A change situation refers to the existing barriers and facilitators to change. Examples of the barriers and facilitators to change include the environment, the availability of support service, IT and staff morale. Change is carried out when facilitators’ force exceeds the existing barriers. An effective agent of change mitigates the effect of barriers to alter and enhances the effect of change facilitators. This involves the mobilization of innovators and early adopters to initiate change.
The impact of organizational change is dependent on three factors; the stage of organizational development, the degree of flexibility, and the history of response to change. There are two approaches to change; linear and nonlinear. The linear approach is appropriate for the low-level change in the relatively small nursing organization. It involves identification of the problem (unfreezing), experiencing change followed by acceptance of a new attitude or behavior (refreezing).
The most appropriate theoretical framework for effecting planned change is the Innovation-Decision process developed by Rogers (2003). The nonlinear approach is best suited for complex change. There are two approaches to nonlinear change: the chaos organizational strategy and the learning organization strategy. The roles of change agents in nonlinear change include planning, organizing, implementing, evaluating, and seeking feedback. The main function of the change agent is constantly influencing the group to achieve the predetermined goal.
Teamwork is necessary for the process of delivering quality nursing healthcare. A team is different from a group in that it consists of individuals who are associated with a particular activity. Thus it is important to maintain a good working relationship through effective communication. This enables a clear definition of purpose, promotes commitment, and encourages a high degree of participation by team members to achieve desired outcomes. An effective team leader should have the ability to model action plans, inspire members to share the company’s vision, be innovative, facilitate others to function, and motivate the team members.
Stress within a team is addressed by the identification of communication barriers and avoidance of communication pitfalls. The effective resolution of conflicts in a team is aimed at promoting a willingness to cooperate among members and enhance their commitment to a shared mission. It is important to focus on the strengths of team members and provide an opportunity for using and developing their skills. The acknowledgment of members’ contributions in a specific, personal, sincere, and timely manner as it is critical in building an effective team. The management of emotions is necessary for building trust among team members and reducing conflicts. The team relationship should be built on mutual respect and, most importantly, the members’ adherence to agreements.
Conflict is an important concept in the healthcare environment since it impacts the patient’s safety. It is an important stimulator of change which may be detrimental or positive. Effective resolution of conflict in the workplace deepens on and promotes human relationships. There are three types of conflicts in the healthcare environment. The intrapersonal conflict is basically held within the individual player. Interpersonal conflicts include disagreements between various parties, such as nurses, physicians, and patients. Organizational conflict comprises discord between the organizational policies and strategies with internalized norms among employees and patients.
It is important to understand the four stages of conflict; which are frustration, conceptualization, action, and outcome. This makes it possible to effectively address the problem. There are several strategies that can be employed in resolving conflict, depending on its nature. These include collaboration, competition, compromise, accommodation, and avoidance. Avoidance and accommodation are the most utilized strategies in resolving conflict in the nursing profession. These approaches seek to deter the escalation of conflict. However, they may lead to increased stress among individuals and organizations that gradually constrains the achievement of the desired outcomes.
Teamwork is very important in achieving success for any organization. In a situation whereby there are limited funds to create employment, a manager should utilize his or her planning skills in using the available limited resources to ensure optimal functioning of the organization. This paper is a proposal that shows the importance of teamwork in attaining efficiency and customer satisfaction in a situation whereby there is increased volume of calls and limited funds to create employment.
Importance of teamwork (includes teamwork in non-health industries)
According to Mager, Lange, Greiner & Saracino (2012), the United States has been indicated to spend a lot of money on health care, yet the apparent poor comes are not commensurate with the resources spent. Fragmentation has been pointed out as a major thwarting impetus to the attainment of quality care. Working together as a team has been presented to be a mechanism for improving patient outcomes. Nuclear power plant operations are shown by O’Hara & Roth (cited in Fraher, 2013) to rely on collaboration for their functioning and success. The best teams are described as having categorically defined roles.
In addition, supporting and backing up each other is equally fundamental. This high level of teamwork cannot be achieved if there is no trust, openness and lack of a common and shared comprehension of the goals and procedures of the plant operations. The aviation industry on the other hand has been shown as one that has been facing teamwork problems since the beginning of the 21st century due to downsizing of the workers, resulting in a breach of trust. The military is another industry that heavily relies on teamwork. Literature in this industry suggests that effective and efficient teamwork results in the military are achieved when handling small numbers (Ellis & Martin, 2006).
In the situation at hand, it is important that the manager addresses the issue impeccably without losing the confidence of the clients. The five-step planning approach as explained by Lombardi, Schermerhorn & Kramer (2007) would be ideal in handling the issue at hand. To begin with, the manager should identify where the problem is coming from: has the number of clients increased? Or, has there been a laxity on the part of the workers? The manager can easily determine this by checking the records of callers during the past five years to check the trend. In addition, appraisals should be evaluated to check whether the workers are indeed performing as per the outlined objectives and targets.
Application of the Five-step planning process while incorporating
The literature presented is useful for the healthcare manager to address the issue of increased calls versus few resources. It has been shown that it is possible to work with a team of a few people. The manager should develop various strategies on how to solve the problem. After identifying the problem, the manager should use a participatory approach to get various ideas on how to address the problem with a focus on the available few resources. An increase in the clientele base would require the manager to intensify the teamwork within the organization as well as liaise with the healthcare workers in the other departments.
Some departments are not usually as busy therefore they can send some of their employees to the call center to counteract the upsurge. Alternatively, when all the customer care representatives are busy, some calls can be redirected to these less busy divisions such as that of a physiotherapist or anesthetist. This approach does not require training costs but an alteration of the telephone line to allow redirection of calls from the call center. If the issue stems from the workers, then the manager should adopt the approach from the nuclear plant operations to encourage openness and trust amongst the workers.
The manager should deliberate and analyze the various options based on the identified problem. This is important because it helps to compare the risks and returns of each possible solution so as to settle on the most possible and favorable solution. Once the manager decides on which action to take, then the implementation can be done. In the case of intensifying teamwork and addressing internal workers’ issue, simulation can be used (Mager, Lange, Greiner & Saracino, 2012).
