The impact of technology on team functioning within a given organization

TABLE OF CONTENT I. DETAILS: 1. The nature of groups and group behavior within organizations: a. Formal and informal group in Texas Instruments: “Groups is an essential feature of the work pattern of any organization”(Mullins) 1 . Indeed, according to Robbins, group is defined as “two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives” 2 . There are two types of group: formal and informal. In formal group, people are gathered to achieve specific organizational goal. Here, the management is a person who identifies goals and rules and norms of group. A number of reasons that influent a formal group as membership, task to be performed, the nature of technology or organization’s position. Depend on demands and a process of organization, formal group is divided into two types: command and task group. 1 Mullins L.J.(2004), Management and Organizational Behavior 7 th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey 2 Robbins S.P. (2003) Organizational Behavior 10 th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 1 Contrast with formal group, with individual needs and demand, people gather creating informal group. Within formal organization, it can appear a lot of informal groups. Informal group relates more on personal relationship and agreement than rules or norms as formal group. Two existing informal groups: interest and friendship group. In the case of Texas Instruments, it has applied command group format in working. In fact, a group is created with a critical target to develop the next generation of wireless communications devices; a group of people together complete this job “The company’s Dallas-based mobility and collaboration partners in Europe, Japan, and the United States”. Further, at a meeting in Texas production developer group, individual member report directly to a given manager ”instant-messaged their questions and comments throughout the presentation”. b.Advantages of teams and specific applications of team working: A recent study of Edexcel HNC & HND Business (2004, p.231) has defined team as “A formal group established to achieve particular objective” 3 .Now, team work is also evaluated important skill. Working in a team must be practiced, as collaboration will develop with the experience. Team work is useful because a lot of advantages: a combination of strengths, a range of opinion, divided responsibility, team spirit, administration and increase facility. Actually, if the team has been chosen carefully, you can take advantages of workforce-diversity, for example as a good range of abilities, fields of expertise, personality types, age range, sexual and religion, etc.So for every situation, it is easier to get and deal with a goal or solve problem. Further more, "two heads are better than one," work in team decides more easily than individuals working alone. So a meeting in group is often more useful for a planning, testing it out, etc;it can be more effectively to reach decisions. Next, while responsibility rests is under most a leader, work as a team can distribute and specialize work, which produce advantages for every member.It also means that “manager can spend more time with each person on a smaller team as necessary”. 4 Besides, team spirit can lead to loyalty in its members, let your team-mates can be a powerful motivating force, make friendship, love, and companionship possible through interaction. That will make a sense of pride as a being part of successful group. 3 EDEXCEL HNC & HND BUSINESS, (2004) Mandatory Unit 3: Organizations and Behavior Supporting foundation degrees. 1 st ed., London: BPP Professional Education, Aldine House, Aldine Place. 4 Phillips J. (2005) The Smaller the Better, Thinking Faster, Available from: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/advantages-of-a-smaller-team.html [ accessed 22 May 2008 ]. 2 In addition, about administration side, team work allow manager can spend more time on real work such as strategy of company’s developing without looking at more on the administration of the team but still get a good result. Finally, members of group easily to communicate and information exchange facility. From so on, team members have the opportunity to learn from each other. Overall, “when the team get larger, the communication time is also getting longer” 5 . Through analysis case study, we can also see some specific applications of team working in Texas Instruments. In the situation of product developers, ideas and creative are significant points. When working in group as the way of product developers at Texas Instruments “The format was pretty standard: 45 minutes of PowerPoint slides followed by an extended Q&A” 6 , greater information, facility exchange or new approach will be given, as a higher result to meet target. To develop the next generation of wireless communications devices- a large objective’s scale, building a group including members form other region seems as intelligent way “presentation to employees and business partners in Europe, Japan, and the United States”. That way helps to understand critical thinking or superior point of potential members and help giving such a best answer. In addition, working in team also save more time for manager to conduct his employees and can cover instant-messages “This time, managers conducted the meeting over WebEx, the Internet-based virtual-meeting platform. Participants followed the slides using their laptops and instant-messaged their questions and comments throughout the presentation” 7 . c. Reasons makes group behavior different from individual behavior: Group behavior depends on types of group and stages of group. As we noted that there are four types of group as command, task, interest and friendship group. Now, we will look at stages model of group development to have more sense about group behavior. Groups generally pass through five distinct stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning 8 . In the early stage of group, members are reluctant to 5 Phillips J. (2005) The Smaller the Better, Thinking Faster, Available from: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/advantages-of-a-smaller-team.html [ accessed 22 May 2008 ]. 