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PORTFOLIO ITEMS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Ser Subject Page No.
1. Portfolio Item No. 1 3
2. Portfolio Item No. 2 4
3. Portfolio Item No. 3 5
4. References 7

PORTFOLIO ITEM 1: Team Formation (approx. 500 words)
Discuss the usefulness and drawbacks of Tuckman and Jensen’ team formation theory when managers are bringing together new work teams.
Write here:
The Tuckman and Jensen’s internal management theory describes the progress of teams through the stages of forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The stages suggest that a team is not completely functional right from the beginning and hence requires going through certain stages in accordance with the dictates of human social psychology.

One benefit of this theory is that the manager can understand in depth how his team can evolve and progress to the performing stage, thereby enabling him to overcome problems which the team might face (The Happy Manager, 2014). Portfolio items The forming stage is advantageous to the manager as he is formally able to establish the team structure according to the specific need of the task to be performed e.g. Portfolio items inclusion of financial or technical experts. Similarly, the storming stage is also quite useful to the team leader for coping up with the unsettled transitional period (12Manage, 2014).

The norming stage not only facilitates the team to come to an agreement over areas of conflict but also lets the manager engage the team in interactive activities and develop his or her leadership. Portfolio items The performing phase is highly rewarding for the team as all the members become increasingly conscious of their goals and concentrate their efforts in a uniform direction. The adjourning stage was added in 1975 and occurs when the group task is over and the group is to dissemble. This is a beneficial stage as it assists the manager in concluding the team operation in a professional fashion so that the members do not feel left out (Situational Leadership, 2014).

Along with the aforementioned set of numerous advantages, there are also certain drawbacks of the Tuckman and Jensen’s model. Firstly, the model provides an imbalanced context for group placement or allocation thereby resulting into both over and under-representation. Portfolio items The model also does not incorporate any quantitative data and therefore no independent variables can be identified.

Tuckman and Jensen’ team formation theory also suffers from the fact that it does not cover the significant aspects of performance of the group and also does not elaborate as to how the development of the team will affect the ingenuity in problem solving tasks. Portfolio items The theory also does not mention the factors leading to failure of a team to achieve a certain target or the capability to perform tasks or the features of exceptional performance (Bonebright, 2009; and Sidhu, 2010).

The model generally relates to only the working of small sized groups and treats the phases in a linear manner. However, the real world normally witnesses these phases in a cyclical manner with numerous interlinking complexities. Also,

the practical manifestation of team working is not strictly according to phases and overlapping is a commonly observed phenomenon. Tuckman and Jensen’ team formation theory does not shed any light upon either the role of individual members within the overall team scenario or the recommended time period for each phase (12Manage, 2014). Portfolio items It can be concluded that though highly advantageous for managers and team leaders in terms of understanding the team behaviours from a socio-psychological perspective, the Tuckman and Jensen’ team formation theory is applicable to only small groups.

PORTFOLIO ITEM 2: Decision Making (approx. 500 words)
Discuss the different models managers can consider when making business decisions, applying your discussion to an example.
In the modern business world, there are two important decision making models being followed namely: rational and normative.
The rational models suggest that managers act upon logic while making decisions. This model consists of four main steps which need to be followed in a sequential manner in order to come to a definitive conclusion. Portfolio items First is the identification of the problem which allows the manager to pin point the issues and find out solutions through brainstorming. For instance,

the problem may concern quality control in general and storage and preservation of raw material in particular. Choosing a solution comes next, in which the manager has to be very careful in weighing the pros and cons of each option e.g. for the aforementioned problem, Portfolio items inventory control may be preferred over construction of an elaborate storage facility because of lower costs. Lastly, the manager has to execute and assess the solution which has been applied (Kinicki, 2008).

Moreover, these models can be very time consuming and need detailed information. Portfolio items Critical path analysis is a rational model which can help managers in complex management projects. It lets managers calculate the minimum time required for completion e.g. identifying where the work can be speeded up to meet the deadlines (Mind Tools, 2014).

