Introduction
Team process reflects the different types of actions and relations that occur within teams that contribute to their target goals. Team processes are thus affected by team characteristics such as size of the team, task interdependence and diversity within the members. In this report we are interested to show how technology is deployed to improve the team process in order to make the objective of the firm feasible. Technological innovation yields to knowledge management which is an important activity for the long run success of a firm. Empirical research which analyses the moderating effect of technology internalization into effective team processes has been undertaken and shows a positive impact. Results of the analyses propose three team processes that can be derived theoretically and empirically they include team building, information seeking, and problem solving have a positive impact on technology internalization. The results suggest that the significance of the team building and information seeking process varies with technology internalization modes (Richard, 1993).
Even though processes supported by computers are rare, it is very clear that teams can get assistance from the computer in structuring of their own work and in tracking of customer progress. Discretion in monitoring and tracking usage will be more important when these supporting technologies are mature. Process that is well defined and designed commands the workflow as well as its path towards fulfilling the objective and goal. Some assignments require computer while others can be done manually and on the other side, some may be automated while others requires system interactions. The user of the process may be allowed creativity and flexibility in how or whether they perform little of their tasks, the process sequence cannot be dictated by the user (Richard, 1993).
Assumptions
It is hard to generate as well as accepting innovative ideas due to unconscious assumptions which hinder new ways of looking at things. For instance, an assumption might be; a career success in management acquisition is attained through safe play and not having any risk. Therefore, innovative approaches and new ideas may be rejected as risk and dangerous. Conversely, if it is perceived that success in career depends on the quality of the program management, and on the same time accepting the need to take risk, then the result would be a different view of risk and innovation. This would encourage innovative ideas whose survival chances are much better.
Each assumption leads to an entirely dissimilar set of ideas that are acceptable for consideration. A very useful technique to assist wider thinking is to first surface the basic assumptions that underlie the initial response, then change those assumptions. This leads to generation of different ideas simply because the mind is freed up.
Each decision is a future guess
All decisions which are complex involve judgments and values
There is no decision which is a decision
There is nobody who can predict the future
Importance
Team process improvement refers to creating a process to be more effective, transparent and efficient. It thus helps an organization in the following ways:
- It enables the organization to view process value through the eyes of the customer.
- It ensures that the organization defines, measure, and run a process in order to regularly assess it by means of data-driven information.
- It helps in breaking process silos by providing an understanding of how processes act together and impact one another and customers.
- Reduces useless business costs.
In team processes improvement the primary goal is to identify and comprehend issues in order to recognize solutions and put into practice improvements to stay aligned with customer needs and expectations (Wheelan, 2010).
Steps
The key success factors build a team's capability where its translation into product results is through the execution of four processes named below (Hanington, 1991).
- The Innovation Process
- The Problem Solving Process
- The Decision Making Process
- The Implementation Process
Innovation process
After the problem is torn apart, however, the next challenge is to identify changes and solutions that would create the desired situation. Under the innovation process ensure an adoption of a flexible and intuitive process engine. Value of the innovation processes can be increased by applying easy-to-use tools that help to reduce cross-functional team’s time and improve the quality of the output. It includes five stages as discussed below:
- Definition of the problem: this involves thorough discussion of the whole issue including the problem by all the team members to ensure that there is common understanding of the condition.
- Relevant information gathering: Those needed information that are relevant is obtained for limiting the potential of new ideas and in providing stimulation for generation of idea.
- Brainstorming as part of the actual idea generation or the use of a different technique.
- It involves judgment, prioritization and discussion of ideas so as to determine which ones are the best.
- Planning and implementation: Budgetary, political, technical and social considerations become important. After the production of several ideas, they are then evaluated, filtered and then used in the development of plan of actions and milestones to achieve implementation.
Problem solving process
This refers to the team’s ability to identify a given problem, as well as generating possible alternatives solution for it. It is one of the most important processes in the system of acquisition. In addition, it also provides the link between decisions and problems by getting inputs from the innovation process. Every problem places its own demands on the problem solver. However, there are different levels of problems and their associated techniques that will improve a team's ability to develop solution alternatives. The problem is torn into parts and then identifies changes and solutions that would create the desired situation.
Decision making process
This is the team’s ability to attain quality decisions by choosing the best alternative. Decision making is the process of selecting of one or more alternatives that are generated through process of problem solving. This process is carried out by a team of experts. This is because depending on how and who made such decisions can have a great impact on the team performance and collaboration. When technical judgment is required by decision then the team expert should conduct the decision and then giving an explanation for justification to the team and, if needed, get their concurrence.
The focus here is the process of decision making as it is applying problems that are complex rather than the routine ones because the capability of the final product is greatly impacted by major decisions. Teams are effective when the decisions are much complex and thus require a balance between short and long-term priorities. The decision making by the team offers opportunity for each member so as to learn from each other and to understand the process of decision making.
Implementation process
This is the team’s capacity to plan as well as taking useful action in order to obtain the intended results. It may be that the team leader is responsible for implementation, or a team’s subgroup. If this occurs to the subgroups, then the individuals implementing this decision are required to update the rest of the team members on the progress so as to avoid surprises. The team members can get very important feedback of the program from the key stakeholders, and it helps them to identify their capability as a team, thus opening the door for better relations between them and stakeholders in the enterprise.
During implementation progress, frequent feedback is very important in order to identify key issues as well as monitoring the results. When misunderstandings or misunderstandings occur, they need to be handled promptly and directly before it becomes worse. There should be a fair negotiation of any anticipated issues, with both parties trying to work hard in order to find an optimal solution. There is no stakeholder who is always right and a team that is perfect; therefore, both parties tackle major issues in the best viewpoint to get end product that meet the requirement of the customer.
Application
Secondly, Fidelity Investment, which is based in Boston, has succeeded in technology utilizing by emphasizing on the required tools so as to make it work and also building on those processes which already exists. Measurable results have been obtained using this approach which is in terms of avoided costs; process improved implementation, direct savings and improved satisfaction of the customer. The strategy of Fidelity has recognized what is called “communities of practice” which is exists in its culture and they are sophisticated in managing their learning. From the start, the key implementation of the Fidelity was communicating common vocabulary and process throughout the borders of the organization and delivering it to desktop from wherever they might be (Hunsaker & George, 1999).
Thirdly, the use of technology in improving team processes is applied in services providing firms such as airline services. With technology activities in these firms are organized in a way such that they provide first class services to their customers.
Lastly it can be applied in all banking institutions where with technology processes within the team take the shortest time possible to prevent long queuing lines.
References
Hanington, H., J. (1991). Business Process Improvement: The Breakthrough Strategy for Total Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness. New York: McGraw Hill Inc.
Hunsaker, J., R. & George, E. (1999). How technology improves team effectiveness. Journal of Quality &Participation, 22(3). Retrieved from http://rc4ht3qs8p.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=How+technology+improves+team+effectiveness&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+for+Quality+and+Participation&rft.au=J+Russell+Hunsaker&rft.au=George+E+Lixfield&rft.date=1999-05-01&rft.pub=American+Society+for+Quality&rft.issn=1040-9602&rft.eissn=1931-4019&rft.volume=22&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=30&rft.externalDocID=41639154
Richard, F. (1993). Leading Business Teams: How Teams can Use Technology and Group Process Tools to Enhance Performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14(3), pp. 291-292. Retrieved from
Wheelan, S. (2010). Creating Effective Teams: a Guide for Members and Leaders. Los Angeles: SAGE. Print.
