ASSIGNMENT 2 FRONT SHEET

Qualification BTEC Level 5 HND Diploma in Business

Unit number and title Unit 12: Organizational Behavior

Submission date 5/5/2022 Date Received 1st submission

Re-submission Date Date Received 2nd submission

Student Name Pham Nguyen Anh Student ID GBS200417

Class GBS0908B Assessor name Nguyen Thai Nguyet Thanh

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Table of Contents
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1

I. Reflective report on team performance ..............................................................................1

1. Soft skills ..........................................................................................................................1

2. Facilitation and obstacles .................................................................................................2

2.1. Facilitation.................................................................................................................2

2.2. Obstacles ...................................................................................................................3

3. Team experiences based on Tuckman’s model .................................................................4

4. Team goal-setting based on Edwin Locke & Gary Latham’s theory ....................................5

5. The division of work based on Belbin model .....................................................................6

6. Summary ..........................................................................................................................7

II. The effectiveness of teamwork and/ or the role of leader on its performance.....................7

1. About Microsoft ...............................................................................................................7

2. Teamwork practices within Microsoft ...............................................................................7

3. Tuckman model applied by Microsoft – Role of leader within each stage .........................8

4. Team’s goal setting in Microsoft based on Edwin Lock & Gary Latham .............................9

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................10

References ................................................................................................................................11
Introduction
In this paperwork, the theory of teamwork and teamwork will be introduced in the lesson to test
the way people work in groups and the effectiveness of working together. A reflective report is
then proposed to identify the challenges and barriers that arise during teamwork. In addition,
the assessment also explores the factors and skills required to support or hinder for members
when working in groups together. Besides, the discussion of the CEO talk in the previous
assignment also is mentioned in this paper. Facilitation and obstacles of making the video of
Microsoft corporate will be analyzed in this part.

I. Reflective report on team performance

1. Soft skills
Soft skills are a collection of personal characteristics, habits, attitudes, and social graces that
make someone an excellent employee and collaborator. "Soft skills" are described as "ideal traits
for some types of job that do not rely on learned knowledge: they include common sense, the
ability to interact with people, and a positive adaptable attitude," according to Collins English
Dictionary (Erdem, et al., 2011).
Soft skills, in contrast to hard skills, which can be verified and tested, are intangible and difficult
to define, and they aid in the facilitation of interpersonal interactions. Hard skills are task-specific,
but soft skills may be used in a variety of situations (Laker & Powell, 2011 & Andrews & Higson,
2008). Soft skills are a set of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or
personality traits, attitudes, career attributes, social and emotional intelligence, intelligence
quotients, and other characteristics that enable people to navigate their environment, work well
with others, perform well, and achieve their goals in conjunction with hard skills.
It can be seen that there are many different soft skills that every person need to learn so that
they can work in a group more effectively, and following skills are the most important skills
(Dixon, et al., 2010):
Teamworking: Teamwork allows individuals to better understand themselves, to exercise
leadership, to take on duties in relation to others, to promote their ideas and points of view, to
open up to others, and to listen to and challenge the ideas of others.
In the process, some of our team members are very open about sharing their ideas and
knowledge with other members. In addition, these members sometimes help other members so
that the team achieves its goals sooner and more efficiently.

