Time for a rethink on effective teams
Related posts:No related photos. Previous Article Next Article Time for a rethink on effective teamsOn 1 May 2001 in Personnel Today Comments are closed. When employees work together toachieve tasks, attention must be paid to developing strengths at a collectivelevel rather than on an individual basis, says Tim MillsOrganisations encourageteamworking because of the belief that certain benefits can be gained.Associated benefits include improved productivity, greater employeesatisfaction, and better organisational behaviour, such as reduced absenteeism.However, these benefits are derivedfrom effective teamworking, not teamworking per se. Thus, business teams mustattend to those team factors that directly contribute to the benefits.Team development can take manyforms. Often team members are individually described in terms of theirpreferred roles. This approach enables ideal team profiles to be developed. Thebest teams have a balance of individuals bringing particular abilities to thegroup. Team development can help becauseunderstanding individual strengths and weaknesses facilitates more effectiveorganisation of tasks. A similar approach is to define theindividual personality types. A greater shared understanding of members’personalities and how they define preferred ways of working improves theirability to integrate. Such development becomes mosteffective when it enhances teamwork at the collective level. Until recently,team competencies have tended to be considered at the individual rather thancollective level. The research partnership of PennaChange Consulting and Cranfield School of Management has set out to define thecollective knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours that teams fromdifferent contexts need to enhance their performance. Challenging questionsThe research initially focused onteams from a variety of environments, such as sport, the arts, and business.Observation of non-work teams raises challenging questions for business: why,for example, do we accept the need for football teams to plan set moves andjazz groups to rehearse, and yet expect project teams at work to perform fromday one?From this research, a generic modelof collective competence was developed and then explored further through asurvey of almost 100 teams, and over 500 team members, from many differentbusiness environments. The research suggested that at least 16 distinctcollective competencies have a significant impact on performance. These competencies includemaintaining an effective psychological environment, managing important taskprocesses, sharing particular types of knowledge, and encouraging motivationalcompetence. Can we be sure that all competenciesare relevant to all teams? Different teams operate in vastly differentenvironments. Some are brought together for one-off projects, others last foryears. Some might carry out formal and predefined tasks, while others facebroad goals that can be achieved in any number of ways. Teams are made up of differentindividuals. They might be predominantly introverts or extroverts, all women orall men. These factors are likely to affect teamworking and therefore mightdetermine which competencies are important. The survey stage of the research hasstarted to illuminate some of these issues. For example, let us consider theneed for flexibility. This is a competence that seems to be important to enableteams collectively to adjust to changing task demands. Teams in a fairly definedenvironment, facing structured and predetermined tasks, are perhaps less likelyto require such competence. Our survey supports this, indicating thatflexibility is more predictive of good performance in teams facing unstructuredtask environments. CommunicationHowever, many of the competencies inthe framework appear to be relevant to all teams. Certain core competencies,such as communication, universally predict the performance measures. Thus effectivecommunication must be achieved in all teams to facilitate success. The issue for development here isnot whether effective communication should be developed but how it should bedeveloped. It is to address this question that the team context must beconsidered. Teams sharing office space might beaffected by regular informal meetings; international virtual teams mightrequire formal communication protocols. The survey has also informed ourunderstanding of the relevance of emotional empathy and cohesion. The dataindicates that people achieve more satisfaction from being part of a team if itexhibits high levels of these competencies. This is important because it isthrough increased levels of employee-satisfaction that improved organisationalbehaviours and attitudes are achieved. Team members who work in betterpsychological environments are less likely to be absent and more likely to staywith the organisation. The research has resulted in thedevelopment of a collective competency instrument. This enables teams to