Also, in case of increased work volume, the manager should appoint supervisors in charge of various teams within the call center. The manager should also liaise with the IT department to ensure that most of the frequently asked questions are placed on the website. This way, customer center representatives can focus on attending to other clients with more sensitive and urgent issues.
Once implementation has been effected, the manager should carry out an evaluation process to ensure that the objectives for reform have been achieved. In case they have not been achieved, there is a need to go back on the drawing board to identify prevailing gaps. If the objectives have been met, then the manager can proceed to reinforce the intervention. But if it is not sustainable, he or she should come up with a strategy that can sustain the volume of calls especially in the case of increased number of callers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, teamwork is very important in any organization. However, a manager should be able to guide his or her subordinates towards attaining effective and efficient teamwork to yield positive and beneficial results. The right planning and leadership skills are therefore imperative in this case.
References
Ellis, J. E., & Martin, M. W. (2006). Human behavior presentation of military teamwork. Monterey: U.S. Army Training and Analysis Center.
Fraher, A. (2013). Airline downsizing and its impact on team performance. Team Performance Management, 19(2), 109-126.
Lombardi, D., Schermerhorn, J., & Kramer, B. (2007). Health care management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Mager, D., Lange, J., Greiner, P., & Saracino. K. (2012). Using simulation pedagogy to enhance teamwork and communication in the care of older adults: The elder project. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 43(8), 363-369.
Working in teams is crucial for nurses, and the concept of teamwork becomes central to the nursing practice. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of effective teamwork in nursing and healthcare in general. First, nursing per se as professional conduct of continual health management and research depends on collaboration in mission and objectives achievement. Second, the research shows that successful collective work tends to decrease stress and increase productivity among the nurses involved (Dilig-Ruiz et al., 2018). Most importantly, effective cooperation and coordination are crucial for patient safety.
To avoid patient errors, it is vital to promote effective teamwork within the units and between them. Although there has been an increasing practical interest in teamwork, the concept as such calls for conceptual analysis in order to provide a more comprehensive theory of teamwork in nursing practice and ensure its coherent application.
Definitions and Uses of the Concept
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, teamwork is “work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Cambridge Dictionary(n.d.) defines teamwork as “the activity of working together in a group with other people, especially when this is successful” and “the combined actions of a group of people working together effectively to achieve a goal.” Thus, all three definitions imply positive connotations of such type of goals and objectives achievement. Significant collocations supporting teamwork are efficient, successful, and working in a group.
Teamwork is especially emphasized in organizational contexts. “Teamwork skills” is an essential part of what employees seek in potential employers (Betta, 2016; Tripathy, 2018). There have been created a lot of applications, software, and web-platforms for businesses facilitating teamwork. These services outline setting and achieving mutual goals and objectives efficiently and timely (ProofHub, 2020). Such services structure inter-organizational communication and enhance productivity.
At the same time, in scholarly literature, there are three main streams of research dealing with teamwork: business, education, and healthcare. Apart from the efficient collective achievement of common goals and purposes, scholarly literature focuses on the process of deep mutual learning resulting from the interaction, dialogue, and cooperation (Tarricone & Luca, 2011; Hoegl & Gemuenden, 2001; Reeves et al., 2017).
Definitions of the discussed concept also emphasize the synergetic effect of teamwork. Consider, for example, this definition: “a cooperative process that allows ordinary people to achieve extraordinary results” (Scarnatti, 2011, p.5 as cited in Tarricone & Luca, 2011, p.641). Concerning the specific essence of teamwork in the nursing context, Tarricone & Luca (2011) focus on the nursing team itself, i.e., ” registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nursing assistants (NAs), and unit secretaries (USs) working together in the delivery of patient care, as opposed to interdisciplinary or other types of teams” (p.641). Thus, although this concept has been widely used in various contexts and in relation to different groups, there are several defining attributes that are common.
Defining Attributes
Generalizing various definitions of teamwork, it is possible to highlight their common features. It is constitutive features of a team: at least three individuals, a common purpose, the members’ interdependency, their specific roles linked to performing particular tasks, decision making, and mutual interaction in the process of achieving common objectives. Five elements can be distinguished for the teamwork to uphold the concept’s positive connotations.
First, an appropriate leadership style (i.e., how the leader directs the subordinates and supports them). Second, orientation towards collective achievements (as opposed to an individualistic approach to work and success). Third, the awareness of the team members of each one’s role and activities. Fourth, protecting behavior, i.e., team members are willing to help and support each other with their tasks and responsibilities. Finally, adaptability or the ability of individuals to adjust their activity most sufficiently.
Antecedents
Walker and Avant (2005, as cited in Brush et al., 2011) define antecedents as “the events or attributes that must arise prior to a concept’s occurrence.” First, in order for a team to emerge, there should be an appropriate organizational context. Teamwork in nursing practice presupposes clinical settings, adequate education level of the potential members, and the need to apply joint effort to achieve specific goals. When these criteria are met, three key antecedents should be present to call some collective activity teamwork. First, it is a shared understanding of the process, goals, and objectives, as well as the roles of each member. Second, an effective communication infrastructure, i.e., information exchange needs to be active and straightforward, verifiable, and efficient. Finally, the team members should trust each other.
Consequences
Walker and Avant (2005 as cited in Brush et al., 2011) define consequences as “those events or incidents that can occur as a result of the occurrence of a concept and that can often stimulate new ideas or avenues for research pertaining to certain concepts.” Possible and expected consequences of teamwork in nursing practice include increased members’ job satisfaction, more efficient and productive job performance and collective goals achievement, and the minimized amount of patient errors. The latter is of the utmost importance since a healthcare organization’s ultimate objective is patient care and cure. Teamwork is a positive concept, the occurrence of which results in desirable outcomes for all members and parties involved.
Model Case
Sarah M. works as a registered nurse in SM hospital. She is engaged in the nursing team consisting of a nurse manager (NM), three charge nurses (CN), ten other registered nurses (RN), and eight nursing assistants (NA). Sarah reports that the manager appreciates each member’s contribution, values efficient collaboration, and ensures that teamwork is possible through controlling the provision of adequate staff and resources every shift.
