Assignment No.

3
Name: Abhiram Sridhara, Course: TQM, UCID: as2488
1. Discuss the importance of quality team works,
and team building
Teamwork is a fundamental element of total quality. The
reason for this is simple and practical. It is organizations, not
individuals, which produce products and provide services.
Consequently, peak performance and continual improvement
are group, not individual, endeavors.
Team is a group of people with a common, collective goal.
The collective goal aspect of teams is critical. This point is
evident in the performance of athletic teams. Everyone in an
organization plays an important role in quality management.
In order for an organization to become a quality organization,
all levels must actively participate.
The project manager must work with his team to determine
which processes they will use to ensure that all stakeholders
have confidence that the quality activities will be properly
performed. All relevant legal and regulatory requirements
must also be met. A good quality assurance system will:
Identify objectives and standards.
Be multi-functional and prevention oriented.
Plan for collection and use of data in a cycle of
continuous improvement.
Plan for the establishment and maintenance of
performance measures.
Include quality audits.
2.

How would you handle conflicts in quality teams?

Some of the reasons that people might not work well in

teamsreasons that, in turn, can lead to conflictare as
follows:
Ambition to get ahead coupled with fear of being held
back by the team.
Rapid change can cause employees to conclude that
they can trust no one but themselves.
Employees who have a me-centered outlook can find it
difficult to work with others.
Employees steeped in the traditions of rugged
individualism and competition is king can feel that
cooperation is not fitting for a vigorous person or
organization.
Egos that do not like to share credit.
The project team members must be trained to identify
problems, recommend solutions, and implement the
solutions. They must also have the authority to limit further
processing when a process is outside of specified limits. In
other words, they must be able to halt any activity that is
outside of the quality limits set for the project and work
toward a resolution of the problem at any point in the project.
Team leaders and members can apply the following strategies
for preventing and resolving team conflict:
Plan and work to establish a culture where individuality
and dissent are in balance with teamwork and
cooperation.
Establish clear criteria for deciding when decisions will
be made by individuals and when they will be made by
teams.
Dont allow individuals to build personal empires or to
use the organization to advance personal agendas.

 Encourage and recognize individual risk-taking behavior

that breaks the organization out of unhelpful habits and
negative mental frameworks.

3. How do you reward quality achievements in a

team?
All employees receive their traditional individual base pay.
Then there are incentives that allow employees to increase
their income by surpassing goals set for their individual
performance. Finally, other incentives are based on team
performance. In some cases, the amount of team
compensation awarded to individual team members is based
on their individual performance within the team or, in other
words, on the contribution they made to the teams
performance.
In some cases, the amount of team compensation awarded to
individual team members is based on their individual
performance within the team or, in other words, on the
contribution they made to the teams performance. The issue
of proportionality is important when designing incentives. If
just barely exceeding a performance goal results in the same
reward given for substantially exceeding it, just barely is what
the organization will get. If exceeding a goal by 10% results
in a 10% bonus, then exceeding it by 20% should result in a
20% bonus, and so on. Proportionality and fairness are
characteristics that employees scrutinize with care when
examining an incentive formula. Any formula that is
perceived as unfair or disproportionate will not have the
desired result.

4.

How do you communicate effectively?

When the message received is understood, there is

communication. However, communication by itself is not
necessarily effective communication. Effective
communication means that the message is received,
understood, and acted on in the desired manner. It is the
senders responsibility to ensure that there is effective
communication.
Top management must drive fear from the workplace and
create an environment where cross-functional cooperation
can flourish. The ultimate responsibility for quality in the
organization lies in the hands of upper management. It is only
with their enthusiastic and unwavering support that quality
can thrive in an organization.
Effective communication is a higher order of communication.
It involves receiving, understanding, and acting on the
message. This means that effective communication may
require persuasion, motivation, monitoring, and leadership on
the part of managers.
However, communication by itself is not necessarily effective
communication. Effective communication means that the
message is received, understood, and acted on in the desired
manner. It is the senders responsibility to ensure that there
is effective communication. Effective communication is a
higher order of communication. It involves receiving,
understanding, and acting on the message. This means that
effective communication may require persuasion, motivation,
monitoring, and leadership.

5.

Why are listening skills important?

To perceive a message accurately, listeners must concentrate

on what is being said, how it is being said, and in what tone it
is being said. Part of effective listening is properly reading
nonverbal cues (discussed in the next section).
Concentration requires the listener to eliminate as many
extraneous distractions as possible and to mentally shut out
the rest.
J. Lamar Roberts, chief executive officer and president of a
successful and dynamic community bank, requires his
managers to keep their desks clear of all projects except the
one being worked on at the moment. In this way, when an
employee enters the office, this project can be easily pushed
aside, leaving a clean desk. Work left on the desk can distract
the manager and make the employee feel like an intruder.
Managers who jump to preconceived notions dont give
themselves a chance to listen effectively. Preconceived ideas
can cause them to make premature judgments that turn out
to be wrong. Even the most experienced managers are better
off waiting patiently and listening.
Effective listening occurs when the receiver accurately
perceives the message. Unfortunately, several inhibitors can
prevent this from happening. These inhibitors include the
following:

Lack of concentration
Interruptions
Preconceived ideas
Thinking ahead
Interference
Tuning out immediately

