Team Building - Reading Test Answers

A cohesive unit that minimises friction, she believes, can however be developed in any organisation committed to investment in its people.

The company’s own business model is based upon generating revenue from advertising on their popular website – a great success, so far, having surpassed financial projections for each year it has been in operation to date.

Most importantly, he says, people are much easier to motivate if they themselves can be involved in designing and deciding activities – this level of consultation at the planning stage being much easier to achieve for an internal department than an external consultant.

many professionals, believing that such games are trite or patronising, are unable to appreciate the hidden benefits of building understanding and camaraderie within the group. If presented correctly, within the correct context and in conjunction with other, more staid approaches, Louise Edwards holds that games can be an enormous asset in staff training.

Brenda Durham of Corporate Trouble-Shooters believes it inevitable that to some extent conflict will exist in a successful workplace since the necessary diversity of skills and personalities required for success will also unavoidably lead to misunderstandings and disharmony from time to time.

and headed by Jeff Blackshaw, offers free training and development advice to companies wishing to offer motivation seminars designed in house, in the belief that contextualised training is always more effective.

The new, and as yet untried, approach will challenge participants in, by comparison, rather radical ways. One initiative, for example, requiring the writing, organisation and delivery of a theatrical performance to which all staff members will be invited to view.

He says that good team work is fostered by respect, encouragement, shared enthusiasm and a caring and supportive workplace.

Louise Edwards of HR Success says that one of the barriers she comes across time and time again is that corporate heads often seem to understand that ‘team building’ is important but are not quite sure what it is or how to achieve it.

This is followed by stage four – the final stage, where outcomes are measured and from that point on are monitored to ensure that goals are achieved and continue to be achieved.

In simple terms, Edwards defines the objectives of team building activities as a process, starting with the first stage – the clarification of the collective goals.

This leads to the identification of the inhibitors preventing achievement of those goals and the introduction of enablers which will assist in goal achievement.

In stages 2 and 3 (identifying barriers and introducing positive alternatives) Edwards believes that the use of humour goes a long way towards relationship building on a personal level through development of empathy and removal of antipathy, ultimately fostering cooperation and support on a more formal level.

This is followed by stage four – the final stage, where outcomes are measured and from that point on are monitored to ensure that goals are achieved and continue to be achieved.