JABATAN PEMBANGUNAN KEMAHIRAN

KEMENTERIAN SUMBER MANUSIA

ARAS 7 & 8 BLOK D4, KOMPLEKS D
62502 PUTRAJAYA

KERTAS PENERANGAN
PROGRAM / PROGRAM

NCS CORE ABILITIES (Z009)

TAHAP / LEVEL

L3

NO. DAN TAJUK MODUL/

MODULE NO. AND TITLE

04 TEAM WORK DEVELOPMENT

03.13 : DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN TEAM
HARMONY AND RESOLVE CONFLICTS

KEBOLEHAN / ABILITIES

02.11 : CONVEY INFORMATION AND IDEAS TO

PEOPLE
03.14 : FACILITATE AND COORDINATE TEAMS
AND IDEAS
06.07 : DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN NETWORKS
AT THE END OF THIS MODULE, TRAINEES WILL
BE ABLE TO:1. DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN TEAM HARMONY
AND RESOLVE CONFLICTS

OBJEKTIF MODUL /
MODULE OBJECTIVE

2. CONVEY INFORMATION AND IDEAS TO

PEOPLE
3. FACILITATE AND COORDINATE TEAMS AND
IDEAS
4. DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN NETWORKS APPLY
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES

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TITLE / TAJUK:

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TEAM WORK DEVELOPMENT

TUJUAN / OBJECTIVE(S):
The objective of this topic is to:1.

Develop and maintain team harmony and resolve conflicts

2.

Convey information and ideas to people

3.

Facilitate and coordinate teams and ideas

4.

Develop and maintain networks give full understanding regarding problem solving
strategies that can be apply in organization or in personal life.

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1.

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INTRODUCTION
A team (A unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to
accomplish a specific goal.) is a unit of 2 or more people who interact and coordinate
their work to accomplish a specific goal. This definition has three components. First,
2 or more people are required. Teams can be quite large, running to as many as 75
people, although most have fewer than 15 people. Second, people in a team have
regular interaction. People who do not interact, such as when standing in line at a
lunch counter, or riding in an elevator, does not compose a team. Third, people in a
team share a performance goal, whether it is to design a new type of hand calculator
or write a textbook. Students often are assigned to teams to do class work
assignments, in which case the purpose is to perform the assignment and receive an
acceptable grade.
Although a team is a group of people, the two terms are not interchangeable. An
employer, a teacher, or a coach can put together a group of people and never build a
team. The team concept implies a sense of shared mission and collective
responsibility.
Work team effectiveness is based on two outcomes productive output and personal
satisfaction. Satisfaction pertains to the teams ability to meet the personal needs of
its members and hence maintain their membership and commitment. Productive
output pertains to the quality and quantity of task outputs as defined by team goals.
The factors that influence team effectiveness begin with the organizational context.
Important team characteristics are the type of team, the team structure, and team
composition. Managers must decide when to create permanent teams within the
formal structure and when to use a temporary task team. Team size and roles also
are important. Managers must also consider whether a team is the best way to do a
task. If costs outweigh benefits, managers may wish to assign an individual
employee to the task.
These team characteristics influence processes internal to the team, which in turn
affect output and satisfaction. Leaders must understand and manage stages of
development, cohesiveness, norms, and conflict in order to establish an effective
team. These processes are influenced by team and organizational characteristics
and the ability of members and leaders to direct these processes in a positive
manner.
In the following sections, we will examine types of organizational teams, team
structure, internal processes, and team benefits and costs.

2.

TYPES OF TEAMS
Many types of teams can exist within organizations. The easiest way to classified
teams is in terms of those created as part of the organizations formal structure and
those created to increase employee participation.
2.1.

Formal Teams

Formal teams (A team created by the organization as part of the formal organization
structure) are created by the organization as part of the formal organization structure.
Two common types of formal teams are vertical and horizontal, which typically
represent vertical and horizontal structural relationships. These two types of teams
are illustrated in Exhibit 1. A third type of formal team is the special-purpose team.

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Figure 1

2.2.

