Research Topics: Team Concepts

A group is needed to instill the camaraderie and cooperation between various individual

Executive Summary Even in a classroom setting a group is needed to instill the camaraderie and cooperation between various individuals.  The group in a classroom setting provides an opportunity for wider perspectives on a lesson and faster achievement of goals. This paper takes a look at a certain classroom group, an activity they have to do and different aspects that describes how they work together as they complete the activity.    Introduction Managers should realize that employees choose to perform the way they do because of some internal or external motivation. To ensure greater participation, managers must understand this simple motivational principle. Employee motivation can be greatly enhanced when managers understand the seven assumptions that underlie change behavior (1999).   First, employees are motivated to change their behavior when given clear, sharply focused objectives. Second, employees need to thoroughly understand how to perform their jobs correctly. Third, employees are more likely to change their performance behaviors when they are given opportunities to participate in problem solving and decision-making activities that directly affect them Fourth, change requires personal commitment for action, which obligates managers to secure employee buy-in prior to the creation of growth and development plan. Fifth, managers must clearly communicate positive and negative rewards that are linked directly to performance improvement. Sixth, managers must demonstrate patient, persistent follow-through when providing positive feedback and reinforcement. Seventh, managers need to be realistic regarding the types of rewards offered, while acting within their discretion and authority ( 1999).  Management of a group requires the leader to have an idea on how people are motivated.  The success of a group activity will rely not only on an individual but on how the group works together. This paper intends to analyze the classroom group work together and whether they achieved their goals. Main Body Background A group was formed to compete in a team building exercise in class. Each group was given a pile of A4 photocopying paper, a stapler and some sticky tapes. In each group that composes of 4 to 5 people the members are required to build the tallest structure they can in about60 minutes. The structure can be in any shapes or sizes. It may be round, or square. What is important is the height of the structure.  The structure must be strong enough to stand up at for 5 minutes after the one hour building time.   Group formation Group formation did not seem to reflect but to cause attraction between people: People liked others not as individuals but as members of the same group. The fundamental principle that follows from self-categorization theory is that psychological group formation is an adaptive process that produces socially unitary, collective behavior and makes possible group relations of mutual attraction, cooperation, and influence between members. Factors in a given social setting tend to create and make salient shared group membership, shared social identity, tend to produce a mutual orientation of attraction, cooperation, and influence as members define and react to each other in terms of their common social category membership rather than as differing individual persons (2001). The group was chosen through determining individuals who have good behavior. Out of 10 acquaintances of the leader, 4 of the ones that were really close to the leader was chosen. The 4 members are diligent, intelligent, witty, and have a good sense of humor. The 4 members started the meeting through non formal conversation until they get to know each other.  At first the members were shy to talk to each other but after some time all were able to relate to the other members of the group and this helped in having one goal as a group. The members of the group were chosen in terms of their willingness to succeed and the kind of relationship they had with the leader.   Decision Making All human activities involve decision making. Everyone has problems at home, at work, and in social groups for which decisions must be made. Thus, decision making is a normal human requirement that begins in childhood and continues throughout life. In work settings, when asked to define their major responsibilities, many managers respond that solving problems and making decisions are the most important components of what they do on a daily basis and throughout their ongoing management tasks ( 2002).Decision making process is done when the group member wants to make new goals, create changes to the current strategies and change something about the project. All of the other groups have this and it is the best way to settle problems within the group. The decision making process must come up with the best result to prevent more problems to come. The decision making process should be done accordingly and with so much care to prevent any personal issues between members of the group. As part of the decision making process one member would give his/her suggestion. This would then be followed by a small discussion on how the suggestion would help in achieving the goals of the project. After all the sides are heard the group will vote to determine if they will follow the suggestion or not.  Decision making was not a solo effort. All members gave their comments on how the tower would look like and what would be the physical characteristics of the tower. Each part of the tower was given some thought and was given careful analysis before someone would suggest and before the group would vote on that decision.   Leadership One of the best ways that managers can increase the level of motivation among subordinates is to be effective leaders. Leadership can be defined as a process of influence in which the leader is able to get the follower to stay on a prescribed path toward the attainment of specific goals that are desired by the leader. Thus, by definition the art of leadership is an important part of effective management. The art of leadership may be inherent within the individual. If leadership can be acquired through education and training it may be the most difficult thing to learn (2003).    A categorization of leadership types can be established relating to the institutional settings within which leadership is exercised and which allow or prevent feasible leadership action. Leadership styles by contrast can be categorized according to the actual behavior of leaders faced by particular situations. The leadership component is not much easier to identify. Traditional organizational culture is sometimes expressed in terms such as risk aversion, inertia, hierarchy and sometimes political clienteles (2004). Leadership styles associated with this kind of political culture are far removed from the values and expectations which might be linked to an effective complementarily between leadership and community involvement. A range of leadership styles may therefore be appropriate for joint working dependent on the personal characteristics evident in the leaders reflecting the degree of charisma, commitment, persuasion, ambition etc. which rest within any individual (2004). There are different leadership approaches. The leader of the group used a democratic kind of leadership. The democratic leader listens to the personnel’s ideas and he uses the ideas to make decisions regarding the performance of the firm.  When changes arises, this type of leadership helps the personnel adjust to the changes and the democratic leader helps the personnel adjust more rapidly than in other styles. In this type of leadership style the personnel know that they have been consulted with regards to the decision making process, this minimizes resistance (1998). Democratic style of leadership was used to ensure that each member is free to discuss their ideas and beliefs. The leader allowed for all thoughts and ideas to be discussed as the tower was being done. Each member was given enough time to discuss what they think would help in the project. All members were free to criticize the leader; the leader also made sure that the members are reminded whenever they do something that does not help in the creation of the tower.  