Principles Of Construction Economics Management Essay

Teamwork is very important in in construction industry. Without teamwork the construction of a building will never be successful. No one project can be completed without the effort from team members.

Nowadays, the term group and team often are used interchange. Group is the more general term, and team is a special type of group.

Group is two or more individuals who have regular contact and frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of camaraderie, and who work together to achieve a common set of goals.

Team is a group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project. Team members operate with a high degree of interdependence, share authority and responsibility for self-management, are accountable for the collective performance, and work toward a common goal and shared rewards. A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.

Differentiate between a group and a team.

Group is the more general term, and team is a special type of group. Group and team are both important to organizational life, but for different reasons.

Group

A group is a two or more individuals who come into a personal and meaningful contact on a continuing basis. Many types of small and large groups can be found in most organizations. Some of these are formal groups responsible for doing the work of the organization. Among the formal organizational groups are departments, divisions, and business units.

Team

Team is generally much smaller than formal organizational groups. A team consists of a small number of employees with complementary skills who collaborate on a project, are committed to a common purpose, and are jointly accountable for performing tasks that contribute to achieving an organization’s goals.

Not all groups of people who work together form a team. To be a team, the member must have a shared goal that they can achieve only if they communicate and collaborate with each other. At Roche, a team focuses on discovering knowledge that can be used to develop new pharmaceutical products for diagnosing or treating specific types of diseases. For example, the Genomics Oncology team focused on using genetic information to diagnose and treat cancer.

Group

Team

A small number of people who frequently participate in activities and share feelings for the purpose of meeting their mutual needs.

A small number of identifiable, interdependent employees who are held accountable for performing tasks that contribute to the achievement of organizational goals.

Usually three to twelve members.

Usually two to twenty members.

They may support, oppose, or have no interest in organizational goals, rules, or higher authority.

They focus on product development, quality assurance, or problem solving.

May attempt to slow production by agreeing to work at a reduced pace and taking time to socialize.

The duration may vary from short term(e.g. a four month project team) to permanent(e.g. a staff planning team).

friendship

membership

Discuss the various team roles and the stages of team development. (you must make reference to a particular relevant grouping/ team theory)

The Various Team Roles

Belbin Team Roles are used to identify people’s behavioural strengths and weakness in the workplace. This information can be used to:

Build productive working relationships

Select and develop high-performing teams

Raise self-awareness and increase personal effectiveness

Build mutual trust and understanding

Aid recruitment processes

The Team Roles that Meredith Belbin identified are used widely in thousands of organisations all over the world today. By identifying our Team Roles, we can ensure that we use our strengths to advantage and that we manage our weaknesses as best we can. Sometimes, this means being aware of the pitfalls and making an effort to avoid them.

Dr. Meredith Belbin is well known for his team roles concept. The team roles identified by Belbin are based on certain patterns of behaviour that people exhibit within teams. These patterns of behaviour can potentially have an impact on the performance of the team. The basic premise of the Belbin team roles theory is quite simple. When individuals become aware of their own strengths and abilities, and understand the role that he or she is capable of playing within a team, it helps them to deal better with the demands of the team environment.

Belbin’s team roles are based on a study that examined personality traits, intellectual styles and behaviours within teams. The team roles evolved from the clusters or patterns of these that emerged during the study. Initially defined as 8 roles, the Belbin model now sports 9 roles, the new one being the ‘Specialist’. The 9 team roles are usually further classified into Action oriented, People oriented and Cerebral roles. Given below are the 9 roles outlined in the Belbin team roles model and the descriptions that explain the scope of each role:

The nine Belbin team roles

Action Oriented Role:

Shaper (SH)

Shapers could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done. Challenging, dynamic, thrives under pressure. Jumps hurdles using determination and courage. However can be easily provoked and ignorant of the feelings of others.

Implementer (IMP)

Implementers might be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes. Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Acts on ideas. However can be inflexible and slow to see new opportunities.

Completer-Finisher (CF)

Completer Finishers could be accused of taking their perfectionism to the extremes. Conscientious and anxious to get the job done. An eye for detail, good at searching out the errors. Finishes and delivers on time however can be a worrier and reluctant to delegate.