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Problem solving: It is the capacity to recognize the nature of a problem, deconstruct it (break it
down), and devise an effective set of activities to solve the issues that arise as a result of it
(Abazov, 2016).
In the team, as a team leader I almost always fail to make a decision when it comes to coming up
with a solution to the problem the team is facing. Because of those times, I find it difficult to
understand what the problems are and how to best deal with them. Nevertheless, thanks to the
support from the team members, we were able to solve the problem together in the most
accurate way.
Decision making: the process through which an individual, group, or organization decides what
future actions to take in light of a set of objectives and available resources (Russo, 2014).
In the team, as the team leader, I sometimes have difficulty making the wrong decisions, which
have an impact on the team's performance.
Communication skills: In general, communication may be described as the process of sharing
information from the person supplying the information to the person receiving the information
using spoken and nonverbal techniques. The most prevalent type of communication is verbal,
which is a two-way process with response on the message received. Communication entails the
sharing of ideas, views, and information with a specific goal in mind. Aside from verbal
communication, information may also be communicated via the use of symbols or signs.
Communication has alternatively been described as the simultaneous sharing and imparting of
meaning through symbolic relationships (Seiler & Beall, 2005).
One of the serious problems that some team members have when participating in activities is
communication skills. They are often self-directed and have little interaction with the rest of the
group. This makes the joint work among the members lack of coherence.
2. Facilitation and obstacles
2.1. Facilitation
There are three primary aspects that contribute to the team's performance that are revealed
during the work process and based on the team's work outcomes. First, members collaborate to
achieve a shared goal. Consensus among team members on the goals they aim to attain will aid
the team's success. This unification minimizes the amount of time required to debate goals and
eliminates the need to harmonize and balance the aims and interests of members, assisting in
the definition of process requirements and effort levels. becoming more easily available There
will be more arguments, conflicts, and inconsistencies since there is no consensus of view.

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A good procedure is the second component. The team collaborated to create a procedure that
was acceptable to all members. Clear processes inform team members on which tasks must be
prioritized and which may be postponed. This is a scientific and practical method of working that
allows individuals to save time and understand their function in each stage of the group work
process. Members will not know the to-do list if there is no defined method in place, resulting in
delays and disagreements in the division of labor.
Leadership is also seen as a key aspect in the success of a team; a leader performs several vital
roles in a team. The most essential thing is to coordinate group actions in order for the group to
achieve its objectives. The team leader is also crucial in the delegation of work among members
and in the group's interactions with other groups.
2.2. Obstacles
Because all work is done online, the team may encounter obstacles such as technological
difficulties, setting up online calendars, and using collaborative tools. Various concerns are
handled at a lower rate than normal since some members have varied uptimes when chatting
online with one another. This has an effect on the company objectives and overall productivity.
The formatting method across groups is still in its early stages, as is the topic update above. The
work lacks thoughts, comments, and evaluations at the beginning of the era, which will build a
bond in the work. Work takes longer due of a lack of time - comments from other members
Passive people of the workforce seldom exchange when necessary, limiting labor efficiency. This
has an impact on the team's efficiency.
The disadvantages and benefits of working groups have been updated above. Criteria such á
common goals, standard working procedures and leadership styles play some very important
roles in the teamwork process among team members. Team members should be more open and
give each other the opportunity to interact during work. This can increase the effectiveness of
the work the team is doing, thereby achieving the overall goal of the team.
However, problems arising when working in groups cannot be avoided. One of the common
problems with both individual and team performance is a lack of vision and clarity in working
together on a project. The distance between the captain and the team members is too great,
which makes the interaction between them less. This can be overcome by having the team leader
always support the team members and give them the opportunity to learn and share the skills
they know. This boosts the spirit of learning in the whole group.

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 3. Team experiences based on Tuckman’s model
There is a well-known model of group development is called Bruce W. Tuckman’s five-stage
model. This model is applied widely in most of organizations around the world. There are five
stages in this framework (Tuckman & Jensen, 1977):

Figure 1: Tuckman's Five-Stage Model of Group Development

Group members endeavor to get to know one other and build a shared understanding during
Stage 1, which Tuckman refers to as forming, as they battle to identify group goals and decide
proper conduct inside the group. The shaping stage is accomplished when individuals sincerely
believe they are part of the organization.
Storming, as the term indicates, is marked by significant conflict. Members oppose being
dominated by the group during the storming stage and may debate over who should lead the
group or how much authority the leader should have. When members no longer contest the
group's control and there is mutual agreement on who will lead the group, this stage is
accomplished. Members frequently finish this stage because they understand that working
together to attain their goals is in their best interests.
Norming, Members in Stage 3 begin to feel like they belong to the group and form deep bonds
with one another. Friendship and camaraderie abound, and the group develops a strong sense
of common purpose. By the end of this stage, group members have agreed on principles to
govern group conduct.
By the time the group reaches Stage 4, performing, it is ready to handle challenges and strive
toward its goals. This is the stage at which the real work is completed, thus it should not take
long to get there. However, it might take up to two or three years to reach the performing level,
particularly when the groups are self-managed work teams.

