Evaluation of Groups and Team Working at the Junction Hotel

Report Title: Evaluation of Groups and Team Working at the Junction Hotel

To: Simon Chance

From: Emma Collins

Date: 5 May 2025

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Table of Contents

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Executive Summary

The report evaluates the performance of the working team at Junction Hotel by assessing the current group structure and issues with appropriate recommendations. As a result of the analysis, with the help of Organisational behaviour theories such as Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development, Belbin’s Team Roles and Social Identity Theory, it is possible to detect the major issues currently being active – lack of communication, low employee morale, and improper managerial approach. Thus, the hotel remains in the storming phase because the team’s staff battles with management and has problems with role definition, while authoritarian leadership does not allow the staff to work effectively. The organisational issues in the hotel led to decreased operational performance, which consisted of the interference of the Fitness Centre Manager’s office work and staff in the kitchen rebelling against Effingham’s disciplinary approaches. These issues can only be resolved by an enhanced team development scheme that contains a conflict-solving mechanism in addition to the freedom of decision-making included in Belbin’s team role management scheme. To ensure that the hotel moves to the performing stage of team development, the following suggestions will be implemented: Daily meetings shall be conducted, and members shall be encouraged to share their comments constructively on the team’s performance.

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Evaluation of Groups and Team Working at the Junction Hotel

1.0 Introduction

The Junction Hotel was once a successful business providing its services to global standards until service delivery was affected by operational problems and demoralised employees. It was during his assumption of leadership under the second chance consortium that Simon Chance introduced a systematic and bureaucratic structural bearing within the organisation. When adopting procedural requirements and staff monitoring, besides instituting strict rules, the management ended up causing adverse consequences, among them a lack of unity among the employees, reluctance on the part of the staff, and disruptions of service delivery. The three significant challenges affecting performance at Junction Hotel are communication breakdown, lack of proper team demographics, and group polarisation of the management team. The existing challenges diminish both staff efficiency and storage satisfaction, as well as degrade guest satisfaction and business performance metrics. The research examines the team performance at Junction Hotel through analysis of present conditions using applicable organisational behaviour models and theories. This report implements the combination of Tuckman’s stages of group development, Belbin’s team roles, and Social Identity Theory to discover the basis behind staff collaboration issues. The analysis enables the presentation of strategic guidelines to develop team collaboration while improving service quality, which helps Junction Hotel restore its excellent reputation.

2.0 Theory and Concepts: Groups and Team Working

2.1 Definition of Groups and Teams

According to King and Lawley (2022), a group consists of interconnected people whose relationships serve to accomplish assigned goals and complete tasks (Işık et al., 2021). Organisations exhibit groups in their departments and committees, which bring together individual contributions but not collective work. The term team defines a cohesive grouping that requires both common goals and mutual accountability among team members who work interdependently. Teams prosper through collective work to combine members’ special abilities, which creates better organisational achievements (King and Lawley, 2022). The critical qualities that drive high-performing teams consist of open communication channels combined with mutual trust alongside team-wide agreement to shared organisational objectives (Reiter-Palmon, Kennel and Allen, 2021). Such group characteristics help teams address obstacles and reach better outcomes than what single members could achieve independently. Organisations need to prioritise team-oriented culture development due to the fact that all teams exist as groups, but groups do not always function as effective teams.

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2.2 Explanation of theory and concepts of Groups and Teams

Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development

The five stages of group development, as defined by Tuckman (1965), represent a well-known model that is used to explain how team groups progress into well-functioning teams. Team members begin by uniting to create primary connections and master their organisational responsibilities (Jones, 2019). The forming phase demands strong leader guidance, but members conduct polite yet superficial interactions during this initial period of group acquainting (Işık et al., 2021). During the Storming stage, team members start expressing their viewpoints through competitive actions, which also tests the leader’s leadership position. Although power struggles with unclear roles are frequent during this phase, they play an essential role in exposing and addressing differences, which enhances group cohesion.

Team members build unity and create a set of shared expectations about behaviour and working relationships in the group transition from Forming to Norming. Better trust relations and improved communication create a path to better teamwork alignment (Smith, 2020). During the Performing stage, team performance reaches its peak because members understand their roles well and cooperate closely to reach objectives under reduced supervision. The team disbands at the end of the Adjourning stage while finishing all tasks. The process of reflecting on accomplishments guides teams through recognising their achievements while guiding members to handle the emotional impacts of breaking up (Jones, 2019). Managers find Tuckman’s model beneficial because it allows them to determine team development progress, which helps them select suitable leadership approaches to build better productivity and employee morale.

