Self-Managing Work Teams (SMWT) are something that I am
rather skeptical of as I think they only apply to certain very specific
situations. My experience in the Navy
has shown that supervision is required in even the most mundane of situations
and leadership is very handy at all levels.
From the video, the speaker describes SMWT as a group of highly skilled
individuals that often have years of experience doing their jobs. I see this as drawback statement number 1 –
you have to have a skilled and disciplined group of workers in order for this
to be feasible, something that companies would have a hard time finding (or at
least I would imagine) and is the reason why organizations tend to apply this
method to specific areas vice entire organizations. This also creates an advantage – if you have such
a work force, all you need to do is give them the end and let them figure out
the means. Their collective experience
allows them to perform the job in the manner in which they see fit, which is
probably more efficient and effective compared to what a manager might
order. The flatter organizational
structure I would imagine saves companies salaries of management but it also
limits the opportunities for advancement as there are limited positions
available. I think the major advantage
to these teams is the morale boost one would get from being in the team due to
an increased level of meeting the core job dimensions and job enrichment. They are more involved with the product they
are making, receive perks for doing a good job, control their lives to a much
greater extent, and allows for growth as a person. I also see a disadvantage as having to deal
with team decision making processes.
If the situation warranted, the proper work force was
available, and the SMWT was properly applied, I think I would enjoy being part
of a SMWT, as long as I myself had the necessary skills to be part of the
team. However, I could also see how I
would not enjoy being in an environment without clearly defined leadership (for
lack of better words). I don’t think
that a group of people can exist together in an environment where decisions
have to be made without someone moving to the forefront and becoming at the
very least an impromptu leader. I
understand that there are internal team leaders that can be elected or
appointed, however these guys/gals aren’t getting paid any differently than
other team members. As such, I see SMWT
as a savvy way for businesses to eliminate higher paying management jobs and
pushing the responsibilities to people that are not getting paid to do them.
Skills that an external leader would have to
have are many. Communication would be
first and foremost in my book. Being able
to communicate inspiration, teaching, and facilitating team meetings would be
crucial for the leader. Additionally, being
able to track the progress of different teams doing potentially a wide variety
of different things would be quite the challenge. Along that same line, having the technical
knowledge to be able to advise and mentor the many different functions the SMWT
have within them would require tons of learning. As the book clearly states, the external
leader often takes the role of a practitioner using process interventions. I would imagine that many external leaders
are promoted team members so they have more technical knowledge than management
knowledge. This would lead to the
practitioner aspect of the role being incredibly challenging.
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