Vertical Team

A vertical team is composed of a manager and his or her subordinates in the formal
chain of command. Sometimes called a Functional team or a command team, the
vertical team may in some cases include three or four levels of hierarchy within a
functional department. Typically, the vertical ream includes a single department in an
organization. A financial analysis department, a quality control department, an
accounting department, and a human resource department are all command teams.
Each is created the organization to attain specific goals through members joint
activities and interactions.
2.3.

Horizontal Team

A horizontal team is composed of employees from about the same hierarchical level
but from different areas of expertise. A horizontal team is drawn from several
departments, is given a specific task, and may be disbanded after the task is
completed. The two most common types of horizontal teams are task forces and
committees.
A task force is a group of employees from different departments formed to deal with a
specific activity and existing only until the task is completed. Sometimes called a
cross-functional team, the task force might be used to create a new product in a
manufacturing organization or a new history curriculum in a university. Several
departments are involved, and many views have to be considered, so these tasks are
best served with a horizontal team. Contact among team members was intense, and
principal players met every day.
A committee is generally long-lived and may be a permanent part of the
organizations structure. Membership on a committee is usually decided by a
persons title or position rather than by personal expertise. A committee often needs
official representation, compared with selection for a task force, which is based on
personal qualifications for solving a problem. Committees typically are formed to deal
with tasks that recur regularly.

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As part of the horizontal structure of the organization, task forces and committees
offer several advantages:1.

they allow organization members to exchange information;

2.

they generate suggestions for coordinating the organizational units that are
represented;

3.

they develop new ideas and solutions for existing organizational problems;
and;

4.

they assist in the development of new organizational practices and policies.

2.4.

Special Purpose Team

Special-purpose teams are created outside the formal organization structure to

undertake a project of special importance or creativity. A special-purpose team is still
part of the formal organization and has its own reporting structure, but members
perceive themselves as a separate entity. The formal teams described here must be
skillfully managed to accomplish their purpose.
2.5.

Self-Directed Team

Employee involvement through teams is designed to increase the participation of

low-level workers in decision making and the conduct of their jobs, with the goal of
improving performance. Employee involvement started out simply with techniques
such as information sharing with employees or asking employees for suggestions
about improving the work. Gradually, companies moved toward greater autonomy for
employees, which led first to problem-solving teams and then to self-directed teams.
Problem-solving teams typically consist of 5 to 12 hourly employees from the same
department who voluntarily meet to discuss ways of improving quality efficiency, and
the work environment. Recommendations are proposed to management for approval.
Problem-solving teams are usually the first step in a companys move toward greater
employee participation.
3.

CRITERIA TO DELEGATE JOB

3.1.

3.2.

3.3.

Critical Path

Delegated more on tasks in the path.

Focus to expedite the completion of task.

Work Scope Requirements

Delegated to meet the requirement as best as possible.

Ensuring that more support given if individual does not meet full
requirements.

Individual Traits

Delegated to match tasks with Individual Traits.

Based on Dr Holland 6 Humans Personal Traits. Please refer to table 1

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Type

Personally Characteristics

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Suitable Occupations

Realistic:

Shy, genuine, persistent, stable,

conforming, practical

Mechanic, drill press operator, assembly-line

worker, farmer

Investigative:

Analytical, original, curious,

independent

Biologist, economist, mathematician, news

reporter

Social:

Sociable, friendly, cooperative,

understanding

Social worker, teacher, counselor, clinical

psychologist

Conventional:

Conforming, efficient, practical,

unimaginative, inflexible

Accountant, corporate manager, bank teller, file

clerk

Enterprising:

Self-confident, ambitious,
energetic, domineering

Lawyer, real estate agent, public relations

specialist, small business manager

Artistic:

Imaginative, disorderly, idealistic,

emotional, impractical
Table 1

Painter, musician, writer, interior decorator

3.4.

4.

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Group Cohesiveness

Delegate bases on the ability to work harmoniously in a group.

Assist in avoiding conflicts and job-dissatisfaction.

