TEAM CHARACTERISTICS AND ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCTIVITY: EVIDENCE FROM BANKS IN PORT HARCOURT

Abstract

The study examined team characteristic and organizational productivities in the banking industry. A total of 200 staff was randomly drawn from a population of banks in Port Harcourt. It was also discovered that the main objective of the study was to ascertain team characteristic and it effect on organizational productivity. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires and oral interview. A total of 133 copies of the questionnaire were retrieved and analyzed. Chi-square statistical tool was used to test the hypotheses. The findings indicate that team characteristic positively influences organizational profitability and productivity. Shared mission, employee involvement, and shared values (consistency) are positively related to profitability, productivity and market share. Organizations’ mission should be shared amongst employees to enable them contribute effectively to the achievement of organizational goals.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Over the years, many organizations employ the use of management control system which affect them positively or negatively in their business transactions.  Organizations ability to cope, survive and make progress determines how effective they are. They continue to face highly uncertain and chaotic environment caused by capital problems, difficult unions, foreign competition, rapid changes in product and processes, energy, government regulation, increasing importance of skill, quality, productivity and other stresses which call for increased adaptability and flexibility (Hall and Fukami, 1979). There is an increasing demand for committed employees who need little or no supervision to carry out their jobs efficiently for the good of the organization. Employees, who know what to do and desire to do them without being told, are in high demand. Some organizations such as banks lack the control standard and there is no room for change which brings about low employee morale. Stephen and Ayaga (2014), posit that human resources activities like job design, recruitment, good job analysis, training and development and selection exercise play an important role in managing humans but few companies have adopted management control as a priority to organizational performance. The process of assuring that resources are obtained and used in a way that produces a successful result and it was also pointed out by Kloot (1997) that management control exists in order for objectives of the organization to be achieved. Agreeing with the above, Butler & Rose (2011) posited that motivated employees maximize overall accomplishment of its goals. Management Control System has been identified as an integral part of management responsibilities. With this system, managers are provided with information that would assist them in making decisions according to their plans and objectives (Muhammad & Mohamed (2013). Viswesvaran& Ones (2000) defined employee performance as individual behaviors that produces and adds to goals of the organization.

The last decade and a half has witnessed a remarkable transformation of organizational structures worldwide. Although there are economic, strategic, and technological imperatives driving this transformation, one of its more compelling aspects has been an ongoing shift from work organized around individual jobs to team-based work structures (Lawler, Mohrman, & Ledford, 1995). Increasing global competition, consolidation, and innovation create pressures that are influencing the emergence of teams as basic building blocks of organizations. These pressures drive a need for diverse skills, expertise, and experience. They necessitate more rapid, flexible, and adaptive responses. Teams enable these characteristics. In addition, organizations have globalized operations through expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures placing increased importance on cross-cultural and mixed culture teams. Advanced computer and communication technologies provide new tools to better link individuals with their team in real-time, and even enable teams to be virtual—distributed in time and space. This ongoing transformation in the basic organization of work has captured the attention of researchers and is reflected by new theories of team functioning, a rapidly growing number of empirical studies, and numerous literature reviews written on the burgeoning research on teams. It is also reflected in a shift in the locus of team research. For most of its history, small group research has been centered in social psychology (McGrath, 1997). Over the last 15 years, however, group and team research has become increasingly centered in the fields of organizational psychology and organizational behavior. Indeed, Levine and Moreland (1990) in their extensive review of small group research concluded that, “Groups are alive and well, but living elsewhere.…The torch has been passed to (or, more accurately, picked up by) colleagues in other disciplines, particularly organizational psychology” (p. 620). Several literature reviews published over the last 15 years help to document this shift in locus, characterize differences brought to group and team research by an organizational perspective, and provide a fairly comprehensive assessment this vast body of research. Goodman, Ravlin, and Schminke (1987) sent a signal marking the shift in locus and highlighted one of the key distinctions between the small group literature, which pays relatively little attention to the group task and its technology, and the organizational literature, which views what groups do and how they do it as a critical characteristics. Similarly, Bettenhausen (1991) documented the emphasis in organizational research on task driven processes in teams, relative to the small group focus on interpersonal attraction and interaction. Sundstrom, De Meuse, and Futrell (1990) presented an organizational systems perspective on teams that addressed both development and effectiveness; two issues rarely considered in concert. Hackman (1992) viewed groups as contexts for individual behavior, an important perspective because teams in part enact their context. Guzzo and Shea (1992) and Guzzo and Dickson (1996) reviewed team research in organizations. Cohen and Bailey (1997) and Sundstrom, McIntyre, Halfhill, and Richards (2000) provided focused reviews of work team effectiveness based on field research during the periods of 1990- 1996 and 1980 to mid-1999, respectively. Finally, Gully (2000) presented an insightful assessment of team effectiveness research since 1985 that examines key boundary conditions. An examination of this body of work leads to the conclusion that there is an enormous wealth of information available on work teams in organizations. Nevertheless, answers to many fundamental questions remain elusive

