Teamwork in Employment: Dynamics, Theories, and Knowledge at TESCO

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of teamwork within an employment context, using TESCO Plc as a case study. It begins by emphasizing the importance of teamwork, highlighting its benefits such as increased efficiency, innovative idea generation, and enhanced communication. The report then delves into various theories of group dynamics, including Tuckman's model of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning) and the Belbin test, which identifies individual roles within a team. Furthermore, the report explores how individuals can organize their knowledge and learning through various resources, such as books, journals, educational websites, and online platforms like Google Scholar and YouTube. The report underscores the significance of teamwork for achieving organizational goals and objectives, offering insights into effective team structures and knowledge acquisition strategies.

WORKING IN TEAMS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK ..............................................................................................................................................1
Importance of team working within an employment context.................................................1
Theories of group dynamics...................................................................................................3
Organise knowledge and learning of individual.....................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
In every organisation, a team is formed which includes large number of people who meet
with each other for achieving common objectives and goals. It is important for a business as they
work together with proper coordination by which tasks can be completed in an efficient and
effective manner. It is assumed that a team can do their job in a better manner rather than an
individual (Benrazavi and Silong, 2013). This project is based on TESCO Plc. which is the
biggest retailer in United Kingdom that provides grocery and general merchandise to its
consumers. This assignment will explain about the importance of team working as well as main
theories regarding group dynamics including ethical requirements. It will also state about their
knowledge and learning by using a range of information resources.
TASK
Importance of team working within an employment context
Teamwork is a dynamic process which includes group of people who combine together
for reaching at a common goal and for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of company. In
other terms, it can be said that teamwork can be understood as the willingness of people who
work together to attain a common target.
It is important for a business as team members work together with full cooperation in
every situation whether it is critical or not and complete their project on time as well as in an
effective and efficient manner. In TESCO, there is also a team which can perform better if its
members will follow the given steps- Think about the team- Every group member should think about his team first then about
his personal interest. In short, it can be said that individuals should not mix their personal
and professional life and must not demotivate other people (Brock and et.al., 2013). Discuss- If there is any new idea or plan then before implementing the same, it should be
discussed with each and every member of group so that they can give their opinions on
this plan. Avoid criticism- If there is any critics then it should be avoided so that strategy can be
implemented effectively. If there is any problem to any individual then team leader
should guide them.
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 Transparency- In every activity, there should be transparency which can be done through
effective communication. Transparency is an important aspect as if there is no clarity
then people will not be able to work into right direction. Rewards and recognition- For motivating the team members, leader should give rewards
and recognition to them so that they will perform according to the standards and will
contribute in the success of company (Coyle and Croker, 2014). Apart from that, if there
is any conflict then there is responsibility of manager to avoid them so that operations can
be carried out without any disturbance.
Importance of team work- In TESCO, team work is important as it helps in achieving the
goals and objectives. Apart from this, it is very important because of the following reasons that
are given as below- Increased efficiency- In a team, there are large number of people who have different
strengths and weaknesses which can be used in completing a project. With the help of
teamwork, difficult task can be completed easily and effectively and also develop skills
of people so that person can perform their job in a better manner. In nutshell, it can be
said that team can work in more efficient manner that lead to better productivity, less cost
and greater profitability. Overall, it increases the efficiency of company because
complete work are done in a better manner. Innovative idea generation- One of the best advantages of teamwork is that it generates
innovative ideas as there are many people who discuss with each other and find out a the
best plan or strategy. In an effective team environment, staff members feel confident by
giving their suggestions (Crook and Waterhouse, 2013). A learning experience- Teamwork is important because it includes a large number of
people who belong to different backgrounds and level of experience by which project can
be completed effectively. A task creates more opportunities for professional development
and learning in front of members. Enhanced communication- With the help of proper communication, TESCO can get
success easily. Teamwork increases communication skills of group members because in
this, people meet together and discuss ideas with each other by which interpersonal skill
of individuals get enhanced.