People Skills Oriented Role:

Co-ordinators (CO)

Co-ordinators might over delegate leaving themselves little work to do. Belbin’s Co-ordinator is a mature, confident and a natural chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making and delegates effectively. However can be seen as manipulative and controlling. Can over delegate by off loading personal work.

Team Worker (TW)

Teamworkers might become indecisive when unpopular decisions need to be made. Co-operative, relationship focused, sensitive and diplomatic. Belbin described the Team Worker as a good listener who builds relationships and who dislikes confrontation. However can be indecisive in a crisis.

Resource Investigator (RI)

Resource Investigators might forget to follow up on a lead. Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities and networks with others. However can be over optimistic and loses interest after initial enthusiasm has waned.

Cerebral/Intellectual Role:

Plant (PL)

Plants could be creative, imaginative, unorthodox or forgetful. Solves difficult problems. However tends to ignore incidentals and be too immersed to communicate effectively.

Monitor Evaluators (ME)

Monitor Evaluators could be overly critical and slow moving. Even tempered, strategic and discerning. Sees all the options and judges accurately. However can lack drive and lack inspired leadership qualities.

Specialist (SP)

Specialist may have a tendency to focus narrowly on their own subject of choice. Single minded self starter. Dedicated and provides specialist knowledge. The rarer the supplier of this knowledge, said Belbin, the more dedicated the specialist. However can be stuck in their niche with little interest in the world outside it and dwell on technicalities.

Stages of Team Devolopment

In 1965, the first four stages of team growth were first developed by Bruce Wayne Tuckman and published. This theory called “Tuckman’s Stages” was based on research he conducted on team dynamics. He believed (as is a common belief today) that these stages are inevitable in order for a team to grow to the point where they function effectively together and provide high quality results. Tuckman, jointly with Mary Ann Jensen, “Adjourning”is added a fifth stage to the 4 stages, in 1977. The adjourning stage is when the team to complete the current project. They will join the other teams, in the near future move to other work. For a high performance team at the end of a project bring feelings of sadness as the team members have effectively become as one and now are going their separate ways.

Stage of team devolopment

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The five-stage group-development model characterizes groups as proceeding through the distinct stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

The first stage, forming, is characterized by a great deal of uncertainly about the group’s purpose, structure, and leadership. Members “test the waters” to determine what types of behaviors are acceptable. This stage is complete when members have begun to think of themselves as part of a group.

In the second stage, the storming stages is one of intragroup conflict. Members accept the existence of the group but resist the constraints it imposes on individuality. Furthermore, there is conflict over who will control the group. When this stage is complete, there will be a relatively clear hierarchy of leadership within the group.

In the third stage, close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness. There is now a strong sense of group identity and camaraderie. This norming stage is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group has assimilated a common set of expectations of what defines correct member behavior.

The fourth stage is performing. The structure at this point is fully functional and accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know and understand each other to performing the task at hand.

For permanent work groups, performing is the last stage in development. However, for temporary committees, teams, task forces, and similar groups that have a limited task to perform, the adjourning stage is a preparation for disbanding. Wrapping up activities is the focus rather than high task performance. Some group members are upbeat, basking in the group’s accomplishments. Others may be depressed over the loss of camaraderie and friendships gained during the work group’s life.

Identify its current stage of team development and the team roles of each member with justification.

Current Stage of team development

We have followed Bruce Tuckman’s theory on this assignment. Dr Bruce Tuckman had published his theory (Forming Storming Norming Performing) model in 1965. There was another stage- Adjourning had added in the 1970s. The Forming Storming Norming Performing theory is an elegant and helpful explanation of team development and behaviour. Tuckman’s model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish and the leader changes leadership style.

Tuckman’s Theory Stage 1-Forming

This stage is a high dependence on leader for guidance and direction to group members. There is little agreement on team aims received from leader in this stage. Some of the member is no very clear in their individual roles and responsibilities. Therefore, leader must prepared to answer many questions about the purpose of team, objectives and others external relationships. The processes are often ignored by members to test the tolerance of system and leader at the beginning.