Managers can use this tool to prioritise the tasks and schedule activities according to short deadlines (Santiago & Magallon, 2009). A simple example critical path analysis is when heavy machinery is required to be loaned or bought for the construction of a sky scrapper. In this scenario critical path analysis can be used to construct a grid which will depend on the number of construction workers present, the time required for logistics and other factors. The tool when applied correctly, determines a critical path without any time lags. Using this tool the manager can also check for the likely impact a delay can have on the project (Tutor2u, 2014).

The normative models are concerned with evaluation and comparison of different solutions involved in decision making. These models allow managers to analyse which decision is ‘better’ or ‘worse’ (Baron, 2012). The Vroom-Yetton-Jago is one important model which is based upon the normative decision making theory. It identifies autocratic, consultative and group based decision making models. In the group based type of model, the manager tries to involve his team for problem solving, thereby increasing the confidence of the members and also allows him to assess a situation and decide how much involvement is required (Srinivasan, 2008). By answering a sequence of questions the manager can decide about how much should his opinion would weigh in the final decision (Vroom & Jago, 1988).

Normative models can be applied in making quantitative decisions such as determining requirements of population of an area or making comparisons like C is better than D in some aspects and worse in none hence C should be chosen. These models are also prototype for evaluation of an issue. As part of the normative framework, prescriptive models are also applied in education, for example people can be educated about alternates to heuristics which helps in counteracting the problem of heuristics and results in biasness (Baron, 2012).

PORTFOLIO ITEM 3: Communication (approx. 500 words)
Evaluate the effectiveness of face to face and online communication in the workplace, using examples to support your discussion.
Office conflicts are inevitable as there are various types of personalities working under one roof. The vital factor which allows people to work together is effective communication. Face to face meetings allow others to evaluate the person’s body language and gestures (Mayhew, 2014). According to several researches, the effective method of interaction between team members is face to face while innovating, planning and deciding important strategies for the company.

On the contrary, on a larger scale, interpersonal communication episodes like meetings do not have a reputation of being effective and waste time of the members, decreasing their efficiency. Meetings also take up a large amount of time. This is why it is important to plan meetings so that no time or energy is wasted. It is important to evaluate if conducting a meeting is essential or not and an agenda could be made accordingly. In this regard, check lists are very useful to maintain a list of objectives to be discussed and achieved (HR Council, 2014).

As opposed to above, Email, instant messaging services and other means of readily online communication help in fast exchange of data and provide flexibility to the team. Video conferencing also allows convenient communication between a diverse team for whom it is challenging to gather and meet at one location. Communicational technological advances eliminate the factors of distance and time when they are inconvenient (Richman, 2012).

On the other hand, face to face communication helps in better feedback, for example a manager can consult others for suggestions on how to communicate efficiently with his or her team. Both persons can discuss the issue and help the manager in coming up with a good solution.

Technologically aided communication has its own advantages, such as emails can be sent to the entire team with clear instructions about a certain task. This will ensure that the message is delivered to everyone together and at the correct time. But there are certain drawbacks of excessive communication through email. If an employee receives an overwhelming number of emails in a day, the important messages can get lost in his or her inbox and hence will lead to unintentional ignorance of the information sent to them. Moreover, the tone of prompt emails can easily be misunderstood as very commanding or sarcastic, by the team members or the manager.

This can lead to a decrease in the respect of the team members (Guo & Sanchez, 2010). Written communication such as emails are often misinterpreted, whereas straight forward communication is easier but it is only possible when both the parties are present physically at the same place.

Additionally, technology should be utilized in the best of manners especially in organizations where communication is very important. Teleconferencing is essentially used, for example where the team members are spread geographically and work is required to be discussed with members on different sites (Mayhew, 2014). Online communication also cuts down travel costs. Where companies used to spend huge amounts in sending their employees from one country or state to another, now they can easily use video conferencing and other online tools to communication (Regev, 2014)…