Belbin’s Team Roles

Belbin (2010) developed a team role model comprising nine distinct functions that both enhance and limit performance outcomes in team-based work. The nine roles belong to three distinct groups: action-focused Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, people-oriented Coordinator, Teamwork, Resource Investigator, and thought-driven Plant, Monitor Evaluator, and Specialist (King and Lawley, 2022). The roles expressed by Belbin (2010) ensure that teams handle various aspects of teamwork, which include idea development and goal setting, as well as maintaining team cohesion and achievement delivery. A Coordinator maintains organisational goals by delegating tasks to team members as the Plant offers innovative solutions to problems.

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The key advantage of Belbin’s model emerges through team role integration, which ultimately creates a balance between team strengths and reduces their weaknesses. The effective functioning of teams relies on mixing different roles that allow teams to manage different types of challenges (Işık et al., 2021). An implementer turns concepts into operational practice, but a resource investigator brings novel market perspectives to team evaluation. Managers use the model to distribute roles according to team member strengths, thus creating cohesive units with superior performance. Role assignments should be employed with caution due to the importance of adaptability and flexibility in achieving team success (Jung, Lee and Lim, 2023).

Social Identity Theory

According to the Social Identity Theory created by Tajfel and Turner (1979), the group people belong to shapes what they think about themselves. The theory shows that people establish their sense of identity through belonging to groups because this produces both in-group preference and out-group persecution (Van Den Hout and Davis, 2021). When team members strongly identify with their teams, they tend to make their personal goals parallel to group objectives because this produces greater motivation and enhanced organisational productivity (Amani, 2024). The theory demonstrates how humans make social categories while identifying with others and comparing their positions, which controls their group interactions. The formation of a positive group identity prompts both team spirit and loyalty, and through this, organisations achieve stronger teamwork that minimises disputes (Jung, Lee and Lim, 2023). Managers should use this theory to establish an inspiring teamwork approach that matches organisational core beliefs. Team-building events, together with group achievement awards and strong communication of organisational direction, help build social identity structures in workplace teams (King and Lawley, 2022). Employee disengagement, together with reduced performance, appears when workers feel detached from their teams and experience unjust treatment at the workplace. The application of Social Identity Theory enhances workplace environments that build team success alongside business goal achievement.

2.3 Value to Organisations and Employees

The development of effective teamwork delivers substantial value to organisations through productive and innovative teams featuring content employees (Amani, 2024). The efficient operation of organisations benefits from team cohesion because it leads to improved service quality and streamlined operations, and generates lasting market advantages by uniting different skill sets and viewpoints for solving complex problems effectively.

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Businesses that mobilise high-performing teams gain the ability to swiftly adapt to market shifts as well as customer demographic needs. Teamwork offers employees multiple benefits, including skill growth and learning opportunities, together with feelings of belonging that result in elevated work morale and engagement (King and Lawley, 2022). A workplace culture that values employees, along with their support, leads to job satisfaction that reduces staff departure rates while fostering a positive workplace atmosphere. Team collaboration produces both enhanced creativity and innovation when employees feel comfortable exchanging ideas to achieve organisational targets (Salas, Linhardt and Castillo, 2024). Supporting effective teamwork proves to be a strategic organisational implementation that generates advantages across all workplace stakeholders.

3.0 Application of Theories to Junction Hotel

3.1 Tuckman’s Model

The teams at Junction Hotel are primarily trapped in Tuckman’s (1965) storming stage, which leads to negative progress due to conflicts between staff members. The establishment shows significant tensions between supervision and personnel through Effingham’s opposition to Chance’s procedure changes and Wilkinson’s refusal to follow attendance rules (King and Lawley, 2022). The ongoing conflicts between team members block their advancement into the norming stage, which should produce collaboration and shared goals and boost their performance. The kitchen staff who stood outside Chance’s office during disciplinary matters showed how poorly the team functioned in terms of both cohesiveness and problem resolution (Jung, Lee and Lim, 2023). The team adopts dysfunctional behaviours instead of working together to sustain service operations because they fail to achieve team efficiency during the minimal supervisory stage. Junction Hotel’s inability to define conflict resolution and norm-establishing procedures prevents the achievement of high team performance, which adversely affects both service delivery quality and customer satisfaction.

