Team Cohesion in the Public Services.
Question 1:

Meredith Belbin came up with 9 Team Roles.

Implementer: This means that this character is well organised. This is a good thing because it means that they are able to keep track of what’s been done, what needs doing etc. They take very basic ideas, and they convert them into tasks. This is good because if there wasn’t someone like this, then the team would not have a high productivity because they wouldn’t know how to change ideas into actions. Sometimes they can be slower than others, this would be a problem in a fast paced activity.
Shaper: This means that they have a lot of energy when doing a task. This is a good thing because it makes other people in the team want to move forward and to do well. This means that the task will be done quicker as more people will be getting involved with the task. They can sometimes be insensitive. This means that they show or feel no concern for other people’s feelings. This is a bad thing because people in the team could get offended by a comment and it could cause friction in the group.
Completer/Finisher: This means that they always see things through to the end of the task. They make sure that everything is working well and making sure that everything’s right. This is a good thing because it means that if anything is going wrong, then they can identify it and make it right. A bad thing about this role, is that they can worry too much about the task and they may not trust other people in the team. This is bad because trust level will be low, and communication will not be high.
Plant: This means that they take original and creative ideas, and they tackle difficult problems with these ideas. This is good because it means that if there is someone who is struggling with a problem, then they can help them. A bad thing about these is that they can sometimes ignore some of the essential details and can be poor communicators. This is bad because ideas could not be transferred between the members of the team as they do not communicate.
Monitor/Evaluator: This means that they think about things accurately and carefully. They also look at the big picture instead of the little ones. This is good because they will go through things instead of jumping straight to a conclusion. These roles sometimes lack inspiration for the other team members. Also they may lack energy. These are bad things because it means that they may find you a boring person and no one will be motivated.
Specialist: These roles are for people who have expert knowledge/skills in a particular area and will solve problems in this area. This is good because they only have to concentrate on a specific area instead of possibly getting confused because they have too much to think about. A bad thing is that they can be disinterested in other areas. This is bad because it means that if there is no one that is strong in that area, then it won’t be done to a good standard.
Coordinator: This team role is someone who is respected by everyone because they always try and keep everyone concentrated on the task. This is good because if someone loses focus, then they can bring them back and help them regain focus. A bad thing with these is that they can sometimes seen as controlling. This is bad because people may get annoyed with this person and there could be friction.
Team Worker: This team role is someone who cares for every individual and the team itself. This person aims to help with social problems through the team and they are great listeners. This is good because they can make other people in the team feel wanted and needed in the team. Also they act as the peacemaker in the team. A bad thing about these is that they can have problems in making difficult decisions. This is bad because they could take a while on deciding things.
Resource/Investigator: This team role is for someone who explores new ideas. This is good because it means that the team can have different ideas to work with instead of only a few. A bad thing with these is that they can be too optimistic. A bad thing with this is that they can sometimes be too confident in the future out coming.

Honey came up with 5 team roles.

Leader: This is someone who ensures that every individual remains focused on the task. This is similar to the Coordinator from Belbin’s roles. They give clear aims for the team and ensure that they will reach or even exceed that aim.
Challenger: This is someone who will always push for improvements to make sure that they get the best results. This is good because it means that they will never stop working and they won’t stop until they get the best result.
Worker: This is someone who isn’t afraid of getting stuck in and taking control of the team. They work hard for the sake of other members in the team. This is good because it means that they will get a lot of respect in the team and that will make them want to keep doing what they’re doing.
Thinking: This is someone who thinks about every situation carefully and will always analyse the situation in order to know how to improve it and make it better. This is good because while other people are working, they can take a step back to look at it and improve it.
Helper: This is someone in the team who will always try and kill all tension through the team and they will aim to have everyone in the team to be happy and to be satisfactory. This is good because it means that even if there is a bit of tension in the team, then they will be able to sort that out.