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Tuckman identifies the last step of group formation as adjourning, in which the group disbands
after achieving its objectives. Ongoing work groups in organizations frequently do not go through
this level and instead remain in the performing stage. A task force, on the other hand, is likely to
be disbanded after its objectives have been met.
Through the diagram shows, the beginning of teamwork for any project or work goes through
these 5 basic stages. Each stage has its own advantages and disadvantages. When members of a
team working together get through to the final stage. This shows that the achievement of the
group's common goal.
4. Team goal-setting based on Edwin Locke & Gary Latham’s theory
According to Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, specialists in goal-setting theory and research, the
objectives that individuals strive to achieve at work have a significant influence on their levels of
motivation and performance (Locke & Latham, 1990). Besides, goals influence behavior (work
performance) through a variety of additional processes. Goals, according to Locke and Latham,
direct attention and activity. Furthermore, difficult goals mobilize energy, contribute to increased
effort, and enhance persistence. Goals inspire people to devise tactics that will allow them to
perform at the desired levels.
Goal commitment. When people are devoted to their goals, the goal–performance link is
greatest. Commitment is very vital and relevant while achieving challenging tasks. This is due to
the fact that difficult objectives demand a significant amount of work and are associated with a
lower likelihood of accomplishment than simple ones.
Feedback. People require summary feedback that displays progress toward their objectives in
order for goals to be effective. It is difficult or impossible for individuals to modify the amount or
direction of their effort or their performance techniques to meet what the objective demands if
they do not know how they are performing.
Task Complexity. Task complexity is a third modulator of goal effects. As the task's complexity
grows, higher level abilities and ships emerge among assigned goal difficulty, self-set goal
difficulty, self-efficacy, and performance.
Satisfaction. Goals are both a target or end to strive for and a benchmark for assessing fulfillment.
To declare that one is attempting to achieve a goal of X implies that one will not be pleased unless
X is attained. As a result, goals function as a tipping point or reference standard for contentment
and displeasure.
Although objectives may be found anywhere, they are not all made equal. Some people appear
to be capable of easily attaining their objectives, but others may struggle and even fail to reach

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their aims. We'll look into Goal-Setting Theory to get a better understanding of why goal setting
is essential and how it might help us improve our lives.
According to goal-setting theory, objectives are closely related to human performance. Goal
setting gives both a 'goal' to strive toward and a benchmark against which to measure success.
5. The division of work based on Belbin model
The team role model popularized by Meredith Belbin in regard to management teams (Belbin,
1981) and commercially accessible through Belbin Associates (1988) is frequently used in practice
and has figured prominently in research on work teams. Many organizations, including FTSE-100
businesses, global agencies, government entities, and consultancies, employ the concept, which
has been translated into 16 languages.
Table 1: Theoretical commonalities among team roles (Belbin, 1981)
Team role Theoretical association
Completer-Finisher Adaptive cognitive style; conflict avoidance; low emotional
intelligence; high moral values
Implementer Tries to avoid confrontation; low Machiavellianism; cohesion; low
intellectual orientation; high moral value
Team worker Bridge/Adaptive cognitive approach; avoids confrontation; low
Machiavellianism; cohesion
Specialist Adaptive cognitive type; in confrontations, will attempt to dominate
or utilize avoidance behavior.
Monitor Evaluator Bridge/ Adaptive cognitive style
Co-Ordinator Bridge; Attempts to dominate; In conflicts, seeks a compromise;
Cohesion; Low Machiavellian; High Emotional Intelligence
Resource Investigator Innovative cognitive approach; strives to regulate; in confrontations,
seeks a compromise; Emotional intelligence is high; conflict is low.
Plant Innovative cognitive style; strives to dominate in confrontations;
Machiavellian behavior; lack of cohesion; intellectual orientation
Shaper Innovative cognitive approach; Attempts to control; Attempts to
dominate in confrontations; Machiavellian tendencies; achievement
focus; low emotional intelligence; Conflict