3.2 Belbin’s Team Roles

The team roles described in Belbin’s (2010) theory require balanced elements for effective teamwork, but Junction Hotel operates within environmental restrictions. Chance’s strict leadership methods impede the professional development of staff by blocking their ability to take positions that align with their skills readily (King and Lawley, 2022).

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The fitness centre manager demonstrates poor role performance because they fail to handle operational functions despite being occupied with paperwork. Thorough compliance with disciplinary regulations at Effingham proves detrimental to team functioning because it diminishes his potential to coordinate or work effectively with others (King and Lawley, 2022). The lack of defined implementer or resource investigator roles in team structure causes diminished creativity and hinders problem-solving, which leads to both inefficient work processes and poor service quality. When team member roles are out of balance, productivity decreases, and staff exhibit both reduced motivation and decreased initiative.

3.3 Social Identity Theory

A strong group identity helps create workplace motivation and teamwork following Social Identity Theory, yet management and staff differences at Junction Hotel have led to poor staff integration, according to Tajfel and Turner (1979). Wilkinson chose not to follow standard clock-in protocols because he wanted to maintain harmonious relationships with colleagues (Salas, Linhardt and Castillo, 2024) in this workplace, which shows a split between operational policies and team affinity. The staff’s actions show they maintain stronger ties with their immediate work group rather than the complete set of organisational objectives, which weakens team cohesion (King and Lawley, 2022). The receptionists’ concerns about following established procedures led to poor treatment of the elderly couple, thus demonstrating an absence of team-based organisational identity. Staff refusal to adopt management proposals stems from their mistrust and scepticism, which halts team unity creation and hinders collaboration (Amani, 2024). Efforts to improve organisational performance and team effectiveness will most probably fail because of an unbridged identity gap.

4.0 Conclusion

The examination of group functioning and team operational outcomes at Junction Hotel reveals significant issues stemming from leadership difficulties, communication problems, and staff involvement problems. The authoritarian style of management led by Simon Chance has established an environment characterised by ongoing conflicts, which has prevented team development from moving forward in the storming phase of Tuckman’s model. The team role’s lack of balance, in accordance with Belbin’s theory, has minimised productivity levels and creativity because workers feel neglected and powerless.

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Social Identity Theory shows how management divides itself from staff members, which creates poor spirit among employees and weak organisational identity. The operational difficulties, together with poor customer service, become evident through the reception staff’s treatment of the elderly couple during the check-in process. The evaluation shows how organisations should adopt cultural management strategies that connect through open dialogue, give employees power, and foster unity to enable business achievement.

5.0 Recommendation

Simon Chance should implement a detailed team development system at the Junction Hotel to advance team performance through training and empowerment in addition to role clarity (Reiter-Palmon, Kennel and Allen, 2021). Organised training about conflict resolution, together with teamwork development and effective communication, functions as an essential foundation for creating both a unified staff and resolving existing conflicts. By conducting conflict resolution training for the kitchen team that Effingham leads, system disruptions resulting from strict disciplinary actions will be prevented. Outreach training for reception staff will help them address cheque-in problems with increased confidence following situations like the elderly couple encounter (Jung, Lee and Lim, 2023). Staff decision-making autonomy should be implemented as part of empowerment initiatives to support personnel in conducting proactive actions without fear of procedure violations. Focus on this method benefits team development according to Tuckman’s model because it guides groups through the stressful storming phase into the productive performing phase.

A staffing strategy implemented with Belbin’s team roles will create an equitable team structure that leads to better performance outcomes. The assignment of work duties based on individual talent strengths enables employees to develop a stronger connection and commitment to their duties (Van Den Hout and Davis, 2021). The Fitness Centre Manager would show greater operational value in a role that utilises their organisational expertise while delegating customer-facing duties to alternative staff members (King and Lawley, 2022). The organisation must set up periodic team-assembly spaces that serve as platforms for active staff involvement where team members can voice their concerns and take part in solving operational problems. Social Identity Theory represents the basis for these actions that would strengthen team unity through mutual trust development and institutional identity consolidation.

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6.0 Reference List

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Appendix: Team/Group Communication Chart