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TABLE OF CONTENT

Abstract
1. Teamwork in Organizations – An Overview 4
2. Don’t go it alone 5
3. Rewarding the Team 5
4. Tuckman Model 6
4.1 The Tuckman Model of Group development 6
5. 8
6.
7.
8. Conclusion 11
References 12
Appendix 1 14
Appendix 2 15
Appendix 3 16
Appendix 4
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ABSTRACT

The most successful organizations in any realm – sports, work, play, family – are
successful due to a collective and collaborative sense of mission, purpose, and ownership.
In other words, the most successful organizations operate as a team. Smart organizations
place a premium of group consultation. Whereas a cooperating unit can distribute the
many subtasks of a problem-solving campaign among its members, the lone operator
must perform each task sequentially. Many companies, having a compensation plan that
rewards employees for successful teamwork fits their organizational model. For the
purposes of this report, the authors aim to assess the nature of the teamwork dynamic that
exists at Media Film Services, a film equipment rental company based in Cape Town. The
authors have therefore confined themselves to within the original four stages identified in
the original Tuckman model
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1. TEAMWORK IN ORGANIZATIONS – AN OVERVIEW

The most successful organizations in any realm – sports, work, play, family – are
successful due to a collective and collaborative sense of mission, purpose, and ownership.
In other words, the most successful organizations operate as a team. Although it has been
established that individuals’ mastery of job knowledge predicts their individual success in
the workplace, many organizations now emphasize performance at the team level (Ilgen
& Pulakos, 1999).

Teams are commonly regarded as structured sets of people who pursue collective
performance objectives within larger organization systems and who require coordinated
interactions to successfully accomplish relevant tasks (Cohen & Bailey, 1997; Forsyth,
1999). Because teams are often assembled to take on multifaceted and complex
endeavors, team tasks present a range of knowledge-intensive challenges to team
members (McIntyre & Salas, 1995; Mohrman, 2003). As such, scholars have theorized
that team members’ ongoing intellectual development contributes to collective
performance (DeNisi, Hitt, & Jackson, 2003; London & Mone, 1999). In other words,
greater workplace learning by team members should translate into better team
performance, as long as what is being learnt is relevant (Austin, 2003; Kozlowski, Gully,
Nason, & Smith, 1999).

A high-performance team can accomplish remarkable feats. Maximizing the creative

energy generated by a powerful team takes a skilled manager. By utilizing a few
guidelines, a team manager can motivate the best and the brightest employees to work as
a team.

“Teams outperform individuals acting alone or in larger organizational groupings,

especially when performance requires multiple skills, judgments and experience (The
Wisdom of Teams).”
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2. DON’T GO IT ALONE
Smart organizations place a premium of group consultation. Studies done by psychologist
Patrick Laughlin at the University of Illinois and his colleagues show that the approaches
and outcomes of a cooperating group are not just better than those of the average group
member, but are better than even the group’s best problem solver functioning alone.

Cialdini (2007) argues that the lone problem solver can’t match the diversity of
knowledge and perspectives of a multiperson unit that includes him. Other members will
have had experiences with similar and related problems that will allow the team to
recognize fruitful versus fruitless choices more clearly and quickly. Furthermore, Cialdini
adds that the solution seeker who goes it alone loses a significant advantage – the power
of parallel processing. Whereas a cooperating unit can distribute the many subtasks of a
problem-solving campaign among its members, the lone operator must perform each task
sequentially.

3. REWARDING THE TEAM

For many companies, having a compensation plan that rewards employees for successful
teamwork fits their organizational model (Matt, 2007). HR professionals at companies
that use these plans say they can be and effective way to reward team performance, but
must be carefully crafted to avoid unintended consequences that could undermine
individual initiative and business goals.

According to Jim Fox, founder and senior partner at the compensation and HR specialty
firm Fox Lawson & Associates LLC, based in St. Paul, Minn., 12 percent of privately
held firms, mostly in manufacturing, have some sort of gain-sharing program. And the
use of team-based incentives also is gaining support among hospitals and health systems
that often tie rewards to specific goals, such as increased patient satisfaction scores or a
reduction in receivables, he says.

