Training, Teaching and Learning Materials (TTLM)

GAGE COLLEGE

Clerical Works Support

Level II
Learning Guide
Unit of Competence: Work In Team Environment
Module Title: Working in Team Environment
LG Code: EIS CWS211 0812
TTLM Code: EIS CWS211M0812

Learning outcomes:
LO1: Describe team role and scope
LO2: Identify own role and responsibility within team
LO3: Work as a team member
Occupational Standard: Clerical Works Support Level II

Unit Title Work in Team Environment

Unit Code EIS CWS2 11 0812

Unit Descriptor This unit covers the skills, knowledge and attitudes to identify role and
responsibility as a member of a team.

Elements Performance Criteria

1. Describe team 1.1 The role and objective of the team are identified from available
role and scope sources of information
1.2 Team parameters, reporting relationships and responsibilities are
identified from team discussions and appropriate external sources

2. Identify own role 2.1 Individual role and responsibilities within the team environment are
and responsibility identified
within team
2.2 Roles and responsibility of other team members are identified and
recognized
2.3 Reporting relationships within team and external to team are
identified

3. Work as a team 3.1 Effective and appropriate forms of communications used and
member interactions undertaken with team members who contribute to
known team activities and objectives
3.2 Effective and appropriate contributions are made to complement
team activities and objectives, based on individual skills and
competencies and workplace context
3.3 Protocols are observed in reporting using standard operating
procedures
3.4 Contribute to the development of team work plans based on an
understanding of team’s role and objectives and individual
competencies of the members.

Variable Range

Role and objective May include but not limited to:

of team
 Work activities in a team environment with enterprise or specific
sector
 Limited discretion, initiative and judgment maybe demonstrated on
the job, either individually or in a team environment
Sources of May include but not limited to:
information
 Standard operating and/or other workplace procedures
 Job procedures
 Machine/equipment manufacturer’s specifications and instructions
 Organizational or external personnel
 Client/supplier instructions
 Quality standards
 OHS and environmental standards
Workplace context May include but not limited to:

 Work procedures and practices

 Conditions of work environments
 Legislation and industrial agreements
 Standard work practice including the storage, safe handling and
disposal of chemicals
 Safety, environmental, housekeeping and quality guidelines
Evidence Guide

Critical aspects of Demonstrates skills and knowledge in:

competence
 Operated in a team to complete workplace activity
 Worked effectively with others
 Conveyed information in written or oral form
 Selected and used appropriate workplace language
 Followed designated work plan for the job
 Reported outcomes
Underpinning Demonstrate knowledge of:
Knowledge and
Attitude  Communication process
 Team structure
 Team roles
 Group planning and decision making
Underpinning Skills Demonstrate skills to:

 Communicate appropriately, consistent with the culture of the

workplace
Resource Access is required to real or appropriately simulated situations,
Implications including work areas, materials and equipment, and to information on
workplace practices and OHS practices.

Methods of Competence may be assessed through:

Assessment  Interview / Written Test
 Observation / Demonstrationwith Oral Questioning
Context of Competence may be assessed in the work place or in a simulated work
Assessment place setting.

Working in Team Environment

“None of us are as smart as all of us!”

INSTRUCTIONSHEET LG: WORKING IN TEAM ENVIRONMENT

After completing this module, students should be able to:

 Describe team role and scope by:

 Identify own role and responsibility within a team by:

 Work as a team member by:

 Generally aware how to create/establish effective working team environment

INFORMATIONSHEET-1 LO1: DESCRIBE TEAM ROLE AND SCOPE

1. INTRODUCTION

 Module Description: This module is aiming to provide the learners with the knowledge,
skills and right attitudes to identify role and responsibility as a member of a team.
1.1. Definition and Basic Concepts

Definition 1: “A team is a group of people working together towards a common goal”

(Clark, 1994). In other words, teams are a unit of two or more people who interact and
coordinate their work to accomplish a specific goal. There may be a number of the major
forces behind revolutionary changes in contemporary organizations. These the above
definitions have certain components that focus on the following concepts:
Teams have regular interaction.
There are two or more people who are working together.
Team members encourage and support each other.
Teams achieve their goal in an efficient way.
The members mutually agreed up on an appropriate goal and share performance goal.
 Thus, teams are a way of organizing people to support inter-dependence and cooperation
and require close coordination among the team members.