6 A Overholt (March,2002) “Virtually There?”, Fast Company, pp 111-112. 7 A Overholt (March,2002) “Virtually There?”, Fast Company, pp 111-112. 8 Robbins S.P. (1998) Organizational Behavior-Concepts,Controversies,Applications 8 th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 3 communicate with others. Commonly, they do not express opinions, attitudes and belief so it is likely to be considered as members test each other. Overall, the group comes together and gets to initially know one other and form as a group. After forming stages, storming is more development, members become to know more each other. This stage is “characterized by competition anf conflict in the personal relations dimension an organization in the task-funtions dimension”. 9 So members begin to communicate opener, more confidence and interact within a group. Disagreement will be expressed so it is a result of conflict. The third norming stage is complete when the group is close relationship and demonstrates cohesiveness. This stage is important to establish the need for members to cooperate. The fourth stage “performing is not reached by all group” 10 . At this stage, the structure is accepted and fully functional. A group concentrates on its purpose and task performance. At last, in adjourning, attention is directed toward wrapping up activities. The process of "unforming" the group, that is, letting go of the group structure and moving on. Overall, contrast with individual behavior that based on attitudes, learning, perception, personality…, group behavior relates to different stages of group development. Group includes more individuals putting together to meet objectives and get a better decision. 2. Various factors lead to effective teamwork at Texas Instruments and the influences that threaten success: a. Various factors lead to effective teamwork: According to one of dictionary a team is a “group of people with a shared goal (desired outcome) or promise (as opposed to a work group). Teams are the product of conversations” 11 . Indeed, the team is given support to identify and resolve problems which impede its performance. Here, we will reach a point of effectiveness team. The measure of the group’s effectiveness is its ability to achieve its objectives and satisfy the needs of the individuals in the group. So what factors that lead to team development and effectiveness?. The following descriptions present factors that relate to effectiveness team: • Shared Goals and Objectives: In order for a team to operate effectively, it must have stated goals and objectives. 9 Tuckman B. (1965) Development Sequence in Small group, Psychological Bulletin, pp 384-399. Available from: http://www.gmu.edu/student/csl/5stages.html [ accessed 22 May 2008 ]. 10 Tuckman B. (1965) Development Sequence in Small group, Psychological Bulletin, pp 384-399. Available from: http://www.gmu.edu/student/csl/5stages.html [ accessed 22 May 2008 ]. 11 Treehugger (23 Mar), The dictionary of sustainable management. Presidio-a school of management. Available from: http://www.sustainabilitydictionary.com/t/team.php [ accessed 26 June 2008 ]. 4 • Utilization of Resources: The ultimate purpose of a team is to do things effectively. In order to accomplish this, the team must use effectively all the resources at its disposal • Trust and Conflict Resolution: In any team situation, disagreement is likely to occur. The ability to openly recognize conflict and seek to resolve it through discussion is critical to the team’s success. • Shared Leadership: This means that all members accept some responsibility for task functions – those things necessary to do the job – and maintenance functions – those things necessary to keep the group together and interacting effectively • Control and Procedures: A group needs to establish procedures that can be use to guide or regulate its activities. • Effective Interpersonal Communications: Effective interpersonal communications are achieved through self-regulation by team members, so that everyone in the group has an equal opportunity to participate in discussions. • Approach to Problem Solving and Decision Making: The lack of agreed-on approaches to problem solving and decision making can result in wasted time, misunderstandings, frustration, and – more importantly – “bad” decisions. Base on team work in Texas Instrument, in this case “ Virtually there “ task is “ TI’s efforts to develop the next generation of wireless communication devices “ . With clear task, team members can understand clearly what they have to do to achieve goal, from so on give more efficient or benefit for TI. In addition, using WebEx, Texas Instrument also have a good communication “ On a conference call , or even in person , accents can be stricky – especially when you gather a group from Europe, Japan , and the United States. With WebEX’s chat feature, we found that many people could type English better than they could speak it. It made everything so much smoother “ 12 . Contingency approach is also used in team management of Texas Instrument. Basically, rely on characteristic of this approach, there is no one best way to manage and the management style appropriate both to the tasks undertaken and the nature of 12 A Overholt (March,2002) “Virtually There?”, Fast Company, pp 111-112. 5 the work group in order satisfy the need. Applying this approach to Texas Instrument, TI get its task base on effectiveness of team work. b. How to assess the effectiveness of a team According to Veeramuthu (2008, p.14 & 15, chapter 11) 13 the manager aproach to create a successful team by a general model that consists of four details as below: • Contexts: adequate resources, leadership, climate of trust, performance evaluation, performance evaluation and rewards • Composition such as ability, personality, roles and diversity, size, flexibility, preference of teamwork. • Work design: autonomy, skill variety, task identity, task significance. • Process: common purpose, specific goals, team efficacy, conflict, social loafing. In common, these contexts above are critical factors influencing on succeeding of effectiveness team. However, team work success rarely happens by itself, without focused team building efforts and activities. There is simply too much space for problems. Indeed, different