assesstheir own strengths and weaknesses and decide what training would benefit themmost. Teams taking part in the researchreceived feedback that indicates their strengths and weaknesses. Using theseprofiles, they, alongside a facilitator, can plan development within theconstraints of their team and their environment. Competence development requirestrainers to address the process issues specific to the team. The question isthen not simply to use prescribed methods to achieve competence, but todiscover the processes by which they can develop and maintain such collectivecompetence. This model has been developed frommany different teams. Too often team research focuses on top management teamsto the exclusion of those in “less prestigious” areas of the organisation.Wherever employees work together to achieve collective goals, attention shouldbe paid to the development of the competencies that will bring about success.Tim Mills is a researchfellow at Cranfield School of Management
The Ærfugl project is being developed in two phases with an investment of around $880m Image: The Ærfugl project is being developed in two phases with an investment of around $880m. Photo: courtesy of Aker Solutions. Aker BP has awarded a contract to Aker Solutions to deliver the subsea production system for second phase the Ærfugl gas field development, located approximately 210km west of Sandnessjøen in the Norwegian SeaThe Ærfugl project comprises two development phases, which will both be tied into the existing floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel on the nearby Skarv field.Under the contract, which is valued about NOK700m ($76.4m), Aker Solutions will deliver wellheads, vertical subsea trees, satellite structures, control systems, a tie-in module and about 30km of umbilicals.Aker Solutions will also be responsible for the delivery of the Vectus next-generation subsea control system designed to offer improved data and power capabilities, as well as standard, lightweight vertical subsea trees.Aker Solutions greenfield projects executive vice-president Egil Bøyum said: “Our deliveries to Ærfugl highlight the power of Intelligent Subsea, as we utilize our integrated field design capabilities to accelerate the field development and maximize performance.”Aker Solutions plans to commence work immediately, with subsea structures scheduled for delivery in 2020. The work will involve facilities in Norway, the UK, India, Malaysia and Brazil.Ærfugl project will unlock nearly 300 million barrels of oil equivalentThe Ærfugl project, which will see a total investment of around NOK8bn ($880m), aims to unlock nearly 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.Additionally, Aker BP has awarded Engineering Procurement Construction Installation (EPCI) contract to Subsea 7 for the Ærfugl Phase 2 project.Subsea 7 will be responsible for tie-back involving the application of Electrically Heat Traced Flowline (EHTF) technology for a distance of 13.5km from the subsea location to the existing Skarv infrastructure.The company plans to commence project management and engineering at its offices in Stavanger, Norway while fabrication of the EHTF system is planned to be carried out at Subsea 7’s spoolbase at Vigra, Norway.Offshore operations are scheduled to be carried out during 2020 and 2021.Subsea 7 Norway vice president Monica Bjørkmann said: “Electrically Heat Traced Flowlines have been developed by Subsea 7, in collaboration with InterPipe, to deliver leading insulation performance and enable cost-effective long-distance tie-backs.”
Even though the mercury is telling us otherwise this week, another exceptional season for Ocean City is approaching fast, and tickets go on sale starting Friday (Feb. 1) for a variety of great shows.Starting at 9 a.m. Friday, the box office will open for the Mr. Mature America Pageant featuring celebrity host Barbara Eden on April 13, Broadway musicals including “Mamma Mia” (July 9 to 12) and “Newsies” (August 6 to 9), and the Children’s Theater Series on the Ocean City Music Pier (five different shows on Tuesday mornings in July).Barbara Eden will emcee the Mr. Mature America Pageant at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 13, at the Ocean City Music Pier. Eden starred in the iconic “I Dream of Jeannie” television series that launched in 1965.Her talent and charm will be a perfect fit for Ocean City’s pageant, which mixes self-deprecating humor with nostalgia and talent in a tribute to men ages 55 and older, according to a city press release.Eden will host the sixth annual event and conduct on-stage interviews with contestants.Mr. Mature America Bill Quain hams it up with the show’s host, Erik Estrada, in 2018.The Ocean City Pops Orchestra, Ocean City Theatre Company and professional cast members will team up to bring Broadway to the Hughes Performing Arts Center this summer.