In the above basic definition, here are some terms that are often used when discussing
teamwork, but only one of them defines what a team is:
A group of people
Synergy
Having one aim
Whole > Sum
Co-operation
Flexibility
Working together
 Reporting to one boss
Serving one customer

Attention: Why TEAM?

 “Is the power of a team is greater than the individual?”

A team is, therefore, a group of people who are working towards the same goal. A good
team works well together, has attributes such as flexibility and synergy, and achieves more
than the sum of its parts.

Teams and the Organization

The benefits delivered by teams in the organization can be felt by:
Individuals
Departments
The overall organization

1.2. Team Building/Organizing a Team

Why Teambuilding?
Teamwork is essential for competing in today's global arena, where individual perfection is
not as desirable as a high level of collective performance. In knowledge based enterprises,
teams are the norm rather than the exception. A critical feature of these teams is that they
have a significant degree of empowerment, or decision-making authority.
There are many different kinds of teams: top management teams, focused task forces, self-
directed teams, concurrent engineering teams, product/service development and/or launch
teams, quality improvement teams, and so on.

Putting the Team Together:

A producer: This person knows how to get the job done.
An administrator: He or she is able to plan and organize.
An entrepreneur: This individual has vision and creative problem-solving abilities.
An integrator: This person can take an individual goal and transform it into a group goal.
When organizing a team, one should try to assemble in the group individuals who possess
one or more of each of these four qualities. The input of each is critical in achieving a
productive, well-balanced team. The best decisions come from teams in which everyone is
committed to contributing and working together.

 “The power of a team is greater than the power of an individual!!”

Figure 1. The power of team is greater than an individual

1.2.1. Team versus group

Not all groups in organizations are teams, but all teams are groups. The difference between a
team and a group is that a team is interdependent for overall performance. A group qualifies
as a team only if its members focus on helping one another to accomplish organizational
objectives. In today's quickly changing business environment, teams have emerged as a
requirement for business success. Therefore you should constantly try to help groups become
teams and facilitate the evolution of groups into teams.

Definition: 1)Work group is people that interacts primarily to share information and to make
decisions in order to help each group member perform within his/her area of responsibility.
2) Work team, as defined earlier, is a group of people whose individual efforts result in a
performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs.

Note: Whilst a team is a group of people, a group is not necessarily a team.

Rather, a team is a group of people working together towards a common goal.
If a team is a group of people working towards a common goal, 'team-building' is the
process of enabling that group of people to reach their goal. It is therefore a management
issue, and the most effective form of team building is that undertaken as a form of
management consultancy, rather than as pure training (though there is a role for training
within an overall programmed). In its simplest terms, the stages involved in team building are:
To clarify the collective goals
To identify those inhibitors those prevent them from reaching their goals and remove them
To put in place enablers those assist them
To measure and monitor progress, to ensure the goals are achieved
1.2.2. Cross-Functional Teams

To face today's complex challenges, you need to incorporate a wide range of styles, skills, and
perspectives.

Cross-functional Team Defined:

Cross-functional team is a group of employees from various functional areas of the
organization – research, engineering, marketing, finance, human resources, and operations,
for example – who are all focused on a specific objective and are responsible to work as a
team to improve coordination and innovation across divisions and resolve mutual problems.

Why Cross-functional Teams?

To face today's complex challenges, you need to incorporate a wide range of styles, skills, and
perspectives. Cross-functional teams are regarded as a means to manage social collaboration
and concept creation.
Some examples of cross-functional teams are teams established to:
Design and develop new products;
Chose and implement new technologies throughout organization; to improve the service-
profit chain, and to control product costs.

Discovering Synergies:
Synergy is the energy or force created by the working together of various parts or processes.
Synergy in business is the benefit derived from combining two or more elements (or
businesses) so that the performance of the combination is higher than that of the sum of the
individual elements (or businesses).

Summary:
A team is a group of people working towards a common goal
Team building is a process of enabling them to achieve that goal
If they are only a group, then traditional techniques can be a waste of time/money or
even counter-productive
There may be better ways to resolve problems in groups: e.g.: putting distance between
people who don't get on or, if they are both willing, building some understanding of
personality differences.

Exercises/Self check
1) What is a team?
2) Why do we need effective team in your organization?
3) Are you currently working within a group or a team? Why?

1.2.3. Project management

Project management refers to the creation of a group of individuals specialists from

different parts of the organization that are brought together for a limited period of time to
contribute towards a specific project.
Project management by its very nature of bringing together individual specialists is a form
of team work.

