TroublewithTeamwork

MaryOwenexaminestheroleandefficiencyofteams

Recruiterssaythatcandidateswhocangiveexamplesofworktheyhavedoneasmembersofasuccessfulteamareinasstrongapositionasthosewhocanpointtosignificantindividualachievement.Indeed,toomuchofthelattermaysuggestthatthepersonconcernedisnota'teamplayer'-oneofthemoreseriousfailingsinthebookofmanagement.

Theimportanceofbeingateamplayerisasideeffectoftheincreasinginteractionacrossdepartmentsandfunctionaldivides.Insteadofpushingreports,paperworkanddecisionsaroundtheorganisation,'teamsprovideadynamicmeetingplacewhereideascanbesharedandexpertisemorecarefullytargetedatimportantbusinessissues,'saysSteveGardner,inhisbookKeyManagementConcepts.Headds,'Globalisationhasaddedafurtherdimensiontoteamwork.Multinationalteamsnowstudypolicydecisionsinthelightoftheirimpactonthelocalmarket.'

Butisteamworkingbeingoverdone?'Somemanagersareonasmanyassevenoreightdifferentteams',saysDrCathyBandy,apsychologistwhorecentlyranaconferenceonthesubject.'Theytakeupsomuchtimethatmanagerscan'tgetonwithcoretasks.'Formingteamsandhavingmeetingshas,shesays,becomeanendinitself,almostregardlessofpurpose.Thereisalsothedangerofanunhealthydesiretokeeptheteamgoingaftertheworkhasbeendone.'Peoplefeeltheneedtobelong,andteammembershipcanprovideakindofpsychologicalsupport.'

Theideabehindteamworkingisthat,whentherightgroupofpeopleisbroughttogether,a'force'developswhichisgreaterthanthesumoftheirindividualtalents.Thisisoftentrueinsport,wheregoodplayerscanreachunexpectedheightsasmembersofaninternationalteam.However,fewbusinesssituationshaveasclearasetofobjectives,orasclearcriteriaofsuccessorfailure,aswinningamatch.

'Inbusiness,everyoneneedstobeclearaboutwhatthechallengeisandwhetherateamistherightwayofapproachingit',saysSteveGardner.'Unfortunately,peoplefocusinsteadonwhothemembersoftheteamshouldbeandwhatrolestheyaretoplay'DrBandyagrees.'Thereisalwaysadangerthatteamscanturnintocommittees,'shesays.'Inalotofsituations,oneortwoindividualswouldbemuchmoreeffective.'

Sowhatmakesasuccessfulteam?Therearesomegeneralqualitiesthathavebeenidentified.SteveGardnerrecommendsthatineveryteamthereshouldbesomeonewhoisgoodatresearchingideasandanotherwhoisgoodatshootingdownimpracticalones.Thereshouldbethosewhocanresolvethetensionsthatnaturallyoccurinateamandotherswhoarefocusedongettingthejobdone.Also,providingaclearandachievabletargetattheoutsetisthebestwayofensuringthattheteamwillmoveontogreaterthings.

13、Whatpointdoesthewritermakeaboutteamworkingatthebeginningofthearticle?

AItisthemostsuccessfulformofmanagement.

BIthaschangedtherecruitmentprocedureincompanies.

CWell-runteamsstillallowindividualstodemonstratetheirtalents.

DBeingateamplayerisnowconsideredanessentialmanagementskill.

14、Accordingtothearticle,teamworkdevelopedwithincompaniesasaresponseto

Amodernofficedesign.

Bchangingworkpractices.

Careductioninadministrativetasks.

Dtheexpansionofinternationalbusiness.

15、Inthethirdparagraph,DrBandysuggeststhat

Amanyemployeesdonotenjoyworkinginteams.

Bsomemanagersarenotveryeffectiveteamleaders.

Csometeamsarecreatedunnecessarily.

Dfewteamsarewellorganised.

16、Accordingtothewriter,teamworkismoreeffectiveinthefieldofsportbecausetheplayers

Aknowwhattheywanttoachieve.

Baremorecompetitivebynature.

Chavemoreindividualtalent.

Dcanbedrivenbynationalpride.

17、SteveGardnerandDrBandyagreethatwhenabusinessteamiscreatedpeopledonotpayenoughattentionto

Athestructureoftheteam.

Balternativestotheteam.

Cselectingtheteammembers.

Ddirectingtheteam'sactivities.

18、WhatisSteveGardner'sadviceonoperatingasuccessfulteam?

AMaintainaflexibleapproachtomembership.

BAllowpersonalitiestodevelopwithintheteam.

CSelectpeoplewhofitnaturallyintocertainroles.

DMakeeveryefforttoavoidconflictbetweenmembers.

Hehadalongtelephone(　).

Readthetextaboutcareer-planningservices.

