Team Observation
For this 3-5 page paper, you will observe a team in action, and your assignment is to write an analytical paper about your observations. Your paper will discuss the team’s patterns, behavior, design, process, and effectiveness as well as describe what makes the team unique.
At a minimum, your paper should include the following
Team/Group Background(include some background about the team and team demographic information)
Type of Team
Formal roles on the team (what about informal roles on the team)
Stages of Team development
What stages did the team go through?
What stage did the team get stuck in? Why?
How did the team move through the different stages?
What are the specific characteristics of the team that emerged?
What roles did team members take?
What barriers emerged as the group worked?
How did the group manage those barriers?
What was the effect of the barriers on the end result?
How did the team build trust, if at all?
How did the team handle or manage:
Communication?
Conflict?
Problem solving?
Collaboration?
Evaluate the overall effectiveness
What worked well?
What would you have done differently?
What did you learn about team building from doing this activity?
What recommendations or advice would you give to this team to improve their productivity?
Your paper should be 3-5 pages, 12 font and double-spaced. You should also include cover and reference pages (not included in the 3-5 pages). Your paper should follow the APA guidelines.
NOTE: Ideas on teams to observe:
Workplace team (member or not)
Community committee meeting
Sports team
Volunteer meeting
Public/government meeting
You can also choose to watch a movie about teams and team development:
Remember the Titans
Mighty Ducks
Ocean’s Eleven
Tombstone
Undefeated
Drum Line
Tuskegee Airmen
Glory
Coach Carter
Miracle
You may use the following references:
Levi, D. (2013), Group Dynamics for Teams (4th edition). Sage Publications, Los
Angeles. ISBN 978-1412999533
Thomas, K.W. (2002). Introduction to conflict management: Improving
performance using the TKI. Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc. Item #4816
(No ISBN available)
Straw, J. (2002) The 4-Dimensional Manager (Paperback)