However in a situation where highly skilled workers are brought together project
management is something greater than a task based involvement system.

Project Team Building

Team members and leaders must work hard to achieve teamwork.
Team building helps in achieving teamwork.

Thus, team building can be defined as a sequence of planned activities designed to gather
and analyze data on the functioning of a group and to initiate changes designed to improve
teamwork and increase group effectiveness.

Team building is the process of motivating and enabling that group of people to reach their
goal.

Figure 2. Project team building

Most managers and organizational leaders recognize the interdependence of employees or

other group members and the need for cooperation to accomplish the work. A team that is
communicating and functioning well has synergy; that is why people working as a team can
achieve better results than individuals working alone. That does not mean, however, that
productivity will automatically go up by putting a group of good performers together.

There are several conditions that must exist before an effective team can be developed:
The group must have a reason for working together that makes sense to the team members.
Team members must be mutually dependent on one another's experience, abilities, and
commitment in order to accomplish mutual objectives.
Team members must believe in and be committed to the idea that working together as a
team is preferable to working alone, thus leading to more effective decisions and improved
productivity.
The team must be accountable as a functioning unit within a larger organizational context.
Team members need to understand that they will be recognized (rewarded) for their team
efforts and accomplishments.
The main goal of team building in projects is to help people work together more effectively
to improve project performance.
It takes teamwork to successfully complete most projects.
Deliberate action focusing on encouragement of effective working practices and
diminishing of difficulties among team members

Attention:
The importance of team building can be best described by the following quotation:
“None of us are as smart as all of us!!”

Therefore, the basic purpose of team building is to provide a way whereby individuals or
groups can come together in a learning setting to fire interactive skills in order to accomplish
the following tasks:
To set goals and priorities that will facilitate accomplishing the team purpose.
To analyze and/or allocate the way work is performed according to team members' roles,
responsibilities, leadership abilities, personal skills, and technical knowledge.
To analyze the team as a working unit by evaluating such processes as establishing norms,
decision making, and communications.
To examine working relationships among team members and parent organization
1.2.4. Team building functions
Teams function more efficiently when members of the team recognize and follow certain
agreed-upon behaviors. These standards or norms are a basis for making decisions, for
encouraging participation, for taking risks, and for rewarding behaviors that facilitate
cooperation or resolution of conflict.
Norms are not intended to restrict the abilities of team members and organizations in
achieving their objectives, but are to be established for the purpose of helping the individual
and team function more effectively.

Team building functions include:

1. TASK FUNCTIONS
Initiating,
Information giving and seeking,
Opinion seeking and giving,
Goal setting,
Clarifying and elaborating,
Summarizing
Consensus testing,
Problem solving and decision making

1.2.5. Types of teams

There are two major types of teams based upon their focus:
Type 1: Formal Teams Type 2: Informal Teams
These are task or process focus these are social or interpersonal focus
Each of these types separately includes:
Strategic planning team Social club
Management team Interest group
Operations team Sports club
Project team
Quality team
Continuous improvement team
1.2.6. Diversity within a team

Diversity will be encountered in terms of:

Personality Ambition
Skill Culture
Communication style Approach

Exercise: Write down possible solutions on how to handle diversity within a team?

The existence of diversity is a fact. The team, therefore, has two choices:
Accept diversity and work with it: SYNERGY
This has energy giving, creative and inclusive characteristic of handling diversity in a team.
Reject diversity and work against it: ADVERSITY
This has energy draining, stifled and exclusive characteristic of handling diversity in a team.

Exercise: What are the possible causes of conflict in a team?

1.2.6.1. Causes of conflict in teams

The causes of conflict in teams can be grouped as:

Personal differences between team members
Ambiguity and confusion over roles
Incomplete or inaccurate information
Work pressure and stress.
Inadequacy of resources
Differences in priorities

Conflict Development in Teams

Frustration
Frustration

Reasoning
Reasoning

Behavior
Behaviour

Consequence
Consequence

73
Figure 3. Conflict development in teams

1.2.6.2. Responses to conflict

The response to conflict can be classed as:

Aggression
Collaboration
Avoidance
Compromise

Exercise: Discuss how diversity and conflict are handled in your team?