Tuckman’s Theory Stage 2-Storming

The decisions are not easily to come out within group in this stage. Team members attempt to establish themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who might receive challenges from team members. The purpose for clarity increases but a lot of uncertainties persist. The teams need to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues. Therefore, compromises may be required to enable progress.

Tuckman’s Theory Stage 3- Norming

Team members can form an agreement and consensus largely to who respond well to facilitation by leader. Therefore, the roles and responsibilities are clear and accepted by team members. Team members made big decisions very fast. There are also some smaller decisions can be delegated to individuals or small teams within group. It has strong commitment and unity. The team members may engage in fun and social activities. Team members also discuss and develop their processes and working style. There is general respect for the leader and some of leadership is more shared by the team. Leader facilitates and enables to others.

Tuckman’s Theory Stage 4-Performing

The team is more strategically aware and the team members know clearly for what supposed to be done. The team members have a shared vision and able to stand on their own feet with no interference or participation from the leader. There is a focus on over-achieving goals and the team members make most of the decisions against criteria agreed with the leader. The team members positively and necessary change to process and structure are made by the team. The team members are able to work towards achieving the goal and also to attend to relationship, style and process issues along the way. Team members look after each other. The leader requests the team members to delegated tasks and projects. The team members do not need to be instructed or assisted by other. They might ask for assistance from the leader with personal and interpersonal development.

Tuckman’s Theory Stage 5-Adjourning

Adjourning is referred to as Deforming and Mourning. Adjourning is arguably more of an adjunct to the original four stage model rather than an extension; it views the team members from a perspective beyond the purpose of the first four stages. This is also the break-up of the group, hopefully when the task is completed successfully by team members then its purpose fulfilled and everyone can move on to new things and feeling good about what has been achieved.

Team roles of each member with justification

We had used Belbin Team Roles in this assignment. Belbin Team Roles used to identify people’s behaviour, strengths and weakness. These roles can be used to:

Select and develop high-performing teams

Build productive working relationships

Raise self-awareness and personal effectiveness

Build mutual trust and understanding

Aid recruitment processes

1. Plant

Plants tend to be highly creative. They are innovators and inventors, and are most useful during the initial stages of a project or when it stalls. Plants generate new ideas and solve complex problems. Because of their original way of thinking, they are often founders of companies and creators of new products. Sometimes, their ideas may not be practical. Plants prefer to operate on their own, tend to be introverted and react strongly to criticism and praise.

2. Monitor / Evaluator

These people are best at analysing problems and evaluating ideas and suggestions because they are critical thinkers. They are also good at weighing the pros and cons of options. They may be perceived as blunt and insensitive, but because of their rigorous analysis of all possible outcomes, they protect the team from taking decisions and action based on false assumptions or untested data. However, they tend to be slow decision-makers because they scrutinise things in detail.

3. Completer / Finisher

They have good attention for detail, spot flaws easily and know exactly where the team is in relation to its schedule. They have an analytical and accurate approach, and will ensure the quality and timeliness of the team’s output. However, they are not keen to delegate, preferring to tackle all tasks themselves. They are also unlikely to start anything they cannot finish.

4. Company Worker / Implementer

These people are great practical thinkers. They turn decisions and strategies into defined and manageable tasks, identifying objectives and pursuing them logically. Because they are efficient and know what is feasible and relevant, they succeed. They also have good self-control and discipline. They sometimes lack spontaneity and can be rigid.

5. Resource Investigator

These people are good at communicating with others, both inside and outside the company. They set up external contacts and carry out negotiations. Because they are highly driven to make and develop contacts, they are a useful source for information. They sometimes appear to be flighty and inconsistent and not a great source of original ideas. If not stimulated by others, their enthusiasm rapidly fades.

6. Team Worker

Team Workers are concerned about interpersonal relationships and want to ensure that members work well together. They adapt easily to different situations and people, and are perceptive and diplomatic. They are popular, but may be indecisive in crunch situations. Because they don’t like friction, they will go to great lengths to avoid it.

