Abstract:
Teams are increasingly being recognized as providing potential for better organizational performance and effectiveness. This is especially so given the changing business and organizational environments resulting from globalization. The individual is central to successful teamwork and so has a critical role and influence on the team and team performance. Studies show that organizations which do not understand this fact may not be getting the maximum benefit from work teams. The purpose of this study was to examine the role and influence of the individual and organization on team performance at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), a not-for-profit organization. The study sought to gain understanding of teamwork and team performance and especially what the perceived benefits of teams and teamwork are from the individual and organizational perspectives; the organizational and individual factors that facilitate successful teamwork; and how individuals view their roles in teams. It aimed at shedding light on the key elements that could help AATF restructure its team formation and management to benefit from team arrangements and complement the organization's program expansion throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. This study is important in bringing to the fore the centrality of the individual in teams and on team performance especially as teams gain prominence in the workplace and the need to enhance the individual's ability to work in a team through understanding and appreciating the key influencers of team success. The study utilized a descriptive research design that helped in defining the factors that influenced team success in order to suggest ways to mitigate them. The study population was 100 comprising 18 employees of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and 82 members of two AATF projects that were being implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa and Nigeria. Stratified random sampling was used using the Foundation's human resource and stakeholder records that contain details of staff and key project partners. The sample size totaled 52 made up of 17 AATF employees and 35 project team members. Data was collected through a self-administered pre-tested questionnaire which was redesigned on receipt of feedback from the test population. Analysis of data was through descriptive statistics specifically the means. Frequencies and percentages were also used in the analysis. The study findings are presented in tables and figures. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to assist in the data analysis. Key findings on perceived benefits of teams and teamwork to the organization and the individual indicated that working through teams provided a number of benefits. The benefit of individuals finding opportunity to make friends through teams and that of teams providing individuals with a sense of self-worth were found to be highly regarded. On the other hand, the perceived benefit that people work faster through teams received the lowest score as a benefit. On organizational and individual factors that facilitate successful teamwork, key findings indicated that support of teams and teamwork by both the organization and functional departments were the most important factors while respondents disagreed with the factor that they had been trained in teamwork skills and competencies. On individual views of team roles, key findings indicated individuals viewed their commitment to teams quite highly and that organizations were doing little to recognize and reward teams. The study concluded that with regard to benefits of teams, both the individual and the organization benefit from teams and teamwork. Considering factors that facilitate team success, conclusions were that there is a strong inter-dependence between the individual, the organization and the team in facilitating team success and that team skills training is important in that process. On the individual view of team roles, the study concluded that individuals take their roles in teams seriously and also feel that they fully contribute and have the capability to play a role in their team's success. From the study, it was recommended that organizations enhance people's ability to work faster and to save costs through teams in order to benefit fully from teams and teamwork. On the factors that facilitate team success, the study recommended that organizations train employees in team skills to upgrade their team work and team management skills. The study also recommended that team and individual performance in teams is reassessed and rewarded to encourage teamwork. Following the findings, it was recommended that further studies are carried out to ascertain individuals' views of their team roles in greater detail. This is because of the apparent gap between respondent's strong indication of their capabilities and the finding that a majority of the respondents had actually not been trained in team skills.