1.3. Identifying Team Roles

Team roles and contribution can be summarized in the following table:

Team role Contribution

The plant/the spark Team worker

The resource investigator The Implementer
The coordinator The complete finisher
The sharper Thespecialist
Monitor evaluator

Table 1. Team roles

Team role summary

Task oriented roles People oriented Creativity/ideas generating roles
Sharper Chairperson Plant
Company worker Team worker Monitor evaluator
/Implementer/
Complete finisher Resource investigation Specialist/Expert

Table 2. Summary of team role

1.4. Stages of Team Development

A team is a living entity. It progresses from early to mature phases, independent of the nature
of the team or the task it must perform. One aspect of this development is the members'
attitude or relationships, both within the team and with the team leader.Judith D. Palmer in
her chapter "For the Manager Who Must Build a Team," (Reddy and Jamison, 1988), refers to
four phases of team development: "forming, storming, norming, and performing. However,
the Tuck man model states five stages of team development by adding adjourning to the
previous stages stated by Judith D. Palmer.

Stage 1: Forming/Immature Group Stage 2: Storming/Fractionated Group

Confusion Defining goals Disagreements over priorities
Uncertainty Getting acquainted Struggle for Leadership
Assessing situation Establishing norms Tension
Testing ground rules Hostility
Clique Formation
Stage 3: Norming/Sharing Group
Consensus Standards Set
Leadership Accepted New Stable rules
Trust Established Cooperation
Figure 4. Forming, storming and norming stages of team development

Stage 4: Performing/Effective Team Stage 5: Adjourning/Disbanding Group

Successful Performance Disengagement
Flexible task roles Anxiety about separation and ending
Openness and Helpfulness Positive feeling towards Leader
Sadness
Self Evaluation

Figure 5. Performing and adjourning stages of team development

Exercise: Match the above mentioned stages of team development with its typical
behavior.
The Truckman Model for stages of team development is shown on the following figure:

Figure 6. The Tuck man Model for stages of team development

Exercise: If
1.5. Behavioral you are in a team
Aims/Objectives of currently – at which stage of the Tuck man model
Team Building
do you feel that the team is in? What effect, if any, does this have on
performance?
The critical objective of team building includes the following concepts and brings positive
changes in a team environment. These include:
Reticent → communicative
Secretive & reserved → open
Conflict → cooperation
Apprehensive → trusting
Impersonal → mutual concern

Avoidance of responsibility → self- responsibility

Sterility → creativity
Alienation → commitment
Role confusion → role clarity
Individual centered → team centered
1.5.1. Characteristics of effective teams

Studies conducted by the American Management Association have found that an effective
team member has a positive, encouraging attitude, is above average on the achievement scale,
and has the necessary skills to make a contribution. An effective team member is friendly and
flexible, is seen as a giver, and is not jealous of other team members and their
accomplishments. An effective team member is tolerant of others, does not intimidate, and
will not be intimidated by others.

People that are seen as superstars or overachievers by other team members usually do not fit
into a team environment very well because they are used to doing things by and for
themselves. Underachievers who may be seen as unmotivated and habitually negative are
frequently rejected by the team.

Specifically, characteristics of effective teams are those that:

Have high level of interdependence among team members
Have team leaders those having good people’s skills and are committed to team approach
Each team member is willing to contribute
Team develops a relaxed climate for communication
Team members develop a mutual trust
Team and individuals are prepared to take risks
Team is clear about goals and established targets

Team members’ roles are defined

Team members know how to examine team and individual errors without personal attacks
Team has capacity to create new ideas.
Each team member knows he can influence the team agenda
Leadership role is shared and rotates among team members depending on the situation at
hand.
1.5.2. Productive group characteristics

When people working together as a team follow these steps, communication, trust, and
productivity will greatly increase among team members:
Team members listen and pay attention to one another
People discuss the subject at hand and are willing to work through conflict as opposed to
avoidance of conflict
Everyone has a chance to state his or her views
Members know and use problem-solving steps
Members are clear about group decisions and are committed to them
Frequent feedback is given to help members stay focused on team goal

Principles to promote effective teams

Clear purpose
Members feel valued
Group gets regular, timely accurate feedback
Group effort rewarded
Members encouraged seeking help
Members encouraged offering help

Group Discussion: Suppose you are a member of a project team:

Evaluate your team and team work in line with the characteristics of effective teams as
criteria
What do you think are the main problems related to team work in your
organization/project?
What measures have to be taken to make team work in your organization/project
effective/successful?
What do you think should be the role of the leader in a project team?
 1.6. Problems typically experienced by team members

Team tries to do too much too soon.