There were some light moments when one member would share a story or a joke that is not related to the project. This reduced the stress being felt by each member. It also helped in strengthening the bond of the members of the group. While working some members of the group gave naughty remarks against the other groups. This made the task easier and helped in showing that the project was being done in the spirit of friendly competition.   Membership roles Organizations mean different things to different people. Founders and managers treat organizations in a variety of ways. Some founders and managers act as though the organization is an extension of themselves. The organization’s success is their success; an attack on the organization is a personal attack on them. Such leaders tend to treat other members of the organization as part of the family. All members of an organization or other social system are part of its decider subsystem, so long as they make decisions based on the values, purposes, and goals of that system. When they make decisions based on their own values, however, they become deciders for themselves (1994). Critical questions for social systems, therefore, are whether and when members are acting on behalf of the system rather than for themselves Members of the organization perform most of the acts involved in protecting the organization from environmental stresses and excluding or receiving information. Most of the members who engage in boundary processes are involved with other critical subsystems as well. Member roles change as functions change in an evolving organization ( 1998). Each member had various roles for the success of the tower. One member was designated to build the base of the tower; two members were assigned to construct the middle part of the tower. The rest of the group members constructed the topmost part of the tower. Each member made sure that while doing the task assigned to them they still help the others in making a sturdy tower.  The role of each member of the organization contributed to the success of the tower.   Communication Ordinary language and casual conversation, once almost unnoticed in analyses of communication, have by now gained huge ontological respectability. For this reason, the task for a theory of human communication today may well be to explain the striking similarities in the norms of conversation that appear to have evolved across cultures ( 2003). Communication is important for businesses and individuals. It is a means for them to convey any message they have. Communication is needed to create the best strategy. Good communication leads to good relationships and better understanding of a human person.  One particular advantage of the concept of speech style is that it can be used in a non evaluative sense. While recognizing that groups can differ in their style of communication, there is no necessary implication that one style of communication is better than another. However, differences in style can underlie difficulties in communication between members of different cultures or subcultures (2003).Communication involves the active exchange of information between two or more members of the team, as well as an individual team member providing information to others in the appropriate manner. In general, communication is a mechanism that links the other components of teamwork. For example, communication is the important link between monitoring other members’ performance and providing feedback about that performance ( 1995).  The members of the group made sure that they communicated well with each other to achieve the goals. Each member asked first before taking any measures that will change the outcome of the project.  The members of the group were free to communicate any issues they have with the leader and other members of the group. The members of the group allowed for the free flow of ideas and beliefs. The members of the group gave a piece of their mind on a certain part of the project; this helped in making sure that the project was done above standards. Whenever one wants to say something to the other member of the group they were free to do so, but they were asked to say it in a polite manner.   The performance of the group Most organizations already have the building blocks in the form of management approaches and capabilities; they just stop short of linking what they have into a continuous cycle, which can amplify the performance of the whole. It is this connecting the dots and getting all parts working together that permanently boosts management effectiveness and business performance ( 2002).The role of performance measurement is to help keep the organization on the operating on a straight and narrow track. The measures are used primarily by business specialists, and the action taken as a result of such analysis may also be exclusively good for the business. Nevertheless, it is also clear that evidence of business problems may occur because of deficiencies in other areas of business operations. In this case, the ratios can provide the company’s director with the information necessary to convince other managers that operating action needs to be taken in order to avoid any company problem. However, the primary role served by this type of performance measurement lies within the province of the business function, and is concerned with the effective and efficient use of the company’s resources (2002).  Performance management helped in checking the flaws that cause disunity in the group, it then checks for the probable actions that can be used to initiate unity the class organization. The use of performance management opened up the lines of communication and it was used by the group so that they can work as one unit.  Performance management gave the opportunity for members of the class organization to discuss issues that cause dissension and failure to reach goals. As the final stages of the project were conducted, the leader gave some performance appraisal on the group. The members participated well and did their job well. The leader was thrilled to have them as group mates. After the leader the teacher gave a personal review of the tower and what were the observations on the group.  The teacher gave a positive review of the tower and the camaraderie between the group members. The teacher gave high remarks on how the group members communicated with each other and helped each other to achieve the goal. Conclusion The group was chosen through determining individuals who have good behavior. The members of the group were chosen in terms of their willingness to succeed and the kind of relationship they had with the leader. Decision making was not a solo effort. All members gave their comments on how the tower would look like and what would be the physical characteristics of the tower. Democratic style of leadership was used to ensure that each member is free to discuss their ideas and beliefs. Each member had various roles for the success of the tower. The role of each member of the organization contributed to the success of the tower. The members of the group made sure that they communicated well with each other to achieve the goals.  Each member asked first before taking any measures in the project.    Recommendations For any other consequent activity with the same group the leaders and members should make sure that they make use of the strengths of all the members.  The strengths of al members will help in speeding up performance and reducing errors. The group should learn how to observe how the others perform, this would help the group analyze their own performance and improve it accordingly. Moreover the group should learn to listen carefully to instructions carefully. Any misheard instruction can cause the failure to reach the goal in any activity. Lastly the group should know their weaknesses and find means to change it. This would make the group more efficient and effective.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A group is needed to instill the camaraderie and cooperation between various individual