7. Chairman / Coordinator

Their responsibility is to ensure that all members contribute to discussions and decisions. They have the ability to motivate others to work towards shared goals and are concerned about fairness and equality among members. Their specialty is to clarify objectives, establish priorities, spot problems and sum up. They are decisive, but do not dominate discussions. A chairman is not necessarily the cleverest member of the team and often cannot make decisions very quickly.

8. Specialist

Specialists are driven by the pursuit of knowledge and information. They love the process of learning. Their priorities centre on maintaining professional standards and on furthering and defending their own field. They can be single-minded and often show a lack of interest in others.

9. Shaper

As the name implies, Shapers impose some shape or pattern to group discussions and activities. They are motivated, make decisions quickly and achieve deadlines. They have strong drive and are assertive, which means they like to challenge others and are determined to win. They may be insensitive and show strong emotional response to disappointment and frustration. Shapers don’t shy away from making unpopular decisions.

Analysis

Team role

Contribution

Allowable weaknesses

Who involve

Plant

Creative, imaginative, free-thinking. Generates ideas and solves difficult problems.

Ignores incidentals. Too preoccupied to communicate effectively. Could be unorthodox or forgetful.

Chaw Kim Leng

Resource investigator

Outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities and develops contacts.

Over-optimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed. Might forget to follow up on a lead.

Chaw Kim Leng

Co-ordinator

Mature, confident, identifies talent. Clarifies goals. Delegates effectively.

Can be seen as manipulative. Offloads own share of the work. Might over delegate leaving themselves little work to do.

Cheoh Jia Ding

Shaper

Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.

Prone to provocation. Offends peoples feelings. Could risk becoming aggressive and bad-humoured in their attempts to get things done.

Chaw Kim Leng

Monitor evaluator

Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately.

Lacks drive and ability to inspire others. Can be overly critical. Could be overly critical and slow moving.

Cheoh Jia Ding

Team worker

Co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens and averts friction.

Indecisive in crunch situations. Avoids confrontation. Might become indecisive when unpopular decisions need to be made.

Brian Ling Yew Shen

Chia Wai Teng

Chang Bao Ping

Implementer

Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organises work that needs to be done.

Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities. Might be slow to relinquish their plans in favour of positive changes.

Cheoh Jia Ding

Completer finisher

Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors. Polishes and perfects.

Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate. Could be accused of taking their perfectionism to the extremes.

Brian Ling Yew Shen

Chang Bao Ping

Chia Wai Teng

Specialist

Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply.

Contributes only on a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities. May have a tendency to focus narrowly on their own subject of choice.

Cheoh Jia Ding

Chia Wai Teng

Chang Bao Ping

Part B

Identify the various teams in the construction industry.

Team in Construction industryhttp://www.alrawdha.net/images/chart_org.jpg

A General Manager has broad, overall responsibility for an organization. The General Manager is responsible for all areas. General Managers manage through subordinate manager. A General Manager has the power to hire, fire, or promote employees. Project Coordinator works with design team and engineer in order to coordinate the design and engineering details. Foreman team supervises all apprentices of a particular working on a construction project and planning work, maintenance schedules, to ensure procedures as specified by the superintendent. Electrical and Mechanical team performs complex technical inspections of construction activities, including electrical, plumbing, and mechanical systems in Building. Civil engineering is related to design, construction and maintenance of buildings by the using of mathematical equations and theories of mechanics. Civil Engineers utilize the available resources such as expertise, materials, manpower, and so on to complete the project.

Project development team

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Consultants are to analysis and advice a client to help the client make the best choices. A consultant can evaluate a project plan, and help client to develop a plan to achieve these goals. Architectural design team is process and product planning, design and construction. Architectural works in the physical form of the building is a cultural symbols and works of art. Structural Design team is to the choice of materials and members of the type, size and configure, the safety and maintenance load. Mechanical engineering team to provide disciplines of engineering that apply the principles of physics and materials science to analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. They concerned with the design, construction, and operation of machines and machinery. Quantity surveyor team estimates the cost of the materials and labour for the construction job. Contractors are provided materials or services at a specified price for construction work. They are liable for all works in the contract because they enter into a contract with client. Sub contractors will hire by a general contractor to perform a specific task in part of the entire project for construction work. Material Suppliers are delivery the materials of construction work to the construction site. This is helping the contractors to complete their works.