Question 2

Recruitment: Bringing in the right people into the team is essential because if you bring the wrong people into the team, then some tasks could not be done. For example, if you’re looking for someone with a specific set of skills, and you recruit someone with a different set of skills, team building will be bad as tasks my not be done. Also if you recruit someone with the wrong attitude, then there could be friction in the team.
Induction: When someone new is in the team, there will need to be an induction. This means that they will be notified what the expectations of the team are. This is important because if they do not know the expectations, then they may be doing it wrong and the team may have a bad cohesion.
Motivation: This is a good thing in a team because if everyone is motivated to complete a task, then they will try their hardest to complete it. If there was no motivation in a team, then possibly some tasks couldn’t be done.
Training/Coaching: This is a good thing because it allows people to see how and where to improve on. If this wasn’t present in the team, then people would keep making the same mistakes and would never know on how to improve.
Mentoring: This is good because if someone is struggling then that individual can get tips to help them. If no one in the team done this, then people would start to get frustrated because they’re constantly confused and not knowing what to do.
Team Knowledge: This is good because it allows people to give alternate ways of how to do a task. If this wasn’t in the team, then there would only be a few ideas being chucked around the group. The more ideas, the better.
Awareness of Team Members Strengths: This is good because it means that if someone has a specific strength, then they can give that individual a certain role which requires their skill. This makes the person feel more comfortable than being in a role they don’t know.

Question 3.

Forming: Forming is where the team will meet for the first time. When they meet the team cohesion will be low because they don’t know each other. The members of the team will rely on the leader most of the time because as they are new to the team, their understanding of what they need to do will be very low. This is where all expectations will be given to the members so they will know exactly what’s expected of them.

Storming: This is the stage where people will be finding power within the group. The team cohesion will have increased slightly because the team would’ve spent more time together. This is where skills, strengths, qualities, and weaknesses will be shown through the team. This will give the leader the ability to work out what roles he/she can give to each individual. This is where some conflict could occur because they’re all trying to gain power in the team.
Norming: This is the calmer stage of the other ones. This is because they will all know what the routine is and what’s expected of them. This is also where members will not challenge each other for things they know they won’t be able to. This helps the team to rely more on themselves rather than the leader. There is an improvement with team cohesion because there is an increase in trust and confidence through the group. This will create good relationships through the team.
Performing: This is where team development is at its highest. This is the stage where the team will start to know each other well, they will have high levels of trust. This makes the team work really well. Some of the roles and responsibilities have changed over time because someone people would’ve adapted to different ways of doing things. All the team members will be able to support each other because everyone is aware of what people struggle with. The loyalty and Morale will be high will be high at this stage in the team.
Adjourning: This is where the team starts to break up and find different teams to join. This is a bad thing because some people may’ve had brilliant relationships and strong bonds with each other and they may feel after the team has been disbanded, that bond will disappear. In some cases this will happen, but sometimes people will keep in contact with each other.

Question 4.

Knowing a team members weakness is very important and good to notice. This is because you can notify them on what they need to improve on and how they can improve. This helps to develop a team because allows the team to work well instead of there being confusion and struggle.
Question 5.

Team building is conducted by making sure that everyone in the team is comfortable in the roles they’ve been given. This is important because if they don’t, then they may not want to work as well as they can. Also building relationships in the team is good because there will be a significant increase in trust and confidence in the team, which makes everyone feel comfortable if they do something wrong. Finding the right routine and finding who is a bad person to work with is very good because it allows you to adapt to different people within the team and it makes you understand who to make friends with and who not too.

Question 6.

Targets are set, monitored, and reviewed constantly. This is because if a target is set and they don’t review it, then people will not know on how they can improve to achieve better goals. It allows everyone to get an idea of what they need to do next time and so they don’t get it wrong again.

Question 7.

In a team, it’s important to identify and define team goals so that people know what they need to achieve within the team. This is good for developing a team because it helps people understand what they have to do and how to do it.

Question 8.

Poor team cohesion can often cause conflict and a high turnover. This is because people won’t feel comfortable in the team as there will be no trust, there will be constant arguments, and also there will be a low morale in the team. If there is a high turnover within a team, there will be low productivity because people will keep leaving and joining. This means that there will be trust issues, and people with have to keep making new friendships.