and various job attitudes for them to lead and relate well with the subordinates.
The effort put in by the subordinates will greatly depend on the level of motivation they receive form their leaders. It is therefore essential for managers to be aware of the he different motivation theories and leadership styles for them to the right motivational and leadership approach to use (Witzel, 2004). Leadership is important in delegation because every person is well motivated to perform their roles within the organization.
The forth and final function of management is controlling. Controlling ensures each person within the organization works according to the set organizational standards. In the controlling function, the managers have the responsibility of setting performance standards, check if the actual performance is similar to the set standards and finally take corrective measures to remedy cases of deviation (Taylor, 2010).
Each organization has its terms of stating standards depending on what it deals with. The managers have the responsibility to ensure that all the activities within their organization are geared towards achieving organizational goals and objective.
In order to become an effective manager, one should be equipped with delegation skills which are vey important in the field of management. There are quite a number of logical rules and techniques needed by the manager in their course of delegating duties and responsibilities (Drucker, 1999). To begin with, the manager should be able to confirm and decide if a particular task should be delegated or not. The manager must the skill of identifying if a task is worth delegating.
The manager should also have some specific reasons as to why they are delegating a particular task to a particular group or individual (Drucker, 1999). The desired end product should be clear even before delegating. Individual being selected to perform a particular task should have the necessary skills and capacity to perform a given task for it to be successful. Incase an individual or group to not have the necessary skills, they should first be trained or the delegate the task to a capable team or individual.
The manager should explain to the team or individual as to why the task is being delegated to them and what is required and expected from them. The manager should also state the required results clarify the expected feedback (Drucker, 1999). Before delegating, the managers must agree on the resources and services required to complete the task and at the same time ensure the availability of resources in order to give the subordinates an easy time (Dale, 1969).
The manager and the subordinates must agree on both the deadlines, targets and the project priorities if any. Apart from delegating, the manager should offer all the necessary support to the subordinates and constantly communicate with them to get any feedback on the progress of the delegated task (Dale, 1969).
Delegation is a very important aspect of management and it comes with fair share of benefits to both the manager and the subordinates. Effective delegation saves time within an organization and at the same time gives the subordinates a sense of recognition.
Delegation helps in career development because it is a useful tool for mangers to groom and fully prepare their successors (Witzel, 2004). Subordinates tend to be highly motivated when they are entrusted with some responsibility because it assures them that the management has got some trust in them.
Delegation also enables managers to identify the right candidates for promotion. This encourages surbodinates to put in a lot of effort with the hope of getting promoted. Delegation enables the subordinates to acquire the necessary skill and experience that are needed in higher responsibilities (Witzel, 2004). Succession planning is always challenging for many managers and it is therefore necessary for them to delegate duties to identify appropriate successors.
In conclusion, to become successful managers requires extensive training. A successful manager must be conversant with basic functions of management and delegation. Planning, controlling, leading and organizing are the four major functions of management that are essential in defining the whole process of management.
An effective manager should have the relevant delegation skills in order to simplify their work. Lack of delegation can lead to confusion and frustration within the organization which can be avoided with proper delegation. Delegation is important in grooming competent successors in an organization and at the same time promotes career development and motivation.
References
Dale, E. (1969). Management: Theory and practice. New York, NY: Rex Bookstore, Inc.
Drucker, P. (1999). Management: Tasks, responsibilities, practices. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Hodgetts, R. (1986). Management: Theory, process and practice. New York, NY: Academia Press, College Division.
Taylor, F. (2010). The principles of scientific management. New York, NY: Forgotten Books.
Witzel, M. (2004). Management: The basics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Harvard Business Essentials define creativity as “a process of developing and expressing novel ideas for solving problems or satisfying needs”[1]. Creativity in an organization is founded on three basic building blocks. These are expertise, creative thinking skills and motivation.
Considering this and other characteristics of creative teams, one realizes that managing creativity within a business context can be a daunting task. This paper seeks to identify the challenges associated with creative careers and how they can be managed within a business context.
The film industry can be a challenging industry which calls for creativity and innovation in order to stay afloat. Specifically, the animation industry calls for creativity in concept and technology all together. While viewers expect the industry to come up with creative animation films, the owners of the industries need to ensure that profitability is given an upper hand.
This means that being a manager within film industry can be a challenging task. The manager has to ensure that he promotes the creative processes with other non creative tasks which would together work towards achievement of company objectives.