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When it comes to teamwork, the roles within the team are all the same. There is no role that is
not important. Each member of the team with a different role should support each other in work,
helping each other to accomplish common goals for the whole team.
6. Summary
The above-mentioned features, as discovered via analysis, illustrate how critical they are to the
effective work of each member in general and the team in particular. Each little factor has a larger
or lesser influence on each individual's job motivation. These elements can help our members
function better, but they can also depress us. These, too, are subject to frequent alteration.

II. The effectiveness of teamwork and/ or the role of leader on its

performance
1. About Microsoft
Microsoft is a multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, United States.
The company focuses on creating, manufacturing, trading software copyrights, and providing
support for a wide range of computer-related products and services. On April 4, 1975, Bill Gates
and Paul Allen founded Microsoft. Microsoft Corporation is the world's largest software company
in terms of sales (Cowling, 2016).
2. Teamwork practices within Microsoft
The key elements of teamwork practices within Microsoft are as the following (Saatchi, 2022):
• More emphasis on collaboration and teamwork: Microsoft’s definition of effective
performance to three components: not just the job, but also how staffs harness
information and ideas from others, and how they contribute to others' success - and how
they all add up to larger company impact.
• More emphasis on staff development and progress: Microsoft optimizes for more fast
feedback and meaningful talks using a process called "Connects" to help people learn in
the present, grow, and achieve amazing achievements. Instead than following a single
timeline for the entire company, they will be timed according to the rhythm of each
component of business, allowing them to be more flexible in how and when they discuss
performance and development.
• They invest in a large incentives budget, but there won't be a pre-determined targeted
distribution. As long as they keep within their pay budget, managers and leaders will have
the freedom to distribute awards in a way that best represents the performance of their
teams and people.

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 • No ratings will allow the staffs to concentrate on what really matters: gaining a better
understanding of their effect and their potential to grow and develop. Microsoft will
synchronize awards with the fiscal year, so their employees rewards speaks to their
manager and when rewards are paid will not change. They will also continue to ensure
that their employees who have the greatest influence on the company are well
compensated.
3. Tuckman model applied by Microsoft – Role of leader within each stage
The Microsoft application of Tuckman model will be demonstrated through the project of
“Developing Applications the Microsoft Way” (Microsoft Developer, 2022).
In the stage of Forming, the group consisted of roughly 50 new hires from various sections of the
United States and other nations, with a variety of backgrounds and experiences – including recent
college grads, seasoned professionals, and everything in between. The basic elements of this
course weren't all that specific, with only a couple of scrum/agile process pre-requisites. The
training would be a week-long endeavor in the shape of a group competition, and the
arrangements were simple. The facilitators acted out a scenario in which a made-up company,
"the client", had numerous needs, goals, obstacles, and challenges. Then, they were devided
semi-randomly in to groups of 6-7 people. They were in separate teams with the identical client
needs, and the Microsoft facilitators' only requirement was that they structure their user stories,
construct a functioning solution using agile methodology using Azure DevOps as the project
platform, and deliver it at the end.
Storming: They didn't say to create a website, a system, or a program. They were given one task:
to alleviate the client's pain points. They were given one more chance as individual teams to
question the "customer" with any more questions. Then they had four days to devise a strategy,
construct a working solution that could be completed in that time frame, and present it to the
"customer" and the entire group. They were feeling a range of emotions at the time, as they
faced what appeared to be a difficult assignment. The managers reminded them that they are
not alone, and that they should leverage each other. The facilitators reminded them that they
are not alone, and that they should leverage each other. From that point, they have moved on to
Norming phase. Each person in the team are respected with their personality and ability.
Performing: The skillsets of each team had a direct impact on the technology used to develop
the solution. Each team went toward the technology they were most familiar with. But it was the
team's ability to work together that became a differentiator in the end outcome, not the insane,
great technical expertise and tools they were using. Leaders of each team made sure that their

