Strategic Role of Human Resources and Promoting Effective Teamwork in the Workplace

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Table of Contents

Introduction
My Beblin Report
When Teams Work Best
Effective Team Composition
Ineffective Team Composition
Conclusion
References

Introduction

One of the strategic roles of human resource management is to promote effective teamwork at the workplace. Organizations bring together employees with different abilities and behaviors. Consequently, the behavioral strengths, as well as, weaknesses of every employee must be identified in order to promote teamwork. A team refers to “a congregation of individuals, each of whom has a role which is understood by other members”.

Team members are normally interested in specific roles, and they tend to perform most effectively in roles that are natural to them. Thus, a team is likely to be effective if each member clearly understands his role and the roles of other team members. Team roles refer to “a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way”. This paper focuses on teamwork at the workplace. It begins with a discussion on my Beblin report, followed by a discussion on effective verses ineffective team combinations.

My Beblin Report

The report shows that am a strong thinking type, with the ability to evaluate options before selecting the best or the right course of action. The report also shows that I have an independent outlook which facilitates generation of new, as well as, original ideas.

Consequently, I should be able to excel in solving complex and difficult problems. According to the report, my operating style closely matches the characteristics of a strategic leader. Finally, the report indicates that I lack the characteristics of a practical organizer. In general, the report indicates that my role is that of a monitor evaluator.

I agree with the findings of the report since it is not only fair but also accurate. I do agree with report due to the following reasons. To begin with, I believe in fairness and make decisions based on logic and assessment of alternative options. In order to evaluate all options, I usually take time before making a decision, especially, if the decision affects the lives of others. My goal has always been to make the right decision in every activity I participate in.

For instance, when I was in high school, I had the opportunity to lead the school’s football team. As the team leader, I had to ensure teamwork and cooperation among the players in order to enhance the team’s performance.

Leading the team required taking a broad view when solving the problems that faced the players and the team in general. In order to identify the team’s problems, I had to logically observe what was going on in the team. By judging each team member’s ability in a fair manner, I was able to select the best players for every tournament.

As the chairperson of the science club in high school, I had to help the club members to make the right decisions. Every year, the club members proposed numerous projects to be undertaken by the club. However, only one project had to be selected and undertaken in each year.

The real problem was identifying the right project, especially, when most of them qualified for approval. Additionally, the members whose proposals were rejected became disappointed. By focusing on logic and prudence, I was always able to select the best project. However, some club members considered me to be over critical since all my decisions had to be supported by some logical grounds. Additionally, I was criticized for failing to inspire the club members to be passionate about the club’s activities.

When Teams Work Best

According to Beblin, a team is characterized with nine team roles. These roles include the plant, monitor evaluator, coordinator, resource investigator, implementers, completer finishers, team workers, shapers and specialist.

Each of these team roles is important in ensuring the success of the team. Additionally, each of the team roles has strengths and allowable weaknesses. Consequently, the effectiveness of the team is contingent on its composition in terms of the member’s team roles. An effective and an ineffective team composition can be differentiated as follows.

Effective Team Composition

A team is considered to be effective if its members have the following capabilities. First, there should be effective leadership in the team (Lafasto and Larsen, 2001, p. 67). Effective leadership creates a collaborative climate that facilitates articulation of the team’s challenges. Effective leadership also enables the team members to build confidence in order to achieve the desired results. Finally, effective leadership enables the team to set priorities and to achieve the desired results.

Effective leadership can be achieved if the following roles are included in the team. The team must have a coordinator who is seen as a person-oriented leader (Fisher and Semple, 2001, pp. 578-588). Thus, the coordinator should be able to listen and accept the views of other team members. However, he should be courageous to reject inappropriate advice. The role of the coordinator is to ensure that the team’s objectives are achieved.

The team must also have a resource investigator. Resource investigators are social and enthusiastic individuals who explore resources outside the team. The number of resource investigators should be informed by the resource needs of the team. Finally, there should be team workers. Team workers have good listening skills and are able to cope with awkward people. They help in conflict resolution and encourage team members to use their skills for the benefit of the team.

Second, an effective team must have problem solving capabilities. In this context, the team members should be able to identify, analyze and find solutions to a problem. Thus, the team should have a plant. The plant is a person with a high IQ and is able to solve challenging problems through original, as well as, creative ideas (Swailes and Bhatty, 2002, pp. 529-536). However, plants tend to have poor communication skills and may also ignore details.

Consequently, their role should be complemented by the monitor evaluator. The monitor evaluator has the ability to see the big picture. Additionally, they are able to think critically and develop effective solutions to problems. Finally, problem solving in a team requires a specialist. The specialist has technical skills and knowledge which other members of the team may lack. Specialists are self-starters, dedicated and committed team members. Thus, they can help in solving difficult problems.

Third an effective team must have individuals who are ready and able to perform duties or tasks that facilitate achievement of the team’s goals and objectives. In this context, the team should have implementers. Implementers are organized, predictable, disciplined and conscious individuals (Hunter, Fisher and Macrosson, 2002, pp. 14-20). They are also practical, trusting, as well as, tolerant to divergent opinions.

Consequently, their role is to transform the ideas and strategies of the group into reality. Since implementers can be slow, they should be supported by completer/ finisher. The completer/ finisher pays attention to detail and sees everything through to the end. They ensure that everything works as planned. However, completer/ finisher tend to worry too much and, thus, they should be supported by a shaper. The shaper is an action-oriented person who challenges or motivates the team members to move forward.