LEADERSHIP
Six traits that differentiates leaders from non-leaders:
i)

Drive.
Leaders exhibit a high effort level. They have a relatively high desire for
achievement, theyre ambitious, they have a lot of energy, theyre tirelessly
persistent in their activities, and they show initiative.

ii)

Desire to lead
Leaders have a strong desire to influence and lead others. They demonstrate
willingness to take responsibility.

iii)

Honesty and integrity

Leaders build trusting relationships between themselves and followers by
being truthful or non-deceitful and by showing high consistency between word
and deed.

iv)

Self-confidence
Followers look to leaders for an absence of self-doubt. Leaders, therefore,
need to show self-confidence in order to convince followers of the rightness of
goals and decisions.

v)

Intelligence
Leaders need to be intelligent enough to gather, synthesize, and interpret
large amounts of information and to be able to create visions, solve problems,
and make correct decisions.

vi)

Job-relevant knowledge

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Effective leaders have a high degree of knowledge about the company,

industry, and technical matters. In-depth knowledge allows leaders to make
well-informed decisions and to understand the implications of those decisions.
5.

APPRECIATION OF ACHIEVEMENT
Reinforcement, and punishment, the core tools of operant conditioning, are either
positive (delivered following a response), or negative (withdrawn following a
response). This creates a total of four basic consequences, with the addition of a fifth
procedure known as extinction (i.e. no change in consequences following a
response).
It's important to note that organisms are not spoken of as being reinforced, punished,
or extinguished; it is the response that is reinforced, punished, or extinguished.
Additionally, reinforcement, punishment, and extinction are not terms whose use are
restricted to the laboratory. Naturally occurring consequences can also be said to
reinforce, punish, or extinguish behavior and are not always delivered by people.

Reinforcement is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with

greater frequency.

Punishment is a consequence that causes a behavior to occur with less

frequency.

Extinction is the lack of any consequence following a response. When a

response is inconsequential, producing neither favorable nor unfavorable
consequences, it will occur with less frequency.

Four contexts of Operant Conditioning are:i)

Positive reinforcement
Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by a favorable stimulus
(commonly seen as pleasant) that increases the frequency of that behavior. In
the Skinner box experiment, a stimulus such as food or sugar solution can be
delivered when the rat engages in a target behavior, such as pressing a lever.

ii)

Negative reinforcement
Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of an aversive
stimulus (commonly seen as unpleasant) thereby increasing that behavior's
frequency. In the Skinner box experiment, negative reinforcement can be a
loud noise continuously sounding inside the rat's cage until it engages in the
target behavior, such as pressing a lever, upon which the loud noise is
removed.

iii)

Positive punishment
Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by an aversive stimulus, such
as introducing a shock or loud noise, resulting in a decrease in that behavior.

iv)

Negative punishment
Occurs when a behavior (response) is followed by the removal of a favorable
stimulus, such as taking away a child's toy following an undesired behavior,
resulting in a decrease in that behavior.

6.

TEAM CONFLICT
The final characteristic of team process is conflict. Of all the skills required for
effective team management, none is more important than handling the conflicts that
inevitably arise among members. Whenever People work together in teams, some
conflict is inevitable. Conflict can arise among members within a team or between

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one team and another. Conflict refers to antagonistic interaction in which one party
attempts to block the intentions or goals of another. Competition, which is rivalry
among individuals or teams, can have a healthy impact because it energizes people
toward higher performance. However, too much conflict can be destructive, tear
relationships apart, and interfere with the healthy exchange of ideas and information.
7.

BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming uses a face-to-face, interactive group to spontaneously suggest
ideas for problem solution. Brainstorming is perhaps the best- known decision aid;
its primary role is to supply additional creative solutions. Kodak encourages
continuous brainstorming and has created a humor room where workers can relax
and have creative brainstorming sessions. The room is filled with videotapes of
comedians, joke books, stress-reducing toys, and software for creative decision
making. The brainstorming technique encourages group members to suggest
alternatives regardless of their likelihood of being implemented. No critical comments
of any kind are allowed until all suggestions have been listed. Members are
encouraged to brainstorm possible solutions out loud, and freewheeling is welcomed.
The more novel and unusual the idea, the better. The object of brainstorming is to
promote freer, more flexible thinking and to enable group members to build on one
anothers creativity. The typical session begins with a warm-up wherein definitional
issues are settled, proceeds through the freewheeling idea-generation stage, and
concludes with an evaluation of feasible ideas. Brainstorming is an unrestrained
flow of ideas in a group with all critical judgments suspended. The group leader must
decide which of the seventy-five questions are most appropriate to the issue or
problem being addressed. Moreover, the group leader isnt expected to use all of the
questions in a single session.
7.1.