personalities, instead of complementing and balancing each other, may build up conflicts. Or even worse, some people with similar personalities may start fighting or conflict. This is why every team needs a good leader who is able to deal with all such team work issues. Finally, though team work can offer many challenges, the pay off from a high performance team is well worth it. Among all semiconductor company, Texas Instrument has built own good image with customer. Furthermore, TI also made a competition with the clear task “ develop the next generation of wireless “. So, the team work in Texas Instrument is considered effectiveness team. 3.The impact of technology on team functioning within a given organization: a. Technology has the undeniable impact on company operating: In Texas Instrument, the impact of the technology had been seen through team organization or networks organization. To build up a comfortable feeling to the employee, TI used a networks organization call virtual team. 13 Veeramuthu, V. ( 2008 ) Organizational behaviour – foundation of group behavior , Ha Noi : NEU 6 “A virtual team also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) is a group of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. They have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.” 14 (Mandatory Unit 3: Organizations and Behaviors, 2004, p251-252) A virtual team is an evolutionary form of a network organization enabled by advances in information and communication technology. Global competition, the computer age, and excessive travel expenses have evolved to make working across continents and countries an easy, practical way to achieve superior results. Using a combination of technology and teams, many companies like TI are pursuing virtual teams to • Increase technology and knowledge transfer • Increase the speed of solutions • Decrease bottlenecks or delays between customers and suppliers or geographically dispersed employees. This is particularly so for businesses that uses virtual organizations to build global presence, outsource their operations, or need less common expertise or skills from people who are reluctant to travel or relocate from their home locations. Virtual teams are governed essentially the by same fundamental principles as traditional teams. Yet, there is one critical difference. This difference is the way the team members communicate. Instead of using the full spectrum and dynamics of in-office face-to-face exchange, they now rely on special communication channels enabled by modern technologies, such as e-mails, faxes, phone calls and teleconferences, virtual meetings, and alike. b. The virtual teams at Texas Instrument working co-ordination with the support of ICT: The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) was introduced into three main parts: (1) business communication (2) data processing (3) production control. 14 EDEXCEL HNC & HND BUSINESS, (2004) Mandatory Unit 3: Organizations and Behavior Supporting foundation degrees. 1 st ed. , London: BPP Professional Education, Aldine House, Aldine Place. 7 The use of ICT as a means to look for market information will be an ever greater phenomenon in the future. A supplier does not have to physically visit its prospective buyers to negotiate, and the same idea applies to a buyer. Telephone is basic apparatus that helps this process, facsimile offers a better media to exchange written data, and later the internet provides an environment where exchanges are both audio and video. Marketing through the internet has also been a choice for TI. While the field survey finds no firms that markets through the internet, but it is of no surprise if any of them will start one in the future. The second positive impact of ICT that is revealed from the field survey is its use in communication and socialization among workers, between workers and owners, and communication between workers and other parties outside the office. The use of ICT for internal communication has been elaborated in the previous section. Readers are referenced to the discussion there. Here, we will concentrate more on the use of company’s ICT for non-work-related activities. In conclusion, Information and communication technology (ICT) has a pivotal role in the society today. ICT has speed up the structural transformation in different areas in the economic, social and cultural life. One area where the ICT has also a significant impact is in the labor and work environment. The development of ICT has contributed a great deal to many aspects of the concept of decent work. The latter is a condition in the workplace that promotes freedom, equity, security and human dignity. II. REFERENCES • Mullins L.J.(2004), Management and Organizational Behavior 7 th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. • Robbins S.P. (1998) Organizational Behavior- Concepts,Controversies,Applications 8 th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. • Robbins S.P. (2003) Organizational Behavior 10 th edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 8 • EDEXCEL HNC & HND BUSINESS, (2004) Mandatory Unit 3: Organizations and Behavior Supporting foundation degrees. 1 st ed. , London: BPP Professional Education, Aldine House, Aldine Place. • A Overholt (2002) “Virtually There?”, Fast Company. • Veeramuthu, V. ( 2008 ) Organizational behaviour – foundation of group behavior , Ha Noi : NEU • Tuckman B. (1965) Development Sequence in Small group, Psychological Bulletin, pp 384-399. Available from: http://www.gmu.edu/student/csl/5stages.html [ accessed 22 May 2008 ]. • Treehugger (23 Mar), The dictionary of sustainable management. Presidio-a school of management. Available from: http://www.sustainabilitydictionary.com/t/team.php [accessed 26 June 2008]. • Phillips J. (2005) The Smaller the Better, Thinking Faster, Available from: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/advantages-of-a-smaller-team.html [Accessed 22 May 2008]. 9 . team. 3 .The impact of technology on team functioning within a given organization: a. Technology has the undeniable impact on company operating: In Texas. A virtual team is an evolutionary form of a network organization enabled by advances in information and communication technology. Global competition, the