Executive Summary Even in a classroom setting a group is needed to instill the camaraderie and cooperation between various individuals. ...

TEAM AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Contents             This paper would report about team and communication skills of a group, particularly a small group of people working in a luxury perfumery shop.  Further, this report discusses the teams in terms of its roles, function, formation and an analysis of the team working in a luxury perfumery shop. This report would also touch Belbin’s types of teams, the benefits and constraints that can incur on teams and the successful communication within the team.  The recommendation, along with the conclusion, will be based in a form of an action plan. Introduction Teams are about people handed with disparate tasks who, as much as possible, should adaptively works together to achieve a common and shared goal.  To assert that team should work towards a common goal, according to  (1988), the first essential ingredient for effective teamwork is that the team members agree on their “common mission” and on their commitment to work together to reach the team goals.  (1992) upon recognition that it takes trust to gradually build a team, suggests that team members need to be aware of their own interpersonal styles and must work to enhance the positive and reduce the negative aspects of these styles through providing team members encouragement and be developing sensitivity to the personal needs of other members.  In teaming, open communication is crucial and conflict resolution techniques must be planned and implemented ( 1991). Similarly, conscious efforts to build team trust and team skills are often necessary ( 1988). Main Part   In 1993, listed several positive team functions (1993).  Among the named team functions are that teams set priorities, a team models the varying manifestation of behavior, the teams anticipates objections of the fact that teams comprises of different individuals, teams fosters interaction between them, and so on.  An illustration of a team function is in the business setting, perhaps a creative team of an advertising company.  Being a part of a creative team necessitates that there coexists a set of priorities for a team to fulfill in which one would function in accordance to what is expected and works in means to achieve that priorities being set. How it is then a team is formed? For the purposes of this report, we would be using (1977) group model since we would be dealing also with a small group working in a luxury perfumery.   (1977) identified five stages as to how a team is formed.  First is the forming where members at first, feels anxious of being into a group without prior knowledge as to what mechanisms or process would be involved in working with that group.  Just like any organism, it is a normal reaction to feel anxious when one is in a new situation since one undergoes through the basic process of knowing how to be adaptive being into a team.  Second is storming that pertains to the arousal of possible conflicts especially when individual differences will surmount.  At this stage, some team members would likely compete in proving themselves and may at times be overly proactive to the team events as one would try to project assertiveness.  Third, is the norming that pertains to the group starting to have that sense of trust and the understanding of the team function in a deeper level.  The third stage is marked with the team beginning to blend together and functions in perfect tune.  Consequently, teams at this point is characterized as accepting, learns the art of cooperation and the mutual support for each other would likely happen.  Fourth, is the performing stage where teams’ functions as a whole and exhibit team performance.  Fifth, would be the mourning or grieving stage.  It is termed as such because in every team, the more than a team concept, is developed wherein every members has the emotional attachment to the team already.  Thus, the dismantled or the lost of the team would result to grief.  .             Moving on, team role is defined as the tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way ( n.d).  ’s team roles or team types, illustrates a patter of behavior that characteristically describes the behavior manifested by one person in relationship to one another in the facilitation of progress occurring within the team.  There are 8 team types; they are the shaper, implementer, completer-finisher, coordinator, team worker, resource investigator, plant, monitor evaluator and the specialist, all of which performs the varying roles respectively.  With teams being able to know the roles they partake, it is likely that they would be adaptive to the type of teams they belong.  A sports team, for instance, even if it only composes less than 20 persons, to be able to work effectively, they should be able to grasps the dynamics or the nature of the type of team they belong combine with taking responsibility to their different roles being part of the team.             Let us consider a small group of 10 people in a luxury perfumery shop.  Obviously, the function of the group is to generate means to attract customers to the shop.  However, small groups are more powerful when formed into a team.  Thus, the team could in this instance, perhaps, work on to improve their service in the customer’s service aspect and in the personal relations with the aim to accrue loyal customers.  Management plays a critical role in the team formation such that they are the one who selects the people as to who should fit in to the team.  Likewise, the management also is responsible as to how they would make the team work together.  Given the formation of the team, members mayhap able to know and partake their roles but the question is how to get the team interact with each other more deeply.  Wherein, in fact, group of personnel in luxury perfumery is oftentimes perceived to work only for the salary.  Presumably, the most challenging part in a small group in luxury perfumery is in the provision of an interactive linkage between members and placing a meaning as to what they are doing individually and as a team.  Communication seemingly is the barrier for small group in a less interactive setting.  Most of the time team members would be preoccupied of having interaction with customers neglecting the importance of initiating interaction within them.  Teams in a luxury perfumery, in spite of being undermined, can work subtlety works wonders as long as teams are coherent and integrated perfectly.   Conclusions and Recommendations               Teams are vital in a luxury perfumery.  A good team especially in the customer’s service counters would persuade customers to get to try new products and inclined them to go back in the shop, provided that customers will be satisfied in the services given by every team members.  An action plan would be to let the small group be integrated into a team specifying the different roles they would partake and the team purpose, upon which they will embody a common goal. Additionally, team building activities will help in gradually blending the team for them to be able to work harmoniously leading to the team members finding meaning as to what they are doing and be able to value being a part of that team.     References:   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

TEAM AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Contents This paper would report about team and communication skills of a group, particularly a small group of people workin...