While all team roles are important for the success of the team, the roles must be included in the team in a balanced manner. The balance will enable the team to benefit from the strengths of its members and to minimize the weaknesses of its members (Tanco, Jaca and Viles, 2010, pp. 598-610).

The best balance can be achieved by including one coordinator or shaper to lead the team. There should be at least one plant to stimulate new ideas for the team. The team should also have one monitor to ensure honesty and clarity. Finally, the team should have many team workers, implementers, as well as, resource investigators. Similarly, there should be one or more completer finisher to ensure the team’s activities are done. Failure to ensure a balance in the team’s composition leads to inefficiencies in the team.

Ineffective Team Composition

A team is considered to be ineffective if its members can not solve the problems facing the team. Additionally, the team will be ineffective if it lacks sound leadership and the members are not able to transform the team’s ideas into reality. Poor composition leads to ineffectiveness in the team in the following ways.

To begin with, a team with many coordinators may fail to pursue a clear strategy (Park, Henkin and Egley, 2005, pp. 462-479). This is because each leader may have preference for a particular strategy, thereby causing disagreements among the leaders. A team with no coordinator, on the other hand, may lack the focus that is necessary for goal achievement.

Failure to include a resource investigator can undermine the performance of the team. A team may not always raise all the resources that it requires to achieve its objectives. Thus, it must have a person who is ready and able to liaise with non-team members in order to access external resources (Castka, Bamber and Shap, 2003, pp. 149-170). A team that is dominated by team workers can also face serious leadership challenges.

Team workers are normally indecisive, especially, during crisis moments. Additionally, they are hesitant to do things that might hurt some team members. Consequently, team workers can not be trusted with decision making, especially, if the decision to be made is likely to hurt some team members.

Every team requires excellent ideas for it to achieve its mandate. Thus, a team without a plant will face difficulties in developing the ideas or strategies to be pursued by the members (Richard and Stanton, 1999, pp. 652-665). However, having too many plants is detrimental to the team’s success. Bad ideas are likely to emerge if too many plants are allowed into the team. Such bad ideas can conceal the good ones, thereby causing failure in the team.

A team with no shaper can also face challenges in achieving its targets, even if it has good ideas. Generally, team members need some one to inspire them to work hard. Such inspirations improve the team’s morale and enhance goal achievement. Thus, without a shaper, the team might lack the drive and direction to achieve its targets and deadlines. Similarly, having too many shapers in the team limits the team’s chances of success (Hemphill and Macrosson, 2001, pp. 355-364).

This is because in-fighting is likely to emerge in the team as each shaper tries to push other team members to achieve their targets. Additionally, shapers can be insensitive to other members of the team. In such circumstances, a team with too many shapers will lack cohesion and trust.

Finally, the decisions or choices made by the team are likely to be wrong if there is no monitor/ evaluator to critically assess all available options. However, having too many monitor/ evaluators can slow down the decision-making process since the evaluators might find it difficult to reach a consensus on issues.

Conclusion

Beblin team roles help organizations to identify the behavioral strengths, as well as, weaknesses of their employees. Beblin team roles assessment model enables organizations to establish effective working relationships and to build high-performing teams. Thus, the role of each member should be known to all team members.

According to Beblin, all the nine team roles are important in promoting the effectiveness of the team (Hemphill and Macrosson, 2001, pp. 355-364). However, the nine roles must be included in the team in a balanced manner. Balancing the roles enhances the effectiveness of the team by enabling the members to take advantage of their strengths and to minimize their weaknesses.

References

Beblin, M., 2010. Management Roles at Work. Butterworth-Heinemann: London.

Bessler, G., 2007. Human Resource Management. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Bonham, C. (2009). Teamwork. New York: Cengage Learning.

Castka, P., Bamber, C., and Shap, J., 2003. Measuring Teamwork Culture: the use of a Modified EFQM. Journal of Management Development, 22(2), pp. 149-170.

Fisher, S., and Semple, J., 2001. Control and Beblin’s Team Roles. Personnel Review, 30(5), pp. 578-588.

Hemphill, D., and Macrosson, W., 2001. Machiavellianism in Beblin Team Roles. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 16(5), pp. 355-364.

Hunter, T., Fisher, S., and Macrosson, W., 2002. Beblin’s Team Role Theory: For Managers also? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(1), pp. 14-20.

Ivancevich, J., 2006. Human Resource Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Lafasto, F., and Larsen, C., 2001. When Teams Work Best. New York: Sage Publications.

Lantz, A., 2011. Teamwork on the Line Company off Down the Line. Journal of Workplace Learning, 23(2), pp. 75-96.

Park, S., Henkin, A., and Egley, R., 2005. Teacher Team Commitment, Teamwork and Trust: Exploring Associations. Journal of Educational Administration, 43(5), pp. 462-479.

Richard, J., and Stanton, N., 1999. Testing Beblin’s Team Role Theory of Effective Groups. Journal of Management Development, 18(8), pp. 652-665.

Swailes, S., and Bhatty, T., 2002. The Beblin Team Role Inventory. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 17(6), pp. 529-536.

Tanco, M., Jaca, C., and Viles, E., 2010. Healthcare Teamwork Best Practice: Lessons for Industry. TQM Journal, 23(6), pp. 598-610.

West, M., 2012. Effective Teamwork. New York: Routledge.

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