Assignment 6.1

Prior to the development of your group to a work team you should ensure that you understand and have control over the culture of San Francisco’s organization. The norms, values and beliefs of the organization should be collectively understood and practiced. You can improve the strength of the organization’s culture by writing short memos to staff members, placing posters in strategic locations in the office and other such activities to reinforce the norms, values, and symbols of the desired culture.
Subsequent to the establishment of the desired corporate culture, the process of creating effective work teams can begin. There are several types of teams which you can use, namely, problem-solving teams, self-managed teams, virtual teams and cross-functional teams. A combination of these teams would be useful for the level of customer service and support Xerox wishes to generate.
Given that asset management at Xerox involves a tremendous amount of work and challenge, an effective work team should maintain an informal and relaxed atmosphere. What is more, teams should be given a high level of autonomy to complete their relevant tasks. Structural accommodation is pertinent to team effectiveness due to the changing nature of the external environment and the diversity of cultures with which Xerox interacts.
Although there is need for a considerable amount of networking at any Xerox location, the smaller the team, the more one is able to achieve optimum performance. Hence, each team should comprise six to nine members. The goals and objectives of the particular work location should be well understood and accepted by each member.
Notwithstanding that there will be frequent conflict and disagreements everyone should be free to express their views about the task or the team. Given the number of countries in which our products are distributed it is necessary for team members to be creative, to be risk takers and to be sensitive to the needs of each member as well as the dynamic nature of the external environment. Nonetheless, mistakes will be made and these should be viewed as a basis for learning rather than causes for punishment. In our Houston ‘ family’ we are not afraid to evaluate our performance on a regular basis as such we have developed a climate of trust in which we can all grow professionally and personally.
As San Francisco’s manager, you will be required to be consistent, determined and to understand how to systematically build your team eventually you will find that your group has become a team. In the journey to team development a number of stages exist, namely forming, storming, norming, performing, de-norming, de-storming and de-forming. At the forming stage, individuals are now getting to know each other. Thus, initial first impressions are formed and individuals get a sense of what it is like to be part of a team. The team leader guides the direction of the team. As team members begin to collaborate they begin to assert themselves and state their varying opinions. Thus, a high level of conflict occurs at the storming stage. Eventually, at the norming stage, each member’s role will be determined and members will begin to know what to expect from each other. Friendships will be developed. At this point, norms will be established and the cohesiveness of the team will be prominent. The team then moves into the performing stage where members are functioning as a part of a team. The members participate in the positive outcome of their shared teamwork and established norms. It is at this stage that you, as manager, want to maintain team operation. If the team is not managed well, after some time at this stage, the team will begin to perform negatively and de-norming, de-storming and de-forming will occur.
In de-norming, the members as well as the goals and objectives of the team may change and hence the team’s performance will decline. Thus, the team’s comfort level will diminish leading to the de-norming stage. Finally, the members will begin to separate themselves from the team leader. Certain members will attempt to gain control of certain aspects of the team therefore the team’s performance will deteriorate significantly. Therefore continue to monitor, evaluate and improve the effectiveness of your teams.