Team Finance

          In the article "What makes high-performance team excel" by Lisa Daniel and Charles Davis Research says that in order to have communication in a group you have to know the team mission. As a team we all came to a conclusion of what was our mission and we also had a clear understanding of who will do what, when where and how. We communicate on a daily basis every time someone changed or added things to the website. Each team member brung a special kind of communication trait to the table. For an example Keaira communicated by giving a clear understanding of the team mission and made sure each team member understood it before moving on to the next step as stated in the article, "The mission statement was a concise and explicit statement of what needed to be accomplished, including the completion date and important

intermediate milestones. The statement helped to provide a clear and unambiguous definition of what was expected of the team, technically and logistically, including critical timing requirements" (43). Jin communicated by recognizing everyone have a personal skill and experience and made sure each team member was comfortable with the task was given as stated in the article "All members of the HPRDT were given specific, important and personally meaningful tasks that matched as closely as possible with their own unique interests, skills and experiences. In this way, commitment was enhanced and engagement with their assigned task strengthened (43)". Blong communicated by monitoring the website making edits and corrections then later on emailing or texting each team member about what he changed and edit. When we had some miscommunication we had to communicate to make sure everyone was on the same page,"an unequivocal mission statement allowed the project’s specific objectives to be communicated and discussed with all team members downward, laterally and upward so that everyone absorbed it as a shared goal" (43). Blong decided that we had to set our primary goal and stick with it while doing our project, “The teams primary goal was to create and qualify a viable interconnect “process of record”(43). This was a great idea because sometimes it is easy to lose focus and forget what the main goal was. One thing that made us successful was that we as a team all love math and our major is Finance. When you have a passion for math you are automatically a problem solver and good at finding solutions to a problem, “current best practice R&D management techniques require reappraisal where HPRDTs are sought to maximize creative problem solving and optimize R&D performance outcomes” (41).

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          However communication is not what we need, we also need trust. In the textbook “Organizational behavior” by Jason A, Jeffery A and Michael J, they said “reputations depend on many things, but one of the most important factors is trust” (198). Trust is very important here because you trust that your teammate will commit to their task and get everything done. In the article “Building High- Performance teams” by Harvey Dubin. He states “Building a high- performance team is not about people’s skills, abilities or knowledge. It’s about their commitment” (47). Commitment is very important when it comes to finish project or accomplish a goal. Without any commitment, the project will fail and everyone will quit. This is why trusting your teammate is very important because you know that they will not give up and will continue to help you alone the way. In this project we trust each other and understand that each of us will commit to our task. For example in the section ABOUT US, we all trust that each of us will finish their story and post it online. Also during this project we have no argument about who didn’t put anything or who didn’t do their part because of trust. Dubin said “High performance is risky business. It’s not about just working harder or setting the bar higher. It’s about establishing new ways to work and deliver results, which means dealing with the uncertainty and unpredictability of a new approach” (47). A high performance team takes risk and you will never know what will happen in the future in your team. We have to had trust in each other order to take the risk because we all know that if we take this chance, there is no going back. If teammate don’t trust each other they wont take the risk and when no one take the risk, the team or business will always stay the same. This is related to our work on the final project because me and my teammates are willing to take the risk that we will try to finish this project and submit early but unfortunately everyone have others homework and exam, we weren’t able to finish. We trust each other that why we all willing to take the risk even though we have other exam and other things to do.

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          Team work is also important in a team because to build a high performance team, everyone has to work together. One can’t work individual to finish multiple tasks because they will take too much time. In the textbook “Organizational behavior” by Jason A, Jeffery A and Michael J, they stated “A team consists of two or more people who work interdependently over some time period to accomplish common goals related to some task-oriented purpose.” (340) This project my team and I work together to finish this project. We all meet up and shared ideas on what we want our project to be and deciding which template to use for the site. Without everyone’s helps, I don’t think this project will go smooth and I don’t think I would want to do this project alone because there are too much reading and too much writing for one person to do. Also we all work as a team to come up with the five conceptual model. In Harvey Dubin’s article he talked about Paul Barron’s experience who was the managing director of U.K. based Ruston gas Turbine. He works with his team running a serious business and everyone left him with the business. His business is in serious marketplace pressure, he has no one to help except Rushton who was just an apprentice. Barron said “We were in a position where it was imperative for us to improve on all fronts-market share, profitability and internal processes” (47). At then end they succeed because of team work. Barron and Ruston work as a team, helping each other out and they never give up. I think without any teamwork, they weren’t able to succeed and because of teamwork, trust and commitment, they finally accomplish what Barron think they couldn’t do.