In her team, CNs are responsible for facilitating communication and lead the team members’ activities. According to what she experiences, the team divides patients not by their amount but by their needs and the respective work needed. The members support each other in crises and throughout shift routine activity. They are willing to help (unless they are not on top of their work, and it is physically impossible). CNs and NM make sure that the workload is fairly distributed. All nurses trust in each other’s job and are sure that it is done properly. At the same time, every time before the next shift starts, they meet up with each other to stay updated on the current objectives.
This model case represents all five defining attributes of the concept. The members have a set of common goals and objectives; they are interdependent and have their particular roles throughout the shift. NM exhibits a desirable leadership style, and all nurses are oriented towards collective achievements, each of them is aware of their role and the roles and tasks of others. The members behave in a supportive way showing a high level of protective behavior. They ensure adjustability as well through the adequate resource usage and supply. Besides, the teamwork here is ensured by the presence of vital antecedents such as trust.
Borderline Case
Patricia B. works as a CN in PB hospital. The nursing team she works with also includes a NM, six RNs, and eight NAs. Patricia tends to be proud of her team and the work they do. She communicates with all the nurses, and three of the RNs are her close friends. She ensures that every nurse has a fair workload and tries to redistribute tasks if necessary. In crises, she makes sure collective efforts are deployed most efficiently. If there is a mistake during her shift, Patricia wants to know who exactly is responsible. In doing so, she tries to minimize patient errors and enhance nurses’ responsibility and accuracy. In the process of such investigations, she learned that some nurses make mistakes slightly more often than others. In order to increase their performance, she tries to watch them.
This case shows a borderline situation since, in this team, not all the attributes and antecedents are met. Patricia established mostly close and friendly relationships with her subordinates, values their work, and focuses on collective achievements. Although she promotes team orientation and aims at adjustability, some of her leadership style patterns lead to the absence of supportive behavior among subordinates (the necessity to point at another person) and decreased trust. The latter is observed among subordinates to each other and Patricia’s lack of trust in some particular team members.
Contrary Case
Olivia J. works as a RN in OJ hospital. The team she works in includes a NM, two CNs, fifteen RNs, and fifteen NAs. The nurses do not receive after-shift updates and their current tasks until nine-ten in the morning. Because of that, it is difficult for them to catch up. The CNs tend to emphasize individual drawbacks and mistakes. NM usually distributes workload based on patients number, and it results in uneven workload distribution. NM and CNs do not reassign patients. If there is a unit crisis, the team uses help from nurses from other units instead. It often leads to misunderstandings since the latter have their own nursing practice patterns established in their primary teams. Olivia is not sure that her colleagues will have her back because everyone is stressed and under pressure from dismissal possibility.
This case represents a situation contrary to efficient collaboration, which could be called teamwork. First, the leadership style of NM and CNs is discouraging and promotes an individualistic approach to work. Thus, nurses do not exhibit collective orientation in their practice. It negatively affects trust among team members and supportive behavior. Every nurse seems to be on their own. Intergroup communication infrastructure is flawed. At the same time, the team does not share a mutual understanding of the way collective activity and individual tasks should be performed. Because the workload is not distributed properly, the team lacks adjustability, and the members cannot be aware of each members’ agenda.
Implications for Nursing Practice
Understanding of each distinct core constituent, attributes, antecedents, and consequences of teamwork has implications for nursing practice on several levels. First, improving conceptual awareness of the concept helps enable nurses to design initiatives to enhance patient quality and safety. Ultimately, teamwork is intended at more efficient job performance and objectives achievement, which has patient well-being as imperative. Second, teamwork leads to better design and performance of clinical interventions because it implies intergroup communication enhancement. Third, it promotes a satisfying working climate for all members of the team. This, in turn, leads to better job performance among staff (Olsen et al., 2017). Teamwork is crucial for nursing practice and the hospital’s operation in general.
Conclusion: Influence of Nursing Theory on My Practice
Nursing theory has become a criterion for the practice of nursing. There is an understanding that the practice should be approached systematically. The main criteria in practice are the following: objectivity, empirical reliability, the possibility of using quantitative indicators, reliability, clinical suitability, as well as publicity, and collegiality.
The theory helps to answer key questions for a nurse. What factors affect life processes, function, and human well-being; what are the types of human behavior in relation to others in critical situations; what factors can have a positive impact on health.
References
Betta, M. (2016). Self and others in team-based learning: Acquiring teamwork skills for business. Journal of Education for Business, 91(2), 69-74.
Brush, B. L., Kirk, K., Gultekin, L., & Baiardi, J. M. (2011). Overcoming: a concept analysis. Nursing forum, 46(3), 160–168.
Cambridge Dictionary, (n.d.). TEAMWORK: meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Web.
Dilig-Ruiz, A., MacDonald, I., Varin, M. D., Vandyk, A., Graham, I. D., & Squires, J. E. (2018). Job satisfaction among critical care nurses: A systematic review. International journal of nursing studies, 88, 123-134.
Hoegl, M., & Gemuenden, H. G. (2001). Teamwork Quality and the Success of Innovative Projects: A Theoretical Concept and Empirical Evidence. Organization Science, 12(4), 435–449.
Kalisch, B. J., Lee, H., & Rochmann, M. (2010). Nursing staff teamwork and job satisfaction. Journal of Nursing Management, 18(8), 938–947.
Olsen, E., Bjaalid, G., & Mikkelsen, A. (2017). Work climate and the mediating role of workplace bullying related to job performance, job satisfaction, and work ability: A study among hospital nurses. Journal of advanced nursing, 73(11), 2709-2719.
ProofHub. (2020). 52 Best Online Collaboration Tools & Software for Teams [2020]. ProofHub. Web.
Reeves S., Xyrichis A. & Zwarenstein Merric (2018) Teamwork, collaboration, coordination, and networking: Why we need to distinguish between different types of interprofessional practice, Journal of Interprofessional Care, 32 (1), 1-3.
Tarricone, P., & Luca, J. (2002). Successful teamwork: A case study. Web.
Tripathy, M. (2018). Building quality teamwork to achieve excellence in business organizations. International research journal of management, IT and social sciences, 5(3), 1-7.
Teamwork is a vital topic that is relevant to my experiences at Beaumont Hospital. It has contributed positively to my working experience in this institution. Many professionals in the healthcare industry might prefer working individually due to the perception that collaborating with their co-workers might trigger confusion when dealing with patients (Masadeh 27).