SEE NOTE BELOW

TABLE OF CONTENTS   ABSTRACT                                                                                                  page 2   THE BODY TEAM BUILDING PROCESS IN ASIA AND THE US                                 pages 3-8 OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES                pages 9-17   SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION                                                                pages 18-19   REFERENCES TEAM BUILDING PROCESS IN ASIA AND THE US                                 pages 20-21 OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES                pages 21-23                 ABSTRACT On the first part of the assignment topic, there provides a thorough emphasis on the discussion as well as analysis of team building approaches between Asia and the United States as managers of both regions should recognize that they play a central role in effective team building as managers in Asian countries and the US believes that in order to be successful in adopting team approaches, managers require a framework to guide their activity process that can guide managers in their team-building efforts as it will ensure team success Asian managers are more direct in their goals and decisions as compared to US managers as they apply several paradigms in better response to globalization, changes in external environments and the desire of the organizations to remain competitive, organizations have continued to decentralize their business processes and empower their employees, US and Asian managers play a critical role in maintaining a team climate through their daily activities, team building must be an ongoing activity internal to the organization. The second part of the assignment involves opportunities for women in business enterprises as women is considered to have a more stable personality in dealing business and keep it growing through the years, as there are several online sources that emphasizes the crucial function and role of women in business enterprises as of today’s generation and that women empowerment is visible most in handling serious business situations that women can do right over men. Women have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills for the business in a short span of time and that they have the capacity to change something into a great success having the right initiative to serve the people and the society in the world of business.  THE BODY TEAM BUILDING PROCESS IN ASIA AND THE US   Team building process in the US and Asia are quite similar but in a way different in terms of its approaches and how such team managers handle every situation like for instance, the Hong Kong Chinese managers in US firms and American managers in HK firms towards supervisory, peer, subordinate and multi-source appraisal of executive performance. Furthermore, both HK/US and US/US managers are more supportive of subordinate evaluation than peer evaluation. There indicate that the traditional Chinese values may be more congruent with the notion of supervisory appraisal than with peer and subordinate evaluation within the importance of the compatibility of norms and beliefs regarding team building practice with the local national cultures in determining the acceptance and hence the transferability of that practice across the countries ( 1995). Moreover, during the time when Japanese manufacturing firms in a number of industries-including autos, electronics and machinery achieved high levels of international competitiveness, Japanese manufacturing practices-particularly those associated with just-in-time manufacturing (JIT)-have attracted considerable attention in North America. ( 1995) Transfer to the United States of JIT is characterized by special production management practices involving inventory and quality control, industrial relations and supplier-manufacturer relationships. (, 1995)   For instance, the Building America Program where systems-engineering approaches are used to hasten the development and adoption of innovative building processes and technologies (1996).  The program is aimed at bringing together builders, product manufacturers and the research community in producing energy-efficient, environment-friendly, affordable and adaptable residences on a community scale. The US teams are accelerating home-building energy innovations by using a comprehensive, systems-engineering approach that provides direct testing and evaluation of the cost and performance benefits. As in Asia the teams are evaluating innovative design and delivery strategies, building materials and construction systems, faster development and adoption of new technologies like in Japan and Malaysia. ( 1996) The U.S. team administration will face opportunities and challenges in re-orienting U.S. diplomacy according to some new concepts its official espouse. The Asia-Pacific region is still in transition from a Cold War bipolar structure to a regional system whose structures and parameters are not yet fully defined. In the main, as globalization replaces the Cold War, economic relations have supplanted strategic dimensions as the main priority in relations between states (1993).         Appropriate diplomacy now could enable a regional security architecture and institutional structure to emerge and secure greater stability for some time. Team building is still intact in both Asia and the US that has form a more classic regional inter-state system in which each pursues its own interests within the confines established by the advantages of membership of the system and other governments with officials whose careers were first forged during that contest, including the United States from other geographical systems is that there is little by way of a generalized regional security architecture. (  1993) The exceptions to this generalization are limited in either geographic or functional cope. Coupled with other relationships, this has led to a growth in commitments to team building measures and to reassure other states about military intentions, dialogues about difficult issues and diplomatic exchanges, and even regular summit meetings to provide government-to-government contacts (1997). This provides a picture of a United States which is likely to be more committed to: free trade and a liberal economy; the use of military power only to pursue direct U.S. national interests; a reduced inclination to act multilaterally; and a lesser inclination to use U.S. power for systemic purposes depicted in Albright’s phrase, “the indispensable nation” ( 1997). The new officials are less ideological, less liberal, a trifle more isolationist and rhetorically more realist. The United States, it seems, is more interested in those inside its tent than outside. In this mood, it may well expect friends and allies to do more as it has already made clear which seems likely to respond and which will not.   In both Asia and the US, ( 1997) both regions believe that, managers must recognize that they play a central role in the effective team building and in order for the process to be successful, managers require a framework to guide their activities in the form of a seven-step process that can guide managers in their team-building efforts and built upon the assumption that there are identifiable team characteristics that will help ensure team success for the selection and sequencing of team-building efforts and interventions that requires considerable planning and environmental knowledge to successfully implement. ( 1997) In response to globalization, rapid changes in external environments and a desire by organizations to remain competitive, organizations have continued to flatten, decentralize, re-engineer their business processes, downsize and empower their employees. To facilitate these changes and gain a competitive edge, managers are increasingly turning to team structures (1999).The actual team design used to support organizational goals may include such structures as cross functional teams, functional work teams, project teams, self-managed teams, intact work teams, employee participation teams, problem-solving teams, maintenance or support teams, and management teams. (, 1999) As  (1997 p. 35) indicate that in the United States, 82 percent of companies employing more than 100 employees have turned to the use of groups to support organizational goals in isolation from each other but work in team.       