I am a part-time staff working as a customer care assistant, in this report, I aim to look
into what makes up an effective team. I will be examining the benefit of teams in two
particular chosen businesses. Thereafter, I will be investigating theories and techniques used
to develop an effective business team, including: Tuckman's theory and Belbin research on
team roles. To begin with, the definition of an effective team is one where a number of
members come together in order to work together towards a shared vision. Team members
then collaborate with each other to create life using through this vision. The business I will
be discussing is Starbucks.
P1. Explain the purpose of a given team in a chosen business
First of all, to properly understand what a team is it has to be separated from a similar
term- a group. A group is a collection of people who work individually in a shared space,
with shared tasks while a team is a collection of people working together for a common goal.
They have a purpose and therefore, work together to achieve this. At Starbucks the staff can
be classified as a team, as they work together for a shared purpose each member of staff
performing a task that makes up the business. They work in teams of 6 to 9 as the company
believes smaller teams lead to efficient work, hence employees work together in a team to
satisfy customer needs and provide good customer service.
Moreover, there are different types of teams in a business, and this means that they also
have different purposes. Two recognized structures are the formal and informal teams,
a formal team is a batch of employees chosen by the organization to collaborate and work
together on specific tasks, objectives and goals, while an informal team is a group of
employees who decide to team up and work together without being instructed to and
without supervision. In relation to Starbucks a formal team would be put together by
management involving: baristas, managers and supervisors. An informal team would be
formed by employees who may have similar interests and so on.
To begin with, a business has six different types of teams these are: temporary,
permanent, remote/virtual, horizontal and lastly vertical. A temporary team is a team
formed for a short period of time; this is because when a given task is accomplished the
team quickly lose their significance. An example of this is in the beverage industry, whereby
a temporary team is employed to assist during busier times like, during the summer or
during holidays. For this the business may employ a seasonal promotions team. This can also
be applied to a workforce setting where a short-term team is created to provide assistance
in producing work before a tight deadline. On the other hand, a permanent team is a direct
contrast to the temporary team, they work together to complete tasks and projects and
after completion they remain together and go on to accomplish other projects. This team is
long lasting and does not lose importance after a task has been completed. For example, at
Starbucks parts of a permanent team include: supervisors, store managers and even
baristas.
Furthermore, a remote team is one where a grouping of people come together to work on
a shared project with a unified purpose, they usually report to the same organization/ under
, the management of one leader. Meanwhile, a virtual team is where a group of people
together to work towards a shared goal using technology, to cater for their placement in
different locations. The difference as compared to a remote team is that, in a virtual team
members report back to different managers. Examples of this involve, Starbucks staff
working in a virtual team may venture to different locations where franchises are located
and communicate back to their report back to their respective businesses.
Lastly, a horizontal and vertical team are different. A horizontal team is whereby
employees working in different departments or perform different functions, work together.
Within the company this would involve staff from marketing, finance, and product
development working collaboratively to develop a new Starbucks drink. Meanwhile, in a
vertical team the members are from different hierarchies within the organizational structure.
A team I have been part of involved working together with others to successfully plan
and manage an event. This team was temporary as we collaborated for a short time period
to achieve our goal. Another way to describe this team, is that it was a horizontal team. My
team members and I were on the same level within the organizational structure, containing
members from different functional areas to work towards the objective and shared task on
planning and managing that event. Three goals that we employed were:
Collaborate and communicate effectively, ensuring that everyone had a role and
responsibility
Utilize creativity in our plans for the event, in order to satisfy the attendees
To ensure preparations and resources were ready and available for the day of the
event
Another team I would mention is the operations team at Starbucks. An operations team is
responsible for the behind the scenes of a business/company, in general they ensure that
the business runs smoothly. They maintain, produce, supervise and ensure quality and
service is provided. This team is classified as a permanent team because they do not
disperse after a goal, task or project has been completed but instead take on new ones. To
add on, this team is horizontal as it is made up of members from different functional areas.
They have different roles and this is how each or them work together to ensure that the
business runs smoothly. Three purposes of this team are to:
Ensure good customer service quality is offered
Carry out quality control to make sure the drinks made reach the wants and
expectations of customers
To supervise processes throughout the business and guarantee that protocol is being
employed and followed
P2. Explain the characteristics of a given team in a chosen business.
