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Teamwork – Feedback Required – Am I On The Right Track ?

Paul Naybour Paul Naybour

Published: 17th February 2016

Explain the concept
of teamwork (10 Marks)?

Teamwork is a group of people
working in collaboration or by cooperation to achieve a common goal. A project
manager will need a team with an appropriate mix of skills to undertake
differing tasks and also the volume of staff to complete the work. By
collectively working together in a scheduled and organised manner through the
PMP agreed within the  definition stage
the organisation can make effective and efficient use of resources within the
organisation. The project manager should initially build the team to obtain the
correct mix of resources (Social Roles – Belbin)and then move the team through
the stages of development Forming, Storming, Norming Performing) as quickly as
possible to optimise performance
From the following
team or social roles explain  4 of these
and how the contribute towards an effective team (40 Marks) ?
Completer / Finisher : this type
of resource focusses on the task and painstakingly and meticulously looks at
fine detail. They will ensure that all imperfections within a product are
resolved through polishing and perfecting. This role is very good at driving up
quality of the finished product and contributes towards an ethos of continuous
improvement witin the team. Without this role, issues may remain unresolved
leading to poor quality, low morale and non delivery / acceptance.
Plant :  this type of
resource is the ideas person who solves difficult problems. They are able to
provide a range of solutions and have the ability to think laterally about problems.
They contribute towards an effective team through problem solving having the
ability to overcome problems which might otherwise need external specialist
expertise which can be difficult and expensive to source.
Opponent – The opponent provides challenge to the project to
ensure that processes / products are being defined and carried out in an
effective and efficient manner. For example the project managers challenge and
scrutiny would be fulfilled by the Project Sponsor who will challenge any
discrepancies or variations to the baselined PMP. The sponsor fulfils this role
to ensure the delivery of the benefits within the business case are delivered
through the PMP.
Implementer – Solid, reliable and dependant with a clear
delivery focus. They are able to delegate effectively to other team members and
able to keep track of tasks and dependancies. This role requires an effective
communicator who has good influencing skills. In the project environment this
role would usually be the project manager who drives the team to deliver a
focussed goal.