Self Managed Teams Essay Example for Free

Self Managed Teams Essay Self Managed Teams Introduction Self-managed teams (SMTs) are relatively small groups of employees given substantial responsibility for planning organizing, scheduling and production of work products or service. SMTs however are more than just another way of directing groups. The concept, according to John Simmons, involves nothing less than, the complete restructuring of the jobs that people does. Thus, Self-managed work teams are groups of employees tasked with monitoring and reviewing a product or process in a firm and coming up with solutions to problems they encounter. Self-organized semi-autonomous small group whose members determine, plan, and manage their day-to-day activities and duties (in addition to providing other supportive functions such as production scheduling, quality assurance, and performance appraisal) under reduced or no supervision. Also called self directed team, self-managed natural work team, or self managed team. Self managed teams are workers who have been organized into teams on the basis of relatively complete task functions. They make decisions on a wide range of issues, often including such traditional management prerogatives as: * Who will work on which machines or work operations * How to address inter-personal difficulties within the group * How to resolve quality problems, and so forth. Also, these teams usually consist of five to fifteen employees, who: * Produce an entire product instead of sub-units * Learn all tasks and rotate from job to job * Take over vacation scheduling, order materials etc. Such groups are self-regulating and work without direct supervision. Normally, a manager acts as the team leader and is responsible for defining the goals, methods, and functioning of the team. However, interdependencies and conflicts between different parts of an organization may not be best addressed by hierarchical models of control. Self-managed teams use clear boundaries to create the freedom and responsibility to accomplish tasks in an efficient manner. The main idea of the self-managed team is that the leader does not operate with positional authority. In a traditional management role, the manager is responsible for providing instruction, onducting communication, developing plans, giving orders, and disciplining and rewarding employees, and making decisions by virtue of his or her position. In this organizational model, the manager delegates specific responsibility and decision-making authority to the team itself, in the hope that the group will make better decisions than any individual. Neither a manager nor the team leaders make independent d ecisions in the delegated responsibility area. Decisions are typically made by consensus in successful self-managed teams, by voting in very large or formal teams, and by hectoring and bullying in unsuccessful teams. The team as a whole is accountable for the outcome of its decisions and actions. Self-managed teams operate in many organizations to manage complex projects involving research, design, process improvement, and even systemic issue resolution, particularly for cross-department projects involving people of similar seniority levels. While the internal leadership style in a self-managed team is distinct from traditional leadership and operates to neutralize the issues often associated with traditional leadership models, a self-managed team still needs support from senior management to operate well. Self-managed teams may be interdependent or independent. Of course, merely calling a group of people a self-managed team does not make them either a team or self-managed. As a self-managed team develops successfully, more and more areas of responsibility can be delegated, and the team members can come to rely on each other in a meaningful way Objective: The objectives of using SMTs are to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of specific tasks. This approach achieves these objectives by having SMT team members look beyond their individual task concerns, to the needs of specific groups and the entire organization. Benefits and uses of SMTs: †¢ Reduced absenteeism †¢ Increased productivity †¢ Increased employee satisfaction, morale cohesiveness †¢ Multi-skilled workforce benefit †¢ Greater level of personal responsibility to the companys targets †¢ Unique flexibility in job functions †¢ 100% of team members all pulling to a common goal †¢ A significant reduction in day-to-day problems †¢ Awards for achievement are shared equally The most beneficial aspects of self-managed teams are that they are management innovations that are based on an accurate understanding of human nature and motivation. They eliminate bureaucratic/pyramidal values and replace them with humanistic/democratic value systems. They provide a work climate in which everyone has a chance to grow and mature as individuals, as members of a team by satisfying their own needs, while working for the success of the organization. â€Å"Self managed teams are closely associated with the concept of employee empowerment which entails the employee to have the requisite authority and resources required by him to carry out his responsibilities. Roadblocks and risks of SMTs Three major SMT roadblocks and risks are listed: 1. The difficulty of rescinding the system, once it is established and experienced by the worker. 