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 Share the workload- When working in a team for accomplishing a common goal,
workload is shared among group members so that difficult tasks can be completed within
specified period of time. In this, work is assigned to people according to their capability
so that they can complete their project effectively and efficiently. Therefore, it the biggest
benefit of team work that complex work can be completed in a simple manner. Support network- Support and belongingness at workplace increases job satisfaction of
group members. A strong team environment can act as a great support mechanism for
staff members. During any challenging time, support of every person is the most
important as with the help of this, tasks can be completed effectively and efficiently
(Jelphs, Dickinson and Miller, 2016). Healthy competition- Teamwork creates healthy competition among group members as
in a team, there are large number of people who try to prove themselves capable and
efficient.
 Maintains strong working relationships- When employees will work together and is
getting success then it creates a strong bond that can turn into trust and friendship. If
there will be good relations among them then they will communicate well, support and
motivate each other along with working with full cooperation which helps company in
achieving its decided goals and objectives.
Theories of group dynamics
Various theories of team dynamics help in developing different strategies that are helpful
in implementing an efficient team structure at workplace. These theories help in effective
development of team while working passionately in the working environment. Some of these
theories describe the dynamics of team as defined below.
Tuckmen's model: This model defines various stages through which a team goes
through its development periods. This defines adopting new skills by team members and
competency working during different development stages (Pangil and Moi Chan, 2014). The
various stages of Tuckman's model of team dynamics is defined as below:
Forming: This stage is initial in the formation of team in working environment. At this
stage, various responsibilities of team members are discussed and communicated in order to
reduce the conflicts in working dynamics of group. At this stage, the members starts
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understanding about their responsibilities and other team members. Here, team leader is
dominating and regulating in the team.
Storming: This stage is identified by large numbers (Tuckman (forming, norming,
storming, performing) 2012). of conflicts. This is the stage which shows higher dynamics in
team working and this is the stage where most of the groups fail to sustain in working
environment. At the end of this stage, roles of individuals are clarified and they start pushing
each other to the boundaries to work extraordinary (Jensen, 2013).
Norming: This stage is identified by higher commitment and involvement of team
members which lead to increase efficiency of team. At this stage, the team members are
respecting each other’s competencies.
Performing: In this stage, team starts performing efficiently working in compliance with
the standards defined by organisation. This is identified by higher effectiveness in collaborative
work and also helps in achieving objectives of firm. At this stage, the performance of group is
not affected by the joining of new members and the leaving of some existing people in team.
Adjourning: This stage leads to team dynamic at the end of its journey. This is the stage
of disruption of group through accomplishing all the goals and motives of its formation in
organisation’s working environment.
(Source 1: Tuckman (forming, norming, storming, performing), 2012)
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Belbin test: This is the test carried out by higher authorities and experts in order to
analyse the skills and competencies of team leader and team dynamics in working environment.
This helps in defining the strengths and competencies of a group in order to enhance the
performance of team effectively (Lingard and et. al., 2012). This test is based on identifying and
ensuring personality aspects which individuals requires while working in team in order to work
efficiently in team. These personalty traits are defined below:
Resource investigator: This is the trait which helps in binding the team as unity. The
person is able to explore various opportunities and resources in order to bring efficiency of team
back.
Team-worker: This helps in working in integration through developing co-operation and
coordination function of group. Also, it proves to be highly supportive in getting the members
together to work efficiently.
Co-ordinator: This is the trait which defines competencies required to achive the team
goals and objective and coordinates the function with the standards of performance and goals of
firm working in team. This trait helps in defining the capability and helps in clarifying goals of
tasks assigned to particular team member.
Plant: This is the trait of personality of team members which helps in implementing new
creative ideas in working environment and helps in solving difficult problems faced by the team.
Monitor Evaluator: This is the evaluating trait which helps in identifying problem faced
by team while performing in group. This trait helps in making judgemental decisions in order to
resolve the problem.
Specialist: This helps in developing a special knowledge about the concept and working
of team. This helps in increasing the effectiveness through directing working in group (Patel,
Pettitt and Wilson, 2012).