Managers play a critical role in maintaining a team climate through their daily activities, team building must be an ongoing activity internal to the organization. As such, it should be made one of the manager’s primary responsibilities, instead of the responsibility of an external teambuilding third party within the organization (1999). The key to creating an effective new, temporary team is balance in the attributes of team members, and the presence of needed resources to achieve stated goals. For example, in problem solving and implementation teams, managers must make sure that critical managers with power are selected as members. ( 1999) Furthermore, given the complexity and uniqueness of most business environments, and the interrelationships between team characteristics, it would be administratively unsound to attempt a broad-based intervention without considering how best to proceed; in other words: which deficiencies should be addressed first and what would be the appropriate sequence of subsequent interventions? Managers should therefore develop and consider a number of decision criteria that would help them address the issues of setting priorities and sequencing. (, 1999) The role that managers play in building effective teams within Asia and the US territory in the attempt to provide some structure to this complex and demanding process and to help guide managers who recognize the need to build an effective team within their units as built on the assumption that there are identifiable team characteristics that will help ensure team success, the reaction was that team management process would never work in Asia, the culture was unsuited for participative methods in cultures dominated by more authoritarian and rigid organizational structures which were proving their viability by great success and growth ( , 2001). However, there were many changes in Asian business, which underlie the success that Asian companies are now having with team management such as: (, 2001). Ø      The growth of the global economy Ø      Increased business environment Complexity Ø      Increased turnover and labor market shortages Ø      The need to develop local staff rather than relying on short term expatriate staff Ø      The trend towards specialization Ø      Intra and extra-regional mobility The successful manager cannot be expected to have a monopoly on knowledge and wisdom and that the successful manager of the next century must be first and foremost a skilled manager of teams, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of his people and turning a group of individuals into a team (, 1998). This is as true in Asia as for any other region. There is no better way to motivate teams and improve the process than use the objective instruments that have been developed expressly for this purpose and for recruitment, selection and organizational circle (1998).       OPPORTUNITIES OF WOMEN IN BUSINESS ENTERPRISES   Online Sources: The above online sources serve as a good resource site for discussing as well as explaining the opportunities of women in business enterprises as it involves researched based articles with regards to the influence and importance of women power in the world of business processes respectively. (  , 1984) The sources have stats on women in business that points out that as of the year 2005, there are an estimated 10.1 million majority-owned, privately-held, women-owned firms in the U.S., employing 18.2 million people and generating .32 trillion in sales. Women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all businesses in the United States and represent about 775,000 new startups per year and account for 55 percent of new startups. Between 1997 and 2002, it is estimated that the number of women-owned firms increased by 14 percent nationwide twice the rate of all firms. (, 1984)       Meanwhile, the overall number of firms in the United States grew by only 9 percent. Women’s business ownership is up among all groups, but the number of Hispanic (up 63.9 percent) and Asian owned firms (69.3 percent) has grown especially fast. An estimated one in five (21 percent) women-owned businesses are owned by women of color. 84.8 percent of all businesses owned by women are sole proprietorships. Women-owned businesses are as financially sound and creditworthy as the typical firm in the U.S. economy, and are more likely to remain in business than the average U.S. firm. Since 1987, the number of women-owned firms in the U.S. has doubled, employment has increased four-fold and their revenues have risen five-fold. Between 1997 and 2002, the number of women-owned businesses with more than 100 employees rose by 44 percent. Women hold 13.6 percent of board seats at Fortune 500 companies. ( 1984) Women comprise 46.6 percent of the U.S. labor force, 50 percent of the managerial and professional specialty positions. Women-owned firms continue to diversify across industries, with the fastest growth rates seen in nontraditional industries, including construction, agricultural services and transportation. (, Center for Women’s Business Research, Business Women’s Network and the Dynamics of Women-Owned Sole Proprietorships) There were also alliances for women in business such as the American Business Women’s Association that has joined forces to other alliances in order to assist Women Business Owners. This alliance is a benchmark for SCORE by signaling our strong ongoing commitment to women in business (, 1997).   Through this alliance, SCORE and ABWA will expand the outreach of small business training, women’s networking and the availability of information and tools on starting and running a successful business. This alliance with ABWA, a leading women’s business organization, will enable SCORE to make strides in recruiting more women counselors, expanding services to women in business and in improving networking and local programs between SCORE and ABWA. In the early 1990s, when companies were scrambling to keep up with rapidly changing technology,  noticed an unmet need for independent information technology contractors. At the time she was thinking about starting a family, but her job in sales for a Fortune 500 firm left little time for the demands of new motherhood. So  carved out a dual solution in the form of Connect, a Littleton, Colorado-based IT staffing company she founded with partner . The business allows the two women the flexibility they crave while providing them with an outlet for their entrepreneurial drive ( 1997).   In the years, Connect has grown to a .8 million business ( 1997) Ø      The number of women-owned businesses in this country grew at twice the rate of all firms between 1997 and 2002, jumping 14 percent to 6.2 million, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research Ø      Women-owned businesses account for 28 percent of all privately-owned businesses, and employ 9.2 million people. They contribute .38 trillion in revenue to the U.S. economy, according to the .   Thus, many women feel frustrated by the restraints and the glass ceiling of corporate America as they feel like stepping out of that structure but, women-owned businesses have attracted the attention of American corporations, many of which seek them out as vendors under supplier diversity programs. Some companies take this interest a step further by developing programs specifically designed to nurture women as business owners (, 2000). Henceforth, women have a different management style than do men as they are less hierarchical, more deliberate in their decisions and are more collaborative than men. Women tend to view their business holistically and not only see where it’s heading, but are patient about how to get it there with women, the power is from the center out and they show that businesses can make it at a slow and steady pace. Ever since, conditions are lining up to help these women succeed, including corporations being ever more eager to work with women-owned companies, the future for the woman entrepreneur seems very bright indeed. ( 1984)  provides marketing programs and consulting to companies targeting the small business market. SCORE is a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed as small business owners. (2000)           Following are tips to help women business owners succeed: (1998). DON’T UNDERVALUE YOURSELF Women tend to give away too much and charge too little such as those in service-based businesses and suggest that women in the service industry adopt value-based fees, rather than hourly REMEMBER WHY YOU STARTED YOUR OWN COMPANY Women can quickly lose site of their desire to have a balanced life in the face of a demanding new business to stop and weigh the value of the task at the moment against her personal needs NETWORK, BUT IN A WAY YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH Many people who go into business for themselves flock to networking groups because they believe it’s the smart thing to do but depending on your personality and preferences, these groups may not be the best forum for networking DON’T FORGET YOU ARE RUNNING A BUSINESS Piling on the work/life benefits won’t do anyone any good if doing so cuts too deeply into the company’s bottom line and how to create a culture that is attentive to the individual and allows you to still make it as a business   DON’T BE AFRAID TO PROMOTE YOURSELF If your business is to thrive, you must market yourself and take credit for your achievements. If you don’t market your business, no one will know what you have to offer Moreover, minority and women owned business enterprises may compete for any contract either as a prime contractor outside of the MBE/WBE process and without certification. For larger contracts where MBE/WBE firms are available and capable of performing subcontracting work, the MTA will establish a goal for MBE/WBE participation. Contractors will be seeking to meet their MBE/WBE goals by hiring certified MBE/WBE firms. (, 2004) For firms seeking MBE/WBE subcontracts, you must be certified by the Empire State Development Corporation To obtain information on becoming certified in New York State as a minority or woman-owned business contact: Empire State Development Corporation Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development To see the Empire State Development’s Certified Minority & Women-Owned Business Directory on the Internet, visit their Business Assistance Services, Division of Minority and Women’s Development Page and follow the links to the MBE/WBE Directory.   