2. Varying levels and degrees of resistance by various elements in the organization. 3. Undue peer pressure and its consequences. How Self managed teams differ from Normal Work Team or group A self managed team differs from a normal work team or group in one essential way that the processes or the means to achieve the team goal are designed and decided by the team itself. Given the stiff competition at the global level, all organizations have been forced to focus on developing their human capital. Difference between Self directed team and Self managed teams Work Group A group of people working together Team A group of people working together toward a common goal Self-Managed Team A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal which is defined outside the team (Example James River Corporation’s Kendallville Plant ALPHA team. They manufacture cardboard b oxes as defined by executive leadership. Team does their own work scheduling, training, rewards and recognition, etc. Self-Directed Team A group of people working together in their own ways toward a common goal which the team defines (as above, but team also handles compensation, discipline, and acts as a profit center by defining its own future) Before anyone would try to implement something as aggressive as a self-managed (and subsequently self-directed) team, they should know and be able to articulate the expected benefits. A mature self-managed team, when compared to typical hierarchical management, would have measured results showing: How to Manage a Self-Directed Team Self-directed teams are quietly but effectively altering the landscape of corporate business management. Top level managers are finding that self-directed teams are 30 to 50 percent more productive than traditionally structured teams. Step 1 Keep the focus on the whole process. To manage a self-directed team its important to redirect focus on the series of individual steps, as in the Taylor model, to the entirety of the process. By focusing on the entire process, each member of the team is constantly aware of how they and the other members are contributing on a daily basis to accomplish the overall task. Step 2 Gradually transfer management skills and roles. Part of your job as a manager of a self-directed team is to transfer your skills and roles as a manager to the team. The team as a whole needs to receive managerial training. As they do so, the team must decide as a group on how to delegate and divide different roles. You need to manage this process to make sure that it runs smoothly. Step 3 Meet regularly. As a manager of self-directed team you need to reconsider your own role. Its important for you to think of yourself more as a floating member of that team, or as a team consultant, rather than as a supervisor or a manager. If there is anything that you are still supervising it is the implementation of the teams goals in terms of the companys overall mission and vision. Step 4 Give the team an opportunity to correct itself. In cases where a team is under-performing or making errors, you need to manage the situation by bringing the problem to the teams attention and soliciting possible action plans from the team to correct the problem. If the problems persist you should try to re-frame the teams focus or mission. Only as a last resort should you change the membership of the self-directed team. My Learning: Not all groups are teams Some people also use the word team when they mean employees. A sales team is a common example of this loose or perhaps euphemistic usage, though interdependencies exist in organization, and a sales team can be let down by poor performance on other parts of the organization upon which sales depend, like delivery, after-sales service, etc.. However sales staff is a more precise description of the typical arrangement. From Groups to Teams Groups develop into teams in four stages. The four stages are: dependency and inclusion, counter dependency and fighting, trust and structure, and work. In the first stage, group development is characterized by members dependency on the designated leader. In the second stage, the group seeks to free itself from its dependence on the leader and groups have conflicts about goals and procedures. In the third stage, the group manages to work through the conflicts. And in the last stage, groups focus on team productivity Recommendations and Suggestions: 1. To create a team, a demand for performance is more important than team-building exercises. You can get a group together and train them in teamwork for weeks but they won’t be a team until they have a common understanding of the need to perform. First comes the strategic plan, then the tasks needed to carry out the plan, finally, teams are formed to do the tasks. 2. Team basics are often overlooked. Team basics are: size, purpose, goals, skills, approach, and accountability. 3. Teams at the top are the most difficult. Executives have complex, long-term challenges, heavy demands on their time. 4. There’s no need to throw out the hierarchy. Teams are the best way to integrate across structural boundaries. They are the best way to design and energize core processes. 5. Teams permit performance and learning at the same time.

