1. Team Building and Conflict Resolution
Gregg James at Sun Microsystems

2. A team is a collection of individuals guided by a common purpose striving for the same.. With a good team, the whole is better than the sum of the parts
(Mallory, 1991)

3. Why Form a Team?
To solve problems by drawing on the talents of variety of individuals.
To foster togetherness in the workplace while tackling projects.
To reduce or eliminate a lack of communication among staff members on projects.
To heighten productivity by encouraging an atmosphere of cooperation.
To achieve a solution that might be unpopular to some but is the desire of the majority.

4. What are characteristics of successful teams?
A Teams succeeds when its members have:
a commitment to common objectives
defined roles and responsibilities
effective decision systems, communication and work procedures
good personal relationships
According to Bob Mendonsa and Associates’ web page
trainingplus.com on Team building :
Team Building is a process and not an event.
Team Building is about both willingness and ability. Sometimes teams problems occur because team members lack important skills. Sometimes there are trust issues.
Team Building must address individual and group issues. People do not “disappear” when they choose to belong to a group. Any team building effort must address the strengths and development needs of individual team members that impact the group as a whole.
Of course the corollary is true and groups or teams fail when they:
Think differently
Have poor leadership
Have communications difficulties
Have competition between members

5. Is diversity a good thing or bad thing for teams?
Studies show diverse teams are either very high performing ones or very low performing ones, with homogenous teams being moderate performers

6. Diversity in teams: Challenges
Dislike and mistrust
Stereotyping and perceptual issues
Communication problems
Stress
Decreased effectiveness
Less identification with team

7. Diversity in teams: Opportunities and Challenges
More ideas, better ideas
Limited groupthink
More creative

8. Best Practices for managing Diverse Teams
Task related selection
Recognizing differences
Establishing a vision or superordinate goal
Equalizing power
Creating mutual respect
Giving feedback

9. Virtual Teams
Why do we have a virtual team? Situations for a global virtual team?
What are some of the problems/challenges in managing a global virtual team?

10. Challenges in Global Virtual Teams
Geographical distance – time zone and conditions
Cultural distance
Uncertainty
Trust
Leadership
Differences in uses of technology

11. Managing a Global Virtual Team
Face to face opportunities at intervals
Communication
Procedural or Task focus
Social messages
Displaying Enthusiasm
Leadership
Coping with uncertainty
Individual initiative
Temporal coordination – scheduling, synchronizing,
Conflict resolution

12. How can hr in an mnc intervene in these teams?
Leadership training – culture and group processes, structures
Team building opportunities
Self management vs team rules template
Manage the environment
Pay systems reflect success in group work
Managing support