However, I have learned that engaging in tasks as a group offers multiple benefits. For example, it allows people to overcome their differences and create positive relationships among themselves. Tripathy (2018) writes that this process allows the employees to understand that they are valuable components of the entire facility. I have learned to socialize and interact well with patients, nurses, and physicians at the hospital regardless of our background differences.
Teamwork also improves responsibility and accountability. The team members understand that they have unique roles and positions in the group and do their best to support their teammates. Supporting the group structure is a motivation strategy because it fosters loyalty and encourages the subordinates to work harder (Sanyal and Hisam 2018).
Teamwork is also a learning opportunity since individuals acquire more knowledge from their peers. My working experience at Bantry General Hospital taught me that employees have different talents, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. It allowed me to understand the significance of cultural diversity in healthcare and better ways of interacting with patients and co-workers.
Strategies to Deal with Teamwork
Many organizations in Ireland have discovered the significance of teamwork and are supporting team-building activities. For example, Beaumont Hospital and Bantry General Hospital encourage their nurses to work in teams rather than individually. My work experience in these facilities has helped me understand the concept of working as a team.
Teamwork is always challenging because it requires people with different strengths and weaknesses to work together towards achieving a particular goal (Sanyal and Hisam 2018). Sometimes the members engage in conflicts if they fail to understand each other. For example, other team members might perceive one as authoritative if he or she offers ideas openly. However, organizations should learn to handle teamwork to enjoy the benefits. Teamwork is a process that requires patients and commitment.
Companies can deal with teamwork by outlining individual responsibilities. According to Martono et al. (2020), a team leader should assign specific duties and ensure that each member understands their role in the group. This technique facilitates accountability and prevents conflicts among the workers. Collaboration is also successful if the professionals apprehend and appreciate each other’s strengths and weaknesses (Masadeh 27).
Team leaders should understand that their subordinates’ abilities can contribute significantly to achieving the group’s goals. Recognizing individual contributions makes them feel valuable and motivates them to work harder (Chung et al. 2020). Bantry General Hospital in Cork organizes regular seminars for its workers to allow them to interact and understand the impact of working in groups.
Reference List
Chung, C.H., Hong, S.H. and Oh, S.H., 2020. ‘The Effects of Teamwork and Nursing professionalism on Clinical Practicum Adaptation of the Nursing Students.’ Journal of Convergence for Information Technology, 10(9), pp.53-61. Web.
Tripathy, M., 2018. ‘Building quality teamwork to achieve excellence in business organizations.’ International research journal of management, IT and social sciences, 5(3), pp.1-7. Web.
Generally, a health setting is a complex system that consists of different interrelated units to ensure it operates effectively toward achieving an optimum quality of patient service. However, in most cases, there are situations whereby conflict of interest may arise that affect the performance of providers negatively, therefore, lowering their effort and contribution towards standard care provision. Improper collaboration and teamwork within the hospital setting may result in undesired outcomes that affect stakeholders such as patients and charge nurses who depend massively on the nurses’ cooperation to deliver efficient care. The application of various strategies to enhance interdisciplinary teamwork may cause resistance among the providers. Based on the research, a lead nurse can apply critical thinking to solve conflicts within the healthcare settings to positively impact and promote interdisciplinary collaboration amongst nurses.
The Analyst Role
Working in critical care conditions is challenging and demands the attention of providers and lead nurses to ensure all the services are delivered efficiently. Within the department, the charge nurse is responsible for analyzing all the possible issues that might occur and cause adverse events leading to a poor healthcare process. In case of a scenario such as the wrong medication happens, the charge nurse calls a meeting that involves all the professionals to address the issue, inquiring about how and why it happened (Rubenfeld & Scheffer, 2015). However, during this time, the practitioner creates an interactive atmosphere where all the providers can speak about their concerns and cases that can likely lead to such occurrences. Furthermore, the manager does not blame the individual nurse for the error but uses the situation as a starting point to formulate effective ways to prevent such deadly events in the unit. During the discussion, providers are encouraged to propose their opinions and suggest optimal strategies to overcome such cases.
The analyst role is essential to team thinking in nursing practice because it enables the nurses to realize all the aspects of the situation, providing a wider view. Similarly, it enables the charge nurse to focus on every detail of the problem to identify loopholes that can lead to such problems in the future. It creates a proper understanding of the impacts of adverse events, making care providers remain careful during their activities to prevent possible faults. Lastly, it promotes team thinking by allowing professionals to contribute their thoughts regarding the matter being addressed. Other team members perceive the role as a fundamental approach that enables them to fully understand the issues they might encounter in future practice.
The Emotional Monitor Role
Generally, working as a team can be challenging since people have different responses to their emotions. When professionals’ feelings are not monitored keenly, their services are likely to be tampered with, lowering their cooperation. Just like other workers in varied organizations, human resources and relationships are vital to enhancing their understanding and engagement. In order to ensure all the professionals have a positive relationship, the charge nurse enquires about the work condition and their connection with patients. The approach gives the lead practitioner deep insight into team thinking, which is essential in addressing and encouraging their perspective on matters. For instance, when a care provider fails or forgets to undress a patient’s wound, the nurse manager, after ensuring the condition is managed, then call to responsible provider to find the factor that might cause it. The technique allows the lead nurse to unfold various emotional aspects of respective professionals that can hinder their productivity hence promoting their thinking process to counter such events.
Team members perceive the role as a sensitive and vital responsibility that enables them to align their feelings and thoughts to produce the desired outcome. It addresses the major concerns that affect and impair their daily decisions at work. The involvement of charge nurses in determining their personal emotions encourages them to remain effective and think critically during resolving work-related challenges they face when dealing with patients and other colleagues.
The Critic Role
Several challenges faced by care providers in the health care facility require a wider perspective to enhance positive outcomes. The critical role is vital in the setting because it allows the practitioners to uncover some useful aspects that can be used to improve quality care. In teamwork, different nurses propose different ideas for the practice. The charge nurse evaluates each of the thoughts to make effective sense that can be used to achieve the desired outcome. For instance, keeping patients waiting at patient bays can be critical to the well-being of those having a cute condition. Even though the practice is common, a lead manager may reanalyze the consequences associated with the approach to ensure all providers view the impacts accordingly (Kezar et al., 2020). The role ensures the thinking process continues smoothly since it allows professionals to understand the whole activity differently. Team members perceive the charge nurse role as a proper way of advancing their ability to rethink and reinterpret other ideas to develop the appropriate measure.