Choosethebestsentencefromtheoppositepagetofilleachofthegaps.

Foreachgap9–14,markoneletter(A-H)onyourAnswerSheet.

Donotuseanylettermorethanonce.

Thereisanexampleatthebeginning.(0)

YourCareerPathCanLeadYouAnywhere

Weusedtobeadvisedtoplanourcareers.Weweretoldtomakeaplanduringthelaterstagesofoureducationandcontinuewithitthroughourworkinglives.(0)_____somepeoplestillseecareersinthisway.However,topursueasingleoptionforlifehasalwaysbeenunrealistic.

Planningforasinglecareerassumesthatwesetoutwithafullunderstandingofourlikesanddislikesandtheemploymentopportunitiesopentous.(9)____Formostpeoplethisdegreeofcertaintyaboutthefuturedoesnotexist.

Ourinitialchoiceofcareerpathandemployerisoftenbasedoninadequateknowledgeandfalseperceptions.Butwithageandexperience,wedevelopnewinterestsandaptitudesandourprioritiesalter.Thestructureoftheemploymentmarketand,indeedofemploymentitself,issubjecttochangeasbothnewtechnologiesandnewworksystemsareintroduced(10)_____Wemustfacetheuncertaintiesofaportfoliocareer.

Itisclearfromtherecentpastthatwecannotforeseethechangeswhichwillaffectourworkinglives.Thepaceofchangeisaccelerating,asaresultofwhichtraditionalcareerplanswillbeofverylimiteduse.(11)_____Theywillneedupdatingtoreflectchangesinourowninterestsaswellasintheexternalworkenvironment.Flexibleworkersalreadyaccountforabouthalftheworkforce.(12)______Wearelikelytofaceperiodsascontractworkers,self-employedfreelances,consultants,tempsorpart-timers.

Manyemployersencouragestafftowriteapersonaldevelopmentdevelopment(PDP)(13)_____Althoughsomepeopleuseitonlytoreviewtheskillsneededfortheirjob,aPDPcouldbethenucleusofwidercareerplan–settingoutalternativelong-termlearningneedsandaplanofself-development.

AreportissuedbytheInstituteofEmploymentStudiesadvisespeopletoenhancetheiremployabilitybymovingfromtraditionaltechnicalskillstowardstheattainmentofarangeoftransferableskills.(14)_____Instead,specialschemesshouldbeestablishedtoencouragepeopletoexaminetheireffectivenessandtoconsiderawiderrangeofneeds.

0ABCDEFGH

AThisdualeffectmeansthattherelationshipbetweenemployersandworkershasevolvedtosuchandextentthatwecannolongerexpectalong-termrelationshipwithoneemployer.

B.Itcarriesanimplicitassumptionthatweourselves,andthejobsweenter,willchangelittleduringourworkinglives.

C.Thisgrowthsuggeststhatacareerplanshouldnotbeexpressedonlyintermsoffull-timeemploymentbutshouldmakeprovisionforthepossibilityofbecomingoneofthe.

Dthisisasummaryofone’spersonallearningneedsandanactionplantomeetthem.

EConsequently,theymustnowaccommodateanumberofobjectivesandenableustoprepareforeachonacontingencybasis.

FHowever,itwarnsthatemployersoftenidentifytrainingneedsthroughformalappraisals,whichtaketoonarrowaviewofdevelopment.

G.Suchafreelanceofconsultantwouldbeconstantlyindemand.

HWewereexpectedtoworktowardsthatonecleargoalandtoconsideracareerchangeasabadthing.

TheImportanceofGoodCommunications

Effectivecommunicationisessentialforallorganizations.Itlinkstheactivitiesofthevariouspartsoftheorganizationandensuresthateveryoneisworkingtowardsacommongoal.Itisalsoextremelyimportantformotivatingemployees.Staffneedtoknowhowtheyaregettingon,whattheyaredoingrightandinwhichareastheycouldimprove.Workingalonecanbeextremelydifficultanditismucheasierifsomeonetakesaninterestandprovidessupport.Employeesneedtounderstandwhytheirjobisimportantandhowitcontributestotheoverallsuccessofthefirm.Personalcommunicationshouldalsoincludetargetsetting.Peopleusuallyrespondwelltogoals,providedtheseareagreedbetweenthemanagerandsubordinateandnotimposed.

However,firmsoftenhavecommunicationproblemsthatcanunderminetheirperformance.Inmanycases,theseproblemsoccurbecausemessagesarepassedoninaninappropriateway.Thereare,ofcourse,severalwaysofconveyinginformationtoothersintheorganizationwhichincludespeakingtothemdirectly,e-mailing,telephoningorsendingamemo.Themostappropriatemethoddependsonwhatexactlyitisyouarecommunicating.Forexample,anythingthatisparticularlysensitiveorconfidential,suchasanemployee'sappraisal,shouldbedoneface-to-face.