In their analysis of creativity management, Seidel and Rosemann outline a myriad of challenges associated with creativity management[2]. To begin with, managing of creative risks is one of the greatest challenges that one expecting a career that requires creativity has to be ready to meet.
As identified earlier, creativity entails coming up with novel ideas. Such processes tend to have great variations of possible outcomes. The risks involve losing process, failure to come up with an appropriate solution or coming up with poor quality product and also opposition from external environment which could lead to dissatisfaction or lawsuits[3].
In the film industry, it is important that a company comes up with entertaining movies that would lead to great sales. In the animation industry, it is important that developers come up with films that reflect creativity in terms of plot and creation.
Failure to establish this would lead to problems within the market and hence lead to business loses. However, coming up with such like creative ideas calls for risk anticipation and management. In the quest to develop a captivating storyline and sequence, the whole thing might end up messed up. This would translate to a waste of time and resources for the company.
Furthermore, the film might end up unacceptable as far as legal specifications are concerned. For instance, the use of sexual sensation is proved to be one of the best approaches in attracting a certain audience. However, using sexual sense could end up with an explicit video which might end up being banned. As a result, the film industry is creativity intensive industry in which one must be ready to meet the challenges expected[4].
Creative processes are usually flexibility demanding. This marks a challenge that creative careers meet. Unlike other working environments whose processes fit squarely in the normal working routines, creative processes demand for flexible working routines. Conventional working processes could not sufficiently allow creativity.
Using of processes such as exceptional handling or even evolutionary workflow might not be able to promote creativity despite their advanced nature. Therefore, creative processes might require working routines that have no specific design[5].
Unfortunately, very few organizations would offer a flexible working environment. Being a creative process work may then become a great challenge because one will, in many occasions find himself on the wrong side of the supervisors.
Other than having issues with the supervisors, the non-creative workers might feel that the one person performing creative tasks is being treated in a fair way as opposed to them this may result into technical problems in management. As a result, a person working in a position of creativity must be ready to face resistance from other workers who find him favored[6].
Budget allocation on a creative undertaking can be a challenging task. As mentioned earlier, the creative processes are prone to high variances of possible outcomes. In additions, they could end up with a disappointing outcome. Therefore, the management must put several aspects in consideration before coming up with the most appropriate budget for a given creative project.
In a film industry for instance, development of an animations sequence might call for heavy time and resource allocation. It is therefore necessary that a clear picture of the situation is understood to avoid loses that could occur in a case where the outcome comes in a way that was not expected.
Seidel and Rosemann argue that it important that a person managing creativity understands the real tasks (what stage of the whole process) requires creativity[7]. This is in a case where some parts need creativity while others operate from a normal perspective. Second, he should understand the characteristics of the process. He has to what kind of person is well fit for the job and what communication is necessary.
Finally, the manager must understand the impact that the creative process will have for the whole project. In the film industry, the outcome of an animation movie highly depends on the creativity of its production. Creativity is needed in terms of storyline and quality of production. As a result, the impact of the process of creativity on the whole project is hence very great. It determines the end result[8].
Finally, operating in teams can be a great challenge within a creative career. Scholarship points out that homogenous groups tend to get results faster and more efficiently as compared to heterogeneous groups. However, the heterogeneous groups come up with results that are more creative and which point out high level of ingenuity.
This means that a manager in an industry that requires creativity has to make up his mind on whether to use homogenous groups that are easy to handle and come up with faster results but less ingenious or use heterogeneous groups that are harder to manage and take longer time but have better results. On the other hand, an individual that operates within this category has to meet challenges like listening to other people’s ideas so as to come up with a better solution[9].
For a business operation, creativity management is a great challenge but plays an integral role. It is through creativity that a business organization can survive competition from competitors. Also, creativity leads to outcomes that solve a given problem that eventually leads to better lives for the beneficiary of the product.
This means that a creative business organization will always have something for their clients. This is very likely to improve on the sales of the organization. What should a manager do to avoid the challenges and ensure productivity? He has to ensure that every creative process undergoes an approval stage. This will assist him to come up with a budget that best fits the process.
In addition, it will assist in reducing the risks of unfavorable outcomes. To promote creativity, flexible business processes should be developed. Exceptions for creative business processes must be put in place. Finally, communication must be given high priority throughout the whole project. First, the team handling the creative process needs to maintain a stead flow of communication.
On the other hand, others employees who are not involved in the creative process must be informed of the reasons for exceptions given to the creative workers. This might reduce chances of rifts among the workers. Eventually, the business organization might work better[10].