“Mamma Mia” uses the magic of ABBA’s timeless songs to tell an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship in an exceptionally popular musical.The production contains ABBA’s greatest hits, including “Super Trouper,” “Lay All Your Love On Me,” “Dancing Queen,” “Waterloo” and more. Shows are 7:30 p.m. July 9, 10 and 12; and 2 p.m. July 11 at Hughes Performing Arts Center (beach block of Sixth Street).“Newsies” is set in turn-of-the century New York City and tells the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a band of teenaged “newsies.”Based on the 1992 motion picture and inspired by a true story, “Newsies” features a Tony Award-winning score by Alan Menken (“Little Shop of Horrors,” “Sister Act”) and Jack Feldman and a book by Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (“Kinky Boots”). Shows are 7:30 p.m. August 6, 7 and 9; and 2 p.m. August 8 at the Hughes Performing Arts Center.The 2019 Children’s Theater Series includes:“Schoolhouse Rock Live!:” 10:30 a.m. July 2“Elephant & Piggies: We Are In A Play:” 10:30 a.m. July 9“Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical:” 10:30 a.m. July 16“Stellaluna: The Musical:” 10:30 a.m. July 23“How I Became A Pirate:” 10:30 a.m. July 30Tickets for all shows will be available starting Feb. 1 at oceancityvacation.com/boxoffice, by calling 609-399-61112 or at the welcome centers at City Hall (861 Asbury Avenue), the Roy Gillian Welcome Center on the Rt. 52 causeway and the municipal building at 46th Street and West Avenue.Registration is also now open for any contestant 55 or older who would like to participate in the Mr. Mature America Pageant. Visit www.ocnj.us/mrmature for more information and to sign up as a contestant.Lou Gramm and Asia Join the 2019 Summer LineupLou Gramm, the original voice behind the classic rock band Foreigner, will perform hits like “Cold As Ice,” “Hot Blooded” and “Double Vision” in a newly announced concert Aug. 5 at the Ocean City Music Pier. The concert also will include Asia featuring John Payne.Tickets for the show will go on sale Thursday, Jan. 31. A pre-sale is 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30 (use code BRE). For more information and ticket links, visit www.ocnj.us/SummerConcerts.The lineup for the rest of the Summer Concert Series at the Ocean City Music Pier is already taking shape. The series brings a wide variety of contemporary performers to the stage in Ocean City with most concerts on Monday nights. Tickets are on sale for the following:BUDDY GUY: Legendary blues guitarist and singer. Monday, June 24 – 7 p.m.HAPPY TOGETHER 2019: 10-Year Anniversary Tour starring The Turtles, Chuck Negron (formerly of Three Dog Night), Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, The Buckinghams, The Classics IV and The Cowsills. Sunday, June 30 – 7 p.m.BOZ SCAGGS: Out of The Blues Tour 2019. Monday, July 1 – 7 p.m.ALLMAN BETTS BAND: The sons of legendary Allman Brothers Band members Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley perform both new music and Allman Brothers Band classics. Monday, July 8 – 7 p.m.KILLER QUEEN: The Premier Tribute to Queen. Monday, July 15 – 7 p.m.Get ready for some tasty chili Saturday.COMING UP IN FEBRUARYSuper Chili Bowl (Feb. 2): Ocean City Boy Scouts from Troop 32 will hold the third annual Super Chili Bowl fundraiser on Saturday, Feb. 2, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center within the Ocean City Community Center (1735 Simpson Avenue).Prizes will go to the top chefs receiving votes from the general public after sampling the many different chili styles. The event is free for chef/participants with $5 per person charged at the door for taste-testing guests.Prizes will be given for Best Chili, Most Unique Chili, Hottest Chili and Best Cornbread. Chili chefs can register by sending their name, email address and phone number to Crystal Erney by phone at 609-335-3598 or by email at 
The Stadium Woods on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg represent one of only a handful of old-growth stands of forest left on the East Coast. The powers that be at the school have recently proposed to cut about a quarter of the 11 acre woods to build a new indoor practice facility for the football team. This is not sitting well with much of the student body, faculty and Blacksburg area residents.The main issue on campus is not the actual building of the facility, but the location. The Stadium Woods is one of the rarest pieces of natural history left on the East Coast, containing great white oaks that are over 350 years old. As the video below demonstrates, opponents of the construction plan point to alternative sites on campus that will not require the destruction of any of this unique eco-system. A petition is being circulated and Virginia Tech administrators are having closed-door meetings to discuss the project and any alternatives. A ruling is expected by June 1.This short documentary style video was put together by some VT undergraduate students and does a great job of explaining both sides of the controversy.
