This critical essay is written to analyse the issues related to effective team development in a selected New Zealand company. The theories are based on the research of Mickan and Rodger (2000) and Lees (2011) in team building. The essay first looks into the key concepts delivered in these two articles and the differences, advantages and disadvantages between the two theoretical frameworks, as well as the application to below business organisation.
The selected organisation is a New Zealand IT company that was founded in late 1990s. The company was started as an IT Support provider for one of the global software giants, and then partnered with this software vendor to conduct software licensing audit for the vendor’s customers. The …show more content…
The underlying team development process is based on Tuckman’s developmental sequence in 1965, where Tuckman reviewed 50 articles and proposed a four stages framework. The development consists of a forming stage that tests the boundaries within the team, a storming stage that reveals personal resistance to group tasks, a norming stage that expresses personal options and a performing stage that fully supports the team performance (Tuckman, 1965). Lees, on the other hand, also emphasised on the fifth stage – mourning, which depicts the team’s ongoing reformation in the event of team member loss or team being disbanded (Lees, …show more content…
An effective team building requires appropriate organisational structure and significant individual contribution as prerequisites, and a consistent team process that pulls all team members together.
2. The team building process can be repetitive. Depending on the team dynamics, the process can go through various phases, failure in any phase would result in unsuccessful team development.
3. Training as a team intervention can potentially fine tune the communication, coordination and decision making within the team, which are the key determinants to team performance.
4. It is essential to communicate the company’s higher level needs with the team members, which make the team members aware of their significance to the organisation’s big picture.
5. Team building is also an ongoing process; a new team development must be initiated if the existing team settings are dysfunctional.
In alignment with the conclusion, it is recommended for the select company to adopt following actions for its Licensing Analysis Team:
1. To assist the senior analysts fit in the new office environment and encourage the team members to help each other and build trust, this will help to kick start the team reformation