Conflict over differences in personal work styles (and/or personality’s conflict)
Too much emphasis on results, not enough on team processes and group dynamics
Unanticipated obstacle causes team to give up
Resistance to do things differently
Poor interpersonal skills (aggressive rather than assertive) communications, destructive
conflict, win-lose negotiation)
Poor interpersonal chemistry (loners, dominators, self –appointed experts do not fit in.
Lack of trust

INFORMATION SHEET-2 LO2: IDENTIFY OWN ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN A TEAM

2. IDENTIFY OWN ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY WITHIN A TEAM

2.1. Concepts of roles and responsibilities

Definition: A role is a set of expectations associated with a job or position on a team

Performance problems occur when roles are unclear or conflictive. There may be:
Role ambiguity — occurs when a person is uncertain about his/her role.
Role overload — occurs when too much is expected and the person feels
Overwhelmed with work.
Role under load — occurs when too little is expected and the person feels
Under utilized.

Definition: Norms:
Represent beliefs about how group or team members are expected to behave.
 Are rules or standards of conduct
Clarify role expectations.
Help members to structure their behavior
Help members to gain a common sense of direction.
Help to reinforce group or team culture.

Key norms that can have positive or negative implications:

Performance norms
Organizational and personal pride norms
High-achievement norms
Support and helpfulness norms
Improvement and change norms
Definition: Team cohesiveness:

It is the degree to which members are attached to and motivated to remain a part of the team
Members of highly cohesive groups:
Value their membership.
Try to maintain positive relationships with other members.
Are energetic when working on team activities
Are not prone to absenteeism or turnover
Are genuinely concerned about team performance
Tend to satisfy a broad range of individual needs.

High team cohesiveness occurs when:

Members are similar in age, attitudes, needs, and backgrounds.
Group size is small.
Members respect each others’ competencies.
Members agree on common goals.
Members work on interdependent tasks.
Groups are physically isolated from others.
Groups experience performance success or crisis.

Rule of conformity in group dynamics

The more cohesive the group, the greater the conformity of members to group norms
Positive performance norms in a highly cohesive group have a positive effect on task
performance.
Negative performance norms in a highly cohesive group have a negative effect on task
performance.
Cohesiveness can be increased or decreased by making changes in:
Group goals Competition within and between teams
Membership composition Rewards
Member interactions Location
Group size Duration

Clearly defined roles and responsibilities are required to ensure:

Duplication of effort is minimized.
Use of available resources is maximized.
Accountability is clear.
Linkage to objectives will be clear.

Roles and responsibilities in a team include the following basic concepts and models as
depicted on figure below:

Roles & Responsibilities

Ambiguity
Ambiguity

Interdependence
Interdependence

Linking Skills
Linking Skills

Models
Models & & Balance
Balance

Process
Process
25

Figure 7. Concepts and models of roles and responsibilities in a team

Exercise:
What will happen if team members do not know their roles and responsibilities?
As indicated on figure 4 above, the concepts of roles and responsibilities in a team are:
1) Ambiguity: this can particularly arise in newly formed teams
Ambiguity in the team situation may arise from:
Uncertainty about job duties and responsibilities
Lack of clarity in objectives and priorities
Poor communication within the team
2) Interdependence
The interdependencies within the team will lead to:
High level of interaction
Development of trust
Alignment of effort
These interdependencies may be made explicit when assigning roles and responsibilities.
3) Linking skills
This includes the following cores concepts as shown on figure below:

Linking Skills within a Team

Active
Listening
Interface
Management
Quality Work
Standards Allocation Problem
Solving
Team &
Objectives
Development
Counseling
Setting

Participative Delegation Team

Decision Relationships
Making
Communication
29

Figure 8. Concepts of linking skills in a team

3) Models for Team-working

The team working model that is appropriate is heavily dependent upon:
Resource availability
Clarity of objectives
Social and Cultural background
Personalities
Team balance
a) Team Balance
An effective team is one which is balanced in terms of:
Doers/producers Developers Curers
Advisors Providers Innovators
Thinkers Promoters Regulators

Exercise:
Evaluate the balance in your team. Are there any gaps in the requirements
for various roles to be filled? How might a better balance be formulated
and what benefits would be seen from this balancing?
B) Team Autonomy
The level of autonomy experienced by the team ranges across:
Low Autonomy: Close supervision, limited decision making with no implementative power
Semi-autonomous: Managed by a leader and members have considerable input into issues of
concern.
Highly autonomous: Completely responsible for managing own daily work.

Irrespective of the level of autonomy, the ability to work as a team can be viewed in terms of
a process based model as shown in the diagram below.

