4.2 Review and examine performance in teams
Activity 1
You are a customer of products and services from many companies using teams.
- Use this exercise to identify how effort by teams may affect you, as a customer.
Impact of poor team work where you have experienced |
Your Example: Reflect on an example of such an event and consider how a team may have contributed to this problem |
Poor service |
|
Inappropriate actions |
|
Lack of skills |
|
Problems with time (i.e. delivery was late, took too long to make, etc.) |
|
Excessive cost |
|
Choose ONE of the above examples. Briefly, note how the team could obtain feedback from you on how to improve their effort. |
|
|
|
Activity 2
- Identify those weaknesses internal to a team.
Problem/ Barriers to Effective Teamwork |
Your Example: Consider an example of how the barrier may evidence itself, or affect a team (real or hypothetical). |
Lack of resources |
|
Skills and knowledge of members |
|
Clear targets/ goals to achieve |
|
Consistent targets/ goals |
|
Legal and government requirements |
|
Choose ONE of the above examples. Briefly, strategise how the team could report these problems to senior management and seek remedies. |
|
|
|
Activity 3
- Identify weaknesses that may cause poor performance or 'problem behaviour' by an individual in the team.
Problem/ Barrier to Effective Teamwork |
Your Example: |
Poor understanding of routine |
|
Poor induction |
|
Lack of confidence |
|
Family difficulties |
|
Medical problems |
|
Language difficulties |
|
Lack of training |
|
Poor equipment |
|
Choose ONE of the above examples. Briefly, examine how the team could prepare a process to address these problems before they occur. |
|
|
|
All three exercises you have just completed reinforce a common theme. This theme is the related nature of all problems. You reflection and response should confirm:
- Problems at individual, team, process and company-wide level impact service quality and efficiency of a team;
- Leadership within a team (whether individual or collective) is required to focus effort on common problems and devise solutions; and
- Teams rarely control all the factors that influence their outcomes and must involve others in setting remedies to problems.