7OUTSOURCE

‘Autonomous team is a relative term’ - Discuss the concept of team autonomy. Consider its effect on team member’s work behaviour and motivation. Why, in practice, why autonomous teams have their autonomy limited by the management.

Introduction

First of all it’s necessary to define Organizational behaviour in order to discuss issues brought forward in this essay. Ivancevich, Matteson (2002) defines it as the study of human behaviour, attitudes, and performance within an organizational setting; drawing on theory, methods, and principles from such disciplines as psychology, sociology, and cultural anthropology to learn about individual, groups, structure, and processes.

Many types of team operate within organizations. Eric Sundstrom, Kenneth De Meuse and David Futrell (1990) distinguished four types of team, based on their objective and types of output produced.

1. Degree of technical specialization: Are members required to apply special, technical skills acquired through higher education or extensive training (high differentiation); or do they draw upon their members’ general experience and problem solving ability
2. Degree of co-ordination: Is its work closely related to and intertwined with that of other work units within the organization (high co-ordination); or does it operate relatively independently (low co-ordination).
3. Work cycle: How much time does the team need to achieve its aims? Does it perform short repetitive work cycle or a single, long one?
4. Typical outputs: What does the team produce as its output?

Team Task areas, levels of team input and team autonomy levels

Teams differ in terms of how much autonomy management grants them. Jan Gulowsen (1979), a Norwegian researcher, provided a framework which enabled more specific assessments to be made about team autonomy for comparative purposes. He distinguished nine ‘task area’ or dimensions in a team are working which offered the potential for autonomy. Within each area, he specified four possible levels of team input. This allows teams to be distinguished in terms of the level of autonomy that they process

Team task area/dimensions

1. Selection of the team leader
2. Acceptance of a new member into the team
3. Distribution of work
4. Time flexibility
5. Acceptance of additional work
6. Representation outside the team
7. Production methods (choice of)
8. Production goals (output determination)
9. Production goals (quality determination)

Team input levels

1. None: No team participation and total management control. Management make all the decisions and teams implement them. Team members have no input into the decision-making process; there is no implement of participation, not even in the form of suggestions or requests.

2. Some: Teams have some input into decisions concerned with their immediate working environment. They can make suggestions and requests and have discussions with management, who may adopt their ideas.

3. Joint: A situation of co-decision making, in which teams share decision-making power with management, having an equal role in the talking and implementing of decisions.

4. Autonomy: Teams are fully trusted by management; the teams are truly autonomous. Reaching their divisions with no input from management whatsoever. They are accepted by management as full and equal partners.

Autonomy

Autonomous team
A process whereby management gives formal groups the right to make decisions on how their work is performed on a group basis without references to management.

Autonomous work group
A team of workers allocated to a significant segment of the workflow, with discretion concerning how the work will be carried out, and how tasks and responsibilities will be allocated, shared and rotated

Team Autonomy
Refers to the extent to which a team experiences freedom, interdependence and discretion indecisions related to the performance of its task

Team Autonomy levels
Low-autonomy teams
Assembly line workers
Supermarket checkouts
Moderate-autonomy teams
Quality circles
Semi-autonomous groups
High-autonomy teams
Autonomous work groups
High-performance teams
Self-directed teams
Self-designing teams

Effect of ‘Autonomy’ on team member’s work behaviour and motivation

Externally, management will determine a team’s autonomy. Internally, it will depend on the role of the leader and how they delegate their authority within the team. Every effective team has to co-ordinate and integrate the contributions of its individuals members. Which types of team leadership best achieve this?

• The link between effort and performance must be supported by management, through the provision of adequate autonomy and training
• The link between performance and rewards must be clear and visible if rewards are to have desired motivational effect-the concept of ‘pay secrecy’ is a nonsense where pay is used motivate high performance. (as it is in most organizations) In case of reward there should be autonomy in hand of employee so encourage him more to work effectively.
• If employees are instructed to do one thing but rewarded for doing another, they will concentrate on the behaviours which are rewarded and ignore other instructions;
• If the bit autonomy has been given to employees in some department, they can develop themselves and can be more useful for company’s progress.
• Employee can experiment new things and can be profitable for the company.
• Develops employee’s thinking

When ever employee get success he will be motivated more to do new more things. His behaviour will be changed towards company’s management. He will try more and more to achieve thing for him and also for the company. Thus company can get the profit from employee’s knowledge.

Why autonomous teams have their autonomy limited by the management

In simple terms, team autonomy means some kinds of freedom provided to employees’ bye the management whilst taking some decisions.

There are many types of issues which effect company’s reputation, sales target, profit margin, company environment, product quality, inner communication, team working, government’s rules, working atmosphere, international relation, advertisement & regulations and sales.

From above various issues, some of them are like employees have no idea.
In term of reputation of company’s product,
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E.G. Watchman has no idea what further things is going on in the international market and also rules and regulation by the government.

Suppose, it is a show-room of car, than management cant give him autonomy about advertisement development and comfort of seats in the car. So he doesn’t deserve the autonomy in such things like these. But management can give him autonomy in risking company’s security areas by experimenting new tools. But on other side, which night watchman is implementing new security tool, he has to be care full with government rules & regulation. If security tool is restricted, this matter must known by watchman and as well as management.

Such like this, advertise make must concern present rules & regulation, company reputation and target sales whilst making advertise. If he ignores the government rules, company has to face a lot of problem. So on other side he also has to be in touch with legal advisor.

These all are autonomy for company employees. But on other side they must follow company’s rules & regulation so their autonomy is limited by management.

References:

1. Organization Behaviour an Introductory Text (4th edition)
By Andrzej Huczynski & David Buchaman
2. Organisational Behaviour A Global Perspective, 2nd edition, 2001,
John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, Singapore