Discuss the level of autonomy that you experiencing in your team?

4) Process Model
It includes the following concepts as shown on figure 6 below:

Process Model

Inputs
Inputs Throughputs
Throughputs Outputs
Outputs

Processes
Climate Norms Task performance
Group Configuration Communication Individual outputs
Decision making Other outputs
Task activities
Maintenance activities

Schermerhorn, 1995 33

Figure 9. Process model to express roles and responsibilities in a team

Activity: Form a group and identify components of input, process and output which
make a team effective.

2.1.1. Role of team leader

Definition: Leadership is the act of providing guidance, direction and control for a team. Leadership
includes taking charge, exhibiting authority, and exerting influence.

In order for the team to effectively function and maintain good communications with the
parent organization, there needs to be a designated leader. The team leader may be appointed
by the team members from among the group. This leadership role can be challenging in that
the leader will need to provide structure and support while still being a team member. To
accomplish this task, the leadership responsibilities must be viewed differently from those of
a traditional manager.
Key words for describing this leadership role are guiding, stimulating, coaching, and
coordinating. These can be interpreted as follows:

Guidance:
Guidance refers to the process of directing the discussion and providing structure for planning
and action to take place.
Stimulation:
Stimulation involves reinforcing productive team efforts, and checking and receiving
feedback to determine if all team members are actively involved in the process.
Coaching:
Coaching may be done both one-on-one and in groups with other team members by giving
feedback, asking if they are having problems, giving helpful suggestions, and recommending
outside resources that can be helpful in alleviating the problem. Coaches do not repress
conflict but manage it so that a constructive solution is found.
Coordinating:
Coordinating will involve improving communication and feedback among team members
through improving the work environment, controlling the operational climate, and in general,
indirectly doing things that help to produce a cohesive, finely tuned working team.

A successful team leader is skilled at dealing with feelings of people along with practical
methods of effective problem solving. The leader needs to use a management approach that
encourages team member participation in making decisions that affect the group.The skills
most needed by the team leader are: linking together individuals who can contribute, bringing
clarity to objectives, building a climate that is both supportive and confronting, ensuring that
work methods are satisfying and effective, and setting an environment that encourages and
allows for the discussion of all relevant issues.
2.1.2. Team members' roles

The essential roles that a team member must perform may take some time to become part of
his or her behavior, since much of their previous training and work experience has stressed
competition and individual accomplishment. In a team situation, each member must be
interdependent. In other words, every member needs the other members' expertise,
experience, and energy to achieve mutual goals. Team member roles function in two ways:
Building a harmonious group
Coordinating task accomplishments

Consultants who have worked with developing cohesive work teams list four essential team
roles in group situations. They include an involving role, a listening role, a supporting role
and a compromising role. They are positive, team-centered roles which keep a group moving
toward creativity and problem solving.

Essential Team Roles are:

Involving role. One initiates action. A team member may motivate others by getting them
involved in an idea or problem. The involving role consists of asking questions of other
members to "bring out" or stimulate each team member.
Listening role. A member listens actively (nodding, leaning forward), expressing that he/she
is really hearing what is being said. Active listeners encourage group members to express
themselves.
Supporting role. A team member gives an added dimension to good ideas by their support.
By supporting and encouraging others, the team member strengthens confidence and trust.
Compromising role. One member gives up something for problem solving to take place.
Compromising can lead to team productivity. It is a role that is necessary for cooperation and
collaboration.
2.2. Roles and responsibilities in a project team

A project team is one kind of formal team that basically has stakeholders with certain specific
roles and responsibilities.

2.2.1. Role of Project Sponsor

Project sponsor consists of the following specific roles and responsibilities:

Sponsor is the one that provides the financial resources
With the customer, formally it accepts the project’s product
With the customer and other stakeholders, it may provide key events, milestones &
deliverable due dates
With the customer, sponsor’s threshold for risks should be taken into account
IT does not sign the project charter – done by senior management

2.2.2. Role of senior manager

Senior project manager:

He/she is anyone senior to the project management in the organizations.
Helps organize work into projects
Sets priorities between projects
Issues the project charter

During planning senior project manager:

Encourages finalization of requirements and scope by the stakeholders
Approves the final project plan during project plan development
Identifies risks
Provides team with time to plan
Determines the reports needed by management to manage the project
Determines priorities between triple constraint components
During Execution:
Protects project from outside influences
Helps evaluate tradeoffs during crashing, fast-tracking and re-estimating
Resolves conflicts that extend beyond the PM’s control

