Effective Team Member Report: National Bank of Bahrain Analysis

This report examines the dynamics of effective teams, focusing on communication, conflict resolution, and the characteristics of successful team members, using the National Bank of Bahrain as a case study. It differentiates between groups and teams, outlining strategies to convert groups into high-performing teams. The report explores the importance of communication, identifying barriers and offering solutions to foster clear and effective information exchange. It further analyzes behaviors that cause conflict within teams and suggests actions to mitigate these issues. The author provides a self-assessment of their strengths and weaknesses as a team member, offering insights into personal development within a team environment.

Running head: EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER
Effective Team Member
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of contents
AC 1.1 Explaining the difference between a group and a team.................................................2
AC 1.2 Describing ways to convert a group to a team...............................................................3
AC 1.3 Outlining the characteristics of a good team.................................................................3
AC 1.4 Listing the advantages of working in a team.................................................................4
AC 2.1 Explaining the importance for people working in teams to maintain good
communication...........................................................................................................................4
AC 2.2 Giving examples of barriers to communication that may prevent a team from working
effectively...................................................................................................................................5
AC 3.1 Giving examples of behaviours that could cause conflict in a team..............................6
AC 3.2 Outlining the actions a team member can take to reduce one of these examples of
conflict........................................................................................................................................6
AC 4.1 Identifying own strengths and weakness as a team member.........................................7
AC 4.2 Identifying ways to improve own ability to function effectively in a team..................7
Reference....................................................................................................................................9

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AC 1.1 Explaining the difference between a group and a team
A group is considered as getting a band of individuals to maintain proper coordination
with one another and make efforts to contribute to the well-being of an organisation.
Examples of a group can be ethnic groups or trade unions. On the other hand, a team is
considered as Drescher et al. (2014) stated that a team consists of people that have a common
aim and objective. Examples of a team can be any sports team or a management team. In this
regard, a detailed difference between the group as well as a team can be provided. For
instance, in a group, only one leader exists while in a team more than one leader exists.
Although Menear and Davis (2015) stated that only one individual might be selected to lead a
team but the opinion of the experienced people are also welcomed. In the case of The
National Bank of Bahrain, teams and groups exist that provide stability and ensure that
individuals get to understand the differences between the two concepts.
Comparison Group Team
Meaning Individuals work in a united
manner to complete a task
People having collective
identity unite to achieve a
common goal
Leadership Only one leader More than one leader
Members Independent Interdependent
Process Discuss, decide and delegate
a particular task
Discuss, decide and do the
tasks provided to them
Work products Individual Collective
Focus Achieving individual goals Achieving team goals
Accountability Individual accountable Individual or mutual
Table: Comparison between group and team

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(Source: Created by author)
AC 1.2 Describing ways to convert a group to a team
According to Forsyth (2018), managers of a reputed bank such as the National Bank
of Bahrain can encourage individuals to work as a team rather than as a group. Convincing of
the individuals is necessary so that they can work together to share similar goals and provide
the necessary support required for success. The managers can apply the development
strategies of team formation that so that the individuals can develop mutual unity for one
another. For example, the managers of National Bank of Bahrain can meet with a group of
people that exists within the bank and convince them about the benefits that can be obtained
while working as a team. The goals can be set in such a way for the group that it ensures that
a team is formed to accomplish it. Apart from this, the National Bank of Bahrain can align
the business objective with that of the objectives of a team (Banks et al. 2014).
AC 1.3 Outlining the characteristics of a good team
According to Jungert (2016), a good and effective team need to maintain proper
communication with one another. This can help in exchanging information and provide the
necessary assistance that is required to meet the goals. The support helps every member of
the team to continue with the tasks provided and finish it effectively. At the same time, Certo
(2018) stated that effective leadership is also required for maintaining unity among the team
members. The team members need to be adaptable to the situations and remain enthusiastic
about the type of job that has been provided. In the case of National Bank of Bahrain, the
manager needs to ensure that the team have a vision and remain selfless. Having a vision can
help the individuals to remain focused on the type of goals that are required to be achieved.
The managers need to arrange a relaxation time so that the employees are free from the
monotonous working hours. Another characteristic of a good team is that they remain

