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Group, Teams and Conflict

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Groups, Teams, and Conflict
Andrew Carnegie said “teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision; the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results” (Smart Entrepreneur).
As one of the Superintendents at Riordan Manufacturing it is my belief that teams are an essential way to distribute job duties and complete a task on time. The teams which have been chosen will begin to form from current employees and some newly hired individuals. The objective of the teams is to start production of the newly designed CardiCare Valve at the Pontiac Michigan facility. The purpose of this paper is to identify the various strategies that make up the teams, the challenges which may occur, and the measures which will be taken to ensure the team is operating successfully.
Various Strategies
There are various strategies when forming a successful team. As role of Superintendent, I will use the five strategies of effective team building to assist in building the team of individuals to design the CardiCare Valve heart valves for Riordan Manufacturing. Clear expectations “begin by analyzing the team’s mission, developing goals to achieve that mission and creating strategies for achieving the goals” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 327). The first strategy is to choose leaders within each team who will ensure the team know what their role is and then distribute the work evenly among the team members. Historically teams cannot function properly without agreeing to these terms (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 319). A proficient leader will utilize the skills of the people within the team and assign them to the correct job function accordingly.
The next strategy is to allocate the roles each member of the team will play based on their ability and experiences, taking into account that not only will the teams consist of new employees but veteran employees that have been with Riordan Manufacturing for some years. For the sake of distributing the key players, experienced employees will be given lead roles in the project and new employees will take on supporting roles in the formation of the team.
Thirdly, the diversity of the team members will be taken into account and utilized to the advantage of the company and the goals of the project. By taking advantage of the diversity within the team it is likely there will be some level of creativity based on each of the individual’s differences.
For the team to be successful there must be clear lines of communication. So for strategy number four, the communication should be specific and concise and most of all consistent. The members should be able to freely express their concerns with the project as well as provide input where necessary. These lines of communication should flow from one another as well as from top to bottom, including the team leaders in any and all discussions if possible. Of course with even the best plan there will be conflicts within the group. Therefore, strategy number five will deal with conflict management.
Managing conflict that deals with relationships and differences among personalities is the type of conflict which is “almost always dysfunctional” but there are conflicts that can actually improve team effectiveness. It is important for managers and leaders to determine which conflicts are causing tension and animosity and which conflict actually may lead to a benefit to the goal at hand; taking into account that “teams completely devoid of conflict are likely to become apathetic and stagnant” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 328). Once determined, conflict which fall into the category of relationship tension or animosity, the team leader will put an end to this conflict immediately by keeping the team focused on the goal.

Challenges Challenges may develop when building a team. Not all of the individuals are team players and perhaps some team members are more conscientious than others. Teams have different needs as well. Some team members may have strengths and others are not as strong in the areas that are required to complete the task, therefore it is necessary for the leader to recognize these strengths and weaknesses and combine the efforts of each individual to form the best team possible. Also, it is essential for the team leader to provide common goals which the team is likely to adhere to, this can create a team that functions well utilizing their creativity.
Measures for Success Because teams present a variety of challenges, measuring the team’s success may come with just as many challenges. Therefore, it is important for the superintendents to use an appraisal system to determine if the teams are operating successfully. The appraisal system will include what the level of communication is within each team, how the team handles diversity and how the team is dealing with any conflicts that may arise during the process of the project. Each area will be measured and if there is a problem in any of these areas then the superintendents will address the issues immediately. Upon completion of the project, each individual as well as the teams involved in the project will be evaluated.
Conclusion
Teams are essential when producing the new design of the CardiCare heart valves. By utilizing the various strategies to build the teams such as leadership creation, role allocation, taking advantage of the diversity of team members, keeping the lines of communication open, and performing conflict management, the team’s objectives will be much more advantageous for Riordan Manufacturing and its customers.
References
Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall
Smart Entrepreneur (n.d.). Team Building Strategies - Remember the Five C's. Retrieved February 23, 2013 from: http://www.smartentrepreneur.net/team-building-strategies.html

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