Effective Business Teams
Part A
Types, purpose and characteristics of effective teams in a business setting
Introduction
(1)Petroc is a higher and further education college, with three campuses: North
Devon, Brannams and Mid Devon.
They offer a wide range of courses and qualifications such as: A-levels,
apprenticeships, vocational training, degrees and progression programmes.
This means that there are a lot of different teams at Petroc.
The corporate objectives of the organisation
(2) Petroc’s mission statement is: To drive forward educational, economical and
cultural success by continually raising the aspirations, knowledge and skills of
individuals, communities and businesses.
Definition of a team
A team is a group of people with different skills that have a common
purpose/objective, that are committed to working together.
The optimum size of a team and the reason for this
The optimum size for a team is 5. This is the best size for a team as it is an odd
number, which means that decisions can be made easily, as there won’t be a split
vote.
It is also a good size for a team, because it reduces mistakes as communication is
only between a small amount of people.
What needs to be considered in terms of size when putting together a
team?
The task and urgency should be considered when deciding the size of a team. If the
task is urgent, then I would suggest having a smaller team, as it would mean that a
decision can be made quicker, as there are less people to consult.
The appropriate mix of different skilled workers should also be considered, as if a
large amount of skilled workers are needed, then a large team will be the best
option.
Explain the different teams and their purpose in the organisation
(3)Formal team - This is a structured team created for a specific, common purpose,
that meets on a regular basis. Everyone in the team will have a role and one person
will be the leader. Petroc has a management team. In the management team, there
is the: principle and CEO, assistant principal - Leadership and Higher Technical
Skills, assistant principal - foundation learning, Vice principal - quality, curriculum
and learners, Assistant principal commercial, Assistant principal - Mid Devon
,campus, Vice principal - finance and resources and the director for HR and
organisational development. The purpose of the team is to manage the day-to-day
responsibility, and maintain the business functions.
Informal team - An informal team is a group of individuals not officially set up, with
no structure meaning everyone in the team is equal, no one has more power than
another. It is often a chance if they come together, but it is an opportunity for
everyone to work together. An example of an informal group in Petroc is an interest
group. This could be a group of lecturers meeting up to discuss lesson plans and
gain knowledge from other members, without having a higher authority there. These
groups might not be restricted to Petroc, meaning employees from Petroc could
meet up with other employees from different colleges, to discuss their teaching, and
learn new things about the topic they teach. The purpose of this team is to help
educate each other about what others in the same field are doing.
Temporary teams - Temporary teams are also known as task groups. They are set
up for a short amount of time so that a project/task can be completed, and then they
are dismissed. This type of team brings different perspectives together, meaning
initiatives are developed. One example of a temporary team in Petroc is a
recruitment team. When there is a new candidate needing to be interviewed and
hired, then a team will be temporarily set up, to interview the candidate. The purpose
of the team is to temporarily bring together different members of the business to
interview a candidate, to make sure Petroc recruits the right person.
Permanent teams - the teams meet up on a regular basis, and they are not
dismissed when a task/project has been completed. Roles and responsibilities
become established, as the individuals in the team come to understand the
personalities and behaviours of each individual. Tasks are allocated based on an
individual's strengths. An example of a permanent team is the finance department.
The purpose of the finance department is to manage the finances of Petroc, to make
sure they have enough money to keep Petroc running, and to give each department
their budgets.
Virtual team - A virtual team is where there are individuals that are geographically
distributed that need to work face to face, so they use digital communication
technology. The individuals might be staff working alone, volunteers in external
placements or trustees who meet occasionally for formal meetings. Petroc has three
different campuses: North Devon, Brannams and Mid Devon. By having three
campuses, it means that there will need to be a virtual team to communicate how
each campus is performing and if they need any help. This means that the virtual
team at Petroc purpose is to keep communication between the three campuses, to
make sure that all of the campuses are achieving the same standard.
Horizontal team - This type of team has little to none managers, as the focus is on
, the staff and removing any barriers between the executive level and the staff level.
This means that the employees make decisions without needing approval from
people higher up.
Vertical team - If a business has a large amount of employees, then a vertical
structure is the best option, as it means that the executives are at the top, followed
by the middle managers, then the low-level managers, and then the employees at
the bottom. This means that the executives at the top make all the major decisions
and then communicate these down to the middle managers.
Large/small - The optimum number of people in a team is 5. This is because the
odd number means that decisions can be made clearly, as it will mean that there will
never be the same amount of votes. The size of the team should also be dependent
on the urgency of the task, as if the task needs to be completed quickly, then a small
team would be better, as less people need to be consulted.
Characteristics of an effective team
Sense of Purpose - A sense of purpose means that each individual in the group
understands why the team exists, and why the purpose is important to the team. This
helps the team come together, as everyone in the groups understands what they are
working towards. For the business team at Petroc, they have multiple senses of
purpose, including: have progression rates high, have good pass rates and improve
the pass rates, raise standards and have targets around attendance. By having
these senses of purpose, the business team knows what they have to achieve,
meaning they can get the best out of the team.
Prioritisation of Team Goal - With everyone in the team understanding the
purpose, they then need to make sure that the team meets that purpose. To do this,
the team needs to set objectives to drive each member to meet the overall goal. It is
really important for the team to have a priority that achieves something that helps the
overall goal of the business. The business team will have multiple goals that they
have to meet constantly, meaning they need to make sure that they are working
towards the most important goals, and have the most employees working on the
most important goals, and then have one or two employees working on other, less
important, goals.
Members have Clear Roles - The role of each individual in a group must be clearly
defined, so that they know what their individual purpose is in the team. By making
sure that each member has clear roles, it makes them have a sense of purpose, and
they feel included in the team, meaning they will be motivated to work towards the
goal of the team. In the business team, each member has a specific role, as they
have different units they have specialised in. This means that by having these clear
roles of the different units each member will be a teacher, the team members are