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committed to the members and the team in which they form a part. Thus, National Bank of
Bahrain needs to ensure that such characteristics exist within a team.
AC 1.4 Listing the advantages of working in a team
The main advantage of working as a team is the fact that individuals can gain
experience. As observed by Ford, Piccolo and Ford (2017) the experience that is gained by
individuals are mainly due to the interaction with various people that exists in the
organisation. In the case of the National Bank of Bahrain, the bank employs people from
different background and cultures. Thereby, the employees can gain a proper understanding
of the various cultures that exist in the world (Nbbonline.com 2018). This can help in the
improvement of the banks and of the employees. The efficiency of the employees can also
increase with the knowledge gained from the experience. Furthermore, support from the team
members can help in completing a particular task without much delay. The outcomes related
to the work of the employees can be enriched. The National Bank of Bahrain can build a
mutual support for the employees so that they can interact with one another in a positive
manner. Hence, a sense of accomplishment can be maintained that can help in specific goals
and strive for the further improvement of the bank.
AC 2.1 Explaining the importance for people working in teams to maintain good
communication
Communication is important for organisations so that people can express their
thoughts and convey an important message (Guinalíu and Jordán 2016). Communication is
considered as the centre for success as it helps in defining the goals to the employees. In a
major organisational structure that is followed in a bank like National Bank of Bahrain, the
communication can help every team member and employees identify their roles and
responsibilities. Assigning tasks to different people can be done by maintaining

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communication with one another. Therefore, with the application of proper communication,
the employees of the National Bank of Bahrain can attain their goals as the leaders can guide
the people in an efficient manner. According to Hoch and Kozlowski (2014), communication
helps in developing trust among the people and the employees of the National Bank of
Bahrain can maintain such trust within the banks. Lanaj and Hollenbeck (2015) also stated
that communication also helps in maintaining a positive work relationship as an exchange of
information can allow the employees to continue with their work in an effective manner.
Trust among the teammates and proper guidance from the leaders can help the employees of
National Bank of Bahrain to maintain their productivity.
AC 2.2 Giving examples of barriers to communication that may prevent a team from
working effectively
Some of the examples of barriers to communication can be the use of jargon and the
defining of unclear goals. Lanaj and Hollenbeck (2015) stated that inability to understand a
particular language might lead to problems in communication. In the case of the National
bank of Bahrain, this can be an important barrier as the language of the country is different
and people from other parts of the world may find it difficult to communicate with the local
employees. This is an important disadvantage for the team, as the goals of the teams cannot
be defined in a clear manner. At the same time, psychological barriers can play a major role
in the communication. As observed by Nguyen (2016) the psychological state of an
individual can prevent them from responding to the messages in an effective manner. For a
bank, this can be a huge problem as the information regarding goals or other strategic
measures needs to be delivered on time. Therefore, it is necessary for the managers of
National Bank of Bahrain to ensure that flaws in communication do not exist.

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AC 3.1 Giving examples of behaviours that could cause conflict in a team
While working in a team there may be cases, which may conflict between the
members. Therefore, it is necessary for the managers and the leaders of the teams to ensure
that the conflict among the team members does not take place. Serrat (2017) is of the opinion
that the some of the examples of behaviours that may cause conflict among the team includes
differences in the personalities of the team members. In the case of the National Bank of
Bahrain, the bank employs people with different cultural backgrounds and ideas. Therefore,
the team composition is also based on such people that are of different cultures. Therefore,
this may lead to a conflict situation in which the team members may disagree with the ideas
of one another. This, in turn, may cause a huge problem in the team as the people may lose
faith and therefore may lead to a conflict of interest. The conflict may be caused due to the
disagreement between the people. At the same time, Homans (2017) is of the opinion that
poor leadership may be another cause of conflict along with a selfish attitude of the people.
Poor leadership may be in the form of excessive favouring of one team member while the
excess neglect of the others.
AC 3.2 Outlining the actions a team member can take to reduce one of these examples
of conflict
As stated by Ovsiannikov (2014) one of the ways to solve conflict is by maintaining
effective communication. In the case of the National Bank of Bahrain, the main conflict of
the bank is that the people belong to the different culture. Therefore, the differences in the
culture and ideas provide the employees with the reason to cause conflict. Therefore, it is
necessary that a sense of trust be developed between the employees. This can be done by the
application of proper communication and conduct an icebreaking session every day. The
leaders of the team in the Bank of Bahrain can help in increasing the support of the team by

