Team Working Research Paper

Conflict among team members is a challenge which always seems to be occurring in one way or another over a small period of time or larger. Conflict can be formed in many different ways and if unresolved can lead to more severe consequences. Having strategies in place can help leaders to deal with such issues and challenges and help to keep them to a minimum.

The conflict the teammates have will eventually help to shape their team and to work together.

There are many phases when building a team. Forming is the first state of developing a team. According to Mackin, during forming, individuals are put together to form a team to do assigned work (2011). Throughout this stage, group member are getting to know each other. The members are uncertain and showing cautious behavior. Members are trying to figure out who can lead the team and be in charge to assist with making the best decision that will benefit the team. According to

People work in groups or teams everyday whether in their career, education, political organization, church, or any other social setting. Conflict while working in teams or groups is inevitable. When taking people of different backgrounds, personalities, moral, and ethical beliefs and putting them together in a group, conflict will arise. The key to achieving your team goals is to construct and conquer your goals with keeping the greater good of the team in mind. Conflict as it arises should be combated and abated through swift and thorough resolution techniques. When dealt with properly conflict resolution can give rise to a cohesive and productive team.

Dealing with conflict is always a challenging situation, which requires team members to be integrated into a single, organized unit (Bolger, 2003). Conflict among teams is bound to occur no matter how much one tries to avoid it. While resolving all conflicts is not possible, these conflicts can be dealt with using the correct methodology. To address team conflict there are five methods: Accommodate, Compromise, Enforce, Explore, and Postpone (Bolger, 2003).

Storming stage is the second phase of team development. This is when the conflict between the

The team objectives make up the first part of the processes. Teams should have a common purpose and clear objectives free from ambiguity. Reflexivity is the next stage and this helps to overcome team frustrations and any confusion regarding objectives. This is done by reflecting on immediate and long-term objectives on a regular basis by meeting and sharing information. Decision making is the next component; research has shown that teams make better decisions than individuals however there are certain process losses which can affect decisions. One of these is social conformity; the tendency to go along this the majority decision and exclude your opinion.

While finding a good balance, conflicts will most certainly arise. Conflict resolution strategies must be utilized, for the team to be effective and meet the goals and objective of their assignment. These conflicts may be more evident in certain types of teams more so than in others. Conflict is common when working in teams. Its is important to have team meeting in order to lay out potential problems and disagreements and prepare to support the teams final decision. (Weinstein, 2007)

In this first stage, a group of people introduced to each other. They are curious, anxious, cautious and even excited about the task ahead. To form a good impression on others the spirit of positive vibes are seen among the team members.The forming stage is to create a team with clear structure, goals, direction and roles so that all the team

If the team members can control their emotions and stay in charge of the situation they will be able to resolve the conflict. All members should avoid being overemotional

There are many factors to consider when determining what causes conflict between team members including communication, structure and personal issues. Communication factors are often the primary source of disagreement among individuals. Misunderstanding of information, differences in interpretation and perception, cultural differences and poor listening can all contribute to information being poorly communicated and causing frustration among team members. Structural factors, such as the background of the team members, infrastructure, participation levels and size of team can also play a big role in causing conflict. In smaller groups, something like majority rule will not work. Employees participating and committing to a final decision will avoid conflict

Conflicts can occur at this stage over leadership style or lack thereof. If the members don’t like the way the leader handles conflict, power, or authority, they may develop feelings of distrust or judgment (1). Another type of conflict arises when different opinions on how to approach the group task cannot be settled. This can be a hard stage for more passive group members who avoid conflict. Uncomfortableness that is generated during this stage, some group members may remain silent while others are dominate. Not allowing any one team member

In corporate settings, the storming phase is inevitable. In some cases, this phase extends through the duration of the project. So I was puzzled when we skipped this stage altogether during our team building exercise. Why did we skip this phase during our exercise? The top three on my list of reasons are lack of ego, authority or hierarchy among the team members. The MBA team didn’t have anything to lose. There was no competition for a promotion, a raise or individual credit for a work well done or the fear of losing the job or making our management look bad. Every team member during this phase is trying to answer the question “What’s in it for me?”. Till each member gets a satisfying answer to this question and their answer aligns with the goal of the project, this phase will continue.

The first step is initiating the team development meeting. During this step, the team is formed and a meeting is initiated, usually by a senior leader, to discuss problems within the organization. Although the senior leader initiates the meeting, the decision to proceed is usually made by all of the team members. At this point, the members will discuss the amount of involvement required by the team or if a team is necessary to handle the problem.

In the forming stage, the group is formed and the group members try to get to know each other and figure out how they are going to function. At this stage there is discomfort due to unfamiliarity together with confusion on how the team will function together. It’s important at this point in team development to have a clear objective, define goals, and plan how the team will achieve their tasks. In my previous groups in 1st term, there was some discomfort and confusion, I think, primarily due to the fact that we did not know each other well and did not have clear goals and an understanding of how we would function together as a team. But in the GDTB group, some of us had already worked together for another assignment in 1st term so it was easier for us to work together again for GDTB project. Through this project we learned more about each other and also talked about our goals, interests in how we would work