PROJECT TEAM

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SITE MANAGEMENT TEAM

When pre-construction, Project manager & Site manager coordinate with all consultants and engineering team, ensure and review that all documentations from consultants are complete such as specifications, drawings, and tender documentations. He establishes tender procedure, bid analysis, 2nd bid analysis, tender award and contract document. He needs to negotiation with contractor. Project administration is to preparation of tender procedure and contract documentation. During construction, Project manager & Site manager ensure that work performed by contractors has been going according to schedule days per day. They need to ensure quality of work produced by contractors. They also shall to ensure the quality of materials used by contractor. They will check progress submitted by contractor. They will review site works satisfactory completion such as after rebar, after concrete works, etc. Project administration is upload daily report to website. He is filling of all project reports drawing. He needs all daily communication with owner, contractor and consultants and sends weekly progress report to them. Site Management Team weekly meeting with contractor to know progress and site issues. They monthly meeting with consultant and contractor to review of site works progress and progress payment. Project manager & Site manager review all reports. Project administration review contractor activity report about materials used, labour, construction equipment.

ENGINEERING TEAM

When pre-construction, Architect & Map ensure that all architectural or shop drawings, specifications are complete and checking items of work doing by contractor complied with architect or shop drawing. Quantity surveyor Review all consultants’ bill of quantity, unit cost analysis, calculate total project budget and bid analysis. Structure ensures that all structure drawings and specifications are complete. During construction, Architect weekly site supervision to ensure that architectural details are properly done and all specification are complied with them. Map & Structure are weekly site supervision. Responsibility of Quantity surveyor checking the time schedule of contractor to be follows on progress, checking items of works for variation order by an architect or the owner and checking quality the works doing by contractor follow the contract.

Why is it important for managers to understand individual behaviour? If employees do their jobs, what difference does it make what their attitudes and personality characteristics are? Discuss.

A manager is the person who constitutes the “organization”. And for obvious, a manager’s job is to manage people. If he can’t understand these people including their behaviour, how can he manage them?

The main reason to understand behaviour is that individuals are different, it is necessary to understand human behaviour nowadays as the presence of the organisation depends on the employees. Without understanding human behaviour, it is very difficult to work in an organisation because humans are the most important asset of an organisation.

Behavior is employees’ act responds to his attitude, and attitude describes the way your employee feels inside. These are employees’ feelings toward his manager, coworkers, also his position in the company. Either good or bad, every employee has an attitude towards the environment. Attitudes also influence how an employee performs in his work. Because attitudes are the feeling from the inside out. According to the book “Human Resource Management” by Lise Saari, Attitudes had been differentiated into four categories which are negative attitudes, apathetic attitudes, positive attitudes and creative attitudes:

Negative attitude

A negative attitude among employees in the workplace expressed as cynicism about job tasks, a disinterest in working with others and insubordination toward authority.

Apathetic attitude

An apathetic attitude is one of unconcerned, tarriance, indifference and idleness. Expressions of this mentality include turning in projects late, not paying attention during meetings and a disinterest in learning new job functions. Besides, an apathetic attitude has the potential to ruin deadlines and create sub-par work.

Positive attitudes

A worker displaying a positive attitude shows passion and interest about their job. They are invested in the outcome of projects and the company as a whole.

Creative attitudes

A worker who displaying a creative attitude can always find ingenious solution to most every problem. He takes and unconventional yet ethical approach to his job and incorporated tested methods with new ideas. A creative attitude creates value for the firm and gives the business a competitive advantage.

Discuss the primary factors of a successful team.

