Conflicts and Team-Building Case Study
Conflicts and Team-Building
Instructions:
In any team, problems will arise and team members will have questions about the conflict and how to resolve it. Members across departments must collaborate and contribute to the resolution of any unhealthy form of team conflict. Based on “Case One: ElectriGov” (found on page 177 in your textbook), answer the following questions:
1. Why is it important for an organization to have a mission? 2. Why is it important for team members to know their roles on a team? 3. Is competition within a team a good or bad thing? Explain your response. 4. Why is it important to set short- and long-term goals when planning a meeting regarding conflicts? Provide examples. 5. What is an unhealthy agreement? Why is it significant for leaders to understand how to resolve conflict and avoid unhealthy agreements?
Your case study should be in APA style with a minimum of two pages (not including the title and references pages).
Solution
Conflicts and Team-Building
The Importance of an Organization having a Mission
In the business sector, all organizations are expected to formulate a mission statement since it indicates why the company is in existence in the industry (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). The mission statement contributes to the success of the organization since it is a crucial tool for influencing the entity’s direction. The owners of a firm will always remind their teams to focus on the reason why the organization exists; hence, the mission determining how operations are conducted in the firm. The mission of a company is also crucial since it influences the creation of effective strategies for successful business operations.
The Importance of Role Identification by Team Members
For a team to perform its operations in the entity there must be the division of labor where each member in the team is assigned specific roles and duties to perform (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). It is important for every member to identify his or her roles in the team since this identification influences the success of the activities conducted. This is because each member will strive to perform his or her duties effectively to promote the competitiveness of the team; hence, facilitating the success. The other importance of job recognition is that it promotes cohesiveness and cooperation in the team.
Team Competition
The members of a team are assigned different duties and are expected to perform them effectively to promote the success of the entity. Due to the disparity of the duties, competition may arise within the team since all members will strive to perform better than their team mates (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). This competition is a good thing for the entity because it enables the individuals to grow and develop their skills and talents depending on their level of specialization. The members will strive to perform their duties effectively with the aim of gaining an advantage over other team members; hence, this competition promoting the success of the entity.
Short and Long-Term Goals regarding Conflicts
Short and long-term goals must be developed to ensure the meeting regarding conflict leads to the development of effective resolutions. The short-term goals, in this case, are the resolutions that aim at eliminating the conflict immediately; that is, goals that focus on ensuring the team members cooperate and work together. For instance, the management may ensure equality within the entity through equal distribution of responsibilities and resources to enable the members to work together. Long-term goals, on the other hand, are the strategies created to ensure conflict is eliminated in future; that is, tensions among members will not be experienced in the firm. For instance, the creation of effective policies and practices promotes this elimination since the policies regulate the behaviors and conduct of the members.
Unhealthy Agreement
This involves members in a team partially agreeing to the decision and policies created by other team members. They pretend to agree to the decision while, on the other hand, they oppose the decision made by the team; hence, leading to poor decision-making which negatively affects the performance of the team. Unhealthy agreement within a team leads to increased conflicts among the members since they fail to cooperate when conducting operations within the entity (Dyer & Dyer, 2013). It is crucial for leaders in organizations to possess conflict-resolving skills to ensure unhealthy agreements are eliminated within the entities. This is through ensuring all team members provide their suggestions during the decision-making process of the team to enable them to collectively agree to the final decisions implemented.
Reference
Dyer, W. G., & Dyer, J. H. (2013). Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. John Wiley & Sons.