1. Problem

1.1 Introduction to Concept Team Effectiveness

In today's dynamic and competitive business environment, effective teamwork is crucial for organizations to achieve their goals and maintain a competitive edge. However, many organizations, particularly those in the IT industry, struggle with the issue of ineffective teams. Ineffective teams are characterized by low productivity, poor collaboration, and a lack of synergy among team members, which ultimately hinder organizational success. This problem statement aims to explore the concepts and the real problems faced due to the ineffective teams in the particular organisation that our interviewee workedin the IT industry.

1.2 Concepts related to Ineffective Teams

Lack of Clear Goals and Objectives

Ineffective teams often suffer from a lack of clearly defined goals and objectives, leading to confusion and a lack of direction (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Without a clear understanding of their purpose, team members may struggle to align their efforts, resulting in wasted time and resources.

Poor Communication

Effective communication is a cornerstone of successful teamwork. However, ineffective teams often experience communication breakdowns, such as inadequate information sharing, misunderstandings, and ineffective listening (Hackman, 2002). These communication challenges hinder effective collaboration and coordination among team members.

Absence of Trust and Collaboration

Trust and collaboration are essential for effective teamwork. Ineffective teams may lack trust among team members, leading to a hostile or uncooperative work environment (Edmondson, 2012). Without trust, team members may hesitate to share ideas, offer support, or seek help, which negatively impacts team dynamics and overall performance.

Skill Gaps and Role Ambiguity

Ineffective teams may suffer from skill gaps, where team members lack the necessary skills and knowledge to perform their roles effectively (Belbin, 2010). Additionally, role ambiguity, or a lack of clarity about individual responsibilities and expectations, can further hinder team effectiveness. These challenges lead to inefficiencies, duplicated efforts, and a lack of accountability.

Inadequate Leadership and Guidance

Effective leadership is critical for team success. Ineffective teams often lack effective leadership that provides clear direction, support, and guidance (Lencioni, 2002). When leaders fail to provide a vision and establish a supportive environment, team members may feel demotivated, uncertain, and disconnected from the overall team objectives.

Limited Resources and Constraints

Ineffective teams may face resource constraints, such as limited budgets, inadequate tools or technologies, or understaffing (DeChurch & Mesmer-Magnus, 2010). These limitations hinder productivity and hinder the team's ability to deliver high-quality results.

Resistance to Change and Innovation

The IT industry is known for its fast-paced and ever-evolving nature. Ineffective teams may resist change and innovation, clinging to outdated practices and methodologies (Mathieu et al., 2008). This resistance impedes the team's ability to adapt to new technologies, approaches, and market demands, putting them at a competitive disadvantage.

1.2 Problems faced by the organisation

The IT company that our interviewee is an ERP consulting firm, and the organisation is partner of Infor M3. This Organisationfaces significant challenges related to team effectiveness, specifically in lack of responsibility and knowledge of juniors, resource allocation, knowledge training, and project management. These challenges hinder the company's ability to provide efficient implementation and support services to its clients.

Junior Staff's Lack of Responsibility and Knowledge

Despite being assigned responsibilities, the junior staff in the company exhibit a lack of initiative and fail to take ownership of their tasks. Additionally, they lack the necessary knowledge to perform their roles effectively. These deficiencies result in delays, errors, and reduced overall productivity.

Resource Problems

The IT company experiences resource constraints, particularly in terms of insufficient availability of developers and a lack of adequately trained staff. This scarcity of resources creates bottlenecks in project execution and impedes the company's ability to deliver timely and high-quality services.

Lack of Knowledge Trainings

The developers in the company are not provided with adequate knowledge trainings related to different software and integrations. This knowledge gap limits their ability to effectively utilize tools and technologies, hindering their performance and negatively impacting team outcomes.

Inadequate Functional Knowledge of Project Managers

The project managers in the company lack functional knowledge, leading to incorrect estimations and budgets during the initial stages of projects. This lack of expertise can result in misaligned expectations, scope creep, and the need for changes later in the project lifecycle, negatively impacting project outcomes and client satisfaction.

2. Goals/Why do this interview - Pavithra

Purpose and reasons for doing an interview.

