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Team Dynamics and Conflict Resolution in Work Teams

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Submitted By gorous2
Words 1270
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Team Dynamics and Conflict Resolution in Work Teams
GEN300
February 16, 2009

Team dynamics is characterized by continuous change, activity, and progress. Our team will consist of this because we are motivated to be extremely successful. The skills we possess will effectively promote us to a strong commitment and performance for our class. In our class, we are actively forming a team to reach individual and team goals, so we can accelerate to virtue. We have a mission to accomplish in this five week session and we are trying to gather all our strengths and characteristics to obtain a high grade in this class. We all have the same goals and that is to obtain our bachelor’s degree and become successful in our personal and professional lives. In this class we will start by brainstorming on ideas that will further us in the future (Wadsworth, 2009). A positive attitude is highly important in the work field as well as in our personal lives. I think this should be practiced in teams, so teammates can all get along and work diligently side by side. It will definitely make them feel warm and happy to work with each other and bring them closer together. When everyone is having a positive attitude, it can open the doors to trust and loyalty within the group. It will help in their performance and communication. In any organization, communication is vital, so it is best to strive to perfection and have an open communication policy. If anyone feels neglected or unappreciated, they can come to each other with honesty about their feelings so it won’t be any gray areas. We believe that this will allow teams to succeed at their mission and make the comfort level acceptable (Wadsworth, 2009). Teams are made up of motivated people who want to grasp all knowledge that is necessary to be eminent. This is why it is necessary to have focus and a good direction to end at perfection. There must be a great leader to guide them and help fulfill the needs they are reaching for. Teams should also have persistency in whatever their tasks are and stay at a pace that will enable them to feel a control over things. They should not feel overwhelmed because this will deter them of future endeavors to come. Everyone should have a specific duty to live by and they should all come to an agreement to who is good at what. When this has been achieved, they will reap the benefits of a successful team (Wadsworth, 2009). Cooperation is another characteristic that will provide excellence within a team. If no one is being conducive in the team, then they can be bound for failure. This is very detrimental for everyone involved in a group, if one of the individuals doesn’t abide by the rules. However, if this dynamic is followed by all, it should be a smooth sailor and very beneficial. We believe the key team dynamics in a group of people are mainly: performance, positive attitudes and commitment. These should break down the barriers for failure and bring upon a magnificent team (Wadsworth, 2009). Conflict is any situation in which there are incompatible goals, cognitions, or emotions within or between individuals or groups that lead to opposition or antagonistic interaction. Most people don’t like conflict and try to avoid it at all costs. However, conflict is inevitable when dealing with groups of people. Normally when a group of people get together conflict is a given because conflict is a part of organizational life. Usually conflict arises when people within a group have different perceptions, goals; their own way of doing things that may conflict with the objective of others (Wadsworth, 2009). Conflicts that may arise in a team setting are expectation, time management, commitment, miscommunication, leadership, cooperation and motivation, which can cause a team to not be successful at achieving their goal. For instance, if a person is always late productivity will go down because they are not there to pull their weight or if someone’s schedule conflicts with the team schedule the slack will have to be picked up by another team member; this creates more work and stress within the team (Wadsworth, 2009). Conflict management is learning how to settle disagreements peacefully instead of fussing or fighting. In order to solve a problem you must first recognize the conflict and talk out the problem to come to some kind of mutual agreement to work out the conflict. In some cases people can use conflict resolution, which means resolving the problem, eliminating the conflict. However, that is not always possible. Sometimes you cannot just eliminate the problem; therefore you have to manage the conflict so production will not come to a stop (Wadsworth, 2009). In my research I have learned there are two types of conflict, positive and negative. Positive conflict is functional and supports or benefits the organization or person’s main objectives; increased involvement, positive personal growth and change, and increased cohesion are examples of positive conflict. These are the type of conflict you can work through in a productive manner. In contrast negative conflict is dysfunctional and hinders the organizations or person’s performance or ability to attain foals or objectives; personality clashes, problems of efficiency, and unresolved anger are examples of negative conflict. In the event you experience these types of conflicts you would apply conflict management to alleviate stagnation. People do not want to work in a destructive and stressful environment. Therefore it will take all persons involved to do their part in order to successfully complete a task in a timely fashion (Wadsworth, 2009). When conflict emerges you would want to resolve the problem to achieve the goal, but for greater reason you want to maintain a good relationship with your team members; this will make production more efficient. Working within a group of people sometimes calls for compromise. If you split the difference and find a common ground to build on; you may have alleviated a portion of the conflict. In essence, you have maintained the relationship and effectively managed or resolved the problem. Teamwork is hard work, but not impossible. Conflicts will arise, but it is how you handle the conflict that will determine the outcome (Wadsworth, 2009). In order to have a good relationship between teammates, the team must make interventions to make the effect of those dynamics more positive. It requires to have a team leader and all teammates will look-up to the team leader for help. Leadership of the team requires a ability to diagnose the stage of development of the team, and make appropriate intervention, that move the team forward. The interventions that a leader should make are Forming, Storming, Norming and performing (Wadsworth, 2009). Forming by set a task for individual teammates, storming by resolve conflicts, create a friendly atmosphere and trust between teammates. Norming by facilitate processes, task interaction, and listen to teammates if they confuse or debate and advise. Performing by coach the team self-development, observe and support the team and individual self-development (Wadsworth, 2009). Regardless of how good the team leader is or how hard he works, there always a confliction. Conflict resolution is not a standard alone skill but interrelates with other skills. Team leader must prevent the confliction by confront the conflict before it occurs. Beside that, teammates need feedback from each other. Feedback defuses anger and brings rationally to a discussion (Wadsworth, 2009).

Reference

T., Wadsworth (2009), Ethics Awareness Inventory: A Guide to personal awareness of your ethical perspective and style.

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