Psychology

I am involved in a team that plans and organizes events to raise funds to support childrens shelters, on behalf of a group of college philanthropists. The events include, charity walks, dinners and concerts.  The team comprises of four individuals, each with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. The organizing secretary, whose task is to plan and manage logistical issues for the events the treasurer, who is charged with receiving and managing the funds collected the public relations officer, who promotes the groups activities and scouts for sponsors for the events and the team chairperson, who manages the team so that each team member is aware of his tasks, how and when to perform them.

The teams productivity is influenced by clear and well defined responsibilities for each member, which ensures that tasks are completed satisfactorily and on time. It also enhances individual member accountability. Also, the results-oriented approach to work enables the team to follow the set plans, ensuring that the desired output is achieved. Inspecting the progression and performance of each members tasks ensures that mistakes are not made. The team synergy also enables the members to work individually but, towards a common goal.

According to a research report by McCann and Alderson, if the team is able to self-manage itself, then, the performance and productivity of the group will greatly improve. This is because, the team will be in a position to implement an advising practice, which involves gathering information about what other such teams are doing, in order to ensure that they are following best practices. The team would also innovate better ways of doing things, thereby increasing efficiency. They would also be able to promote the events thus getting larger turnouts during events and, consequently, more funding.

The developing function would ensure that they listen to stakeholders and customize the events to meet their needs. The team would also have better organization, thereby ensuring that clear goals are set leading to timely and economical results. Team processes should also be regularly checked and maintained, to uphold effective team processes. Quality audits should also be performed on the teams activities in order to ensure that all stakeholders are satisfied by the outcome of the events.   The team would also be able to link members, leadership and tasks to ensure that all members pull together, resulting in a highly effective and efficient team (1997).

In a nutshell, the teams effectiveness can be enhanced by implementing the team performance factors identified by McCann and Aldersias research.