Literary Analysis :: Essays Papers

Literary Analysis Literature is much more then simply a compilation of words thrown down into a book that work together to make a story. Nearly every author that takes the time to write a book is looking to not only tell a story, but to put forth their own ideas and beliefs. In Dubliners, James Joyce uses the theme of escape and journey to show the conflict between the individual and society in Dublin. Although at first glance many of these themes are simply over looked, upon closer reading it is easy to see that the characters in Joyce’s novels represent Ireland as a whole. The two themes explained above are very prevalent in two stories, â€Å"An Encounter† and â€Å"The Dead†. These two themes are repeated multiple times in both these stories not as a mere coincidence, but as a way for Joyce to show his opinion on Irish culture during that period of time. The idea of needing to escape from society is most blatantly shown in â€Å"An Encounter†. The entire plot of the story is based around two boys’ secret trip out of their local community to explore other things that Ireland has to offer. Although the boys never leave Ireland, Joyce uses them as a representation of Ireland as a whole wanting to escape their everyday boring lives. The young boys dream about living lives in the Wild West filled with adventure and danger. Neither of the boys has traveled this far from home by themselves, and they are excited with the unknown they experience. This small trip just out of their local community is in a way their own adventure in Ireland. This same need for escape is also very prevalent in â€Å"The Dead†. Unlike in â€Å"An Encounter†, Joyce does not decide to make the characters physically leave on a journey. Instead he implies this through their dialogue and thoughts. Toward the beginning of the story, the two aunts discuss their fears that Freddy Malins is going to arrive at the party drunk (176). The sisters fear that he is going to be a nuisance, and to do not want the other guests to feel uncomfortable around him.

Wal-Mart Scandal

New York Times reporter David Barstow uncovered a shocking story against retail giant, Wal-Mart. His investigation started after Wal-Mart shut down its internal investigation over the possible bribery of Mexican officials. Wal-Mart used these bribes to accelerate growth in their Mexican zoning areas. These allegations surfaced when a Hispanic lawyer contacted Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville Arkansas. This lawyer had inside information on Wal-Mart’s bribes, as he represented them in their acts. He was used as a middle man for Wal-Mart’s payoffs to these officials.Wal-Mart took action in defending its image. In 2005 the company launched an internal investigation that dug into the operations of Wal-Mart de Mexico. The reports put together obvious signs that the company had, in fact been bribing the city officials to open up zoning areas and to swiftly create building permits. These bribes reported to total above $24 million. Wal-Mart’s lead investigator had thi s to say after the investigation was conducted, â€Å"There is reasonable suspicion to believe that Mexican and USA laws have been violated. When Wal-Mart’s leaders were faced with the decision to continue the investigation, they gave it to Wal-Mart de Mexico to investigate; it was shut down. Wal-Mart didn’t notify Mexican or American law enforcement with the information and none of these wrong doings were brought to the public eye until the publication of Barstow’s article. Wal-Mart would obviously face critical examination by the public if the allegations were true; reasoning behind closing the investigation. Wal-Mart told the justice department that the investigation was unnecessary and the cases were minor where they did occur.The Time’s had a view in their investigation as they found substantial evidence supporting the bribes taking place. It’s believed that these bribes were the jump start Wal-Mart needed to gain its huge standing in Mexican society. 1 in 5 Wal-Mart’s are located in Mexico. The Times interviewed Sergio Cicero Zapata, who resigned from Wal-Mart de Mexico in 2004. Cicero told them of personal instances of him giving lawyers envelopes of money to pay off government officials. Cicero said that he had done these deals for years while working for Wal-Mart. Along with the information they received from Mr.Cicero, the times also found government documents with evidence of payoffs. These documents showed that within days of the money being given to the lawyers the permits were granted. The Times have published new stories exposing the company further with deeper information that they have gained through their investigation. Some of the information includes: * Wal-Mart pays $341,000 to officials in Mexico City to build a Sam’s club. The building was put in a densely populated area, and was done without a construction license, or an environmental permit or and urban impact assessment, or a traffic p ermit. Wal-Mart bribes officials to build â€Å"a vast refrigerated distribution center in an environmentally fragile flood basin north of Mexico City in an area where electricity is so scarce that many smaller developers turned away. † The bribe for this case was $765,000. * A zoning situation in Teotihuacan caused Wal-Mart to make a payment of $52,000 to enable them to build a store near a famous pyramid site. The citizens were enraged by the location of the store but the protests were ignored and the Wal-Mart was built.The mayor of Teotihuacan spent $77,000 buying and renovating a ranch the next year. Unexpected on a $47,000 yearly salary. * There have also been reports of Wal-Mart building on ancient ruin sites. They have been obtaining the permits to do so illegally. Now that the statements have been made public, Wal-Mart de Mexico has been under investigation by the U. S. and Mexican governments. The leadership is questionable within both Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart de Mexico . The high members of Wal-Mart de Mexico made a choice to shut down the investigation to cover up their tracks.The consequences of being discovered breaking the law to this extreme would put a huge chip on all of the Wal-Mart leaders’ shoulders. The growth of their business is also at stake. Apparently these bribes played a major role in the expansion of Wal-Marts across Mexico. The leaders located in Arkansas will more than likely be held accountable for irresponsible actions as well. If the allegations are true they could be found out for knowing about the illegal bribes. Ethical issues do not look good for leaders; it can dramatically impact the way the company is viewed.The actions of Wal-Mart making deals in Mexico could greatly affect the way the company is viewed and its overall standing to the public. With the investigation still ongoing it has yet to be clear what leaders at Wal-Mart are tied to the bribes in Mexico but it is undoubted by the New York Times that ther e are several people accountable for the actions. It is also possible that Wal-Mart has been doing this in other countries as well, but will only be confirmed when and if the government can obtain the information they need to prove wrong doing against Wal-Mart. Works Cited City. David Barstow; Alejandra Xanic Von Bertrab And James C. Mckinley Jr. Contributed Reporting From Mexico. â€Å"Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle. †Ã‚  The New York Times. 22 Apr. 2012. The New York Times. 04 Mar. 2013 . Radcliffe, Dana. â€Å"Leadership Lessons From Wal-Mart's Bribery Scandal. †Ã‚  The Huffington Post. 16 July 2012. TheHuffingtonPost. com. 04 Mar. 2013 .