Oneofthemainproblemsforseniorexecutivesisthattheydonothavethetimeorresourcesneededtocommunicateeffectively.Inlargecompanies,forexample,itisimpossibleforseniormanagerstomeetanddiscussprogresswitheachemployeeindividually.Obviouslythistaskcanbedelegatedbutatthecostofcreatingagapbetweenseniormanagementandstaff.Asaresult,managersareoftenforcedtouseothermethodsofcommunication,likememosornotes,eveniftheyknowthesearenotnecessarilythemostsuitablemeansofpassingonmessages.

Theuseoftechnology,suchase-mail,mobilephonesandnetworksystems,isspeedingupcommunicationimmensely.However,thisdoesnotmeanthatmoreinvestmentintechnologyautomaticallyprovesbeneficial:systemscanbecomeoutdatedoremployeesmaylackappropriatetraining.Therearemanycommunicationstoolsnowavailablebutafirmcannotaffordallofthem.Evenifitcould,itdoesnotactuallyneedthemall.Thepotentialgainsmustbeweighedupagainstthecosts,andfirmsshouldrealizethatmorecommunicationdoesnotnecessarilymeanbettercommunication."

Asthenumberofpeopleinvolvedinanorganizationincrease,theuseofwrittencommunicationrisesevenfaster.Insteadofaquickconversationtosortsomethingoutnumerousmessagescanbepassedbackwardsandforwards.Thiscanleadtoatremendousamountofpaperworkandisoftenlesseffectivethanface-to-facecommunication.Whenyouareactuallytalkingtosomeoneyoucandiscussthingsuntilyouarehappythattheyhaveunderstoodandfeedbackisimmediate.Withwrittenmessages,however,youareneverquitesurehowitwillbereceivedwhatyouthinkyouhavesaidandwhattheotherpersonthinksyouhavesaidcanbeverydifferent.

Theamountofwritteninformationgeneratedinlargeorganizationstodaycanleadtocommunicationoverload.Somuchinformationisgatheredthatitgetsinthewayofmakingdecisions.Takealookattheaveragemanager'sdeskandyouwillseetheproblem--itisoftencoveredwithletters,reportsandmemos.Thisoverloadcanleadtoinefficiencies.Forexample,managersmaynotbeabletofindtheinformationtheywantwhentheyneedit.Communicationisalsobecomingmoredifficultwiththechangesoccurringinemploymentpatterns.Withmorepeopleworkingpart-timeandworkingathome,managingcommunicationisbecomingincreasinglycomplex.

1.InthefirstparagraphthewriterrecommendsthatcommunicationwithstaffshouldincludeA.somefeedbackontheirjobperformance.

B.anexplanationofhowcompanytargetshavebeenset.

C.informationonpromotionprospectswithinthecompany.

D.anindicationofwhichdutiestheycanexpectassistancewith.areastheycouldimprove

2.Accordingtothewriter,thebestwayofachievingeffectivecommunicationistoA.adaptthemessagetosuitaparticularaudience.

B.makethecontentofmessagesbriefanddirect.

C.selectthemostsuitablemeansofconveyingaparticularmessage.

D.ensurethatinformationistargetedattheappropriategroupofpeople.

3.Whatdoesthewritersayaboutthecommunicationoptionsavailabletoseniormanagers?A.Sendingmemostostaffisoneofthemostefficientmethods.

B.Itisimportanttofindthetimetodiscusscertainmatterswithstaff.

C.Theyshouldincreasetherangeofoptionsthattheyuse.

D.Gettingjuniormanagerstotalktostaffcancreatedifferentproblems.

4.Whatadviceisgivenaboutthecommunicationtoolsmadeavailablebytechnology?A.Aimtolimitstaffuseofcertaincommunicationtools.

B.Evaluatethemintermsoftheexpenditureinvolved.

C.Selectthemonthebasisofthefacilitiestheyoffer.

D.Encouragemorestafftoattendtrainingcoursesintheiruse.

5.Accordingtothewriter,aproblemwithwrittencommunicationisthatA.themessagecanbeinterpreteddifferentlytowhatwasintended.

B.itcanbeeasyforpeopletoignorethecontentsofawrittenmessage.

C.mostpeoplearemorecomfortablewithface-to-facecommunication.

D.itispossibleforcorrespondencetogetlostwithinalargeorganization.

6.Accordingtothearticle,whatistheeffectofreceivinglargeamountsofwritteninformation?A.Itiscounter-productive."

B.Itcausesconflictinacompany.

C.Itleadstochangesinworkpatterns.

D.Itmakesthemainpointsmoredifficulttoidentify.

ApplicantsarerequiredtohavetwoGCSEsatgradeCorabove(orequivalent)includingEnglishLanguageandpreferablysomeexperienceinadministration.Candidatesmusthave