In conclusion, working in an environment that calls for creativity can be a challenging phenomenon. One needs to understand the challenges in order to maximize on the profitability of the organization as a whole. First, creativity needs flexibility, it also needs an advanced level of communication to enhance team work. Also, communication is necessary for brainstorming between the creative individuals in order to come up with a successful business idea or concept.
To promote creativity, the business organization must therefore ensure that they put appropriate measures in place in order to avoid conflict. This includes ensuring proper communication, process approval and increase flexibility. On the other hand, a business organization will not succeed without a creative string. One needs creativity to survive in the increasingly competitive business environment.
This is particularly true considering that creativity is the mother to productivity. Creatively designed products will increase overall sales. Therefore, every company needs creativity. With this in place, profitability is eminent.
Bibliography
Harvard Business Essentials. Harvard Business Essentials: Managing Creativity and Innovation. Chicago: Harvard University Press, 2003.
Morgan, Gareth., Imaginization. The Art of Creative Management, Newbury, CA: Sage Publications, 1993.
Nonaka, Ikujiro., and Hirotaka Takeuchi, The Knowledge Creating Company, London: Oxford University Press, 1995 Nystrom, Harry., Creativity and Innovation, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1979.
Sutton, Robert., Weird Ideas that Work. 111/2 Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining Innovation, New York: The Free Press, 2002.
Footnotes
Harvard Business Essentials, Harvard Business Essentials: Managing innovation and creativity (Harvard University Press, 2003). Coming up with novel ideas entails having adequate skills, outstanding expertise and above all motivation from the organization. This is what a creative organization needs. Creative ideas hence are nourished by these characteristics.
Stefan Seidel and Michael Rosemann. Creativity Management: The new challenge for BPS, 2008. The authors highlight the importance of making proper arrangements to contain and reduce creative risks. Considering the variability of outcomes and the unknown nature of the results, the novel idea could end up destructive to the company’s activities.
Robert Sutton. Weird Ideas at work. (New York, 2002) the outcome of a novel idea’s birth might be short of the expectations. On the other hand, it might squarely meet the expectations but go against the specified legal expectations. This might lead to law suits.
Mark McGuinness. Creative Management for Creative Teams. (London 2008). The quest to attract attention in a film industry might lead to explicit material. It is proved that sexual sense is one of the greatest avenue to attracting and retaining a certain market segment. This tricky but viable approach might lead a company to legal battles.
Mark McGuinness. Creative Management for Creative Teams. (London 2008) with specified working designs, creative individuals might be blocked from attain their best potential. For instance, creative individuals may need to operate beyond normal working hours or they may want to use company computers or other resources at a larger scale. Routine might not allow this. In order to allow this, undefined working patterns should be developed.
Stefan Seidel and Michael Rosemann. Creativity Management: The new challenge for BPS, 2008 undefined working designs given to creative workers might lead to friction as other workers feel less advantaged. This calls for proper information
Ibid, without understanding the process, it is impossible to make appropriate calculations for the risk involved. Management must understand the magnitude of the implications in the event that the process is successful. On the other hand, he has to understand the magnitude of the risk involved.
Gareth Morgan. Imaginization: The art of creativity management (Sage Publications, 1993)
Nonaka Ikujiro and Hirotaka Takeuchi. The Knowledge Creating Company. (London, 1995), homogenous groups are easier to manage. In a creative environment, homogeneous groups are however not yhte best choice. It is important that heterogeneous groups which are more difficult to manage are used. This means that managing creativity calls for more challenges in terms of coming up with a decision from a heterogeneous group.
Harry Nystrom. Creativity and Innovation. (New York, 1979). Communication is the life blood of any given organization. Without it no activity can be carried out successfully. In a creative environment, the need for communication is far much more than a normal organization. This is especially true given the nature of challenges associated with creativity management.
To provide quality and timely medical services, medical facilities need to maintain an orchestrate team; the concerned facility management has the role of developing groups within an organization to form teams that will benefit patients and the company. Developing and maintaining teams is a strategic process that requires top management and employees support. This paper discusses team management in medical facilities.
Teams
In medical institutions, the entire facility can be regarded as a team since it has the noble goal of improving medical care in the region they operate. Within the larger institutions, there are small groups mandated to undertake certain tasks, they include the nursing team, human resources teams, administration and pool of doctors. They work “independently” to the benefit of the organization.