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        In the article “A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams” by Laird Mealia and Ramon Baltazar, it stated “Networking reflects group members’ ability and willingness to link up with others external to the group. Such contacts can be drawn upon for information, support, and assistance when needed to facilitate goal achievement” (145). I believe that networking is related to a leadership. It is a skill that leader is required to carry because there are often times where leaders need to network with people from outside of group members. For instance, networking skill is needed when leader meets with other leaders of incorporation. Lack of this skills will decrease an ability to achieve a company’s goal. Networking can be utilized within a group as well. Each member in our group showed their ability to network with other group by contacting them to get advices on the final project. In the article “A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams” by Laird Mealia and Ramon Baltazar, it also stated “Structural support- creates a work environment designed to facilitate group performance, e.g., open communication channels, team-based reward system” (145). In any organizations, structural support should be provided to motivate their employees. If we take a close look at college life, majority students striving their work to pass the course. In this case, grades that they receive can be seen as a reward for putting in work. Without those rewards, students can fall into a “lack of motivation trap”. Work environment is also important when motivating employees. If they are surrounded by people who influence them in positive ways, there is a higher chance that they will success in their job. Our team held meetings for our final project to strike for a high performance in team. Individual’s willingness to consistently discuss about our final project made each other to perform better when creating a project.

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         In the article “A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams” by Laird Mealia and Ramon Baltazar, it stated “Measurement/Feedback- The next two steps should be linked by the manager. He or she observes, records, and rates group members’ behavior. When sufficient information has been collect to draw meaningful conclusions, the manager then provided meaningful feedback to group members. During this feedback encounter the manager should indicate his or her willingness to help group members improve their performance through one-on-one coaching” (155). Measurement/Feedback can be played as a role of motivation. Giving feedback and collecting information from group members are the ways to bring a positive outcome. Providing well-structure feedback can motivate team members to do better in their job. We are not perfect, therefore, we need feedback from others. Each team members provided meaningful feedback to one another when they were completing tasks. We ask each other’s opinion whether we should keep the initial opinion or change them. In the article “A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams” by Laird Mealia and Ramon Baltazar, it stated “Coaching Encounter- Any coaching exchange initiated by group members, or the team leader, should be voluntary and reflect the assumption that the coach and employee are joint partners in the process. The two parties will jointly (a) assess current behavior; (b) try to understand why desired behavior or activities did not occur, and determine if any environmental barriers exit; and (c) establish new behavioral expectations for each other. It is at this point that the group members state his or her willingness to change personal behavior” (155). Coaching encounter is a significant component when it comes to leadership. Observing team member’s behavior, understanding why expected behavior didn’t occur, and creating a new behavior expectation based upon the previous behavior should be played as a significant role of leadership. In any sports, if there is a team there’s always a coach who leads you and guide you to be successful. Coaching is needed for individuals to grow on to the next level and to be guided in a successful direction.  We observed each other’s behavior when working on their part, then we tried to understand why individuals didn’t meet the expectation, and then we assisted each other to come up with a new outcome.

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          In the textbook "Organizational Behavior" by Jason A, Jeffery A, and Michael J, they stated “Leaders can use at least 10 different influence tactics to achieve their objectives. The most effective are rational persuasion, consultation, inspirational appeals, and collaboration. The least effective are pressure and the forming of coalitions. Tactics with moderate levels of effectiveness are ingratiation, exchange, personal appeals, and apprising” (419). Being a leader is not easy, in fact, successful leaders are required to use 10 different tactics to achieve their goal. Out of all 10 tactics, the most effective are rational persuasion, consultation, inspirational appeals, and collaboration. Leaders would use rational persuasion to show the target that the offer is worth to take by offering with logical descriptions. I used this tactic by asking our team members whether to conduct a final meeting a day before the deadline of the final project and I explained to individuals why we should hold the meeting. Leader would also use consultation when allowing participants to have a decision in implementing a request. Inspiration appeal tactic should be performed by leaders to attract the target’s values in order to create an emotional outcome. Collaboration can be played as a huge role to leaders because being a head of incorporation is required to collaborate with others in many occasions. Maximized outcomes may come from collaboration of both parties.

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Colquitt, J. A. , Lepine, J. A., & Wesson, M. J. (2010). Organizational Behavior: Improving Performance and Commitment in the Workplace, 2nd Ed. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

 

Davis,R. (2009). What makes high-performance teams excel? Research-Technology Management, 52(4),40-45

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Dubin, H. (2005). Building high-performance teams. Chief Learning Officer, 4(7), 46-49

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Mealiea, L., & Baltazar, R. (2005). A strategic guide for building effective teams. Personnel Administration, 34(2), 141-160.

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