Conclusion
In summary, based on the demands and complexity of healthcare practices, proper teamwork and collaboration are essential to that can promote efficiently and desired patient outcomes. Despite the various conflicts that occur during the nursing practice, there are different roles that,, when played effectively, can establish a positive correlation among the team members. For instance, the critic, emotional monitor, and analyst roles enable charge nurses to impact the perception of providers and increase their ability to evaluate and analyze situations accordingly without blaming one another.
Rubenfeld, M. G., & Scheffer, B.K. (2015). Critical thinking TACTICS for nurses: Achieving the IOM competencies (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Teamwork is the process that involves people collaborating in working together so that the group can achieve its given goal. Teamwork is often an important ingredient to an organization. Many school administrators usually provide autonomy together with teamwork. A distinctive feature of teamwork is the successive work actions of teachers to bring together students of diverse backgrounds. In learning institutions where the aim is to improve the process of learning, teamwork applied in the organization is effective with increased communication and work integration. This study examines teamwork as applied in two schools in groups of teachers and students with having collective tasks to achieve. Teamwork in schools begins with administrative teamwork, departmental teamwork, and lastly, teamwork among students (Critchley, Edwards & Fallon, 2007).
Components of Teamwork
Organizations that employ teamwork in their productive work usually include the various components of teamwork. According to Rouse & Boff (2005), a destructive organizational climate that is characterized by high turnover, distrust, negative attitudes, and negative attitudes usually lead to high employee turnover in such organizations or they make their employees products of destructive organizational culture. Despite being the responsibility of every group member in the organization, the positive corporate culture should come from the administration of the school down to the small groups of individual teachers and students in the school. The team members usually search for recognition. Delarue and De Prins (2004) argue that the administrators in schools should positively recognize the members of the various teams in the departments and students. Positive recognition entails recognizing outstanding performance, continued performance, and improved performance in the schools.
Teamwork in schools is depicted by administrative teamwork, student teamwork, and faculty teamwork. In academic magnet high school and Aiken Christian high school in Stovall (2010), effective teamwork begins with the school administration. The school administration lays the basis for teamwork in the school. The administration encourages teamwork in schools through planning for meetings that include all teachers once every one or two weeks. The difference between teamwork administrative teamwork in the two schools is that while in an academic magnet high school the school administration conducts biweekly meetings, in Aiken Christian high school, the administration calls for meetings once per month. However, in the meetings, the negative or positive reports of meetings in different departments in the schools are discussed.
Faculty / departmental teamwork are other forms of teamwork in these two schools. The different departments in the schools show teamwork with the specific teachers working as a team to ensure the success of their departments. The teachers participate in the professional development of their departments throughout the year. The difference between these two schools is that in academic magnet high school, teachers’ teamwork and group work is subdivided into individual student groups. However, in Aiken Christian high school, teacher teamwork remains with teachers with student groups working with individual teachers in their subjects (Stovall, 2010).
Students also show teamwork in their groups both in elementary schools and in high school. Working in groups, students ensure that they concentrate on their focus. Teamwork strategies are effective in middle school due to the effect of maintaining discipline for the young adults that struggle with their approaching adulthood. Teachers oversee the working of the teams (Stovall, 2010). Despite the progress in teamwork in the schools, there are cultural factors that undermine the use of teamwork. Teamwork is affected by cultural diversity. With many students coming from culturally diverse backgrounds, it undermines the effectiveness of working in teams both at teacher levels and at the student level.
Conclusion
Teamwork in schools is very effective in ensuring that students learn the right thing in class. However, teamwork in schools is initiated by the administration and embraced by teachers in their respective departments. Students follow the example and work in teams in their classes to succeed in their studies. Teamwork is important in ensuring the success of schools.
References
Critchley, D,Edwards, CFallon, R. (2007). The importance of good teamwork. Nurs Manag (Harrow). Vol. 14(7): pp. 8-12.
Delarue, A., Stijn, G. and Van Hootegem, G. (2003). Productivity outcomes of teamwork as an effect of team structure, Working paper, Steunpunt OOI, Catholic University of Leuven. Web.
Rouse, W. & Boff, K. (2005). Organizational simulation, John Wiley and Sons.
Working in one of the industries that fall in the category of health sector is all that I wanted and demanded since childhood, however, my passionate and interests were not directed to specific institution or organization as I went through the primary course of education.
Despise lack of specificity in these earlier years of career-building, I did not wave from looking forward to the establishing of the future professional foundation in the field of health service provision, as it was evidently affirmed by the exceptional performance in mathematics and science subjects. Therefore, it was not a surprise in my life to find graduating with a higher diploma in engineering pharmacy, which resulted after a compacted 17 years of study.
Having set high goals in my career and professional development, I felt that graduating from the higher learning institution acted as a mark of one the major achievements in life, while it still meant a lot in the transition of my life.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t want to procrastinate in getting myself within the job systems, and being driven by enthusiasm and ambition to practice all that I had gained from academic work, I relentlessly made applications to all those potential companies which I believed could offer or were having an opportunity for a pharmaceutical engineer, beside considering their ability to offering a good working environment to the entire company’s labor force.
After trying severally in sending applications to a number of such organizations of interest, some corresponded by sending regrets, other kept dumb-mute without replying, while a few called for an interview in which I would fail some, while others we disagreed in terms of package remuneration and other benefits.
Though the whole hassle for a job was not ease, fraught of confounding situations as expressed above, this circumstance was a short-lived one, as XYZ pharmaceutical company soon accepted me by we agreeing to the terms and conditions for each other, thus entering into the first contract.
Overview of the job environment
The accomplishment of the job deal gave a new feel to both us. Being the first one, it meant a lot in my side, especially in gaining enormous experience while making the organizations operations to run smoothly through the services that I promised to offer. In signing the contract with the XYZ pharmaceutical company, I agreed to delivery my services in a number of ways.