M1. Assess how and why a given team will benefit a chosen business
into what makes up an effective team. I will be examining the benefit of teams in two
particular chosen businesses. Thereafter, I will be investigating theories and techniques used
to develop an effective business team, including: Tuckman's theory and Belbin research on
team roles. To begin with, the definition of an effective team is one where a number of
members come together in order to work together towards a shared vision. Team members
then collaborate with each other to create life using through this vision. The business I will
be discussing is Starbucks.
P1. Explain the purpose of a given team in a chosen business
First of all, to properly understand what a team is it has to be separated from a similar
term- a group. A group is a collection of people who work individually in a shared space,
with shared tasks while a team is a collection of people working together for a common goal.
They have a purpose and therefore, work together to achieve this. At Starbucks the staff can
be classified as a team, as they work together for a shared purpose each member of staff
performing a task that makes up the business. They work in teams of 6 to 9 as the company
believes smaller teams lead to efficient work, hence employees work together in a team to
satisfy customer needs and provide good customer service.
Moreover, there are different types of teams in a business, and this means that they also
have different purposes. Two recognized structures are the formal and informal teams,
a formal team is a batch of employees chosen by the organization to collaborate and work
together on specific tasks, objectives and goals, while an informal team is a group of
employees who decide to team up and work together without being instructed to and
without supervision. In relation to Starbucks a formal team would be put together by
management involving: baristas, managers and supervisors. An informal team would be
formed by employees who may have similar interests and so on.
To begin with, a business has six different types of teams these are: temporary,
permanent, remote/virtual, horizontal and lastly vertical. A temporary team is a team
formed for a short period of time; this is because when a given task is accomplished the
team quickly lose their significance. An example of this is in the beverage industry, whereby
a temporary team is employed to assist during busier times like, during the summer or
during holidays. For this the business may employ a seasonal promotions team. This can also
be applied to a workforce setting where a short-term team is created to provide assistance
in producing work before a tight deadline. On the other hand, a permanent team is a direct
contrast to the temporary team, they work together to complete tasks and projects and
after completion they remain together and go on to accomplish other projects. This team is
long lasting and does not lose importance after a task has been completed. For example, at
Starbucks parts of a permanent team include: supervisors, store managers and even
baristas.
Furthermore, a remote team is one where a grouping of people come together to work on
a shared project with a unified purpose, they usually report to the same organization/ under
, the management of one leader. Meanwhile, a virtual team is where a group of people
together to work towards a shared goal using technology, to cater for their placement in
different locations. The difference as compared to a remote team is that, in a virtual team
members report back to different managers. Examples of this involve, Starbucks staff
working in a virtual team may venture to different locations where franchises are located
and communicate back to their report back to their respective businesses.
Lastly, a horizontal and vertical team are different. A horizontal team is whereby
employees working in different departments or perform different functions, work together.
Within the company this would involve staff from marketing, finance, and product
development working collaboratively to develop a new Starbucks drink. Meanwhile, in a
vertical team the members are from different hierarchies within the organizational structure.
A team I have been part of involved working together with others to successfully plan
and manage an event. This team was temporary as we collaborated for a short time period
to achieve our goal. Another way to describe this team, is that it was a horizontal team. My
team members and I were on the same level within the organizational structure, containing
members from different functional areas to work towards the objective and shared task on
planning and managing that event. Three goals that we employed were:
Collaborate and communicate effectively, ensuring that everyone had a role and
responsibility
Utilize creativity in our plans for the event, in order to satisfy the attendees
To ensure preparations and resources were ready and available for the day of the
event
Another team I would mention is the operations team at Starbucks. An operations team is
responsible for the behind the scenes of a business/company, in general they ensure that
the business runs smoothly. They maintain, produce, supervise and ensure quality and
service is provided. This team is classified as a permanent team because they do not
disperse after a goal, task or project has been completed but instead take on new ones. To
add on, this team is horizontal as it is made up of members from different functional areas.
They have different roles and this is how each or them work together to ensure that the
business runs smoothly. Three purposes of this team are to:
Ensure good customer service quality is offered
Carry out quality control to make sure the drinks made reach the wants and
expectations of customers
To supervise processes throughout the business and guarantee that protocol is being
employed and followed
P2. Explain the characteristics of a given team in a chosen business.
M1. Assess how and why a given team will benefit a chosen business