Characteristics of an orchestrate team
When people of different experiences, ages and professions come together to fulfill a certain goal, they cannot be called a team; a team has some unique characteristics they include:
Teams have an objective that they aim at fulfilling; all members in the team well understand the role they play in the fulfillment of the team’s goals and objectives. When working in a team, despite the differences in profession, experiences and differentiation of tasks, team members should be treating each other equally with an appropriate members respect.
In orchestrate teams, members have high respect of each other opinion and with the guidance of the team leader, they find their path and develop strategies together; there is consultation among them and each aims at improving the other member in one way or another.
Teams should have optimal combination of resources: resources are limited thus they need to be allocated in the most effective manner, in team resources include the intellectualism, profession and experience that team members have. A right combination leads to optimal utility of team potential as young players are developed to be team leaders and experts in the future.
The importance of motivation in teams
Motivation is the drive an individual has; it makes an employee persevere to attain set goals in an organization, since the employee anticipates a benefit in kind or non kind from his employer. Team members have different personalities thus they motivated by different things; when a team is not motivated, then it cannot fulfill it goals and objectives effectively.
Ability can be facilitated through learning and experience; motivation is attained after putting into consideration all factors that can make employees enthusiastic and vigil in their works.
Teams need to be motivated via policies set in an organization and also by strategies that team leaders use; when managing a team, the most effective tool of motivation in involvement of all team members in the fulfillment of the team’s goals and objectives.
Despite that team has members with different skills, experiences, age and professions, team leaders should ensure that every member contribution is welcomed and appreciated, they should be engaged in different tasks so as to integrate and develop their intellectualism.
Involvement at team level combined with company’s motivational policies leads to orchestrate team with the drive to fulfill team’s goals and mission (Crother-Laurin, 2006).
Positive and negative aspects of working as a team
Teams develop better ways of fulfilling a certain task since different people with the right experiences and professions are involved. They are bleeding areas for invention and innovation as members develop better ways of fulfilling their tasks when required. Well managed teams motivate their members through healthy involvement in different tasks and responsibilities.
The negative aspect of teams occurs when they are not effectively managed; they are likely to fail the entire organization since their interdependence and reliance with each other can hamper their entire performance. If a single member of a team records some inefficiency or deficiency in a certain area, then the effect will be felt in the entire team
Conclusion
In medical facilities, different tasks are fulfilled via teams developed, managed and motivated to undertake the task. A well developed team has a sense of belonging to the team and every member works to benefit the team. At team level, involvement is an effective motivation mechanism alongside other motivational strategies set by an organization.
Reference
Crother-Laurin, C. (2006). Effective Teams: A Symptom of Healthy Leadership. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 29(3), 4.
It has been observed that the culture of an organization that is built around teams is strikingly different from an organization built in a traditional hierarchical fashion.
Some of the differences lie in commitment to goals, representation / awareness of strategic plans consistent presence of job performance indicators, employees dividing tasks and taking ownership of work and setting / meeting of new levels of performance are common to organizations built around teams (Dew 3). However it is also important to know when it is important to form teams as teams are known to work well where the tasks involved are complex and can be fragmented.
The task of selecting when to form teams is a management role and the communication and leadership of the team must be directed from the administration (Dew 5). In this report the discussion presented will provide information on a team activity and reasons based on principles of team management in support of the activity as well as areas that could have been improved.
The Team Activity
The activity involved was the organization of a cultural night show by a group of students from my home country. Once the date was set the group sat down and had a meeting to select a leader. In the selection of a leader the group felt it was important to select an individual with strong leadership qualities.
Among the qualities desired included; an ability to withhold personal opinions to allow other members have a say, good listening ability, ability to direct a discussion without favoritism, draw out opinions of all participants and ability to build consensus rather forcing decisions on members (Kriel, Singh, de Beer, Louw, Muton, Roussouw, Berning and du Toit 42). Following this initial discussion a vote was conducted and a leader was selected.
Once the team leader was in place the discussion continued and selected the various officials that would be required to complete the task successfully. After forming a complete team of leaders the committee formed set about preparing a timetable and order of tasks to be completed. In addition to this it was also mentioned that random meetings could be called among selected individuals to brainstorm and complete the various tasks.
The event was eventually completed successfully but not without some unexpected problems. Among the problems that were identified was the case that some of the members were given more tasks than they could handle in the allocated time.
Owing to this there were numerous delays which could have been avoided had there been better communication and additional support for the officials (Kriel et al. 41). One of the strengths of teamwork is the ability to utilize on the support of other members and this is one area where the team failed to fully comprehend.