Women made up nearly 51 percent of the total U.S. population in 1999. The gap between men’s and women’s shares of work and ownership is closing: women represent 46 percent of the labor force and 37 percent of the self-employed. Women’s incomes and business ventures remain smaller than those of men. Evidence has shown that the ownership of a business is one of the most effective means of improving the financial well-being of women. ( 1984) While the number of women-owned businesses has increased considerably in recent years, women’s share of business income remains relatively small. The level of women’s involvement in business management and decision making is approaching that of men’s, yet their personal earnings remain far below men’s. (, 1984) A number of socioeconomic aspects of women in business have also been examined in this report. Women first entered the labor force in greater numbers, then exercised increasing decision making in the business world, then started their own businesses in large numbers. According to recent statistics, women are starting small businesses at twice the rate of men and women-owned enterprises now account for 25 percent of all small businesses. Survival rates are comparable to those of male-owned ventures (, 1990).  It should be useful to gain a better understanding of the factors that explain the success of these ventures. Previous research suggests that success of an enterprise is a function of the “fit” between seven strategic elements: shared values, strategies, structures, systems, staff, skills and styles. The strategic fit is determined by the organizational properties of the enterprise and the external environment in which it functions regarding the nature of strategic management in successful women-owned enterprises (WOEs). ( 1990) For example, many writers have concluded that women entrepreneurs behave differently from men and that several factors unique to women determine their success or failure. The implication is that women enter business for different reasons than male entrepreneurs and that their personality characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses as business leaders are different. The feminine mode suggests that women behave differently as entrepreneurs and managers. As such, strategic management in WOEs would be quite distinct from that seen in a typical successful small firm, and would generally correspond with the previously identified feminine leadership style. In contrast, the entrepreneurial mode is derived from the assumption that female and male leaders are similar. This suggests that female entrepreneurs tend to manage their ventures in much the same way that successful male entrepreneurs do. Corporate women often find themselves excluded from positions of authority and leadership. The reasons are many, one of the most important being the stereotype that they lack leadership qualities. This belief has been shown to be invalid and may be slowly weakening. Nevertheless, it remains widely prevalent among male leaders of business, producing extremely difficult institutional barriers to success. In fact, if the experience of male entrepreneurs relative to male managers is taken to be a guide, then for women, the barriers to entrepreneurship should be far more formidable than those encountered in corporate careers. Women would tend to initiate businesses in sectors which are accepted as being “appropriate” for women, like personal services.     They would start enterprises in fields which require little capital and are service-oriented, such as beauty salons, small grocery stores, gift shops, fabric shops, restaurants and delicatessens and some real estate agencies. Many women entrepreneurs are unsure as to what information systems to use; therefore, financial and operational monitoring would tend to be weak or non-existent and few would institute formal monitoring procedures. (1990) The result is poor control and continued weakness in profitability and resource position. The life-cycles of female-owned business ventures and the strategic management approaches of their owners are said by this group of researchers to follow the same patterns found in all successful ventures. Planning and budgeting are likely to become more crucial, with the entrepreneur increasingly disengaging himself or herself from day to day matters, and paying increasing attention to long-term strategy. Some women find entrepreneurship attractive in order to minimize or to escape social and organizational barriers to success (, 1987).  Among the cases studied, actual and potential disenchantment with job opportunities was one of the more important reasons for the individual’s move into business. The owner of a real estate firm, for example, found that her career had reached a dead end in the real estate company where she had been one of the top-rated sales persons. Another female entrepreneur, who started a firm to offer training on employee relations to secretaries and their bosses, also gave job frustration as a reason for starting business. (1987)   SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Consequently, when US groups are not achieving desired synergies, it is the manager’s responsibility to identify, those team characteristics likely to have a positive impact on team behavior and change the existing climate so as to remove existing deficiencies. In Asian context, it is important to recognize that research demonstrates a clear link between the presence of positive team characteristics and team effectiveness. Henceforth, women entrepreneurs indicated their possession of aggressiveness, assertiveness, determination, strong leadership behavior, highly developed communication skills and objective and analytical thinking ( 1999). They believed that they possess a set of leadership skills and attributes that include a high level of internal locus of control, autonomy, ambition, energy, responsibility, innovation, and creativity. They indicated a high propensity to take risks and readiness for change, strong social skills such as persuasiveness and a low need for support, a lack of emotionalism and a high level of ability to inspire others. In conclusion, when decisions are made, non-participating managers cannot easily resist. ( 1999) Similarly, managers want to ensure that the required expertise and knowledge exists within the group. This increases the probability of creative problem solving and outcome acceptance by non-members. In the case of intact groups, where the work unit already exists, management is likely to consider a different set of factors.     This happens because team managers do not allow for easy inter-group transfer and typically engage in tasks that are well established. Therefore, managers must find a mechanism to measure the degree to which relevant team characteristics currently exist in a given environment. Anderson and West argue that such information can be used to create team climate surveys, create team climate diagnosis, create team innovativeness, measure team development and for the selection of new team members. Direct observation is a second proven technique that can be useful in assessing an existing group or team climate. It requires managers to spend extended periods of time observing, recording, and assessing pre-identified behavioral dimensions and support behaviors. It is assumed that the observer knows specifically what he or she is looking for and is skilled in observing and recording employee behaviors, it is important to be clear with group members about the purpose of direct observation, e.g., the improvement of an existing group climate and not the assessment of specific individuals.             REFERENCES   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT page 2 ...