First and foremost, as a person endowed with the knowledge and a little bit of experience in offering engineering services for a range of pharmaceutical machines and equipments, it was my obligation to ensure that all pharmaceutical packaging machines of the organization were in proper working conditions. This appeared to be the major responsibility that was given to me by the organization, which I did wholeheartedly.
Here, I worked closely and concentrated more in dispensing my engineering services by servicing the packaging machines. Though being new in the field, I did find or encounter much difficulty in delivering in this particular task. I think and believe that this was because I had wide knowledge in the field of work and some clues or hints gained through experimental work that I did in the course of schooling.
In addition, also I felt attracted to working in this place as it demanded little movements from one place to another. However, the little movements weren’t an advantage because I did not like walking, but understand that long resting is a thing which I have hated in my life, for it encourages laziness and brings a lot of problems to humans, especially those non-infectious diseases such as obesity and edema.
On the contrary way of thinking, I held less movement as an added advantage in the workplace for somebody new in job tasks, more so in a high and sensitive position concerned with assurance and control of quality of the company’s products. While understanding the related effects and consequences of producing products of poor quality for the organizations, I took the cutting down of movements within the organization and working from a single place as a way that led to sparing of some extra time for my personal-work related activities.
In order to ensure that there was maintenance and enhancement of quality products within the manufacturing and production of goods in the organizations, I at first utilized the extra time diligently and serious working on those areas which I knew posed considerable difficulties in understanding them during the course of study.
Moreover, this spared time was also of significance importance as it also gave me the chance to familiarize myself with many things involved in a real workplace environment, including tenets and regulations that applied to the company’s employees at different circumstances.
Within a very short working period after signing my employment contract with the company, it was evident that I had gained adequate knowledge and experience to service and work on any machine particularly any of the packaging type of machine. Thus, there was a more gain of interest in deliberating on my tasks of machine repairing, which triggered the need of moving from being so much specialized on one working point station to a more general one.
So, I sometimes moved around the organization’s departments looking if there were any of the familiar machines that had broken down to service it. For that matter, a part from serving as chief machine repairer for the major packaging machine of the organization, I also went on attending to several other small machines and equipments which were being used within the organization to accomplish various other packaging tasks.
Truly, it was not to my surprise that every time I tried to get a tour within the various departments dealing with such related machine, I found several of them had broken down depicting that the way the company might have been suffering and incurring a lot of losses due to the issue of machine failure.
Revelation of Problems
The service that I offered to the XYZ pharmaceutical company appeared to be in higher demand than the company’s managerial team and I could have perceived before.
The decision to move around in search for the broken packaging equipments and miniature machines led to the realization that the broken machines to be serviced were more than what the chief company machine supervisor, whom was one of my interviewers had understood or revealed.
Though I was busy in most of the time working hard to cope with the tight time working conditions of the company, there were also some hours for break, lunch and some leisure, which were created officially for renewal of energy in our body.
As most of the workers did not get out of their working stations during breaks and lunch hour periods, I planned spending part of these hours for a social purpose. Despite the fear of being a new employee in the company, I pretended that I was looking for those broken down packaging machine, and this worked to the best of attaining the hidden intentions.
It sometimes appeared to me that I was bothering a few of the workers when I stepped in their stations or offices, especially those who were work overloaded, and wanted to recover or catch up with time certainly for deadlines that were nigh.
However, I used the gained communication skills to get over the barrier of making friendships; thus, we found it necessary to share a little bit of our past even if it meant a mere simple and short introduction which included just our names and the kind of job or position each of us was doing for the organization.
The decision to pay visits to the many offices and work stations had a double to triple fruitfulness. That is, when I shared with most of the colleagues of the kind of job and professional area of my specialization, almost eight-five percent of them showed interest and requested for my assistance.
There were those who wanted me to service and repair simple equipments, while others needed me to work on certain machines which looked to be complex machines to them such photocopiers, printers and to some extend computer categories, depending on the office they held. I tried all that I can to repair those with simple problems according to my knowledge and experience, while avoiding to disappoint my new colleagues and allies by giving assured appointments for the complicated problems.
The overall results showed that the organization had suffered a lot in several ways other than just having their machine broken down. While many of the corporation’s machines were non-functioning or having problems that were generally not reported, it depicted that there was an overall problem of communication barriers among individuals and departments whose works were core to the contributions of the company’s production and efficiencies.
The matter became evident when I volunteered to work and assist the company on having a routinely weekly repair for the installed machines. It was a tiresome task resulting from immeasurable movements, that is, moving from office to office within a department and more so from one department to another.
This not only counted towards wastage of one’s energy, but it also led to a lot of time wastage on collecting the repair information requests from the different notice boxes which were not strategically located in the various departments. Furthermore, the manual system of receiving the documents took me long time to draft and enter the data to my storage records for future reference, scheduling and any other need that might arise in the course of the business operation.
Due to the use of manual data and information systems within the organization, much of the work remained undone leading to the company lagging behind in most of their operations.
With this kind of system being in place, the supply, accounting and the store departments were greatly affected as they could not keep complete, compiled information without having received the data and information in time. Seeing the vaguely system and hardship that the organization was going through, I did not hesitate in proposing of new communication methodology.
The sense was overt to every member of the organization and within four months of my employment in the organization, plans instilled through a collaborative approach of departmental staffs and junior employees were underway towards the introduction of new project on information technology, primarily aimed at off setting the problem of data and information transfers in their communications.
The inclusions of all parties in the proposing and introducing the programs were of paramount significance in assuring that not body had to be affected by the employment of the new technology. According to me, this establish trust and confidence among member parties, while at the same time showing concern and care for each others’ future and welfare, thus, paving the way for speedy implementation of the project.
Team building
On critical assess of the organizations, it appeared that they were several issues that needed to be resolved within the organization. Following group and employee’s discussions among themselves and negotiations with the managerial team, it was discovered that most of the employees required knowing more than just a simple single issue their area of operations.
For instance, it was suggested that machine operators should get to know a bit of simple repair methods, while secretaries were to gain to some extend the knowledge and experience on managerial professions so as to make the company operate efficiently and perform excellently.