Chaw Kim Leng

Five Key Elements To Managing Teams

As explained by Patrick Lencioni in “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”, senior executives, middle management and assigned team leaders, must foster and expect that team member activities include the following characteristics:

1. Trust among team members

Building trust takes time. If trust is lacking it must be the responsibility of the team leader to focus first on building trust, i.e. getting team members to open up (among the team) and expose their weaknesses and fears to each other. In some cases, a team building exercise can be utilized. In certain business cases, due to time pressures, the leader may have to take responsibility for building trust or change the team to achieve the necessary level of trust for team success. Until everyone is willing to trust the other members of the team, progress towards team success will be limited.

2. Prepare to engage in debate around ideas

Disagreements can lead to conflict, but conflict can be good. If ideas are not presented and debated, the team will miss opportunities to find the best solutions to problems. Respect for the thoughts and ideas of the other team members will be developed through healthy debate.

3. Learn to commit to decisions and plans of action

Team results will only come about as a result of team commitment to team decision, this includes agreeing on the specifics of action plans. If some team members are not consistent with their commitments, the team will not succeed.

4. Hold one another accountable against their plans

Team members must be prepared to check among themselves to assure progress and overcome obstacles to progress. Ad hoc meetings may be necessary to coordinate actions between departments or groups to assure progress.

5. Focus on achieving collective results

The vision and/or mission of the team must be accepted by all the team members and critical goals viewed as the collective responsibility of the team. If a return to profitability is a critical goal of an executive team, priorities and time commitments must be pulled from elsewhere. Focusing on results that in any way does not support the critical goal(s) of the team will lead to team failure.

Cheoh Jia Ding

Every successful team has primary factors. Without the primary factors they cannot form a successful team. There are some primary factors of a successful team:

Trust and Communication

The factors of a successful teamwork are trust, communication and effective leadership; a focus on common goals with a collective responsibility for success. However, without trust and communication the team will have difficulty functioning effectively.

Smart Goals

Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals should be established by the team’s sponsor and then broken into sub-goals by the team. Without smart goals, the team will lack the milestones necessary to drive action.

Committed Leadership

Every leadership team needs a leader who focuses the members of the team on the mission, purpose, and goals of the team. This individual must be committed to the team’s results and must be willing to be held accountable by the team’s sponsor and other stakeholders, for leading the team through processes that insure the team’s goals are reached. The team leader must engage each team member in the processes of the team and build a platform of mutual trust that leads to open debate, collaboration, individual commitment, and personal accountability.

Skills

If a team is to succeed, it needs to have the right skills, qualities and attributes. In many ways, a team is like the perfect cake. It requires the skills, qualities and attributes to be effectively brought together to deliver the perfect result.

A results focus

At the end of the day, a team exists to deliver results and it is key to keep the focus of the team on the end result. It is easy, especially when the going gets tough, to lose sight of the results and get lost in activities that distract.

High levels of trust

A team without trust will never achieve anything. At the same time, it is important to recognize that having high levels of trust does not happen overnight. In my experience, one of the easiest ways of creating trust is to let each other know that you can be counted on by delivering consistently on what you have agreed to do.

Chia Wai Teng

Factors that are conducive to creating successful teams that have a better chance of success in reaching their goals include:

Strong team leadership

Teams need a strong leader. This doesn’t mean someone who will take charge and make all the decisions. On the contrary, a good team leader will bring out the best in the team members. They will know the individual strengths and weaknesses of the team and utilize that information to ensure the team composition has the right combination of skills to be successful. In fact, a good team leader will find a way to ensure that team members have opportunities for development so those weaknesses can eventually become strengths. A strong leader empowers the team members to work through issues and make decisions, but knows when to step in to keep the team moving forward.

Common goals and objectives

It is common that when individuals first come together to form a team, each individual members has his/her own goals and objectives. The role of the team leader is to ensure that the team focuses around common goals and objectives. He/she does this by getting the team to agree on the goals for the project and develop a strategy for reaching those goals. Agreeing on a common goal does not mean individual goals need to be pushed aside. A strong leader can help marry individual goals to the common goal to benefit the individual team members and the team as a whole. Following a common goal helps provide direction to the team and sets the stage for moving forward.

Processes for getting things done

A team must have a way of working together. There must be processes that the team members follow to make decisions, assign tasks, manage conflicts that arise, and achieve their goals.