Shaper: This shapes the functionality of team and helps in shaping the working of group
along with providing right directions to members to achieve goals effectively.
Implementer: This is the trait which helps in implementing new strategies in team
working actions.
Completer/ Finisher: The person is finisher and completer who clarifies the errors and
rectifies them. It works as a polisher of functionality of the team.
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(Source 2: Belbin Team Role Theory, 2017)
(Illustration 1 Belbin team role, 2017)
Organise knowledge and learning of individual
There are lots of advantages of working in a team and individuals who are the part of
same can gain a lot of knowledge which will help them to increase their efficiency. Team work is
an activity which involves a lot of people who might be from different backgrounds and areas
but they come together to achieve a common goal. The team members might possess knowledge
of various fields which they can use in the working of group but there are lots of other things
which they don't know. Complete information can be learned or that knowledge can be gained
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through different communication resources. A team is able to achieve more productivity if there
is coordination between its members and leader. The information can be gained through their
team mates and will bring efficiency in whatever they are doing (Drury, Conboy and Power,
2012). They can take knowledge by referring various books, journals and educational websites as
well as pages. On a single topic, team members can find a lot of books of various authors and
this reflects their perspective towards an issue. They have to learn and adopt those strategies
mentioned in their real life. There are lots of educational websites which give students and
scholars to make free access to the information and data. Internet has made everyone life easy
and with that we can learn new things just by some clicks. Google scholar is a service run by
Google so that people can access to the information available on internet. Sites like Wikipedia
provide a lot of content on almost everything. There might be tasks in team where members of
the group will find it difficult to do so and in that case, they can refer to YouTube also which is a
video site. Entire knowledge they have acquired through use of different informational resources
available over the network of internet which need to be aligned and used in a proper way to yield
better results.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above report that team work is essential in every business as
it helps in achieving the desired results in an effective and efficient manner. It has also been
assessed that that team work is highly important for a company as it has various benefits like
increased communication skills, high effectiveness of organisations, etc.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Benrazavi, S.R. and Silong, A.D., 2013. Employees' job satisfaction and its influence on
willingness to work in teams. Journal of Management Policy and Practice. 14(1). p.127.
Brock, D. and et.al., 2013. Interprofessional education in team communication: working
together to improve patient safety. BMJ Qual Saf. 22(5). pp.414-423.
Coyle, J. and Croker, A., 2014. Working in Teams. In Health Practice Relationships (pp. 65-74).
SensePublishers.
CROOK, G. and WATERHOUSE, M., 2013. WORKING IN TEAMS. Management and
Business Skills in the Built Environment, p.61.
Drury, M., Conboy, K. and Power, K., 2012. Obstacles to decision making in Agile software
development teams. Journal of Systems and Software. 85(6). pp.1239-1254.
Jelphs, K., Dickinson, H. and Miller, R., 2016. Working in teams. Policy Press.
Jensen, R.M., 2013. Understanding early Christian art. Routledge.
Lingard, L., and et. al., 2012. Conflicting messages: examining the dynamics of leadership on
interprofessional teams. Academic Medicine. 87(12). pp.1762-1767.
Pangil, F. and Moi Chan, J., 2014. The mediating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship
between trust and virtual team effectiveness. Journal of Knowledge Management. 18(1).
pp.92-106.
Patel, H., Pettitt, M. and Wilson, J.R., 2012. Factors of collaborative working: A framework for a
collaboration model. Applied ergonomics. 43(1). pp.1-26.
Online
Belbin Team Role Theory. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://fashionbusinessbyolga.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2014/01/19/belbin-team-role-theory/>.
[Accessed on 2nd August 2017].
Tuckman (forming, norming, storming, performing). 2012. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.mspguide.org/tool/tuckman-forming-norming-storming-performing>.
[Accessed on 2nd August 2017].
Why Teamwork is Important in the Workplace. 2017. [Online]. Available through:
<http://aib.edu.au/blog/teamwork/teamwork-is-important-in-the-workplace/>. [Accessed
on 2nd August 2017].
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