Another problem that was experienced in the team was poor conflict management. Despite the fact that the leader selected was good for the job the team consisted of several members all with different ideas and opinions. The result was that during brain storming exercises there was too much time wasted on trying to push various opinions home.
It appeared that the team lacked a unified goal and this led to wastage of time. It is reported that poor communication can prevent a team from achieving its goal and threaten its survival (Kriel et al. 38). This point was most evident in the initial planning meetings held by the group.
On the other hand one of the best outcomes of the event was the increased rapport that arose between members as the days progressed. Owing to the ability of the leader to keep the members focused as well as remind team members of the goal of the committee it was much easier to overcome hurdles caused by different opinions.
It was through the persistence of the group leader that members were constantly reminded of individual accountability and group responsibility (Kriel et al. 41). The cultural night ended up a successful event and the group managed to generate a reasonable amount of revenue from various sources.
Bibliography
Dew, John Robert. Managing in a Team Environment. Westport: Quorum Books, 1998.
Kriel, G., D. Singh, A. de Beer, H, Louw, J. Mouton, D. Rossouw, J. Berning and D. du Toit. Focus on Management Principles: A Generic Approach. South Africa: Paarl print.
It is always a great idea to work in tandem with other people as opposed to working alone. The old adage, two heads are better than one is true all the time. If it is better to work with a partner then surely it is highly recommended to work as a team. It is a documented fact that teamwork enables a group of individuals to accomplish more than a person working alone.
Working with a team makes it possible to increase productivity, share the burden of the workload, generate better ideas, and the combination of talents can produce amazing results. But aside from working with a team, the next important thing to learn is how to manage a team to increase the efficiency of everyone involved. Thus, teamwork plus good leadership equals amazing results.
The Team
In an organization setting or in a highly competitive industry there is no better way to tackle problems and to accomplish tasks other than to do it with a team (Cavaleri, 2005, p.5). There are so many things that have to be completed within a certain time frame and there are so many bases to cover that it is impossible for an individual to handle all the work. One of the consequences of working alone is poor performance and the possibility of a burn out.
Michael West in his book, Effective Teamwork lists some of the reasons why it would be better to work with a group and he listed the advantages as: a) enable efficient learning; b) saves precious time; c) innovative solutions can be formulated; d) lower stress levels; and e) thus, more work is accomplished (West, 2004, p.7). One can also add other benefits such as cooperation, sharing of resources and the power unleashed in combining different types of talents and skills.
Team work is important because even with the help of cutting-edge technology no one has solved the physical challenge of being in two places at the same time (Thierauf, 2001, p.10). For example, in performing a certain task, someone has to be in one place doing the documentation while another person has to go somewhere to deal with another component of the said project. Using sports analogies the value of team work is easily understood.
Leadership
It has to be made clear that team work does not mean that team members has to lose their identity as they submit to a dominant personality. A good team leader understands that true team work is all about collaboration. A good team leader knows how to derive the best solutions based on the ideas contributed by the team.
According to Stanford University’s Graduate School for Business, “…teams encompassing at least two separate points of view on a particular question make better decisions because the pressure of the minority forces the majority to think more complexly and consider diverse evidence” (Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2004, p.1). It is also important for the leader to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each member.
A team can be made more efficient if the leader and the team members understand the importance of breaking down a particular task and distributing the responsibilities wisely to each member (Glaser, 1994, p.1). This is also known as the “clarification of roles” (Glaser, 1994, p.1). It is a strategy to prevent the duplication of work assignments.
It is also important for leaders to learn the skill of determining the level of satisfaction felt by team members. It is always helpful to find ways on how to boost the morale of the team. It does not require a genius to realize that if a team member is less frustrated then he or she can perform a better job as opposed to someone forced to do a task. It is crucial that leader must not become a dictator in order to create a high-performance team. At the same time a leader cannot be too lenient that nothing can be done.
Conclusion
It is indeed advantageous to work as a team. An individual hard-pressed with an impending deadline and other problems can be easily paralyzed by the job requirements. But team work offers strength in numbers that can then result in quality decisions, innovative solutions, and efficiency in the workplace.
A team can only become a team individuals are willing to work together as one. At the same time it is also important to have a good leader guiding the team and dictating the pace of the group. A good leader allows others to shine and to maximize the collective pool of talents in order to tackle a project or work assignment that could have been impossible if only one person was assigned to that job.
References
Cavaleri, S. (2005). Knowledge Leadership. MA: Elsevier Butterwoth-Heinemann.