Gathering valid data is a complicated task due to resources limitation, external factors which affect the process, and ethical considerations. However, an interview is widely used to collect data. An interview is a powerful instrument for gathering information and data that helps to understand human behavior via meaningful verbal interaction (Sahoo, 2022). The main purpose of doing the interview is to identify and gather valuable information and insights directly from the interviewees perspective on the teams effectiveness and its related problems. Also, this enables us to investigate interviewee views more comprehensively (Monday, 2019). Before conducting the interview, we created well-designed questions and trained properly to achieve our main goal of the interview. The reason for using the interview to collect data is as below,

1. To attain respondents opinions and experience about team effectiveness.

2. To explore the team effectiveness problems, they are facing currently in depth.

3. To gain detailed information from the interviewees own words and expressions.

References

Monday, T. U. (2019). Impacts of Interview as Research Instrument of Data Collection in Social Science. Journal of Digital Science, 15-24.

Sahoo, R. K. (2022). Interview as a Tool for Data Collection in Educational Research. In Tools of Data Collection in Educational. Lucky International.

3. What happened in the interview Praveen

Interviewer: Right. Okay. So I believe we have discussed the confidentiality aspect of the interview, so let's quickly start with the questions. So for the first part, let's talk about demographic information. Can you tell us your job title and role in the IT industry?

Interviewee: I work as an ERP Consultant.

Interviewer: How long have you been in the IT industry?

Interviewee: Around six plus years.

Interviewer: Okay. Do you work in a team? If so, how many members are there?

Interviewee: I'm not exactly sure, but I think it's around 5 to 25.

Interviewer: Okay. Let's move on to the next part of the interview, which is Team Composition.

Interviewer: How would you rate the diversity of skills and expertise within your team?

Interviewee: On a scale of 1 to 10, it's nearly an eight. They are really good at what they're doing.

Interviewer: Are you satisfied with the output or contribution of the junior members?

Interviewee: No.

Interviewer: Okay. Do you believe you have a sufficient number of members to handle the workload?

Interviewee: It's manageable. We are able to handle the workload.

Interviewer: Okay. Do you think there are any gaps or overlaps in responsibilities within the team?

Interviewee: Yes, there are some gaps. Junior members are not good enough, so responsibilities are mostly shared among the senior members. That's a kind of problem we are facing right now.

Interviewer: I see. Have you witnessed any instances of bias or discrimination?

Interviewee: No.

Interviewer: Okay. Let's move on to the third part, which is Communication. How would you rate the overall communication within your team?

Interviewee: It's really good. We have daily discussions and team meetings. Communication among team members is going well.

Interviewer: Great. Are there any communication barriers or challenges within the team?

Interviewee: No, it's pretty good.

Interviewer: Okay. How frequently do team members exchange information and share updates?

Interviewee: We constantly have scrum calls and teammates share updates regularly.

Interviewer: So it's a frequent occurrence, like a daily thing?

Interviewee: Yes, it happens frequently.

Interviewer: Okay. For leadership, how would you rate the effectiveness of team leadership in goal attainment?

Interviewee: The team leadership is really good. We have a knowledgeable person leading the team. I would rate it around an eight.

Interviewer: Great. Do you think the team leader provides clear guidance and direction?

Interviewee: Yeah, most of the time, they provide clear.

Interviewer: What is the job title of your leader?

Interviewee: Manager Consulting.

Interviewer: Are there established processes and procedures for decision-making and problem-solving?

Interviewee: No, we don't have those procedures. We rely on our own experience and handle situations as they come up.

Interviewer: Are the team members satisfied with existing processes and procedures?

Interviewee: Yes, they are satisfied.

Interviewer: Are there clear expectations and standards for performance within the team?

Interviewee: Yes, there is a requirement to report a maximum of 80 percent billable hours.

Interviewer: How are individual and team performance evaluated and measured?

Interviewee: Apart from the billable hours, there are certain financial goals we need to achieve. Based on that, performance is evaluated and measured.

Interviewer: Are there any opportunities for recognition and rewards based on performance?

Interviewee: Yes, if the performance meets the expectations, there are benefits and variable rewards based on revenue generation.

Interviewer: What are the main challenges or barriers that hinder team effectiveness in the IT industry?

Interviewee

: Virtual working and communication barriers with clients are challenging. Some employees resist change when implementing new systems.

Interviewer: Are there any external factors that affect team effectiveness, such as deadlines or resource concerns?

Interviewee: Power problems in certain locations can affect meeting deadlines.

Interviewer: Are there any specific issues or concerns that you believe need to be addressed?

Interviewee: We need to implement a new recruiting methodology and address the shortcomings of junior team members.

Interviewer: Other than a new recruitment process, do you think there are other solutions to solve the problem?

Interviewee: Within my team, I don't see any other problems at the moment. They are performing well.

From above please provide the brief exaplanation of Executive summary