2.2.3. Role of project team

Project team has the following roles:

During planning project team: During execution project team:
Helps plan what needs to be done Completes work packages or tasks
Creates time estimates for team tasks Helps identify changes from plan

Specifically, project team may also help:

Make some project decisions Provide cost and time estimates
Identify constraints and assumptions Determine reserves
Identify and manage stakeholders Review project performance reports
Attend project team meetings Determine and measure corrective action
Create the change control system
Determine the definition of quality on the project and how it will be met
Identify dependencies

2.2.4. Role of project stakeholders

Project stakeholders are involved in:

Project Plan development
Approving changes, change control board
Scope verification
Identifying constraints
Risk management
 Project stakeholders also:
Are considered in team development
Have presentations made to them
Have their risk tolerances identified and incorporated into risk management process

2.2.5. Role of functional manager

Functional manager:
Manages or “owns” the resources: Information technology, engineering, public relations,
marketing, other
Generally directs the technical work of individuals on the project
Amount of involvement depends on organizational structure: Matrix vs. Projectized
Matrix: Direction of work is shared with project manager
Projectized: Direction of work is by project manager
To avoid conflict, project manager and functional must coordinate needs regarding
resources
Specific activities vary greatly based on organizational structure, project type. Those
activities may include:
Assigning individuals to project team, negotiating with project manager
Participating in initial planning
Involved in go/no-go decisions
Approving final schedule
Approving final project plan
Assisting in planning corrective action
Assisting with problems related to team member performance
 INFORMATION SHEET- 3 LO3: WORK AS A TEAM MEMBER

3. WORK AS A TEAM MEMBER

3.1. Communication in a Team

It is of the utmost importance that a team communicates well – both within the team and also
externally. The ability to receive and give excellent information through proper media
channels allows the team to work towards achieving its goals. The communication process
can be described as shown in the figure below:

Figure 10. The communication process

This simple representation of the communication process shows that there are only four
critical components: senders, channels, receivers and feedback; that are required to allow the
system to function correctly.
 Exercise: what are other components of communication that allow the
team to work towards achieving its goals?

3.2. Basic Concepts of Communication in a Team

Communication in a team consists of basic concepts such as levels, media, barriers, emotional
intelligence and behavior as shown on figure below.

Communication in a Team

Levels
Levels

Media
Media

Barriers
Barriers

Emotional
Emotional
Intelligence
Intelligence

Behavior
Behavior

35

Figure 11. Basic concepts of communication in a team

3.2.1. Levels of communication

Levels of communication range from full interaction down to restricted or limited

communication. The level of communication is directly related to the availability of a
suitable process plus the willingness of the people to communicate with each other.
Communication must be able to deliver information packets within the team and to or from
external sources.
 Levels of Communication
High

Synergistic
(Win / Win)

Trust
Respectful
(Compromise)

Defens ive
Low ( Win/Lose, Lose /Win)

Low High
Co-operation
37

Figure 12. Levels of communication

3.2.2. Communication media available

Communication media available includes:

Written Visual
Spoken Electronic

Select the best mix of the available communication media to get the message across.
However, there are barriers to effective communication in a team that include:
Use of jargon Prejudice and personal bias
Poor listening habits Complexity of the message
Perceptions about the sender Inappropriate media used
Accuracy of information Timing of the communication
Communication overloads Ignoring what the members do not agree with
Reducing Barriers to Communication: the way to reduce or remove barriers to effective
communication may be through excellent listening habits.

Exercise: Describe the communication process that is currently at work in your

team. Suggest where barriers exist and how they might be removed.

3.2.3. Emotional intelligence in teams

Goleman (1997) has Emotional Intelligence as the new definition of smart in the workplace.
The level of emotional intelligence situationcan manifest itself in terms of the individuals and
the team having:
Empathy/compassion Zeal/eagerness
Self awareness Social deftness

Emotional intelligence is the ability to use social skills to enhance team function. The results
of having a high level of Emotional intelligence in the team helps:
Reduction in conflict
Keeping of commitments
Increased understanding and use of strengths
Personal integrity is valued
Proactive approach rather than impulsive reactive approach to problems

3.3. Stages of Systematic Approach to Teamwork

The benefits of a systematic approach to teamwork can be listed as:

Consistency of the team-based processes
Learning from and building on past experiences
Teamwork is seen as a normal business process
Stages of the systematic approach to team work are as follows:

