Task 1
A team is a group of people who are focused with a common purpose who have complimentary skills.
Working as a team has many advantages such as:
- Distributing the workload
- Reinforcing individual capabilities
- Creating participation and involvement
- Improve productivity and pride in what they do
- Respond more quickly to change
- Reduce middle management level
- Draw on expertise of members.
There are two types of teams:
Formal – a formal team is created for a specific purpose e.g. the employees at BMW work as a formal team because they work together to meet their aim: "To be the most successful premium manufacturer in the industry."
Informal – an informal team develops in a less structured way e.g. a group of students at John Ruskin College may start a discussion on the way the teachers teach and if they are not happy with it, they might get together and do something about it.
Temporary project or task teams – this type of team only stands for a short amount of time. It is only made to complete a task or a series of tasks. This team normally dissolves when the task or project is finished e.g. Adidas might call an advertising team in to re-launch one of their old products.
Permanent team – this type of team works together on an on-going basis. Some teams can work together for years. Their work is continuous and frequent e.g. a football team like Manchester United Football Club work together every day, where their main task is to work in a team in order to win the Premier League.
Teams can be categorised by how they work and what type of people are in them. Some examples are:
Management teams – made up of managers representing different areas and coordinating other teams.
Problem-solving teams – they work together to sort out a certain issue or problem that arises.
Work teams – they normally take control of all the work affairs in the organisation.
Quality circles – they work together to resolve any issues or problems within the workforce
Virtual teams – they communicate on behalf of the workforce through the Internet.
Before they had self-managing teams, BMW have a system that was very rigid and less opinionated. The case study tells us that this caused “disputes that seemed to occur every week” and “workers viewed themselves apart from the management”. It also tells us in the case study that it caused discontent, which created “misunderstanding, communication problems, poor productivity and a reluctance to change”. The workers at BMW also worked under a hierarchical system. As the case study tells us, BMW worked under a “traditional ‘production line format’”, where they had to take orders on what needed to be done and did not have a chance to express their thoughts on certain issues. Now, they have revolutionised the workforce and changed the programme “to a team based approach” where “cell production has replaced the production line and the emphasis at Cowley is based on self managing teams”.
The use of teams in BMW is very efficient and helps to achieve strategic aims and objectives.
For a team to achieve its goals, its members must do more than just carry their own weight. They must involve, support and share information with their teammates. They must also commit to the success of the entire team, not simply their own success. Working as a team clearly teaches employees the personal, interpersonal and organisational skills of working together, whether in teams or groups.
In BMW, their strategic aims and objectives are to:
- Identify potential and encouraging growth;
- Know what they represent;
- Recognise where their strengths lie and make the best use of every opportunity; and
- Follow a clear strategy.
The reason why BMW use teams to meet their strategic aims are:
Job is done quicker and more efficiently – when teams are working together, there is less work to be done. There will also be a sense of understanding between the members of the team so that everyone will know what they are doing and the work can be done properly and quickly. The case study tells us that “production targets exceeded by nearly two thirds” as a result of teamwork. By doing this, set targets can be met quickly and properly and the strategic aim of following a clear strategy is met.
Specialism – when teams are formed, there are members of the team that are particularly good in certain areas and this improves the capability of the team. In BMW, the workers specialise in manufacturing, therefore, they will be able to know the area of the job inside out, know what the job entails and know what to do when problems arise. The case study tells us that “those who actually do the job tend to be able to see where the inefficiencies lie”, so if specialist work within teams, there will be very few problems. By doing this, they are meeting the strategic aim of recognising where their strengths lie.
Speed up productivity – this is linked to the first reason of why businesses use teams. When teams are working hard in cohesion, the produce increases. This benefits BMW and its workers because their cars are made quicker than expected. The case study tells us that “production targets exceeded by nearly two thirds” and that the teams are “less divided and more cohesive”, which will always give positive results. They are meeting the strategic aims of identifying potential and encouraging growth & following a clear strategy.
To increase the ability to make decisions – in every team, decisions need to be made. Making decisions gives people within a team confidence. By having the power to make decisions, the workers in BMW would have “more stake in the way the business develops rather than a hierarchical system where workers feel alienated from decision making”, as the case study tells us. By doing this, they are meeting the strategic aim of identifying potential and encouraging growth.
To deal with complex tasks – there are always going to be difficult tasks ahead when working in a team. Difficult tasks arise but if a team works on it together, a complex task can be broken down into a much easier task where everyone can cope with parts of the task delegated to them with effect. The case study tells us that by dealing with complex tasks, the workers in BMW are now perceived as “less divided and more cohesive”. By dealing with complex tasks, they are meeting the strategic aims of following a clear strategy and recognising where their strengths lie.
More ideas – ideas tend to come forth once people work together. If there are more ideas within a team, they are put into effect and eventually, end up in more productivity. More ideas bring more opinions. The case study tells us that BMW “has put into practice over 8000 ideas from its staff, saved £6.3million over the past year as a result and seen production targets exceeded by nearly two thirds”. So if ideas are brought forward, it allows teams to figure out a way to save money and meet targets. By doing this, they are meeting the strategic aim of identifying potential and encouraging growth.
