Building Team-Based Working

Michael A. West is Professor of Organizational Psychology and Director of Research at Aston Business School, Aston University.Lynn Markiewicz is Director of Aston Organization Development Ltd, a consultancy specializing in the effective application of research findings to improve organizational performance and employee well-being.

• Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction.2. Deciding on Team-Based Working (TBW):.Developing an Understanding of Team-based Working.Forming an Implementation Steering Group.Diagnosing the Organization.Designing an Implementation Process.3. Developing Support Systems:.Human Resource Management.Appraisal and Performance Review Systems.Reward Systems.Recruitment and Selection Systems.Education and Training Systems.Communication Systems.Team-process Support Systems.Feedback Systems.Inter-team Processes.4. Team Leader and Team Member Selection:.Implementation Steering Group Planning.Defining Appropriate Criteria for the Selection of Team Leaders.Team Leader Training.Setting up Action Learning Sets for Team Leaders.Selecting Team Members.5. Developing Effective Teams:.Team Tasks, Visions and Objectives.Team Participation.Quality of Decision Making.Support for Innovation.Team Conflict Resolution.6. Reviewing and Sustaining Team Effectiveness:.Steps in Designing an Effective Evaluation System.Sustaining and Improving Performance: Encouraging Reflexivity.7. Organization-Level Assessment:.Goal Achievement or Financial Performance.Customer or Service Receiver Perspectives.Business Processes or Internal Efficiency.Innovation.Inter-group Relations.Relationships Between Teams and Organizations.Beyond Team-based Organizing.Index.

"This gem of a book is a must for all those managers and HR professionals who are striving to improve the structure and performance of their organisations through effective team-based working. Coming from a sound academic base, it is packed with useful insights and practical advice that will make you go away and think carefully about how your organisation is working." Roger Williams, Operations Strategy Manager, United Utilities PLC "Building Team-based Working is a masterful account of how to get things right. It provides tested tools to support the implementation process and maintains a crisp focus without oversimplifying. Any organisation that wants to take advantage of the power of teams, either for the first time or to revitalise teams in place, will find great value here." Rick Guzzo Ph.D., Worldwide Partner, Mercer Human Resource Consulting "Building Team-based Working provides clear, practical steps for organisations seeking to establish a team-based approach. The specific issues of how to achieve it, why it is required, what to do to get there, when to do it and roles and responsibilities are clearly covered. The strength of the book is its ability to set out clearly the role of the leader on one hand and on the other provide detailed questionnaires to give a framework for managers to follow to deliver team-based working." Jo Moran, Programme Manager, Marks and Spencer "The book provides a comprehensive guide behind the concepts of Team Based Working. It links the theory to a practical guide to implementing Team Based Working and its potential role in developing high performing organisations." Peter Colclough, Chief Executive, Torbay Primary Care Trust