Procedures of Brainstorming

i)

Introduce the process.

ii)

Present guidelines

Suspend Judgment Criticism is ruled out. Participants must withhold

critical judgment of ideas until later

Free Wheel (Let yourself go) The wilder the idea, the better: taming down
an idea is easier than thinking up new ones,

Encourage Quantity (All ideas accepted) The greater the number of

ideas, the greater is the likelihood that some will be useful.

Cross-fertilize (Build on ideas of others) In addition to contributing ideas,

participants should suggest how ideas of others can be turned into better
ideas, or how two or more ideas can be merged into still another idea.

iii)

State the problem.

iv)

Appoint a Recorder.

v)

Restate the problem. Prefaced by How to _____

vi)

Select a Restatement.

vii)

Record contributions.

viii)

Look for similarities. Incorporate similar points / remove similar statement.

ix)

Group the ideas

Impossible.

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x)

8.

Unlikely.

Possible.

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Examples of questions that could he used in a brainstorming session are:

How can this issue, idea, or thing he put to other uses?

How can it he modified?

How can it he substituted for something else, or can something else be

substituted for part of it?

How could it he reversed?

How could it be combined with other things?

NETWORKING
The Grapevine Communication
We have studied in the previous level about formal types of communications such as
upward, downward and lateral communication. In this level we cannot leave our
discussion of communication networks without discussing the grapevine the
informal organizational communication network. The grapevine is active in almost
every organization. Is it an important source of information? One survey reported that
75 per cent of employees hear about matters first through rumors on the grapevine.
Certainly the grapevine is an important part of any group or organization
communication network and well worth understanding. It identifies for managers
those relevant issues that employees consider important and anxiety producing. It
acts as both a filter and a feedback mechanism, picking up on the issues employees
consider relevant. More importantly, from a managerial point of view, it is possible to
analyze what is happening on the grapevine what information is being passed,
how information seems to flow along the grapevine and which individuals seem to he
key conduits of information on the grapevine. By being aware of the grapevines flow
and patterns, managers can stay on top of issues that concern employees and, in
turn, can use the grapevine to disseminate important information. Since the
grapevine cannot be eliminated, managers should manage it as an important
information network.
Rumors that flow along the grapevine also can never be eliminated entirely. What
managers can do, however, is minimize the negative consequences of rumors by
limiting their range and impact. How? By communicating openly, fully and honestly
with employees, particularly in situations in which employees may not like proposed
or actual managerial decisions or actions. Open and honest communication with
employees can affect the organization in various ways.

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SOALAN / QUESTIONS:
1.

What is team?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2.

State five (5) types of team?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

3.

What are the criteria to Delegate Job?

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

4.

Differentiate positive and negative reinforcement.

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

RUJUKAN / REFERENCE(S):
1. Stephen P Robbins & David A Decenzo; 3rd. Edition (2001), Fundamentals of
Managements: Essential Concepts and Applications, Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0- 13-065133-8
2. J. David Hunger & Thomas L. Wheelen; 3rd Edition (2003), Essentials of Strategic
Managements; Prentice Hall.
3. Lecture Notes BB2120 Organisational Behaviour
4. Don Hellriegel, Susan E. Jackson, John W Slocum, Jr. 8th Edition, (1999), Management,
South-Western College Publishing, ISBN 0-538-87672-7
5. Richard L Daft,
017989-0

4th Edition, (1997), Management, The Dryden Press, ISBN 0-03-

6. Leadership: Do Traits Really Matter? by S. A. Kirkpatrick and E. A. Locke by permission

of Academy of Management Executive, May 1991, pp. 4860. 1991 by Academy of
Management Executive.
7. "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning" 14:28, 24 April 2007