Team based and Individual based work

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

This report is aim to give suggestion to solve the problems in Adam's company. Adam has a mind to change the work mode from individual-based work to team-based work and create small supervisor-led team, he hopes it can solve the company's problems, also improve work performance, staff well-being and creativity. In this report, the advantages and disadvantages of debate related to teamwork will be analysed. Moreover, alternative solutions will be presented and analysed but also identified which is the best solution. In final of this report, the course of action needed to implement the best solution will be suggested.

Analyse the problem and the issues underlying the problem

According to the given scenario, Adam's company has the problem in lacking of collaboration between employees sometimes including withholding vital information from each other. Another major problem is the rising tension between some staff caused by the perceived sense of payment inequity as a result of rewarding employees who are good at sales, whereas others, who perform outstandingly in other core areas of the business such as customer care, are not financially rewarded. When analysing, the cause of these problems is much related to the current reward system and individual-based work mode.

Employees would receive bonus pay if they perform beyond the expected targets. It is effectively to encouraging competition amongst employees and increasing work motivation. However, as employees work on individual basis, they will not collaborate with other employees. The atmosphere around the employees is not very well as they think that other colleagues are competitors, thus sometimes they withholding vital information from each other in order to protect their own benefit. Nevertheless, such actions hinder company to expand the market. Moreover, they are also unwilling to communicate with other colleagues. It causes that employees cannot learn from others and increases their development of sales skill, knowledge and expertise. On the other hand, individual based work does not give the platform for the employees to interact with others, so that employees are difficult to build up a trust and supportive relationship. Lazarus (1966) describes that good social relationships at work are important for well-being. Employees are concerned with their work environment for both personal comfort and facilitating doing a good job. For most employees, work also fills the need for social interaction. Not surprisingly, having friendly and supportive co-workers leads to increase job satisfaction (Robbins, 1997). Employees' job satisfaction is much related to their performance. Mattewman, Rose and Hetherington (2009) describes organizations tend to be more effective with satisfied employees than organizations with less satisfied employees.

Besides, customer care is a very important part of the business. However, some employees who have good performance in this area but they do not get any financially rewarded. Their contributions are as well as other employees who are good in sales, but they does not rewarded on an equal basis. When employees perceive an imbalance in their input-outcome ratio relative to others, tension is created. According to Gareth and Jennifer (2008), they define underpayment inequity as the inequity that exists when a person perceives that his or her own outcome-input ratio is less than the ratio of a referent. If employees who is being paid below and a colleague who is working equally or below his level, then he may be experiencing underpayment inequity. When people are experiencing underpayment inequity, they may experience a lack of motivation and lower inputs by reducing their working hours, such as lowering their efforts. It definitely reduces the performance of employees and also brings a negative effect to the productivity. Equity theory purports that, when employees envision an inequity, they may distort either their own or other' inputs or outcomes, and behave on some way so as to induce others to change their inputs or outcome (Robbins, 1997).

Furthermore, Adam is the sole charge of the business with responsibilities ranging from making strategic decisions to delegating work tasks to individual employees. A good management should have the positive synergy that will allow their organizations to increase performance. As Adam's further plans to expand the business, it is very difficult for the owner-manager to make all the decisions. If the structure is not changed then often loses momentum and can eventually fail (Robbins, 2003).

Solutions of the problems

Solution One: create small supervisor-led teams

Creating supervisor-led teams will be one of the best solutions to solve the problem of Adam's company. All the employees would be divided into six teams and each team is composed of five people. Each supervisor-led team are managed by a supervisor and have some degree of autonomy for daily operating including sales, customer care and other core areas of business. Supervisor also helps to establish the team's goals, identify and recommend solution to team's problem, and make daily operating decisions. The position of supervisor can be considered choosing from existing staffs or recruit new employees. The consideration of the suitable person is depends who has management knowledge, skills and experience. In order to enhance the motivation of employees, the reward system would be turned to team based. If the team can perform beyond the expected targets, the whole team would be rewarded. It encourages cooperative efforts rather than competitive one.

The solution of team-based work mode has various advantages. Team-based work generates positive synergy through coordinated effort. Employees work in team should engage in collective work and would share commitments and goals. Their individual efforts results in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs (Robbins, 2003). According to Stewart, Manz and Sims (1999), they summarized the advantages of teams into two categories. In functional perspective, work in a team is more effective than work in individuals because in team is able to achieve things that individuals cannot achieve when they work alone. Besides, in a team also provide social support to individuals and to improve the quality of life. In interpersonal perspective, people have innate social desire and having a need for affiliation with others, they join a team because they want information from other people and desire to compare with others. It increases employee's motivation and enhance their involvement. Team also brings together people with a range of skills, abilities, and experience which could foster innovation. In addition, organizational flexibility of team focus on processes rather than functions which employee can try each other's jobs and this expansion of skills increase organizational flexibility (Robbins, 2003). Meanwhile, supervisor of each team can share responsibility of managing the company's operation. They share Adam's workload so that relieve him and he will have time to focus on business expansion plan.

However, there are some disadvantages of teamwork that need to be considered. Teamwork sometimes takes more time and more resources than individual work. For instance, time is lost in team meetings, and decision may be slow. Beside, when the communication have increased in teams, there is become much easier to occur conflict between employees, in result it will need more time to manage conflicts. Moreover, social loafing is another problem may occur in teamwork. Social loafing describes the tendency of individuals to put forth less effort when they are part of a group. Because all members of the group are pooling their effort to achieve a common goal, each member of the group contributes less than they would if they were individually responsible (Latane, Williams, & Harkins, 1979).