For the purpose of accomplishing this goal, the involved parties negotiated for the best way to learn the new skills, however with limited time available for the management team to offer its employees as a way of motivating them, the parties finally decided to create sacrificial extra time for them to learn and get acquainted with the new skills.
In departmental groups, each of them established their leaders and through closely working relationship with volunteer senior managerial team formed by person whom had already acquired the knowledge and skills needed in the specific groups, they kicked off on a serious training sessions that would transform the organization in a number of ways.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be stated that problems are always there in organizations, and sometime this exist even without being noticed by the seniors and company executives. This situation was not quite different for the XYZ pharmaceutical company, which believed that the only problem they had was only concerned with repairing of packaging machines.
However, the establishment and building of a team are critical to solving many problems existing in organization, including even those hidden problems that derail the delivery of services and/or productions of products. As I reflect on my case, I become convinced and confident that anybody holding any position in an organization can bring a lot of transformational changes directly and indirectly through establishment/building of a team, as long as the party possesses the necessary skills and knowledge needed.
The stages of team development are formation state, storming, normalizing, performing and transforming stages. Each of these stages has a special challenge especially for a group of people who are struggling to function as a unit. Some unique or special features/actions particularly from the individual entities strengthen the cohesive forces that ought to guide team members towards a team mission.
First and Second Stage
According to Guttman (2008), the first stage of formation involves coming together to form a group that has a shared vision or mission. The group aims at mainly accomplishing a certain purpose.
The second stage of storming emerges because the team members get to know each other, but may have some conflicting views that can stain the relationship. For instance, they may fail to agree on the procedures to follow towards attaining the set goals or disagree against the set vision /mission of a firm. The case sample of members of a medical facility has passed these two stages.
Norm Stage
The norm stage is progressive since members are able to share ideas and form working relationships that cater for the team’s objectives and progress. The current team has harmonized its prior strained or competitive relationships. It is thus able to work harmoniously towards development goals. However, some cohesiveness of the team still lacks some collaboration, thus the reason it is still in the norm stage.
The team has to attain the next stage of the development life cycle, which is the performing stage. The team lacks strong collaboration and team unity thus affecting harmonization. Lack of synchronization in the team is thus the reason why members or team leaders fails to bring out a successful functioning team.
Justification of the Opinion
A new colleague joining the team at this stage must expect to meet members who can either cause team conflicts or enforce work harmony. The members may also feel secure and express their opinions freely due to existing spirit of responsiveness, kindness and affirmation.
Openness and members cooperation also promotes members’ listening skill. By listening to one another, they are able to understand the importance of maintaining an effective form of communication. They have various measures of enhancing communication as an effective tool of combating conflicts or disagreements.
The working techniques and strategies are well established. The reason for easy establishment is due to collaboration and as a result, members are in a position to choose a leader amongst them and establish the role of each affiliate. However, effective performance often fails to take place due to lack of enough trust or honesty among members. The team is thus not yet reasonable, since there are no evident justifiable procedures to quantify the team.
Expectations
In line with Boone and Kurtz (2010), a real team in the performing stage is very effective and productive. The members act honestly with each other, thus strengthening their interaction and ability to have synchronized objectives for success.
The members of this team at a medical facility also lack confidence and members may fail to believe that the group is strong enough for anticipated success.
Member’s collaboration still fails to trigger personal impressions that their team is the best and the most successful experience. At the initial stages of development, a team is expected to engage members to pursue goals or projects.
Conclusions
The new member should also understand that his/her presence might cause either progression to the next stage or regression to previous stage. The progress therefore depends on experience and skills of the team members. At this stage, the team cannot analyze their current performance level and have a basis for future projections.
The team always disbands after accomplishing goals, but it is a difficult process due to the already formed strong links between members. Perhaps one question that can assist in analysis of the stage would be how fast or easy the team can break up.
The stage of development in teams usually defines their future. Any team that is able to identify its stage of development goes on to succeed since, they know where they are and what they need to move on to the next level.
Most of the times teams ignore activities such as evaluation of their progress and at times they do it as a routine without the intention to accept or act on the results. Nonetheless, it is quite important to note that the more a team’s or a group’s performance is evaluated, the higher their chances of improving.
Several methods and models have been brought forward to help in team evaluation and development, among these include Tuckman’s model, which has helped determine the stages of numerous teams and groups. This paper will endeavor to evaluate this group using Tuckman’s model (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Stage of the Team
Tuckman formulated a teamwork surveying model, which has been used by several groups to determine their level of developmental stage. The model is designed to spot the current stage of a team or a group.
The model is designed in the form of a questionnaire, each question has at least a point, which range from 1 to 5. The scores awarded are based on behavior of the team. These points are then summed up to determine the stage of a team.
According to Tuckman’s model, there are four stages of a team, these are Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing stages. The lowest attainable score is 8 and the highest is 40. The rules governing determination of a stage states that the highest score of the four stages gives the most likely stage of a group, while the lowest gives the least possible stage.
In addition, a team is considered to undergo transition when two scores are very close, unless they are both high in forming and Storming stages or in Norming and Performing stages, in which case, they will be considered as Storming stage or Performing Stage respectively.
Lastly, in case all scores of the four or at least three stages are almost similar, then the team is considered volatile, or without clear perception, in most cases it would be the storming phase (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
According to the questionnaire filled in Tuckman’s model, this group attained the following results. Forming stage (22 points), Storming stage (23 points), Norming stage (30 points) and Performing stage (38 points).
These scores show that the team is in the Performing stage, since the highest score is 38 and the highest possible points are 40. At the same time, when both Norming and Performing scores are checked, they are all high.
The close scores between Forming and Storming are therefore less important since there are high Norming and Performing stages. Moreover, it is also important to note that according to Tuckman’s model, any score above 32 points indicates the highest probability of the stage of a team (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Performing stage is the fourth level of group progress. At this stage, our focus is to offer the best teamwork ever. It is characterized by productivity, harmony and participative leadership among others. Creativity is the main driving tool at this level with all participants focused on how to further this development (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Summary
Several methods and models have come up for use in determining the levels of development in teams. Among them is Tuckman’s model, which was used in identifying this group’s stage. The highest score was 38, consequently the stage of the group is the Performing stage, which is the best of them. The focus at this stage is to offer the best teamwork ever (Clark, 2010, p. 1).
