Assignment 02

Problem Solving, Decision Making, Team Work and

Leadership

K.M.Welagedara
GA/L5/ETB04/01/0006
NVQ level 06
Mechatronics 2017(semester 01)

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1. What is a team ?

2. Briefly explain 5 stages of team development

3. What are the advantages of team work? Briefly explain

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01. What is a team ?

A team is a group of individuals, all working together for a common purpose.

The individuals comprising a team ideally should have common goals, common
objectives and more or less think on the same lines. Individuals who are not compatible
with each other can never form a team. They should have similar if not the same
interests, thought processes, attitude, perception and likings.

02.Briefly explain 5 stages of team development

Most experts in team development agree that teams will go through five
different stages. How fast a team moves through each stage will depend on the team
members, their individual skills, the work they are expected to do, and the type of
leadership available to the team.

Stage 1 forming
The first stage is when the team is formed and members meet. They learn what
the team opportunities and challenge will be. Individual members may be confused
about their role or not understand the need for the team. Members will agree on goals
and assign actions for work, often working independently. Ground rules or team
guidelines are established. At the start, the team leader may be a member of the group, a
supervisor, a manager, or a consultant who will facilitate the team-building process.
Leadership will help the team to define their processes. At this stage, the leader needs to
be directive and understand the requirements for team training to move through each
stage.

Stage 2 storming

During the second stage, individual expression of ideas occurs and there is open conflict
between members. Members tend to focus on details rather than the issues and compete
for influence. Low trust among team members is an evident indicator of this stage. The
team needs to select their desired leadership style and decision methodology. The team

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leader can help by stressing tolerance and patience between members. The leader should
guide the team process towards clear goals, defined roles, acceptable team behavior, and
a mutual feedback process for team communication.

Stage 3 norming

In the third stage, the team develops work habits that support group rules and values.
They use established tools and methods; exhibit good behaviors; mutual trust,
motivation, and open communication increase; positive teamwork and group focus are
apparent. The team relationships grow and individual characteristics are understood and
appropriately utilized. The team leader continues to encourage participation and
professionalism among the team members.

Stage 4 performing
The fourth stage shows high levels of loyalty, participation, motivation, and group
decision-making. Knowledge sharing, cross-training, and interdependence increases.
Team is self-directing in development of plans and strategy to meet their goals and carry
out work. Personal growth and sharing is encouraged throughout membership. The
leader becomes a facilitator aiding the team in communication processes and helping if
they revert to a prior stage.

Stage 5 adjourning
For project teams, temporary committees, or task forces coming to an end, there will be
a finalizing stage as they celebrate and recognize group achievement. Then some
mourning over the dissolving of the team relationship and begin planning for the change
in individual work requirements. During this stage, leadership needs to emphasize
organization gratitude and both team and individual recognition. For continuous work
teams, there may be a higher performance level as they develop and transform as
individuals and reform into revised teams. It is important to note that continuous work
teams may revert to prior stages when new people are added to the team.

Time and effort are required to move through the various team development stages.
Every team will go through all the stages. However the timeline of each stage may be
different for each team depending on the individual members and their skill levels, the
work the team is expected to accomplish, and team leadership during each stage.
03.What are the advantages of team work? Briefly explain

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1. Division of Work:

One of the biggest advantages of working in a team is that there is most often an
equal division of labor so instead of having to look into all the aspects of a project
individually, each person merely has to deal with one aspect of it. Smaller tasks
obviously require less time and effort to complete so working in a team cuts down
work load significantly. However working in a team does not imply that you simply
focus on your own part, your first priority is obviously your individual task however
once you have completed it, you could always be of some assistance to someone else.
When you are a part of a team you automatically learn how to work in an unobtrusive
and altruistic manner.

2. Shared responsibility when things go wrong:

If for some reason the project fails, then a good team will stand by one another such that
they can jointly take responsibility and shoulder the blame. The best kinds of teams are
those that are united at all times no matter what. Those teams that resort to pointing
fingers at one another during times of crisis show a lack of team spirit. While working in
a team each member should always give his or her one hundred percent because when
everyone gives his or her best then only can the outcome be good, even the smallest of
mistakes could cost the entire team.

3. Gaining new perspective:

One of the main advantages of working in a team is that you can learn to look at things
from an entirely new perspective. Over the years you might be used to doing things in a
particular manner but when you work in a team then you get to observe how other people
work. Though your manner of doing things might be good yet there might be an easier
and more efficient way of getting the same task done. Team work does not imply that you
renounce your individuality and follow the way in which others work; it simply implies

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 that you get new ideas and learn new things from other members of the team. Working in
a team makes one extremely open and receptive to different things when you work in a
team everyones points of view are taken into consideration and only after careful
weighing and measuring of pros and cons does the team jointly come to a decision.

4. Improves communication skills:

For any team project to be a success it is vital that each team member communicates and
consults with the rest of the group such that no one feels in the dark about any decision
made and that everyone is in agreement. Even if you are working on the one aspect of the
project that has been assigned to you, it is important to make sure that you are constantly
giving the rest of your team mates updates pertaining to your progress at each stage. It is
the responsibility of each member to ensure that everyones work is running smoothly
and that no person has been burdened with excess amount of work.

5. Development of leadership qualities:

Though being the leader of a team could be a challenge it is also an extremely

enriching experience. Being a leader does not imply that you throw your weight
around and get things done your way, it means that you serve as a link between team
members when you notice that there is some kind of communication gap among
members or when you find that an individual is not giving his or her best. The best
kinds of leaders are those that are willing to help anyone in need of it as well as those
that are completely honest with the members of the team.

6. You get to play to your strengths:

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Since there is a division of work in a team each member can focus on whatever aspect
of the project which each individual believes that he or she can handle. When you
work in a team you get to decide on which part of the project you are comfortable
working on. If there is something you are not comfortable working with then you do
not have to stress yourself about it you can simply look into something else.
Everyones talents lie in different fields so you can take up whatever task you feel
comfortable working on and whatever task you think you will not be able to do justice
to, someone else can take that up.