• Statement of the problem

Organization has been define by many scholars as an open system which affect it environment and the organization is also influenced by the environments, haven seen organization as a system, it therefore means that the whole organization is made up of different part or team for it to be addressed as organization every parts must be functional and work to the achievement of the common goal. It is on this backdrop that the researcher intend to investigate the impact of tram characteristic s and organizational productivities.

• Objective of the study

The main objective of the study is to ascertain the team characteristics and organizational productivity. But for the successful completion of the study, the following sub-objectives was put forward by the researcher:

1. To ascertain the role of team characteristic in organizational productivity
2. To ascertain the relationship between team characteristic and productivity

• To ascertain the role of team characteristics in attaining organizational goal

1. To evaluate the role of the team in ensuring organizational efficiency
   • Research question

For the successful completion of the study, the following research question was put forward by the researcher:

1. Does a team characteristic plays any role in organizational productivity?
2. Is there any relationship between team characteristics and organizational productivity?

• What role does team characteristics plays in achieving organizational goal

1. What is the role of the team in ensuring organizational efficiency?

• Purpose of the study

It is perceived that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great important to the management of organization, as the findings will help to ensure that every unit of the organization function as a team, the study will also be of great importance to the employee of the organization because the findings enumerated the benefit of working as a team and it is easier in the attainment of organizational goals if the organization works as a team. The study will also be of great importance to researcher who intends to embark on research on similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point. And finally the study will also be of great important to teachers, lecturers, students and the general public.

• Scope and limitation of the study

It is pertinent to state that the scope of the study covers team characteristics and organizational productivity, during the course of the study, there were some factors which militated against the scope of the study. These factors limited the scope of the study as they were beyond the researchers control some of these factors are:

1. a) AVAILABILITY OF RESEARCH MATERIAL: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study
2. b) TIME: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
3. c) FINANCE: The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover.

1.7 Definition of terms

Team

A team is a group of people or other animals linked in a common purpose. Human teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks. A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Naresh Jain (2009)

Productivity

Productivity is an average measure of the efficiency of production. It can be expressed as the ratio of output to inputs used in the production process, i.e. output per unit of input. When all outputs and inputs are included in the productivity measure it is called total productivity. Outputs and inputs are defined in the total productivity measure as their economic values. The value of outputs minus the value of inputs is a measure of the income generated in a production process. It is a measure of total efficiency of a production process and as such the objective to be maximized in production process.

Characteristics

A distinguishing feature or attribute of an item, person, phenomenon, etc., usually divided into three categories physical, functional, and operational.

• Organization of the study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), statement of problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance or the study, research methodology, definition of terms and historical background of the study. Chapter two highlight the theoretical framework on which the study its based, thus the review of related literature. Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study. Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.  Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study

Related Project Topics :