Essay Sample on Management Styles for Teams

Introduction

Human history is primarily a story of individuals working together in groups to achieve, explore, and conquer. Many organizations today are restructuring their work around groups to enable rapid, adaptive, and flexible responses to current situations. Managers understand the need of transforming groups into teams since it increases satisfaction, boosts morale and increases productivity. The teams should be supported by a leadership style that allows all the members to contribute, and feel like part of the company, especially in today's multicultural environment. Teamwork and leadership are vital parts of any organization that intends to achieve employee satisfaction and productivity.

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Distinguish Between a Group and a Team

There are some obvious differences between teams and groups. A group consists of a collection of individuals who handle their tasks towards achieving the company objective. A team, on the other hand, is a group of people that share a collective responsibility for the outcome of specific objectives within the organization. Members of a group work independently while team members are committed to each other, and to the specified goals, which creates mutual accountability. Teams have increased autonomy in behavioral control, and decision-making Groups provide members with individual roles that are appropriate to their educational/professional qualifications while teams encourage their members to assume diversified and multiple roles in a collaborative environment.

Distinguish Between a Group and a Teamdistinguish Between Teamthink and Groupthink: Benefits and Drawbacks

Groupthink

Groupthink is a concept which assumes that groups may experience a common thinking pattern that has a direct effect on their ability to come up with effective decisions. It is a mode of thinking that seems to be prevalent amongst people who are deeply involved as part of a cohesive in-group (Manz & Neck, 1995). It is a deterioration of moral judgment, mental efficiency, and reality testing that result from the pressures of belonging to an in-group. Individuals are caught up in the search for a consensus that they override the motivation to analyze alternative courses of action. When there is a moderate to high level of cohesion in a group, it increases the chances that the group will display symptoms of groupthink (Manz & Neck, 1995). There are several other factors, apart from cohesiveness, that contribute towards groupthink. The preference of the group leaders may influence the decision of other members. Another factor is the uniformity of the members' ideological and social backgrounds, which leads them to have similar reasoning.

Drawbacks

Groupthink is a phenomenon that leads to defects in an organization's decision-making process. The idea that people make decisions under the coercion of various factors means that they are not always the most appropriate choices (Manz & Neck, 1995). For example, if people make a decision based on a group leader's influence, they forfeit the opportunity to come up with a well-deliberated choice. Group members will fail to analyze the risk of a preferred choice because they are concerned about gaining unanimity. There is a poor search of information because some members will side with the common decision instead of considering other alternatives. Essentially, the group forfeits its ability to utilize the cognitive abilities of its members and seeks complete agreement and complacency in place.

Teamthink

Teamthink is a constructive group thinking pattern that is found within self-managing work teams (Manz & Neck, 1995). The development of group thought patterns occur as a result of the team's self-talk, beliefs, assumptions, and mental imagery.

Teamthink is caused by certain antecedent conditions, such as the beliefs and assumptions of the team members. Cognitive distortions may lead to ineffective thinking, which hinders individual effectiveness, and may contribute to depression (Manz & Neck, 1995). When individuals are in a positive mood, they are likely to have an enhanced sense of decision-making, judgment, and evaluation. Therefore, the mood of a team member exerts a significant influence on their performance. The illusion of group morality also affects teams since they believe in what they are doing, such that they overlook the moral or ethical consequences of their actions.

Benefits

Teamthink utilizes team self-talk, which is the self-verbalizations that individuals tell themselves (Manz & Neck, 1995). Studies have indicated that self-talk can contribute to increasing self-influence, which improves the individual effectiveness of managers and employees.

Teams also utilize mental imagery, which is a way of visualizing the outcomes of a particular decision before it is made (Manz & Neck, 1995). A decision-making team can enhance its performance by using team mental imagery to visualize a common goal for the company. When members share a common goal, the chances of success increase.

Teamthink encourages divergent views, and the open expression of ideas without undue social pressure (Manz & Neck, 1995). It also recognizes the uniqueness of each member, and an awareness of the threats or limitations in their choices.

Process of Evolving a Group Into a Team and the Importance of Organizational Culture in That Process

1. Meet with the group members and explain that they need to work as a team for increased motivation and productivity (McGurgan, n.d.).
2. Explain the benefits of the work that the group does t the company.
3. Develop some goals as a group.
4. Deliberate on the best way to accomplish these goals by considering every alternative.
5. Inform the team members about the progress of the group in meeting its goals
6. Encourage the members to work together in accomplishing the specific goals.
7. Celebrate the achievement of the objectives, and describe how each member contributed to this success.

The organizational culture is a vital component in the process of forming teams in any company. Self-managed teams are mini-organizational culture embedded in that of the entire company. Therefore, teams will reflect the roles, policies, relationships, communication styles, and values while coming up with their version. The organizational culture influences how the members will conduct themselves in the team.

Leadership Styles That Are Effective for Successful Management of Multicultural Groups and Teams

Multicultural teams require the democratic leadership style because it includes the input of team members in the decision-making process. Democratic leaders allow, and encourage, creativity and a high level of engagement from all the members ("Leadership Styles," 2018). The input from every member is considered important despite their background.

The laissez-faire approach can also contribute to the success of teams. This approach offers plenty of freedom to the group regarding setting targets and deadlines ("Leadership Styles," 2018). The leaders offer advice and resources to support the process without getting involved. This environment can help the team to thrive and increase the overall satisfaction.

Transformational leadership displays high emotional intelligence and integrity ("Leadership Styles," 2018). Working with people from different cultures requires one to be understanding of the differences. Team leaders will, therefore, be considerate of every group member, and they can motivate them accordingly.

The level of globalization and integration around the world means that many organizational teams are increasingly multicultural. Working in multicultural teams can be quite rewarding since individuals have the opportunity to work with, and learn from, people from diverse backgrounds ("Leading a Multicultural Team," 2014). The diversity is a significant advantage since it means that there will be a wide pool of ideas, which increases the chances of developing excellent solutions.

Conclusion

Teamwork is a fundamental part of human existence. There are clear differences between teams and groups, and organizations are focused on the latter. Groups work individually under supervision while teams have increased freedom, and work toward a common goal. One of the factors that hold back groups from success is groupthink, which results in poor decision making and performance. Teamthink, on the other hand, improves the decisions made since it is a constructive concept. Organizations are finding it necessary to switch from simple groups and develop teams since they are more effective and productive. Combining proper leadership and teamwork will improve how organizations operate in the long run.

References

Leadership Styles. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_84.html

Leading a Multicultural Team. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.ccl.org/blog/leading-a-multicultural-team/

Manz, C., & Neck, C. (1995). Teamthink: beyond the groupthink syndrome in selfmanaging work teams. Journal Of Managerial Psychology, 10(1), 7-15. doi: 10.1108/02683949510075155

McGurgan, H. How to Turn a Work Group Into an Effective Team. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/turn-workgroup-effective-team-52231.html

Montgomery, J., G., (2006)"The Role of Organizational Culture in Effective Team Development" DLTS Faculty Publications