Self Managed Teams Essay Example For Students

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. Watergate EssayFirst 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. There is no better way to become a learning organization than to have a team-based structure which thrives on people learning from peers Important Books on SMT 1. Banner, David K. , Kulisch, W. Anthony, and Peery, Newman S. Self-Managing Work Teams (SWMT) and the Human Resource Function, Management Decision, Vol. 30 No. 3, 1992. 2. Carr, C. Planning Priorities for Empowered Teams. Journal of Business Strategy. Vol. 13 n5 pp. 43-47. Sept. /Oct. 1992. 3. Harper, A. , and Harper, B. Skill-Building for Self-Directed Team Members. MW Corporation N. Y. , 1992. 4. Hoerr, J. The Pay-off from Teamwork Business Week, Dec. , 1989. 5. Howard, Ann, and Bray, Douglas W. , ATT. Continuities and Discontinuities between Two Generations of Bell System Managers. (Feb. 1981). 6. Jenkins, D. , Job Power: Blue and White Collar Democracy, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1973. 7. Klutznick, Philip M. , et. al. , Social Indicators III: Selected Data on Social Conditions and Trends in the United States, Federal Statistical System: U. S. Department of Commerce, Dec. 1980. 8. Manz, Charles C. , Mastering Self-leadership: Empowering Yourself for Personal Excellence, Prentice-Hall, 1991. 9. Manz, Charles C. and Sims, Jr. , Henry P. , SuperLeadership: Leading Others to Lead Themselves, Prentice-Hall, 1989. 10. Manz, C. C. , Keating, D. E. Donnellon, A. , Preparing for an Organizational Change to Employee Self-Management: The Managerial Transition, Organizational Dynamics, Autumn, 1990. 11. Manz, Charles C. , Self-Leading Work Teams: Moving Beyond Self-Managing Myths, Human Relations, Vol. 4 No. 11, 1992. Maslow, A. H. , Psychology of Science Harper Row, New York, 1966. 12. Miner, John and Smith, Norman. Can Organization Design Make up for Motivational Decline? The Wharton Magazine pp. 2. Summer, 1981. 13. Mullen, T. P. (1992) Integrating Self-directed Teams into the Management Development Curriculum. Journal of Management Development. Vol. 11 No. 5 pp. 43-54. 14. Nicklas, G. Self-managing Teams and Unions. Quality Circle Journal, p. 36-40. June 1987. 15. Raelin, Joseph A. , The 60s Kids in the Corporation: More than Just Daydream Believers. Academy of Management Ex ecutives, Vol. 1, 1987. 16. Salem, M. , et. al. Developing Self-Managing Teams: Structure and Performance, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 11 No. 3, 1992. 17. Sheppard, Harold L. and Herrick, Neal O. Where Have all the Robots Gone? Worker Satisfaction. The Free Press, New York. 1972. 18. Shipper, Frank, and Manz, Charles. Employee Self-Management Without Formally Designed Teams: An Alternative Road to Empowerment. Organizational Dynamics, Winter, 1992. 19. Simmons, J. , Starting Self-Managing Teams, Journal for Quality and Participation, Dec. , 1989. 20. Vaughan, Jerry L. , The Major Impacts of the Baby Boom upon American Life. Eric Document, ED230478. pp. 1-24, 1985. 21. Weiss, H. M. , Subordinate Imitation of Supervisor Behavior: The Role of Modeling in Organizational Socialization. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. Vol. 19, pp. 89-105. 1977. 22. Weisbord, M. D. Participative Work Design: A Personal Odyssey. Organizational Dynamics. pp. 27-19. 1990. 23. Wilhelms, S. M. Quality Improvement in Self-Directed Work Teams. TAPPI Journal, May, 1992. 24. Walton, R. E. , Work Innovations at Topeka: After Six Years. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 1977. 25. Yan kelovich, Daniel. , Work Values and the New Breed, in Work in America: The Decade Ahead, C. Kerr and J. Rosnow, eds. , Van Nostran and Reinhold, New York, 1979.