Challenges

Challenges of Groups and Teams Groups and teams face many challenges while trying to become more effective. Individuality can complicate or enhance the team’s ability to communicate effectively, collaborate well, and manage conflict. “A team’s ineffectiveness can negatively affect another team’s work, creating problems across the organization” (Coghlan, 1994). In order to overcome conflicts that the team may face, it’s important to develop a training plan to increase the group’s effectiveness so that certain issues will not cause problems in the future. The following will discuss ways in which communication, collaboration and conflict management can be beneficial in the effectiveness of teams in any organization such as Enron. Communication Communication is the central focal point to the success of any team. Because perfect communication does not exist, it’s important to learn how to communicate effectively within the group. According to Robbins and Judge (2007), “communication must include both the transference and the understanding of meaning”. Each member of the team may have a different style of communication which may be a barrier that prevents effective communication. In order to learn of the different communication styles among team members, preferences should be discussed among team members. Group members may prefer to communicate messages through email, video or phone conferences, or even face to face meetings. Other barriers that the team may face are filtering, selective perception, information overload, and communication apprehension (Robbins & Judge, 2007). To overcome communication barriers, the team should focus on team building activities that will allow all ideas to be expressed and group members who are apprehensive about expressing themselves will feel more comfortable in the group. Team members should be honest and open about their opinions and ideas. This is one practice that the Enron executives did not practice. They falsified documents so that the company looked profitable to its stakeholders. In the beginning, they should have developed a charter that gave all members an idea of what was expected and an idea of the morals and values of the other members of the team. This is a great team building exercise to focus on team cohesiveness. “Team building is the activity of attempting to improve a work group’s effectiveness at doing its work, maintaining the relationships of its members and the team’s contribution to the wider organizational system” (Coghlan, 1994). Not only will this help the team to increase communication within the group but it will also help the group to become more effective. Collaboration and Conflict Conflict can be a major issue within groups. Conflict can be a positive force in a group but some conflict is absolutely necessary for a group to perform effectively (Robbins & Judge, 2007, p. 506). An ongoing minimum level of conflict allows for team members to be creative in their viewpoints and not just accepting the ideas and viewpoints of other team members. Conflict can arise for many different reasons and one way to manage conflict is through collaboration. Robbins and Judge (2007) suggest that collaborating is “the intention of the parties to solve the problem by clarifying differences rather than by accommodating various points of view.” According to Goldsmith (2008), there are four steps to improving collaboration within teams: (1) assess the current level and desired level of teamwork, (2) identify behaviors that would close the gap, (3) have team members interview one another and (4) make the learning ongoing. He states that “In my work with many different teams, I have learned that those that practice this very efficient process can make huge improvements in teamwork in very little time.” In a learning team, this process would be very beneficial in achieving the team’s goal to become effective in collaborating ideas. Conclusion Communication, collaboration and managing conflict are all essential in creating a successful team. Communication should be the main focal point in increasing team effectiveness. Because of the different communication styles, individuality and many other barriers, all teams will face many conflicts. In order to be successful, it is important to learn how to manage those conflicts and get them resolved efficiently through team effort and collaboration. In following the above training plan, any team or organization can be successful.