Reference
Clark, D. R. (2010). Leadership Activities: Teamwork Survey. Web.
After recruitment of new employees in the company, a newly composed team/group to pursue the projects of the company faced difficulties thus making the organizational process impossible. The difficulties resulted from poor personal interaction and lack of teamwork.
Satellite Problems
The group is unable to function effectively due to personal opinions and differences.
The company is unable to realize its goals from the duties of the group.
Implications
Organization
It becomes hard to realize the goals of the organization. This will definitely affect the performance and sustainability of the organization.
The problem affects the working environment and other individuals have their capabilities and productivity for the organization reduced.
The situation affects the reputation of the company since more employees will find it impossible to work as teams. This might as well result in increased turnover rates.
The eventual beneficiaries of the project done by the group are the consumers of the company. The continued problem will make sure they do not receive the necessary gains and services from the company. This will definitely tarnish the image of the company.
Personnel
The individuals in the group will be dissatisfied with the working plan. The inability to achieve and deliver will make them quietly and eventually affect the overall performance.
Due to the nature of the problem faced by the group, definitely there will be more stressful working environment. This is because of poor communication and inability to address the problems affecting the individuals.
With lack of proper performance while the individuals had joined the company with high expectations, the newly recruited employees in the organization might decide to leave the company. Majority are finding the working environment unbearable and unrewarding. This might make the individuals give up on the job.
The problem results in a poor organizational structure within the group and the company as a whole. This is a clear indication that the employees will find it unbearable to work one another and this will definitely affect the performance of the organization.
Finally, failure to address the problem will definitely result in low productivity in the company. This means that the company will not implement its skills abilities and skills as it should thereby delivering inappropriate services to the customers.
Alternative Solutions
Status Quo
Problem analysis and teamwork
Description
The status quo solution illustrates the possible occurrences if there is nothing done to address the situation as faced in the company. If as members of the group we do not perform any meaningful changes and offer strategic solutions, definitely things will get worse.
According to the status quo, the company will face disagreements will become more evident, individuals will be at loggerheads, poor communication, and lack of motivation. The group will struggle fighting and will never achieve anything. This is what has been the case within the last two weeks. The individuals will also continue to disagree and eventually no one will achieve personal growth.
Pros
Cons
* The team structure will remain the same. * Everyone will show expertise. * No time used to address the issue.
* Disagreements/conflicts will increase. * A lack of productivity will develop. * Personal opportunity will be lost.
Analysis
One thing with the status quo alternative is that it fails to address the problem as faced by the group members. Because of this, it would be necessary that another approach or alternative is embraced because it will address the problem.
This approach will not help us to analyze the essential causes of the problem or offer any new insights and ideas to deal with the problem. The conflicts faced are personal with every individual lacking faith in the approach suggested by others. This makes it impossible to pursue a common approach and solve the faced problem completely.
This means the company will never realize its goals despite that it employed numerous and complex recruitment process to bring the best to their company and facilitate performance. With increased pressure in the organization, it becomes extremely impossible to realize the goals of the team. This alternative therefore solves nothing and makes it impossible to address the problem as faced.
Problem analysis and team work
Description
When there is a problem in a group, teamwork is the best approach to address the faced problems. Using organizational theories, teamwork promotes cohesion, decision-making, talent promotion, and solving problems whenever they occur.
Although the members of our group have the expertise and the necessary skills, their personal ego can be dangerous since they should be working as a team. If as a team we embrace the spirit of teamwork, it will be possible to address the problems faced and ensure we all focused on the final common goal.
As well, the organization should have a procedure of grouping old and new employees together because the new ones need to be guidance, and provide them with the right incentives thereby avoiding similar problems as the ones faced in the group.
Pros
Cons
*Individual empowerment *Better decision making *Promotes communication and interaction *Strong spirit and motivation
*Calls for patience *Withholding personal talents and abilities *Possible conflicts to arise
Analysis
Teamwork calls for group motivation and proper communication skills. With that in mind, it will be possible for the members of the group to complement one another and be in a position of addressing the unique problems facing them. When organizational theories are in place, individuals in the group will find it possible to exchange their ideas and opinions about the project. They will offer their unique opinions and address any differences facing the project. This will make the group productive and eventually realize its goals and promote the performance of the organization.
Recommendation
From the nature of the case and the projected gains from the group, it is necessary for the members to embrace a spirit of teamwork. This will promote their participatory skills and accept the fact that they have different background and have varied skills.
When they understand this, they will be ready to motivate one another and seek to address their differences rather than showing their personal opinions and expertise. This will make it possible for them to design the right procedure to address their differences and focus their attention on the final goals of the organization.
They will have the capacity to mentor, lead, influence, and motivate one another. Their communication process will also improve and eventually make it possible to realize their personal growth.
Implementation
The recommendation of a better group structure and work as a team is something that needs an immediate implementation. This is because the project is urgent and means a lot to the success of the organization. As well, a long-term can be essential towards the success of the company’s business and promote performance of future groups in the organization.
Communication is poor in the group with every individual having his/her own opinions and views about the way forward.
The lack of common goal and sense of direction has affected the responsiveness of the group members. This explains why there is need to address this issue. An organizational culture in the team will promote its performance and inspire the members to goal-oriented.
Immediate (1-2 Weeks)
We need to outline the causes of disagreements and determine the possible solutions to them.
Explore the available solutions to specific problems and differences and determine the most applicable ones.
Embrace the best practices and encourage participation, decision making and personal reflections. It is also necessary to remain focused on the final goals of the project.
Make the best decisions that promote teamwork.
Provide incentives for working as a team and addressing the problems as faced.
Long-term (1-12 months)
Let the organization start to embrace diversity and organizational culture. Recruit individuals with the potential and desire to pursue the goals of groups and organization in general.
Have a HR to address the unique needs and requirements of individuals in the organization.
Promote a decision-making process for different groups whenever they have a mission to accomplish for the company.
Future processes and groups should not bring new employees in one team because they are all new and have no idea what needs to be done, and what has been the process followed in the organization. There should be old employees to motivate and guide the new ones in the organization.