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team is highly dynamic. The team chemistry was the distinguishing factor in how original,
creative, and ultimately customer-friendly the product was. The entire team made their way to
the front of the room. They offered a sophisticated presentation that was both clear and logical,
as well as some working demonstrations. Everyone took turns speaking, and when things didn't
go as planned, they used humor to lighten the mood. They were articulate but not stiff,
maintaining eye contact and acknowledging the customer's concerns. Their chemistry was
friendly and customer-focused. They were also proud of their flaws. They all had different skill
sets, but they knew how to play to each other's strengths. After performing their solutions and
fulfilled the training program, they moved on to the Adjourning phase and continued on their
seperated path in Microsoft.
However, after that experience, they have acknowledge the power of team dynamic and how
Tuckman model applied in their team experience. In each section, the role of managers and
leaders were vital as they made sure that the process went smoothly and encourage their
teammates to follow the process untill the end and provide a solution that was well worth of
their time and effort. The characteristics in the team was also well respected despite the
differences from all members.
4. Team’s goal setting in Microsoft based on Edwin Lock & Gary Latham
The model of Edwin Lock & Gary Latham Goal is about Goal commitment, Feedback, Task
Complexity and Satisfaction. All of these factors are adopted by Microsoft through a program
below.
In the Asia-Pacific area, Microsoft is known for its "Microsoft Enable Program," which promotes
an accessible working environment for people with disabilities. The HR department joins the
program to assist employees who are ill or in difficult situations (Microsoft Stories Asia, 2020).
The Microsoft Enable Program's purpose is to create a comprehensive accessibility model that
will improve the participation of persons with disabilities in the Asia Pacific area in the coming
years while also connecting local talent (Microsoft Stories Asia, 2020). Minorities and the
advancement of our society Microsoft also makes its goals public on social media to encourage
staff to concentrate their efforts on completing initiatives for the corporation. This goal is stated
clearly so that staff can keep track of their work and help one another and provide Goal
commitment. Employees of the HR team are aware of each other's roles in the team as a result
of this training, and they take their tasks seriously. The IT and HR teams will be in charge of
offering industry-requested cloud and AI training, as well as a platform for the three to cooperate
toward a more inclusive future for all (Microsoft Stories Asia, 2020). Employees are given

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individual responsibilities and are expected to work together to achieve the team's common
purpose. In general, all members are aware of each other's individual obligations. The job is
clearly divided, and each group member has a distinct task and objective with Task Complexity.
This provides a strong incentive for everyone on the team to achieve their objectives and fulfill
their tasks, as well as easy for the program managers to provide Feedbacks. "People with
disabilities represent one of the world's largest untapped talent workforces," Microsoft argues,
"therefore we need to act more aggressively to help them achieve more." To enhance efficiency,
a complete process must be followed from beginning to end. The exact work that needs to be
done is included in every step of the method. The steps are intertwined and impact one another.
The HR team has established standards for the recruitment department in order to attain the
above goal. They must adhere to the regulations at all times during the employment procedure.
The process is implemented so that employees may track the progress of their work; each item
represents a goal that the team will strive to achieve in order to complete the project and achieve
the Satisfaction.

Conclusion
The principle of collaboration was introduced in this coursework in order to examine how people
work in groups and how effective they are at working together. The use of a reflective report to
identify the obstacles and barriers that arise during teamwork is suggested. In addition, the
examination looks into the characteristics and talents that can help or hinder participants when
they operate in groups. Through looking at case studies in Microsoft, the effectiveness of
teamwork and the role of leaders on its performance was analyzed.

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