领导力和人力资源管理英国课程作业

领导力和人力资源管理英国课程作业

世界各地的组织都把团队作为完成艰巨工作最有效的方法。随之而来的是这种方法在公司内部产生的积极或消极影响，那么什么是实现这种新的工作方式的真正目的呢？

此后，多数企业通过组织工作团队实现他们的目标，但它的定义到底是什么？团队是一群人，他们在信息，资源和技能方面相互依存，寻求通过他们的集体努力实现一个共同的目标。(Thompson, 2000) 团队领导组织和协调一群人为了实现一个共同的目标而努力，使用某些工具和方法，以确保获得成功被称为团队管理。(Longman Dictionary, 2010)

Organizations all around the world have been including teams as the most effective way of acomplish hard work. Coming together may have positive or negative impacts within the company then regarding this, what is the real purpose of implementing this new way of working?

 

Hereafter, most companies achieve their goals by organizing work teams, but what does it really mean such term? A team is a group of people, who are interdependent with respect to information, resources and skills, and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal. (Thompson, 2000). And the process by which a person (team leader) organize and coordinate a group of people in order to work towards a common goal, using certain tools and methods so as to ensure succesful results is called team management. (Longman Dictionary, 2010)

 

The aim of this paper is to corroborate the usefullness of working as a team in order to come up with satisfactory results by pointing the team management as the ideal process through which any organization may achieve success. The issue atracts people´s attention on every social and economical sector, reason for it becomes vital to be incorporated in organizations such as coastguards where its normal and rutinary functions requires the management of great number of human resources. Thus, it seems that new technologies and globalization require an state-of-the-art in managerial procedures to obtain better and effective results.

 

Consecuently, this paper will compare the different definitions and types of team management which best support the implementation within organizations like coastgurads, at the same time clarifying the topic by giving a real situation example which will contribute to a final conclusion.

 

团队管理——Team management
 

Lately at organizational levels , top management have implemented the team management procedure within its organizations, teams have become the solution for organizing work in today´s world. As a result, some new terms have emerged i.e. virtual teams, project teams and management teams which can be either the blessing or the bane for many companies. As in some academic books the term group and team are considered to be equal in meaning, the following explanation will result convenient. Then, in order to have a better understanding about the topic, it must be settle the difference between team and group.

 

The Penguin English Dictionary defines a group as:

 

“A number of objects or people, which can be regarded as a collective unit or as sharing certain characteristics; number of people sharing views, social customs, beliefs, etc.”

 

Source: google.se

 

On the other hand, the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines team as:

 

“ A small group of people who have been chosen to work together to do a particular job.”

 

By analysing both definitions, it is clear that teams have a restriction in terms of size, moreover; the more people involved, the more complex the interaction and hence the less able the group is to function. On the other hand, groups can manage great amount of people but there is less interaction among members. (Clutterbuck, 2007).

 

Teams come together to achieve a goal, are conducted by a person and every member share a dependence from other each other member, in addition, the roles within the team are clearly set up, everyone knows what or not to do. Teams do not work by themselves, it is well known that it is necessary the intervention of a person, called leader, who must be able to conduct the team, providing confidence, expertise to all of them. Accordingly, the leader must gather certain characteristics or personal skills so as to ensure the effective functioning of the whole team . In brief, it is accurate to mention that the primarily task of the leader within a team involves creation of vision, strategies and goals. ( Skudal, 2009).

 

Comparing group and team work, the following factors may enforce the differences among them:

 

Teams use more structure and more varied forms of communication than members of groups.

 

Offer and seek support from each other. Team members prioritize other´s member problem over their own ones.

 

Accept personal discomfort or disadvantage, when there is a clash between their own interests and those of the team.

 

Adapt roles and behaviours to the needs of the task and of their colleagues, meet the requirements of different situations. (Clutterbuck, 2007).

 

团队类型——Team types
 

In the next lines four types of team will be described in terms of who takes responsabilities either the leader or other team member. (Hackman, 1990).

 

Manager-led teams: the manager decides the goals, and the team´s structure, control the process as well as the selection of members.

 

Self-managing teams: the manager reatins responsibility for the goals and the context in which the team operates.

 

Self-designing teams: go one step further and take responsibility for setting their own objectives. The manager provides resource and protection.

 

Self-governning teams: take responsibility in addition for designing the oranizational context.

 

关于团队管理不同的方法——Different approaches regarding team management
 

Team management is introduced in the managerial world so as to facilitate goal achievement. It is a formal structure which will strongly impact on the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment by managers and employees.

 

On one hand, team management is normally approached according to Modernist paradigm, which suggests a great belief in development and progress. The main point of the modernistic tradition is clearly materialized in instrumental theories in which societies and organizations are first and foremost considered as existing of formal structures through which one continuously moves towards higher levels of technical, economical and social development. (Scott, 2003). This approach also supports that when doing a study on team management within an organization, the subject of study is regarded as a tangible entity, which can be observed and from which explain its functioning if the accurate tools are used.

 

On the other hand, Constructive approach considers a different point of view regarding organizations and management. It proposes that organizations are regarded as socially constructed arragements and criticizes positivist approaches to organizations and their functioning. The approach supports the idea that organizations are the right place for development and interpretation for symbols. ( Skudal, 2009).