Diversity among members

Diversity includes not just race, gender or cultural differences; but also diversity in experiences and skills. Diversity among team members is essential to ensure that members have the skills and experience necessary to manage the tasks they are assigned and meet their goals. A diverse team in the sense of race, gender and cultural differences, especially for global projects, enables a broader perspective on the project.

Time to learn about each other

Take the time, before the project kicks into gear, to enable the project team members to spend some time together and get to know each other. This helps to build trust which is needed if a team is going to be effective. The more the team members know about each other, the more comfortable they become working together, challenging ideas, offering suggestions and in helping each other out to ensure goals are accomplished. See a past article, kicking off the Project Team, for suggestions on how to get the team members acquainted with each other.

Brian Ling Yew Shen

Trust among team members

The most important element of successful team work is the establishment of a platform of mutual trust that enables the leadership team to engage in open debate and decision making that leads to commitments to action by individual members of the team. Building trust between team members takes time. If trust is lacking it must be the responsibility of the team leader to focus first on building trust, i.e. getting team members to open up (among the team) and expose their weaknesses and fears to each other. In some cases, a team building exercise can be utilized. In certain business cases, due to time pressures, the leader may have to take responsibility for building trust or change the team to achieve the necessary level of trust for team success. Until everyone is willing to trust the other members of the team, progress towards team success will be limited.

Smart and clear goal

To complete with your team, setting goals is an important and helpful activity. It’s always good to have one big and audacious goal, but it’s important to have stepping stones on the way to that finish line. Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound goals should be established by the team’s sponsor and then broken into sub-goals by the leadership team. Without smart and clear goals, the team will lack the milestones necessary to drive action.

Committed Leadership

Communication

Efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective teams. In order to understand the scope of a goal and agree upon a path to reach that goal, teams must develop an effective method of communication. Indicators of effective team communication include: mellow conversation tones, willingness to consider all opinions, desire to enhance communication frequency, effective conflict resolution, and efficient decision-making processes. Furthermore, to foster team cohesion, employee satisfaction, and motivation, organizations should implement a formal conflict resolution process in cases where a team cannot effectively resolve conflict internally.

Attitudes and Commitment

Attitudes and commitment are what make a significant difference in the eventual success of an assigned team project. It is the collective membership of a team that literally decides to succeed, this take a positive attitude and a strong sense of commitment on the part of all team members. A genuine desire on the part of the team to be successful comes through the evolution of a shared attitude and commitment among the team members that the project will succeed no matter what.

Chang Bao Ping

Effective team leadership

Effective team leadership is one of the most important factors for team success and provides positive results. This is because it tends to have the strongest impact on team members performance. Every team needs a leader who is able to focus its members on a project’s mission, purpose and goals. In the team, a good team leader will bring out more the best in the team members. The job of the team leader is to get team members to successfully evolve through each successive phase of a project. Team leaders are responsible for each team member in the processes of the team then it will provide most success work in project. This implies that the team leader must be monitored and maintained the team members. Team leaders also need to find out skills of each team members to distribute the part of works correctly to each person and use this information to ensure that the team has the right combination of skills to be successful.

Team collaboration

Team collaboration is set direction and solves the problem of one of the factors for the success of the team. The successful team consists of team members who are actively involved in the work and focus of the team. The strength of the team dynamic is very important for team members to come together and focus on the target, the challenges and the problem in the works. The team leader must careful management in the course of group meetings, the collective knowledge and skills of the team members to maximize the power. These meetings will provide each team member willing to efforts to carry out positive action to achieve the targets set. Each member of the team must be reliable and willing to carry out the full weight of personal responsibility, to complete his or her personal works.

Efficient communication mechanisms

Efficient communication mechanisms are to the development effective teams. Teams must develop an effective method of communication. Effective team communication include about mellow conversation tones, is willing to consider all opinions, hold to strengthen communication frequency, effective conflict resolution, and efficient decision-making processes. In addition, communication is to promote cohesion of team, team members’ satisfaction, and motivation, organizations shall the implementation of a formal procedure to resolve the conflict situation, a team cannot have resolve conflict internally.

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