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ensuring that they participate in sports activities that require proper team collaboration.
According to Cox and Bobrowski (2016), the team members need to maintain the
communication so that any type of conflict does not take place in the company. At the same
time, the leaders can act as intermediaries between the team members involved in the
conflict.
AC 4.1 Identifying own strengths and weakness as a team member
The analysis has shown the effectiveness of team and groups in an organisational
setting and the manner in which a good team member can help in the development of an
organisation. Hence, an analysis can be made about the effectiveness of my skills as a team
member. My strengths and weaknesses as a team member are analysed that can help me to
improve my skills. I had been working for the National Bank of Bahrain and my team
oversees the finances. My job in that team is to analyse the transactions that go on in a bank.
For this, I need to be a good observer as this is one skill that is required for spotting any type
of discrepancy. My observation power needs to be backed by my ability communicate so that
I can convince my tea leaders about the problems that I have analysed. At the same time, my
weakness is that I lose focus easily. This can be considered as a psychological barrier to
communication as I tend to divert my attention to other factors that take place around me.
Thus, effective communication and efficiency of work can be hampered due to this
drawback.
AC 4.2 Identifying ways to improve own ability to function effectively in a team
The analysis of my strengths and weakness suggest that I need to improve my
concentration. I need to be focused on the task delegated to me so that I do not let my team
members down. I need to ensure that the role delegated to me is carried out in such a manner
that any flaws can be reported immediately. For this, I need to develop the communication

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power that can help me to interact with the members. This can be done by listening to the
people and trying to get their consent about any discrepancies that I may find in the financial
transactions. Thus, these changes can help me to improve my performance as an effective
team member working for the financial sector in the National Bank of Bahrain.

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Reference
Banks, G.C., Batchelor, J.H., Seers, A., O'Boyle, E.H., Pollack, J.M. and Gower, K., 2014.
What does team–member exchange bring to the party? A meta‐analytic review of team and
leader social exchange. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 35(2), pp.273-295.
Certo, S.C., 2018. Supervision: Concepts and skill-building. McGraw-Hill Education.
Cox, P.L. and Bobrowski, P.E., 2016. The team charter assignment: Improving the
effectiveness of classroom teams. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 1(2).
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dynamics of shared leadership: Building trust and enhancing performance. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 99(5), p.771.
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Trust is key. Business Horizons, 60(1), pp.25-34.
Forsyth, D. R. (2018). Group dynamics. Cengage Learning.
Guinalíu, M. and Jordán, P., 2016. Building trust in the leader of virtual work teams. Spanish
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Homans, G.C., 2017. The human group. Routledge.
Jungert, T., 2016. How Team Member Can Support Each Other’s Needs: An Intervention in
Real Teams. In Academy of Management (pp. 387-388).

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Lanaj, K. and Hollenbeck, J.R., 2015. Leadership over-emergence in self-managing teams:
The role of gender and countervailing biases. Academy of Management Journal, 58(5),
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Nbbonline.com. (2018). National Bank of Bahrain - Home - National Bank of Bahrain.
[online] Available at: https://www.nbbonline.com/en/ [Accessed 25 Apr. 2018].
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Software Development Teams. International Journal of Computer (IJC), 20(1), pp.51-82.
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