Why Did the United States Go to War with Iraq

The Iraq War (America’s second war with Iraq, the first being the conflict that followed Iraqs invasion of Kuwait) continued to be a rancorous and controversial topic years after the US ceded control of the country to the Iraqi civilian government. The positions various commentators and politicians took prior to and shortly after the US invasion have political implications to this day, so it can be helpful to keep in mind what the context and understanding were at the time. Here is a look at the pros and cons of war against Iraq. War With Iraq The possibility of war with Iraq was and still is a very divisive issue around the world. Turn on any news show and you will see a daily debate on the pros and cons of having gone to war. The following is a list of the reasons that were given both for and against war at that time. This is not intended as an endorsement for or against the war but is meant as a quick reference.   Reasons for War States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger.–George W. Bush, President of the United States of America The United States and the world has a duty to disarm a rogue nation like Iraq.Saddam Hussein is a tyrant that has demonstrated a complete disregard for human life and should be brought to justice.The people of Iraq are an oppressed people, and the world has a duty to help these people.The oil reserves of the region are important to the worlds economy. A rogue element like Saddam threatens the oil reserves of the entire region.The practice of appeasement only fosters even bigger tyrants.By removing Saddam, the world of the future is safer from terrorist attacks.The creation of another nation favorable to US interests in the Middle East.The removal of Saddam would uphold previous UN resolutions and give the body some credibility.If Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, he could share those with terrorist enemies of the United States.   Reasons Against War The inspectors have been given a mission... If some country or other acts outside that framework, it would be a violation of international law.–Jacques Chirac, President of France A pre-emptive invasion lacks moral authority and violates previous US policy and precedent.The war would create civilian casualties.The UN inspectors might be able to resolve this issue.The liberating army would lose troops.The Iraqi state could disintegrate, potentially empowering adversarial powers such as Iran.The US and allies would be responsible for rebuilding a new nation.There was questionable evidence of any connection to Al-Queda.A Turkish invasion of the Kurdish region of Iraq would further destabilize the region.A world consensus did not exist for war.Allied relationships would be damaged.