For more information, check out http://www.savestadiumwoods.com/Here is a Washington Post article from earlier in the month outlining the controversy.
The amount of cocaine seized by the Costa Rican police on January 31 from three Colombian and two Costa Rican nationals increased the following day to almost two tons, the largest shipment seized in the country in the last six years, Security Minister Mario Zamora announced. “What we’ve accounted for is 1,963 kilograms of cocaine, the largest shipment seized since 2006,” Zamora said at a press conference. Officers of the Judicial Investigation Agency brought the drugs to San José from the port of Golfito, 350 km south of the capital, where they recorded the full amount on February 1. Coast Guard personnel, in coordination with Air Guard authorities and the Drug Control Police, arrested three Colombian and two Costa Rican citizens who were transporting the drugs on three speedboats in the southern part of the country. Following a partial count, authorities originally announced that the drugs came to 1,080 kilos. Two of the vessels seized were carrying fuel, and the other one had drugs in 94 hidden sacks, according to the Public Safety Ministry. According to Zamora, authorities continue to conduct operations by air, sea, and land in search of at least two individuals who escaped in the direction of mountainous areas. Anti-drug authorities seized around 10 tons of cocaine in the last 18 months of Laura Chinchilla’s administration, according to official figures. Ninety percent of the cocaine in circulation is trafficked from South America, especially from Colombia, for consumption in the United States. The drugs pass through Central American territory or through the region’s territorial waters, according to official data from Washington, D.C. By Dialogo February 03, 2012
“Flowers are beautiful, and we all love getting them, but you can’t eat flowers,” Pickering said with a laugh. Pickering prefers donuts to flowers. TOWN OF UNION (WBNG) — Flowers are a traditional Mother’s Day Gift, but outside the Gault Toyota Dealership, a possibly sweeter gift was being dished out: a donut bouquet. To maintain safety during the coronavirus crisis, Pickering and her help wore masks, and customers simply pulled up, grabbed their donuts and drove off. JukeBox Donut Shop owner Tanya Pickering made more than 300 donuts on Sunday morning, preparing the 37 orders for people to pick up for their loved ones.
August 18, 2016 Medical Marijuana, The Blog Earlier today, I held a press conference to give some updates about Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program that was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf earlier this year. The program is expected to be implemented by 2018 and will allow Pennsylvanians with serious medical conditions that are identified in Act 16 to have access to medical marijuana.Here are four important updates that I think you should know: SHARE TWEET Like Governor Tom Wolf on Facebook: Facebook.com/GovernorWolf DOH has finished drafting the temporary regulations for growers and processors and will have them available for review and feedback until August 26. These temporary regulations provide details on the information and operational requirements for a grower/processor permit application. Want to weigh in? Give us your thoughts here.A survey was also released today on the department’s website seeking input from the patient and caregiver community. The department will use the information from this survey to help draft the temporary regulations for patients and caregivers, which is expected to be published by the end of 2016. Complete the survey here.The department has approved 53 Safe Harbor Letters to date and are processing 10 more applications. These letters enable parents, legal guardians, caregivers and spouses of minors under the age of 18 who have been certified as having serious medical conditions to possess medical marijuana in approved form to administer to their minor within the commonwealth. Safe Harbor Letter applications are available here.Earlier this month, I announced that John Collins was named the director of the Office of Medical Marijuana. John has an impressive record of executive leadership experience that will serve him well in his new role of overseeing the commonwealth’s high quality, efficient, and compliant medical marijuana program. We’re excited to have him on board.As you can see, providing the public, our partners and stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft temporary regulations and provide feedback before they are published is very important to us and ensures that we are being transparent throughout the process. I encourage all interested individuals to provide feedback to help us create a high quality, efficient, and compliant medical marijuana program for Pennsylvania residents with serious medical conditions.
