Individual Behaviour

Individual and group behaviour

Characteristics of individual behaviour at work

1.       Working affects the behaviour of individuals in different ways

2.       Some individuals feel that they need to get on with the job they have been given, and perform the job adequately

3.       Some people take a pride and try to do their job to the best of their ability: others care much less

4.       Some people need to be told what to do by their boss; others are much happier using their initiative

5.       Some people enjoy communicating with others. Some are poor communicators and have poor ‘social skills’

6.       The behaviour of individuals can also be affected by the prospects of promotion, career advancement or higher pay

There are two types of work group:

1.      Informal groups

2.      Formal groups

Informal groups

1.       Consists of individuals who interact socially

2.       No formal existence

3.       Members do not have formal roles/titles

4.       No formal assessment by management of what the group does

5.       Membership of the group may be temporary: group size might change

6.       An informal group often develops a group attitude to their work and management

7.       This attitude might be friendly or hostile

8.       Can be very good at communicating (grapevine)

Formal groups

1.       Created for the organisation of work

2.       Has a formal existence

3.       Members have formal roles/titles

4.       Has specified objectives and tasks

5.       Has established systems of operation and procedures

6.       Formal assessment by management of what the group does

7.       Membership of the group is permanent, in the sense that jobs are filled with new people if anyone leaves

Individual and team approaches

Individual and team approaches to work

1.       There are two approaches to achieving effective performance

2.       The individual approach. This is based on the view that work should be properly organised, and employees should be appointed to carry out specific individual job functions

3.       The team-based approach. This is based on the view that a work group will be more effective if its members work together as a team

4.       Effectiveness comes from the ways in which the group members work with each other, as well as from the way that individuals perform their own job

Team building

The role of management in team building

1.       Team management involves:

2.       bringing together a suitable group of individuals to form the team

3.       allowing and encouraging the work group to develop ‘as a team’

4.       assessing the performance of the team and, where appropriate, rewarding the team (group members)  the collective performance it has achieved

Teams and team roles

1.       A team is a work group, but not all work groups operate like a team. To be a  team the members must:

2.       work effectively together

3.       identify with the team and see themselves as part of a team

4.       reach decisions by agreement and consensus (making it impossible for large work groups to act as teams)

5.       It is difficult to build a team when the work group members are spread across different geographical locations

6.       Team members need to meet and communicate on a regular basis

A successful work team

A successful work team has the following characteristics:

1.       It has a clear purpose

2.       Its area of authority is clearly defined

3.       It has effective leadership

4.       It is provided with adequate and effective resources, including people, to fulfil its tasks

5.       Its members collectively have the necessary skills to fulfil its tasks

6.       The team has positive motivation and commitment to achieving the team’s objectives

7.       There is good communication between group members (including their leader)

8.       Individual members have defined roles within the group and each member is able to contribute to the effectiveness of the group

9.       There is strong team spirit: team loyalty, high morale, good teamwork

10.    The achievements of team provide clear benefits to the organisation (since ‘success’ is judged by achievements)

Team development: Tuckman

Tuckman (1965) suggested that a small team develops and changes in character over time.

He identified five stages of development:

1.       Forming

2.       Storming

3.       Norming

4.       Performing

5.       Dorming (Adjourning)

Team development: Tuckman

Applying Tuckman’s analysis

1.       Management should be patient in allowing the team to progress to the ‘performing’ stage of its development

2.       It should be possible to identify when a team is stuck and is not developing further

3.       A team leader should seek to avoid moving to the dorming stage after it has reached the performing stage

4.       To encourage the team to develop as rapidly as possible, the style of management best-suited to the team at each stage of its development should be implemented

Evaluating team performance

1.      The performance of a team might be assessed using the 3Es:

2.       Economy: Has spending been kept under control?

3.       Efficiency (or productivity): Have resources been used efficiently?

4.       Effectiveness: Has the team achieved its targets or objectives?

5.      Targets may be:

6.       Quantitative (e.g.  achieving a profit target)

7.       Qualitative (e.g. completing a task)

8.       Completing a task within a given time limit

Building team performance

Team effectiveness can be improved by:

1.       appointing individuals to fulfil all the team roles

2.       allowing the team time to develop

3.       keeping team members aware of the team’s objectives and targets.

4.       encouraging openness in communication

5.       discussing problems and ideas

6.       allowing the team to reach its own collective decisions

7.       arranging team training (such as ‘outward bound’ activities)

8.       offering incentives for the achievement of team objectives and targets