Glaser, S. (1994). “Teamwork and Communication.” Management Communication Quarterly.
Silicon Valley Business Journal. (2004). “Standford: Teamwork Produces Better Decisions.” Web.
Thierauf, R. (2001). Effective Business Intelligence Systems. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing.
West, M. (2004). Effective Teamwork. UK: Blackwell Publishing.
The characteristics of teams have changed in different aspects relative to various organizational changes and the tasks assigned to different teams. As organizations expand across different geographical and industrial dimensions, the interactions and relationships between these organizations and their perceived customers, suppliers and other critical stakeholders determine organizational growth through collaborative work.
Additionally, through knowledge management, different organizations have realized the need to ensure that the expertise and experience held by individual members are distributed across the whole organization (Kimball, 1997, p. 1). As a result, various organizational changes dictate the way teams are formed and operated. Furthermore, technology has enhanced the formation of efficient teams, which operate at multiple management levels and modes.
For instance, virtual teams entail a group of co-workers who are geographically and organizationally interlinked through telecommunication tools and information technology systems. Here, teams located in different geographical areas in the world accomplish various organizational tasks through cooperation and collaborative means (Kimball, 1997).
In this essay, we will review the case study, ‘Virtually there?’ with the aim of describing why the current case is a good example of a virtual team. Subsequently, the essay presents the advantages of the virtual team described in the current case. Furthermore, suggestions regarding the management of the virtual team in the current case are also provided in this essay.
The case presented by Pearlson and Saunders is a good example of a virtual team because it describes a scenario whereby doctors located in different geographical areas can interact with their cancer patients through providing them with relevant information in real-time. Additionally, doctors within the same organization or between different organizations can collaborate to handle the same case concurrently.
Furthermore, the project described in the case entails harnessing useful information held by individual doctors in an organization and making it available to the whole organization (Pearlson & Saunders, 2006). As a result, there is evidence of a group of coworkers who are interlinked organizationally and geographically in order to accomplish various organizational duties.
Advantages of the virtual team in the case study
In view of the foregoing discussions, it is obvious that the proposed project by Dr. Laura Esserman aims at facilitating the interaction between doctors and cancer patients in a virtual world.
Here, the proponents argue that the use of virtual teams and tools will not only save cancer patients the agony of passively listening to impenetrable treatment options and suggestions from doctors, but it will also allow patients to gain access to a range of information regarding the treatment, success-rate, and diagnosis of their health complications.
Furthermore, the patients are given the opportunity to meet with different doctors within and outside the hospital to explore different perspectives and options regarding their health status (Pearlson & Saunders, 2006).
Additionally, Dr. Esserman notes that the virtual team involved in handling cancer patients will manage to bring to the table a range of useful information and treatment options, which can guarantee positive patient outcomes as opposed to cases where individual doctors are involved in deciding the treatment options for their patients.
Furthermore, the presence of virtual teams in the treatment of cancer allows the patients to engage doctors in a discussion that will lead to the patients voicing their concerns over certain treatment options (Pearlson & Saunders, 2006). As a result, the patients and doctors can reach a compromise relative to the treatment options, which are acceptable to the greatest number of patients and doctors.
Suggestions regarding the management of the virtual team
Despite that the virtual team offers several advantages regarding the process of enhancing the interaction between doctors and their patients, it can face several challenges particularly due to diverse time zones, security issues, diverse team players, and communication issues.
As a result, there is the need for team managers to address these issues, which can hinder the process of implementing and managing the proposed goals and objectives for the team. Here, there is the need for managers to initiate frequent communication between team members through appropriate technological systems such as interactive groupware (Kimball, 1997).
Furthermore, team managers should ensure that team members gain access to similar information technology systems at their respective places. Additionally, the members should be adequately trained on how to use different technological systems in order to allow for efficient and timely communication. Lastly, there is the paramount need for managers to promote culturally sensitive technological systems for different team members because various cultural and ethnic groups perceive time and task in different ways.
Conclusions
The essay reviews the case study, ‘Virtually there?’ relative to why the case reflects a virtual team and the advantages of the virtual team described in the case. Additionally, the essay offers suggestions concerning the management of the virtual team. From the discussions above, it is notable that virtual teams present several advantages in terms of accomplishing and improving different organizational tasks.
However, these teams face different challenges regarding communication issues, team diversity, and technological challenges. Therefore, management of virtual teams entails an in-depth understanding and management of various issues concerning team formation, telecommunication tools, and team diversity.