SHARE Email Facebook Twitter Four Important Updates You Need to Know About PA’s Medical Marijuana Program By: Karen Murphy, Secretary of Health
51 Mandalay St, Fig Tree Pocket.The double-storey build at 51 Mandalay St, Fig Tree Pocket has a cinema, study, heated 80,000L salt water pool with fountains, and multiple balconies to soak up the water views. There is also separate access to a bedroom with ensuite which would be ideal au pair accommodation. The property has been listed for sale with a price guide between $2.5 to $3 million. 51 Mandalay St, Fig Tree Pocket.The boss of AusHomes, Brett Shepherd, is selling his seven-bedroom riverfront pad at Fig Tree Pocket.NGU Real Estate CEO Emil Juresic said Shepherd “simply wants to downsize”.More from newsMould, age, not enough to stop 17 bidders fighting for this homeless than 1 hour agoBuyers ‘crazy’ not to take govt freebies, says 28-yr-old investor7 hours ago“It’s a massive home and there are only two of them in the house,” he said.
InternationalLifestylePrintTravel Airline defends weight-based fares by: – April 2, 2013 51 Views no discussions Air Samoa said the policy meant some people would end up paying less to flyThe head of Samoa Air has defended the airline’s decision to start charging passengers according to their weight. Chris Langton told Australia’s ABC Radio that it was “the fairest way of travelling”. Rather than pay for a seat, passengers pay a fixed price per kilogram, which varies depending on the route length. Samoa Air flies domestically and to American Samoa. It is thought the move could encourage other airlines to introduce similar policies. “Airlines don’t run on seats, they run on weight, and particularly the smaller the aircraft you are in the less variance you can accept in terms of the difference in weight between passengers,” Mr Langton told ABC radio. “Anyone who travels at times has felt they have been paying for half of the passenger next to them.”Under the new model, Mr Langton described how some families with children were now paying cheaper fares. “There are no extra fees in terms of excess baggage or anything – it is just a kilo is a kilo is a kilo,” he said.Air Samoa’s rates range from $1 (65p) to around $4.16 per kilogram. Passengers pay for the combined weight of themselves and their baggage. Mr Langton also suggested that the move had helped promote health awareness in Samoa, which has one of the world’s highest levels of obesity. “People generally are becoming much more weight conscious. That’s a health issue in some areas,” he told ABC Radio. Mr Langton said he believed that charging by weight was “the concept of the future.”“People generally are bigger, wider and taller than they were 50 years ago,” he said. “The industry will start looking at this.” Share Share
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The Reds were edged out on away goals by Zenit St Petersburg despite a stirring comeback in the second leg of their last-32 tie. Despite the result eliminating the club’s last hope of silverware this season and leaving them fighting to finish higher than their current Barclays Premier League position of seventh, Rodgers is not downbeat. Rodgers said: “Our season doesn’t finish, and never was going to finish, until the final whistle against QPR. We want to carry that through right until the last whistle at the end of the season.” He added: “This is a group that is growing all the time. You see the level of performance last night, to dominate a team of that ilk and control the game like we did was incredible really. For us, going forward, it is to continue with how we have been working since the turn of the year. “As the season has gone on we have got better and improved. You can see the players have the hunger and determination to do that. We will look to demonstrate that in the last 11 games.” Liverpool are not in action again until they travel to Wigan on March 2. Their remaining fixtures include home clashes with Tottenham, Chelsea and Everton but otherwise they face a host of teams currently in the bottom half. Presently seventh, their challenge is to claw back a nine-point gap to fourth-placed Tottenham. Rodgers said: “We need to do our best. We are out of the cup competitions and that is something we will look to put right going forward. We want to win trophies here, that is the idea. “For the remainder of the season it is to finish as high up the league as we can. When I came here in the summer that was the priority given to me. There has been some great growth in the group and that will continue. “We want to keep showing our quality of fight and spirit right the way through to the QPR game. Then we will reassess in the summer and we will be in a much better position come next season.” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists his side’s season is not over following their Europa League exit.
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