Matt (2007) further claims that while team-based pay isn’t a panacea for organizational
ills, it can be a useful tool to motivate and reward employees.
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4. TUCKMAN MODEL (Appendix 1)

For the purposes of this report, the authors aim to assess the nature of the teamwork
dynamic that exists at Media Film Services, a film equipment rental company based in
Cape Town (Appendix 2). The employees of Media Film Service work in a rigorous and
demanding environment often under enormous pressure. They are reliant upon each other
and effective teamwork and the management thereof is integral factor that allows them to
perform their tasks in an efficient manner. Effective and organized teamwork is therefore
central to the nature of their work and the efficacy of the company. It is for this reason
that the authors have decided to focus on this element of the operations of the company.

The Tuckman model of group development is the predominant technique used for this
report. Tuckman’s model, although dating back to 1965 is acknowledged as one of the
most common and appropriate models of group development in use today (Cissna 1984;
Smith 2005) and is therefore considered by the authors to be a suitably apt methodology
for the purposes of this paper. In addition to the use of the Tuckman model the authors
have also made use of a questionnaire (Appendix 3), compiled by the authors and
responded to by Blaise Sheasby, a senior manager at Media Film Services, to help
provide further background information on the nature and teamwork dynamic of the
company to help place the report in the correct context.

By the application of the Tuckman model this report therefore hopes to identify the
current condition of the teamwork dynamic existent at Media Film Services, how their
effective their teamwork dynamic is and if it can be improved upon to make for better or
more efficient human resources management (Appendix 4).

4.1 The Tuckman Model of Group Development

The Tuckman model of group development was formulated by Bruce Tuckman, a
respected educational psychologist in 1965. His model identifies four distinct linear
stages of group development. These four stages depict the process small groups go
through from their formation up and to the point where they reach their point of
maximum efficacy (www.chimaeraconsulting.com/tuckman.htm). Tuckman labels the
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four stages as ‘Forming’, ‘Storming’, ‘Norming’ and ‘Performing’. His model holds that
when various groups form the process of how they come together and begin to function
follows a similar pattern and this pattern can be divided into the four above mentioned
distinct stages (Smith 2005).

In 1977 Tuckman, along with Mary Ann Jensen, refined the model to include a fifth
stage, that of ‘Adjourning’, which deals with the completion and disengagement of the
group. As this report is focused on the current teamwork dynamic of a currently
functioning group it was decided by the authors not to include this later fifth stage in the
research methodology of this paper. They believe that the dissolution of a group or team
does not hold any quantifiable value to the company concerned and therefore falls outside
of the stated purposes of this report. The authors have therefore confined themselves to
within the original four stages identified in the original Tuckman model (Smith 2005).
Storming Norming
Members become hostile and combative. Members accept team roles and behaviors of others.
Characterized by: Characterized by:

• Infighting • Attempts at harmony by avoiding conflict

• Creating unachievable goals
• Disunity, jealousy, tension
• Polarization of members
• Resistance to task demands in order to deal with
personal issues
• Sharp fluctuations and reversals of feelings
• Establishment of pecking order
• Establish and maintain team boundaries
• Ability to express emotions constructively
• Sense of team cohesiveness with common spirit and
goals
• High levels of intimacy, confiding in each other, trust
• Moderate work accomplishment

• Minimal work accomplishment

Forming
Members come together to form a group
Characterized by:
Characterized by:
• Hesitant participation
• Intellectualizing
• Identify how group will do its tasks
• Feeling of initial attachment to team
• Complaints about organizational environment
• Suspicion, fear, and anxiety about new situation
Performing
Members have established norms and are able to diagnose
problems and come up with solutions.
• Members experience insight into personal and
interpersonal processes
• Constructive self-change is undertaken
• A great amount of work is accomplished!

• Minimal work accomplishment

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5.
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REFERENCES

Austin, J.R. 2003. Transactive memory in organizational groups: The effects of content,
consensus, specialization, and accuracy on group performance. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 88: 866-878, May.

Cialdini, R.B. 2007. How to Get the Best Solutions from Your Team. Harvard
Management Update, 12 (5): 2-4, May.

Cohen, S.G., & Bailey, D.E. 1997. What makes teams work: Group effectiveness research
from the shop floor to the executive suite. Journal of Management, 23: 239-290.