TEAM CONCEPTS

Contents             This paper would report about team and communication skills of a group, particularly a small group of people working in a luxury perfumery shop.  Further, this report discusses the teams in terms of its roles, function, formation and an analysis of the team working in a luxury perfumery shop. This report would also touch ’s types of teams, the benefits and constraints that can incur on teams and the successful communication within the team.  The recommendation, along with the conclusion, will be based in a form of an action plan. Introduction Teams are about people handed with disparate tasks who, as much as possible, should adaptively works together to achieve a common and shared goal.  To assert that team should work towards a common goal, according to  (1988), the first essential ingredient for effective teamwork is that the team members agree on their “common mission” and on their commitment to work together to reach the team goals.  (1992) upon recognition that it takes trust to gradually build a team, suggests that team members need to be aware of their own interpersonal styles and must work to enhance the positive and reduce the negative aspects of these styles through providing team members encouragement and be developing sensitivity to the personal needs of other members.  In teaming, open communication is crucial and conflict resolution techniques must be planned and implemented ( 1991). Similarly, conscious efforts to build team trust and team skills are often necessary ( 1988). Main Part   In 1993, listed several positive team functions (1993).  Among the named team functions are that teams set priorities, a team models the varying manifestation of behavior, the teams anticipates objections of the fact that teams comprises of different individuals, teams fosters interaction between them, and so on.  An illustration of a team function is in the business setting, perhaps a creative team of an advertising company.  Being a part of a creative team necessitates that there coexists a set of priorities for a team to fulfill in which one would function in accordance to what is expected and works in means to achieve that priorities being set. How it is then a team is formed? For the purposes of this report, we would be using  (1977) group model since we would be dealing also with a small group working in a luxury perfumery.   (1977) identified five stages as to how a team is formed.  First is the forming where members at first, feels anxious of being into a group without prior knowledge as to what mechanisms or process would be involved in working with that group.  Just like any organism, it is a normal reaction to feel anxious when one is in a new situation since one undergoes through the basic process of knowing how to be adaptive being into a team.  Second is storming that pertains to the arousal of possible conflicts especially when individual differences will surmount.  At this stage, some team members would likely compete in proving themselves and may at times be overly proactive to the team events as one would try to project assertiveness.  Third, is the norming that pertains to the group starting to have that sense of trust and the understanding of the team function in a deeper level.  The third stage is marked with the team beginning to blend together and functions in perfect tune.  Consequently, teams at this point is characterized as accepting, learns the art of cooperation and the mutual support for each other would likely happen.  Fourth, is the performing stage where teams’ functions as a whole and exhibit team performance.  Fifth, would be the mourning or grieving stage.  It is termed as such because in every team, the more than a team concept, is developed wherein every members has the emotional attachment to the team already.  Thus, the dismantled or the lost of the team would result to grief.  .             Moving on, team role is defined as the tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way ( n.d).  ’s team roles or team types, illustrates a patter of behavior that characteristically describes the behavior manifested by one person in relationship to one another in the facilitation of progress occurring within the team.  There are 8 team types; they are the shaper, implementer, completer-finisher, coordinator, team worker, resource investigator, plant, monitor evaluator and the specialist, all of which performs the varying roles respectively.  With teams being able to know the roles they partake, it is likely that they would be adaptive to the type of teams they belong.  A sports team, for instance, even if it only composes less than 20 persons, to be able to work effectively, they should be able to grasps the dynamics or the nature of the type of team they belong combine with taking responsibility to their different roles being part of the team.             Let us consider a small group of 10 people in a luxury perfumery shop.  Obviously, the function of the group is to generate means to attract customers to the shop.  However, small groups are more powerful when formed into a team.  Thus, the team could in this instance, perhaps, work on to improve their service in the customer’s service aspect and in the personal relations with the aim to accrue loyal customers.  Management plays a critical role in the team formation such that they are the one who selects the people as to who should fit in to the team.  Likewise, the management also is responsible as to how they would make the team work together.  Given the formation of the team, members mayhap able to know and partake their roles but the question is how to get the team interact with each other more deeply.  Wherein, in fact, group of personnel in luxury perfumery is oftentimes perceived to work only for the salary.  Presumably, the most challenging part in a small group in luxury perfumery is in the provision of an interactive linkage between members and placing a meaning as to what they are doing individually and as a team.  Communication seemingly is the barrier for small group in a less interactive setting.  Most of the time team members would be preoccupied of having interaction with customers neglecting the importance of initiating interaction within them.  Teams in a luxury perfumery, in spite of being undermined, can work subtlety works wonders as long as teams are coherent and integrated perfectly.   Conclusions and Recommendations               Teams are vital in a luxury perfumery.  A good team especially in the customer’s service counters would persuade customers to get to try new products and inclined them to go back in the shop, provided that customers will be satisfied in the services given by every team members.  An action plan would be to let the small group be integrated into a team specifying the different roles they would partake and the team purpose, upon which they will embody a common goal. Additionally, team building activities will help in gradually blending the team for them to be able to work harmoniously leading to the team members finding meaning as to what they are doing and be able to value being a part of that team.     References:   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

TEAM CONCEPTS

Contents This paper would report about team and communication skills of a group, particularly a small group of people workin...

CONTRIBUTION FOR A TEAM WORKING AND SPEAK UP IN A TEAM ( REFER TO MY LEARNING GOAL IN FILE 1 )

