Unit: Essay Example

Introduction

To accomplish Myer Marketing project, we worked collaboratively as a team for a common goal. It took some time for the team to form and attain optimum performance. Our success is based on the fact that we were able to build rapport with one another and enhance trust. The team goes through different phases before attaining success. Our success can be based on the Tuckman model which helped the team to become effective (Dyer, 2007). This reflective journal has been maintained through the course. It discusses the teamwork experienced in the group project and how this helped or hindered application of marketing theories into a practical solution for the business partner.

Practice of teamwork in relation to undertaking the marketing project for Myer

To undertake the marketing project for Myer, the team had to work together. I recall that the first team meeting was not very successful. This is due to fact that we were a new team and we were not optimally functioning. The functioning of our team can be well explained using the Tuchman’s model (Dyer, 2007). All Tuckman phases were vital for the team to work together in a cohesive manner. I can describe our first phase as forming based on Tuckman’s model. This is where the team was formed and the members met for the first time (Dyer, 2007). The team members were taught on the opportunities and challenge that they were to meet as they work towards a common goal. At this point, there was confusion since some of members were not sure of their roles. The team leader helped a lot at this stage of the project. The leadership facilitated the team building process and explained the marketing project to all team members.

The seconds step in our group can be described in relation to storming. At this stage, I witnessed several conflicts among the team members. Some of the team members competed for influence and there was low level of trust. The marketing project was facing a major setback since team members lacked tolerance and the roles were not properly defined. The team leader played a major role on defining the roles, setting clear goals and encouraging mutual feedback. Enhanced communication at this stage was a major drive towards a cohesive team in the marketing project.

At the third stage which is norming, it was possible for the team to support the group values and habits. Open communication was supported and mutual trust developed. This was done through team leadership encouragement for members’ participation in their assigned roles. I was able to develop relationship with team members and it was possible to understand the individual characteristics. The level of participation in individual project phases increased and professionalism was maintained. Having reached the norming stage successfully, it was possible to work towards attaining the goal. At the performing stage, the group members were able to develop trust and accept each other. The team members had developed competence and were able to make decisions without need for supervision. It was possible for the team members to focus on their Myer marketing project phases appropriately. Any disagreement was solved within the team positively.

Assigning and applying team roles in relation to Myer marketing project

The project phases were distributed based on team members’ competence. The leader decided on the roles which best fitted the team members based on their experience and behaviour patterns. I believe that assigning roles appropriately to the capable team members leads to group success (Dyer, 2007). The logical steps were used in our team to assign roles. The first step was identification of the tasks available. This helped in determining what was to be accomplished. To attain this, I helped to design a Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) which helped in tasks identification and defining roles.

Each of the project phase required specific skills. Moreover, there were other team roles such as coordination and maintenance. My personal skills led to being chosen into maintenance role. I was given the maintenance role due to my abilities in maintaining group activities. I was also a good encourager, mediator and listener which contributed to being assigned this role. Through this role, I was able to accept other people’s contributions, set standards and reconcile members’ differences. I could listen to every member contribution and help in eliminating the group think. I was involved in identification of team members’ skills to determine what they are capable of. Once the team members’ capabilities were determined, it was easy to match them with appropriate roles. The team members’ inputs were also considered when assigning roles. I can attest that the roles were assigned to the most appropriate members. The team leader was able to maximise the team performance through assigning the roles appropriately. This was a holistic and effective method of assigning roles to the team members.

Evaluation of team dynamics

I support that team dynamics plays a vital role on how the team behaves and performs. They act as invisible forces between the team members (Levi, 2015). Poor team dynamics at the beginning of the Myer marketing project contributed to group presentation focus in the wrong way. Instead of focusing on the future direction for Myer where their main target was the millennial, we mainly focused on the current situation. The future focus for Myer during the presentation was low due to hindered team capabilities.