 

团队管理与分级管理——Team management versus hierarchical management
 

By making a comparision between them, there is no unique better management system, both of them are of equal importance depending on the type of organization involved. One orgnization may require an absolute team management whereas other, according to its function, may require hierarchical one. Moreover, there are cases where a combination of the two of them is needed, in which authority is assigned in ranks and employees take directions from their superiors.

 

Hierarchical management is a management system in which authority is assigned in ranks and employees follows its superiors´orders or commands. Gubernamental , military and private organizations make use of this system. To start with, the main advantage of it, is the essential organization, in oder words, everyone knows what to do, therefore; the organization will work well from bottom to top. Then, a disadvantage which may endanger the functioning of the company, could be the fact that managers are hired directly into their position without being promoted from within or without having experienced employees´ work before, what may result in not very sensible demands, contradictive instructions and mistakes. Sometimes, managers (supervisor) may become authoritative making their subordinates feel frustrated and without interest in proposing improvements at work.

 

Team management, on the contrary offers a much more free management system in which pre domains freedom to propose ideas, solutions and best ways of working. Every employee has his or her oportunity to express him or herself in terms of improving daily work. Instructions can be argueable meanwhile in the hierarchical system it is not so. The manager (leader) conducts the team injecting free work style and as soon as the work is properly done, there is no restrictions in the way of working. There is better level of communication as well as understanding. There is no absolute responsibility for an erroneo job done, every member of the team asume responsibility on it.

 

Which works better in the Argentine Coastguard, team or hierarchical management?

The Argentine Coastguard is under the Ministry of Security, the head of the coastguard is the Commandant and the second in command is the vice commandant.(Figure 1).

 

Figure 1: “ Argentine Coastguard organigram”

 

Source: prefecturanaval.gov.ar

 

Argentine Coastguard or Prefectura Naval Argentina has a wide range of functions, the most important are those in relation with the safe of life at sea, survellaince, prevention of contamination, inspection of ships, Port State Control, National Register of Ships, assistance to the community, interdiction of drug trafficking, port Security and Security and public order.

 

Prefectura Naval Argentina is a governmental organization which structure responds to a hierarchical model. However, according to my experience, both team and herarchical management models are useful, depending on the area of work and on the function exersiced. Situations in which security and public order are requested to be re-established , normally requires a hierarchical management. (figure 2)

 

Figure 2: “memebers of the Agrupación Albatros (special tactical group)”

 

Source: prefecturanaval.gov.ar

 

Nevertheless, certain and special occassions requires both models to be implemented. That is the case of the special tactical group “Agrupacion Albatros” whose basic mission is to provide security for people and property in the event of sabotage, bombings, riots, social unrest or casualties or caused, that may require the assistance of specifically trained staff, supporting operational agencies in surveillance, custody and protection of critical and vital goals, restoring and maintaining public order, prevention and suppression of drug trafficking and border closures. (Prefectura Naval Argentina, 2012)

 

In preventing drug traffiking, the previous tactical group normally excersises its functions in the argentine Litoral, that is, North east part of the country, where a dense forest and unfavorable climate covers the area.

 

The group may consist of 15 or 20 members, each of whom has its pre asigned role within the group.Once in the forest, the members work together, with the same commitement at all levels, that is both ledader and subordinate work paralell, pursuing the same goals, that is prevention of drug traffiking and others federal crimes and far most important survive in those dangerous areas. Consecuently, in the arena all are equals and no distinction on ranks are made. Despite the fact that, the leader is the one in command due to its higher rank, expertise and experience, none of the members is treated with excess of authority.

 

Team management is used as a useful tool in situations like the above described, however it also requires the hierarchical method since the base of the Argentine Coastguard organization is the hierarchical model. There must be a leader (officer) in charge, who gives orders and supervises the acomplishment of them.

 

结论——Conclusion
 

To conclude, it is important to make a distinction between team and hierarchical management and higlight the main advantages and disadvantages of the two of them. The former one supports coming together to achieve a goal, work in an equal basis, sharing different knowledges, points of view and dependence from other each other. At this level the leader within the team enhance his function by creation of vision, strategies and goals. The latter, higlights the hierrarchical model in which the leader, the one in command gives the instructions and supervises them so as to fulfil the given task. There is no much consensus within this group of work, every member is given a role with no chance to argue. However, certain situations call for a mixture of the two type of management.

 

Team management organizations spreads decision making down to all levels of management, while structured organizations (hierarchical) depend on on top management to make decisions, all employees participate in the decision-making process. Consecuently, they feel that they are part of the organization or company, rather than members of an individual department. Therefore, this type of team management carries results more efficiently and effectively way, giving them a competitive edge in today's global markets.

 

The role of the leader is of such importance when dealing with daily work. Leaders should exercise consideration, discretion and common sense. Give to the employees some autonomy; tell them what the leader want them to do without saying every step. People often prefer to handle their work using certain approaches; even if you disagree with an employee's methods, you may find that he is much more productive when given some freedom to do this. That is, in the end no matter how you do your work, it matters the work done, the final product.

 

Recalling the Argentine Coastguard example, from my point of view, both types are necessary to implement, according to the situation and goals ordered by the one in command. It represents a new way of working and helps to the progression of our career within the coastguard. The incorporation of team management may bring more efficient results and contributes to the well being of all members of this organization. Personally, team management contributes to enhance daily work and creates better work place environment among officers and petty officers.