Literature Review             This section will initially provide the rationale on what triggers the need for individual contribution to a group.  In the process of determining individual and group roles, trade-offs between personal and organizational gratification ensues and result to identify language conditions as the determinant of what will dominate.  Solutions are presented but eventually the importance of self-confidence plays a significant role in solving the language barrier and addresses its adverse effects to individual and group performance.                    A group is ordered and regulated through norms (a certain behavior expected, demanded and approved by the group), roles (differentiation of function), status (the associated prestige in a position), conformity (influences can be internal like shame and guilt or external like sanctions) and cohesion (degree of individual attraction) (cited in  2003 pp. 412).  As there is a quantitative change in group structure, the communication system of the group undergoes some qualitative change wherein individual communication turns into group communication ( 2000).  In this view, individual adaptation and participation is necessary for group formation and group performance.    Arriving in this state, Maslow believed that group affiliation is a need for love of an individual that involves both giving and receiving (cited in 2002 p. 135).  When satisfied, the need for esteem is triggered (p. 136) which can be resolved from internal (achievement, adequacy, freedom and confidence) and external (reputation, attention, appreciation and importance) sources (p. 135).                 However, concrete insight on how group members are motivated to participate at a certain level of performance and for how long is missing.     suggested that good context or hygiene wherein the job is performed is insufficient to provide positive job feelings neither result to potentially high performance levels.  Rather, the job itself should be restructured for workers to achieve goals meaningfully related to the job.  In view of this, individuals should have some measure of control in carrying the job to obtain job satisfaction through achievement and personal growth.  This will lead to both positive feelings and improved performance (cited in  2002 p. 165).   In confirmation,  indicated that if an individual is aware of the benefits and costs of doing the job, he can adjust his effort (productivity) accordingly but the decision criteria of choosing between high or low performance is embedded on the contribution of the job to his personal goals (p. 191).  In the veil of communication, members of the group should not only interact or influence others but also be subjected to mutual influence in the process may it be in the way how one thinks, feels and behaves ( 2003 p. 404).  As observed, the chicken and egg problem emerges in the process of reconciling the individual need to give and the need to receive benefits to/ from the group and its members.  But in most cases, whose satisfaction is less gratified by the group? It is found that speakers who have lower proficiency in using the second language contribute fewer ideas than first language speakers as well as second but fluent language speakers (cited in  2001).  This condition obliterates individual requirements developed by  to maximize member participation and performance.  Due to the language barrier, their chance to perform, suggest and ultimately fully-motivated is undermined.  In addition, the finding showed that high proficiency speakers engage in simplification strategies to coupe with less fluent speakers while low proficiency speakers engage in avoidance strategies to save face.  In view of the latter, they may take less active part in the communication process.  This is common in fast-paced interactive conversations where there is less time to filter the message and to participate in the communication (cited in  2001).   To solve this problem, Likert pressed leadership and other organizational processes to ensure that all interactions and all relationships should be viewed by members as supportive experiences that maintain the latter personal worth (cited in  2002 p. 361).  Leadership has extremely important and influential role (p. 361).  On the other hand, the approach is not simple at it is with reference to hypothesis.  The language that communicators use independent of their competency can influence and change message content.  In effect, bilingual speakers adjust their perceptual and thinking process to fit the language they are unfamiliar with.  It is not merely speaking that is required rather mental modes because there is a need to adapt not only language but also culture and understanding of the world (cited in  2001).               In a more integrated solution to language barrier, leader and member roles should be addressed.  It is when each person is a member of one or more functioning work groups that possess high degree of loyalty, skills in interaction and performance goals (cited in  2002 p. 361).  The task of management is to identify or build work groups and link to overall organization (p. 361).  On the other hand, members that belong to two or more work groups should exert influence on all of them.  Thus, leaders and members play crucial role to develop the linking pin (p. 361).  To effectively build the pin, open, two-way communication and influence is necessary.  Horizontal group meetings protect the process from a restricted vertical structure, and thus, recommended.  Through these efforts, overlapping group structure in the organization can create unity and capacity to deal with conflict (p. 361).   In a group, members who share at least one common goal are an important ingredient in creating energies and establishing processes (cited in  2003 p. 404).  In schema theory, bilinguals choose to communicate different languages in different topics.  This induces professionals to speak in English because this language is commonly used in the professional genre and taught in their training.  On the other hand, in personal communications, natives prefer to choose the native language for socialization purposes.  It is unlikely that professional topics would be applied with native language unless the knowledge is first registered and explained using the latter (cited in  2001).    In a study, it is found that Chinese bilinguals use communication in interactive and spiral patterns using Cantonese but linear and sequential in using English ( 1999).  Thus, when people are in multi-lingual context, members of the group should determine the goal of the interaction to be able to correctly adjust their language and culture.  In international business communication,  (2001) suggested that there should be recognizable language-based categories or labeled zones.  This will help speakers especially bilinguals to communicate using strategies and practices that fit specific zones.  When the rules of communication are settled, second language user members would be less anxious and more prepared to the adverse effects of deviation from the language/ cultural norms of the majority who are using native language.                       The inability to resolve language barriers in group communications result to uncertainty that subsequently intensifies anxiety (cited in ).  As silence is more acceptable than talking (cited in  2004), a wrong group cohesion can build.  Task cohesion refers to commitment on goals, task and activities while social cohesion refers to attraction towards and linking among group members (cited in  2003 p. 412).  The downside of group cohesion, however, lies in the potential of “group thinking” where the avoidance of differences and conflict ultimately defeat crucial elements to sharpen group decisions (cited in  2003 pp. 412-413).  Members cannot express their views due to the language barrier.  To simplify the defect, consensus is reached through silence.  However, as the group supplies its social cohesion needs, it defeats task cohesion and objectivity.                    In a different and arguing perspective, communication apprehension or fear is built when a person is anxious in using his own language that leads to tenfold fear of using English (cited in  2004).  And even though that person is not afraid in using his own language, the apprehension in using English would still be present.  In this view,  (2004) proved that environment and situation has negligible effect on interpersonal behavior.  This gives rise to a conclusion that communication fear in the first language has much higher and more significant impact than the fear in the second language.  In effect, situational factors like years of speaking English or living in the US are less predictor of fear than genetic nature of this cross-linguistic trait.  If this holds, the intrinsic factor and native culture of bilingual speakers should be focused making group restructuring less effective.       Reflections about the Literature             The readings do not exemplary suggest that I can contribute to the team performance by merely speaking-up confidently and more often.  I may have the role of listener at times when the topic is unfamiliar to me and alternatively clearer to other members.  Conformity is also a basic factor to obtain an organized group.  In the contrary, when the topic is clear to me, the contract goal can gain its relevance.  In an extreme case, when the topic is familiar to all of the members, the relevance of the goal is doubled as it can sharpen group decisions in solving problems.  However, this case is best applicable when all of us in the group share common norms and status.  Thus, the language barrier is truly the root of my inability to participate and communicate freely and effectively.               Due to this, theories relevant to my contract goal are the ones that relate language barrier to individual performance in a group; namely, implications of first and second language speaker proficiencies to idea generation,  hypothesis, one common goal rule, establishment of topic to create communication rules, uncertainty intensifies anxiety, silence is better than talking and genetic nature of such anxiety.  This theories/ concepts are of utmost importance because they confirm that language barrier is adversely affecting individual participation, provides the framework to solve such problem and actively argues solutions that may have been initially established through organizational models.  They are more specific and attached to the contract goal.               I found that leadership can aid in formalizing group processes and identify the topic of a certain undertaking.  A formal structure within the group creates the atmosphere to interact in a professional manner.  In this way, schema theory can apply in the group leaving the language, cultural and personality barriers deactivated.  Interactions inside and outside classroom conditions varies in context, and so, formalizing inside classroom communication using certain rules of behavior within the group is necessary to maximize idea generation and expression.  In addition, I have proved that my hesitance to give personal ideas and argue to other members the loopholes of their ideas is largely intrinsic in nature.  This is because the Famous Five is created for academic purposes of the course.  My confidence in idea sharing and ability of idea generation is now the crucial factors rather than external hindrances to organizational contribution.  This admonition is the cornerstone of the last paragraph of the literature.                In view of this, learning activities should be focused on individual motivation to participate in the group.  This is a more specific and focus endeavor since external factors is left behind.  I can also easily provide my own analysis in the situation because the factors that are identified are based on my own assessment.  Thus, strategies are personalized and there is relevance of effective learning.                The weakness of the literature can be the difference of samples used in the studies which can does not specifically study my culture against English culture or vice versa.  Time frame in which the study is done is also a weakness due to influences of globalization on how people thinks and differences of cultures across borders.                              Bibliography         Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

CONTRIBUTION FOR A TEAM WORKING AND SPEAK UP IN A TEAM ( REFER TO MY LEARNING GOAL IN FILE 1 )

Literature Review This section will initially provide the rationale on what triggers the need for individual contribution to...