6. What are the management strategies for qualityfocused interpersonal needs?

Interpersonal skills are those needed for people to work
together in a manner that is conducive to both personal and
corporate success. For employees and managers to function
effectively in a total quality setting, they must have good
interpersonal skills. People who lack interpersonal skills
typically do not communicate well, and effective
communication is essential to total quality.
Recognition of the need: To have employees with good
interpersonal skills, managers must recognize the need for
these skills. Historically, the focus of the staffing process has
been technical skills and paper credentials.
Careful selection: The screening of written credentials and
technical skills continues in the normal manner. After the
candidates with the best credentials and technical skills have
been identified, they are then carefully screened to
determine whether they have such interpersonal skills as
listening, patience, empathy, tact, open-mindedness,
friendliness, and the ability not just to get along in a diverse
workplace but also to be a positive agent in helping other
employees get along with each other.
7. What are the principles of overcoming negativity
and conflicts in the workplace?
A positive response to conflict in a team is one that resolves
in the conflict in a way that promotes team unity and serves

the teams mission. The most positive response is when team

members in conflict work out their differences as responsible
adults, putting aside personal issues for the good of the
team. In fact, this should be the stated expectation of team
leaders. This approach might involve both parties mutually
agreeing to just forget it or it might involve them sitting down
and negotiating with each other. In either case, what is
important is that: they settle their differences in a positive
way and they settle their differences without involving other
team members or the supervisor.
1. Communicate: Frequent, ongoing, effective
communication is the best defense against negativity in
organizations, and it is the best tool for overcoming
negativity that has already set in.
2. Establish clear expectations: Make sure all employees
know what is expected of them as individuals and as
members of the team. People need to know what is expected
of them and how and to whom they are accountable for what
is expected.
3. Provide for anxiety venting. The workplace can be
stressful in even the best organizations. Deadlines,
performance standards, budget pressures, and competition
can all produce anxiety in employees. Consequently,
managers need to give their direct reports opportunities to
vent in a nonthreatening, affirming environment. This means
listening supportively. This means letting the employee know
that you will not shoot the messenger and then listening
without interrupting, thinking ahead, focusing on
preconceived ideas, or tuning out.

8.

How can you manage conflict in the workplace?

We can take the following measures to manage conflicts at

workplace:
Plan and work to establish a culture where individuality
and dissent are in balance with teamwork and
cooperation.
Establish clear criteria for deciding when decisions will
be made by individuals and when they will be made by
teams.
Dont allow individuals to build personal empires or to
use the organization to advance personal agendas.
Encourage and recognize individual risk-taking behavior
that breaks the organization out of unhelpful habits and
negative mental frameworks. Encourage healthy,
productive competition, and discourage unhealthy,
counterproductive competition.
Recognize how difficult it can be to ensure effective
cooperation, and spend the energy necessary to get just
the right amount of it.
Helping all employees develop conflict prevention and
resolution skills: If managers are going to expect
employees to disagree without being disagreeable, they
are going to have to ensure that all employees are
skilled in the art and science of conflict resolution. The
second guideline is an acknowledgment of human
nature. It takes advanced human relation skills and
constant effort to disagree without being disagreeable.
Helping all employees develop anger management skills:
It is difficult, if not impossible, to keep conflict positive

when anger enters the picture. If individuals in an

organization are going to be encouraged to question,
discuss, debate, and even disagree, they must know how
to manage their anger. Anger is an intense emotional
reaction to conflict in which self-control may be lost.
Stimulating and facilitating productive conflict:
Productive conflict is productive because the only
agenda being advanced is the good of the organization.
With productive conflict, no hidden agendas or political
machinations are at work. All parties are attempting to
reach the same destination; the disagreement has to do
with how best to get there. Because there are no hidden
agendas, all parties are open to questions, challenges,
and constructive criticism. In addition, all parties agree
on the criteria by which their ideas will be judged.
9.

How do you communicate in conflict situations?

Instances of workplace violence such as thisalthough not

everyday occurrencesare no longer uncommon. One needs
to only watch the nightly news or read a newspaper to realize
that harmful responses to conflict are becoming increasingly
common. Consequently, it is important for team leaders to
work closely with team members to expect and encourage
positive responses to workplace conflict.
Reevaluate the project, problem, or idea when no dissent
or doubt is expressed.
Avoid hiring people who think they dont need help, who
dont value cooperation, or who are driven by the desire
to be accepted.

 Ingrain into new employees the need for balance

between the concepts of cooperation and constructive
dissent.
Provide ways for employees to say what no one wants to
hear.
Realistically and regularly assess the ability and
willingness of employees to cooperate effectively.
Understand that some employees are going to clash, so
determine where this is happening and remix rather than
wasting precious organizational energy trying to get
people to like each other.
Ensure that the organizations value system and reward/
recognition systems are geared toward cooperation with
constructive dissent rather than dog-eat-dog competition
or cooperation at all costs.
Teach employees how to manage both dissent (not let it
get out of hand) and agreement.
Quickly assess whether conflict is healthy or destructive,
and take immediate steps to encourage the former and
resolve or eliminate the latter.
10. Why does quality suffer if there is a major conflict?
Both start covertly inside the victim, often remaining invisible
until the damage done is serious, and both can spread
quickly. Any time decisions are made based on criteria other
than what is best for the organization, the organization
suffers. Prevention costs actually decrease without sacrificing
the purpose of prevention if we can identify and eliminate the
costs associated with waste, such as waste due to
Rejects of completed work
Design flaws

 Work in progress
Improperly instructed manpower
Excess or noncontributing management (who still charge
time to the project)
Improperly assigned manpower
Improper utilization of facilities
Excessive expenses that do not necessarily contribute to
the project (i.e., unnecessary meetings, travel, lodgings,
etc.)
References:
1. Project Management by Harold Kerzner
2. Quality Management for Organizational Excellence by
David L.Goestsch
Social Networking:

Grade your own Assignment:

I give myself an A or 10/10 as I have covered all the topics
of the assignment efficiently.