Solution two: create virtual team

This solution is generally same as solution one, but it does not require employees working face-to-face. Virtual team use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common goal. It allows people to collaborate online with using communication link like wide-area networks, video conferencing, or e-mail. (Bell & Kozlowski, 2002). Virtual team can do all the things that other teams do, such as share information and make decisions.

In using this solution can be benefited in the team-based work mode as same as solution one. In addition, it also reduces the operating cost including office rental and staff travelling expenses. Virtual teams often see an increase in productivity because more personal flexibility is achieved, commute time is reduced, and work is not limited by the traditional nine to five work day schedule. As Adam's company is doing online retail business, virtual teams is being more competitive and responsive to the market because it means 7 days and 24 hours working but not just the eight hours at the office.

As well as the advantage, virtual team also has some disadvantage. Virtual team often suffers from less social rapport and less direct interaction among other employees. It tends to be more task-oriented and exchange less social-emotional information. As a result, virtual team members report less satisfaction with the group interaction process than do face-to-face teams (Robbins, 2003). Furthermore, employees work in virtual team is loss of opportunity to network and transfer knowledge informally.

Solution Three: Maintain individual-based work and improve the reward system

Although teamwork has its advantages, it is not always the answer. Teamwork requires more time and often more resources than individual-based work. For example, it increases communication demands, conflict management, and arrange meetings. If choose using team have to exceed costs. Besides, team is not a cure-all for all ills. Neuman and Wright (1999) found that team performance is much influence by team member's characteristic. However, some kinds of employees may not likely to be a good team member. And for the team selection, it requires attention to the appropriate mix of team members for task and team performance. The importance of traits, skills, and abilities for team performance and selection must be considered in the context of other team members standing on these characteristics. It needs extra time and resource for the team member selection.

Thus, there is an alternative solution which suggests maintaining individual-based work basis. For responding the problems of Adam's company, the reward system has to be improved. Found that the current reward system is not comprehensive and equal, performance appraisal can be used as the basis for reward allocations. In addition to sales, employees who are outstanding in other core areas such as customer care would be measured and rewarded. It can motivate employees pay more effort on those core area. Appraisal also fulfils the purpose of providing feedback to employees on how the organization views their performance and facilitate improvement. Meanwhile, in order to share the responsibilities of Adam, he can choose two to three outstanding employees with promote them to be the post of assistant manager. It helps Adam to run the business and this also is a kind of reward.

Identify the best solutions

Comparing the above three solutions, solution one creates small supervisor-led team is the best solution. In recent year, many organizations turned to use of work team as an important strategy for successful management. Gordon (1992) estimated that there are more than 80 per cent of US organizations use team in some way. As Cohen and Bailey (1997) noted, 82% of companies with 100 or more employees revealed that they use teams. Many organizations believe teamwork is an effective approach to resolving employees' motivation issues and achieving organizational productivity goals (Hackman, 1987).

Sprigg, Jackson and Parker (2000) found that employee's well-being would be poorer for those employees in team who work on non-interdependent task and in a physical environment that limits chance for co-operation. On the contrary, employee working on interdependent task and in an environment that complement task interdependence would be expected to experience positive outcomes as a result of teamwork. In Adam's company, sales and customer care are both important core area of business. The good customer care makes customer satisfied and patronize again. It is effectively to increase the sales outcome. However, employees are difficult to handle both sales and customer care at same time. They depend on each other to implement the whole business. Therefore, its work interdependence is high and suitable to run in teamwork.

Solution two - virtual team is another team-based approach, but it is not suggested in this stage. Virtual team requires employees should be self-motivated and able to work independently. Employees also should be able to communicate clearly, constructively, and positively even through the more limited channels of technology, in spite of the loss of many nonverbal cues of face-to-face communications. Adam's company has been run in individual-based work for four years. Their employees are lack of collaboration before. It is difficult to adapt teamwork and even virtual team mode at the same time. Nevertheless, in future when the employees are accustomed to work in team, virtual team may be a further plan can be considered.

Recommendations for actions

In order to create effective teams, there are various actions are recommended. In composing of the small supervisor-led teams, employees' abilities and personality must be considered. Team selection requires attention to the appropriate mix of team members for task and team performance (Neuman and Wright, 1999). Besides, Taki (2003) states that team leaders have to listen to the employees. Getting employees' views, setting goals, and creating a vision together are important. They need to take a time to support all that is positive and good about the company, and applaud individual and team achievements. Moreover, Organizational culture can gives employees strength and understanding to respond to various situations. Leaders can start promoting shared values, support, respects for rules and goal-oriented culture. Meanwhile, leaders have to facilitate team communication, transmission and exchange of information from one member to another.

When carry out these actions, social loafing would be affected to build up an effective team. To minimize social loafing, performance of the team cannot be attributed to any single person. Employees also should clear on what they are individually responsible for and what they are jointly responsible for. Furthermore, performance appraisal is recommended to put in team performance criteria. It can motivate employees to support the teamwork process and access their contribution and team's overall performance. Finally, offer training to help employees improve their problem-solving, communication, negotiation, conflict management and group development skills are important. There can turn individuals into a good team player. (2351words)