DeNisi, A.S., Hitt, M.A., & Jackson, S.E. 2003. Knowledge-based approach to
sustainable competitive advantage. In. S. E. Jackson, M.A. Hitt, & A.S. DeNisi (Eds.),
Managing knowledge for sustained competitive advantage: Designing strategies for
effective human resource management (pp. 3-33). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hirschfeld, R. R., Jordan, M. H., Field, H. S., Giles, W. F., & Armenakis, A. A., 2006.
Becoming Team Player: Team Members’ Mastery of Teamwork Knowledge as a Predictor
of Team Task proficiency and Observed Teamwork Effectiveness. Journal of Applied
psychology, 91 (2): 467-474, 8p, March.

Ilgen, D.R., & Pulakos, E.D. (1999). Introduction: Employee performance in today’s
organizations. In D.R. Ilgen & E.D. Pulakos (Eds.), The changing nature of performance:
Implications for staffing, motivation, and development (pp. 1-18). San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.

Matt, B. 2007. Rewarding the Team. HRMagazine, 52 (2): 91-93, February.

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McIntyre, R. M., & Salas, R. (1995). Measuring and managing for team performance:
Emerging principles from complex environments. In R. A. Guzzo, E. Salas, & Associates
(Eds.), Team effectiveness and decision making in organizations (pp.9-45). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stanley, T. L., 2006. Managing your team. Supervision, 67 (6): 10-12, June.

Focus on Team management. Health care Registration: The newsletter for Health Care
Registration Professionals, 15 (5): 4-5, 2p, February.

http://www.heartquotes.net/teamwork-quotes.html downloaded on the 29th May 2007.

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APPENDIX 1
The Four Stages in Tuckman Model

Forming:
Tuckman in his original study described this stage to be that of orientation, testing and
dependence. The orientation of the group or team is in effect a process of testing the
boundaries of the interpersonal and task behaviors of members of the group or team and
the resultant relationships of dependency within the group (Tuckman cited by Smith,
2005). It is during this stage the group initially forms as a recognizable singular entity but
the roles and processes are not totally entrenched (www.businessballs.com)

Storming:
Upon the formation of the group the next stage in its evolution is characterized by
conflict between the members of the group. These conflicts arise around interpersonal
issues as group or team members vie for position within the group. Sub-groups or cliques
develop within the group or team and often power struggles ensue. The group or team
does however begin to clarify a common purpose (www.businessballs.com).

Norming:
The group or team has now overcome its initial problems and begins to develop into a
cohesive unit with a common purpose. Members are now aware of their individual tasks
and those of the others within the group or team. Task duties and interpersonal opinions
are expressed and accepted (Tuckman cited by Smith, 2005).

Performing:
The tasks and interpersonal structure of the group merge into a cohesive and well
functioning unit. There is flexibility in the functioning of the group or team and members
are focused on the tasks required of them. The group structure is cemented and agreed
upon. This is the optimal stage of group development and the time in which the group or
team is at its most efficient (Tuckman cited by Smith, 2005).
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Tuckman’s model provides a useful linear model for the development and life cycle of
small groups. It helps us to quantify the nature of group interaction and provides and
useful tool when trying understand the nature and dynamics of how teams work. It is
however a generalist model that seeks to encapsulate a gamut of human emotion and
interaction within a set framework. It is important to note that whilst it has proven to be
an effective model for explaining group dynamics, the range of diversification within
human endeavor that cannot be wholly or accurately captured and the stages of the model
therefore should be viewed as a guide to rather than a precise description of a particular
team’s dynamic.

APPENDIX 2

MEDIA FILM SERVICE

Media Film Services is an equipment rental company that supplies cameras, lights, film
stock and other equipment to the film industry. The company’s head office is in Cape
Town and it has branches in Johannesburg and Durban. It has a nationwide staff of
approximately 60 persons. Many of their staff is highly skilled as their positions require a
high degree of technical expertise. They deploy equipment and staff to these various
locations as the need arises (www.mediafilmservice.com).

Media Film Services is partnered with ARRI Media and similar company based in
London. They are the suppliers of ARRI film cameras and lights, a leading brand of
equipment in the film industry. In addition to ARRI cameras and lights they also provide
a range of specialized film equipment and stock Kodak motion picture film
(www.mediafilmservice.com).

Their market consists predominately of film production companies who hire film
equipment for assorted film productions. The nature of this hire differs from production
to production and the amount of gear and service required for each differs accordingly.
By enlarge the majority of their clients are TV commercial service companies who hire
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their gear for anything from one day to a number of weeks at a time. The nature of the
industry in Cape Town in particular is seasonal with extremely busy periods over the
summer months and a much quieter period during the winter months. This makes for
varying periods of activity and availability of resources (www.mediafilmservice.com).