There were several factors that were holding back the team capabilities leading to initial wrong focus on Myer project. First, there were members who criticised every idea given. This fault finding behaviour was discouraging some members from giving their contributions and hence leading to shallow focus on Myer marketing project. Moreover, some of the members were not contributing at all. In fact, these are members who agreed with the dominant colleagues especially when analysing Myer future focus. I realised that these factors were due to poor team dynamics and they were highly affecting the project. The poor team dynamics were disrupting the team work making it hard to come up with decisions. I realised that it was becoming hard to explore options in an effective manner. To address this, I assisted the team leader to look for the causes of poor team dynamics. The main cause of poor team dynamics were group think, free riding and evaluation apprehension. Group think was causing team members to desire reaching a consensus above coming up with right decision. It made it hard to explore all the alternatives. Some of team members were leaving all the work to other members and limiting their contribution. This free riding behaviour was making the team progress slow. Moreover, it was realised that some of the team members’ perceptions were leading to negative group dynamics. I figured out that some of the members felt that they were being judged harshly hence holding back their opinions.

Through my maintenance role, I helped in team development and building capacity. Moreover, the problems were tackled in a quick manner as they arose. This included encouraging positive behaviour. The team leadership ensured that roles and responsibilities were well defined. My role was on carrying out phase 2 of the project while at the same time helping in maintenance roles. This was well defined using a team charter and availing a copy to every team members. I recommended to the team leadership on the use of team building exercises. This is due to fact that I believe the use of team building exercises makes it possible for members to know each other, reduce alienation and eliminate bad characteristics of members. We also focused on enhancing communication. Communication is central to having appropriate team dynamics. I was able to include all forms of communication including the use of emails, meetings, calls and memos. This helped a lot in eliminating ambiguity. The team leader was also able to come up with strong facilitation skills to ensure that everyone contribution was valued and included. As the team progressed, I was able to note that more attention was paid to unanimous decisions which could be an indicator for groupthink or free riding. The team leader encouraged the members to discuss their ideas and in some instances to share them unanimously.

I can attribute the positive team dynamics to the project leadership and my role which also helped in building skills. This is due to fact that the team leadership made it possible to have smart team through positive guidance and appropriate dispute resolution. This enhanced the team capability and skills to perform in the Myer marketing project. I can associate the good team dynamics with the high level of motivation among the team members, innovation and efficiency. There was also positive communication which made it possible to understand the roles and responsibilities.

Ways you might improve own effectiveness when engaging in future teamwork

When engaging in future team work, I will strive to ensure that we have better results than what we achieved in this project. First, I have realised the importance of having clear roles in the team for each member. This is to ensure that there is no confusion and also enhance team dynamics. As evidenced in the Myer project, there was initial lack of focus on Myer millennial customers due to poor team dynamics. This will be addressed in the future through ensuring that there are appropriate team dynamics at the earliest possible chance. Enhancing my own effectiveness in team will ensure that we are able to attain success in team goals. Secondly, I will always ensure that I engage all members of the group to ensure the feasibility of the tasks at hand. As seen in this project, strife can be addressed if identified early. Thus, in future teamwork, I will always ensure that gain feedback from the team members. This will make it possible to discuss al group problems as they arise.

Thirdly, I will have to help the team to ensure that the group think does not affect the team process. This is through ensuring that conflict avoidance does not lead to group think. I have been able to realise the importance role that is played by a healthy conflict in a team. I have realised that disagreement can be reframed as necessary. I would always ensure that there is open discussion and team members are encouraged to give their ideas and thoughts. I have been able to learn on the importance of respecting different team ideas. This is through ensuring that members’ ideas are not criticised quickly before being evaluated. I have learnt that there is need to be open minded during the team work to ensure that everyone contributes and group think is avoided. This is an approach that I have to use in future team projects to enhance success. While working in a team, I will always ensure that I encourage the team and contribute my ideas.

References

Dyer, W. G. 2007. Team building. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Levi, D. 2015. Group dynamics for teams. California: Sage Publications.