Figure 13. Stages of systematic approach to team work

3. 3. 1. Agreement of the scope and expectations

Here the team members need to be clear on:

Exactly what is expected of them?
What they must achieve
The constraints under which they must work
The level of decision making that they have.
3.3.2. Briefing, guiding and training the team

This involves:
Communicating the purpose of the team
Outlining the resources available to the team
Listening to and answering questions from the team
Agreeing how and by when the tasks are to be completed
Explaining how progress will be monitored

3.3.3. Performing the task

Once the first two steps have been taken - then the team can set about performing the tasks
required to meet the set objectives. Provided that the resources have been allocated and the
purpose is clearly defined the team should be able to proceed.

3.4. 4. Monitoring & reviewing the progress

At this stage, issues such as the following may arise:

Ensuring that the original brief was understood
Provision of any additional training
Revision of resource and time allocations
Feedback on the progress to be provided

Exercise
Assess your team with regard to the application of the process for
systematic teamwork? Where are the strengths and weaknesses in
your current process?
3.4. High Performance Teams

High Performance Teams

Characteristics
Characteristics

Maintenance
Maintenance

Causes
Causesof
ofLow
LowPerformance
Performance

54

Figure 14. Concepts to develop high performance teams

High performance teams are an ideal to which most organizations aspire since they allow:
Best utilization of resources and return on human capital employed
Increased focus
Improved results
Replication of success

The characteristics of high performance teams are that they:

Share a common goal or purpose Plan thoroughly before acting
Build relationships on trust and respect Involve members in decision making
Balance the task and process activities Use team-based problem solving techniques
Value synergism and interdependence Emphasize and support team goals
Communicate effectively Identify and deal with group conflicts
Balance life between work and home Practice continuous improvement
Constantly critique the way the team works Vary the level & intensity of the work
Plan thoroughly before acting
Reward individual performance that supports the team

3.4.1. Maintaining a high performance team

The team needs to have “CIDER” basic principles to maintain a capability for high
performance through:
Communication Interaction Development
Empowerment Respect

Exercise: List down possible causes of low performance for a team?

Possible Causes of Low

Performance

High Interest High Interest

but and
Low ability High Ability
Interest

Low Ability High Ability

and but
Low Interest Low Interest

Ability
61

Figure 15. Possible causes of low performance in a team

3.4. 2. Overcoming low performance

To overcome low performance in teams there is a need to:

Identify the source in terms of interest and ability
Develop and implement a focused solution
Monitor the results after implementation
Recognize and reward improved performance
Review and revise team and task components if low performance persists

3.5. Reasons for team failure

Exercise: What are the major reasons why teams fail?

Why Teams Fail

People
People

Communication
Communication

Resources
Resources

Objectives
Objectives

Weariness
Weariness
81

Figure 16. Reasons that cause teams failure

People
Reasons for team failure attributable to people problems can include:
Personality clashes
Conflict goes unmanaged
Communication
Without communication the team is doomed to failure because of:
Lack of corrective action when problems arise
Lack of co-ordination of effort
Resources
Lack of resources may prevent a team from successfully completing its task due to
Frustration of effort
Objectives: these relate to the presence of a clear and workable plan for the team-based activity
The team will fail unless the objectives are set in a way that makes them SMART:
Specific - the objectives are clear and unambiguous
Measurable - level of completion can be known
Weariness/inertia
The danger within organizations is that the personnel who are involved in successful teams
are always the ones to be chosen for new projects. This can lead to a level of weariness that
impairs the overall function of the team.

Exercise:
Look at the reasons why teams fail. Choose those most
applicable to your team and suggest ways to either eliminate
them or reduce their negative impact.
3.6. Format of Designing action Plan

1. I believe that my effective teamwork skills are effective in the following areas:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2. These skills are measurable in the following ways:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Note: Be sure goals are specific, attainable and measurable.

3. I believe that I need to improve my knowledge, skills and abilities in the following areas:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Note: These improvements will represent your goals from completion of the course.

4. These improvements will be measurable in the following ways:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
5. To attain these improvements I will need to:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
6. This is how I plan to attain these improvements:

Goal Action Step Target Date Proposed Evidence

7. The following people and resources will assist me in accomplishing my goals:

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
8. The following are constraints that may impact the achievement of my goals:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
9. Here is a list of others factors that I need to consider in achieving my goals:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

10. To achieve my goals will involve:

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Signed: ____________________________