Media Film Service offers a comprehensive service to its clients this includes the hire of
all technical film equipment needed for particular productions, the sourcing of unique or
specialized equipment, solutions or advice on technical matters, studio space and
specialist technicians when necessary. The varying demands made by their clients
require Media to be able to adjust to their needs rapidly often outside of working hours.
Their company motto is; “Service is our credo. The best equipment is our business.”
(www.mediafilmservice.com).

APPENDIX 3 (QUESTIONNAIRE)

APPENDIX 4 (INTERVIEW)

1. Uncertainty can make teamwork even more challenging as the direction in which
to proceed is unclear, and as individual members of the team may have different
opinions. How do you manage your team in this scenario and how effective is it?
We have one common goal – to ensure the best equipment, best service and best
experience at Media. Although the methods to achieve this are different for each dept,
we all know what the goal is and do any small thing we can to help this process.
In rentals, our processes are linear, well defined and clear – which ensures that there
isn’t much ‘grey area’. This is essential considering that, even though the processes
are rigid, the clients and productions aren’t and each one requires individual ideas,
suggestions, recommendations and its own unique solutions.
Also, with the rentals position being heavily dependant on information and
knowledge, we find that this starfish-approach works brilliant. Whilst you are at the
hub of the production on which you are working, the arms (our colleagues) provide
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motivation, info which you may not have as well as ideas for alternate solutions to
problems.

2. Teamwork is very popular today in organizations, but it is an unnatural act that

takes a strategy, discipline and practice. Most organizations talk about teamwork
and put a group of workers together and say “you are a team now”. Duly formed,
the team is marched out onto the field to succeed or fail. In the current
challenging environment, what steps does Media take to prepare the team?
For new Media employees we have an initiation program which provides them with
an overview of the company, the history, details about the staff members and clients.
Their position is clearly explained (as well as how they ‘fit’ into the team) to them
and their team-members/colleagues provide in-house training required for the
position, as well as on-going assistance. All team-members understand that it’s
imperative to the whole team that each member succeeds at their specific task.

3. In a performance group or on a sports team, over 90% of the participants time is

spent practicing- standardizing their routines or processes, identifying roles and
responsibilities, improving communication effectiveness, working on their
coordination, alignment or teamwork. The focus is learning from mistakes until
they are ready to perform for the audience or fans. In line with this, does Media
provide training to the team before they go into the field? If so, what are your
training policies and how effective are they? How often are they trained?
Considering that most of the processes employed by Media are specific and unique to our
(very niche) market, it’s almost impossible to practice what we do, prior to doing it in
reality! It’s really a hands-on experiential job in which colleagues eavesdrop all the time
in order to correct, assist and learn from each other.
We feel it imperative that every employee experience all aspects of the company and at
least understand (if not be able to fulfill) each individual and departmental role within
Media – prior to settling down in their specific position.
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We are extremely fortunate that most of our staff come from similar film-equipment-rental
backgrounds so have an innate understanding of
a) the equipment
b) the processes involved in renting that equipment and,
c) the pressures and stresses specific to this industry.

4. What are the challenges and obstacles faced by Media in terms of Teamwork
Management?
Media staff are independent, strong-willed and lateral-thinkers. The hardest part in
directing the teamwork within Media is ensuring that all the ideas, opinions and
suggestions are given due credit and ensuring that there isn’t a power-struggle for
leadership of the team!

5. In recruiting your team members, what skills and knowledge do you look for?
At Media, we feel strongly that skills and knowledge can be imparted and learnt.
However attitude, enthusiasm and dedication are innate traits which no number of
courses or training can teach.
As a result, we are always on the lookout for the right personality and talent, with the
right experience and skills viewed as a bonus. We are willing to give anyone an
opportunity, as long as have that ‘Media Oomph’!

6. What actions does the organization take to promote a culture of Teamwork?

Luckily, Media staff understand that our individual roles are inextricably linked and that
without dedicated teamwork, our chain will be riddled with weak links!
In 2005, Media sent 16 HOD’s on a management course spanning most of the year. This
course highlighted the importance of understanding various personality types, conflict
management, integrating different personalities so as to achieve harmonious work
environments and teambuilding.
Media encourages and hosts regular social functions for employees such as water-
rafting, karaoke evenings, company braais, and movie nights. These are all organized by
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self-appointed groups within the company - which promotes a sense of responsibility and
trust.

7. Team leadership, paradoxically, includes knowing when to hand over the lead to
others, as their expertise moves to the fore. What actions does Media take when
one or more of your team members are either absent due to various reasons for a
particular project or when they leave the organization?
Media is lucky to have a wealth of self-motivated, service-driven people who will not
shirk any task or responsibility. As such, we often find that we have more than one
leadership-type-personality in any given team. Although I’ve never thought about this
before, it would seem (in retrospect) that, irrelevant of the make-up of the group, the role
of 2IC automatically and unspokenly rests with the person who falls directly beneath the
Team Leader in their department.
Thus, if a team is made up of 3 camera people, 2 grips people and 4 lighting people and
the Team Leader is a camera person, the 2IC will be the next-in-charge from Camera
Dept. Obviously, should there be a team member much better suited to the task, they will
take over leadership.

8. Is there is a lot of resistance from the team members to the tasks at hand and
quality improvement approaches and if so, how is being handled currently?
The team leader is certainly responsible for satisfactorily explaining the motivation
behind the tasks, changes and improvements before implementing them or expecting
members to do so. In turn, it is the right of the members to expect satisfactory
explanations for any changes which may affect them.
Should the resistance be legitimate, the team leader will certainly enquire as to the
reason for it, and most importantly ask the member for alternate suggestions.

9. Many organizations are adapting team working organizational structures for

becoming more responsive to market conditions and more effective in their
operation. Has the team dynamics evolved over a period of time and if so how?
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Explain some of the modern trends and changing attitudes of Teamwork

management.
As our company has expanded from a compliment of 18 people to nearly 70 people, our
views of teamwork have had to change as well.
Our top-level management has delegated much responsibility for team-leading to the
Middle management.
Where our teams used to be limited departmentally (camera dept was a team and lighting
another), as our company has grown it has become necessary to comprise the groups
differently with a member from each dept being grouped together so as to have a cross-
section of the company.

10. Team working is an increasingly popular way of achieving greater organizational

flexibility as well as other benefits such as reduced costs of supervision, faster
lead times, innovation, more effective decision making, more customer service
and enhanced employee morale. What are the implications of the above-
mentioned factors in your organization?
We already run our various depts. In this way, although each dept has a manager and
staff who fall beneath him, we recognize that each of these staff members is a responsible
adult who should be able to operate without constant supervision. We expect that they
will complete their work to Media-standards.
Although each position has strictly-defined guidelines and responsibilities, we also
expect staff to ‘think outside the box’ and overlap other positions wherever they feel
inspired to do so, in order to create an interesting synergy between departments and
positions.
Each staff members understands how their individual decision affect the company and
are encourage to ask for advice if needed, however they are trusted to make decisions
relevant to their department.

11. How does Media recognize and/or reward the teamwork of its members?
Media takes teams out for dinner or night away as recognition for effective teamwork.
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The company also expects that each team set up will be reliable enough to responsibly
reward itself for its work.
A group of 4 girls has just volunteered to be an in-house maintenance (or Handygirl)
team to see to all of the little paint/garden/maintenance jobs in and around the building
and has asked for a monthly supper as a thank you. The Directors were ecstatic at the
suggestion and more than happy to agree!

12. Can you narrate an incident/s where the effectiveness of your team work were
challenged and/or magnified in a particular situation?
I have come to realize that the greatest threat to a team is an individual who feels
excluded as they then tend to become rebellious which then jeopardizes the teams efforts.
As such, I’ve had to work hard to ensure that all staff inside MY team feel included and
valued at all times.
This has the positive spin-off of greater communication and interaction which is crucial
for team-work anyway!

13. Any suggestions or tips for effective Teamwork Management?

Ensure that the team understands that, even though you may be the team leader, you are
still part of the team and willing to get your hands dirty and do exactly what your role
requires for the team to be successful!

14. The Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of team development

was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965, who maintained that these phases
are all necessary and inevitable - in order for the team to grow, to face up to
challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver
results. This model has become the basis for subsequent models of team dynamics
and frequently used management theory to describe the behavior of existing
teams. Identify the present stage of the teamwork model that your team is
presently operating in using the attached questionnaire.
Storming Stage.