cross-functional team

Examples of cross-functional team in the following topics:

• Teams

  • A cross-functional team is a group of people with different functional expertise working toward a common goal.
  • Cross-functional teams often function as self-directed teams responding to broad directives.
  • The growth of self-directed cross-functional teams has influenced decision-making processes and organizational structures.
  • Cross-functional teams consist of people from different parts of an organization.
  • Technical, financial, marketing, and all other types of information must come in a form that all members of a cross-functional team can understand.

• Cross-Functional and Self-Managed Teams

  • A cross-functional team is fully or partially self-managed group of employees with different functional expertises but with a common goal.
  • In small businesses, the team structure can define the entire organization.
  • Teams can be both horizontal and vertical.
  • For example, every one of the Whole Foods Market stores, the largest natural-foods grocer in the United States developing a focused strategy, is an autonomous profit center composed of an average of 10 self-managed teams, while team leaders in each store and each region are also a team.
  • A cross-functional team consists of a group of people working toward a common goal and made of people with different functional expertise.

• Productivity Gains from Software

  • Collaborative software was originally designated as groupware and this term can be traced as far back as the late 1980s, when Richman and Slovak said, "Like an electronic sinew that binds teams together, the new groupware aims to place the computer squarely in the middle of communications among managers, technicians, and anyone else who interacts in groups, revolutionizing the way they work. "
  • Agile software development is a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams.
  • Each iteration involves a team working through a full software development cycle when a working product is demonstrated to stakeholders.
  • An iteration might not add enough functionality to warrant a market release, but the goal is to have an available release (with minimal bugs) at the end of each iteration.

• Trends in Management

  • Development Team - This will be your functional specialists, all collaborating on a daily basis to construct a facet (or perhaps the entirety) of a new piece of software.
  • In scrum, this is quite often cross-functional.
  • Scrum Master - A facilitator, this individual focuses on removing impediments and acting as a buffer between the team and external distractions (usually integration with other teams).
  • Stakeholders, in this context, represent anyone with an interest in the output of that team (primarily organizational owners and other teams).
  • The PO is not a manager, but instead a bridge between the team and the external environment they operate in.

• Leading Teams

  • The members of Bob's team think that he is a great team leader.
  • The team lead reports to a project manager (overseeing several teams).
  • Therefore, an effective team leader must be both a component to the team and also a leader to manage the team's progress.
  • One cannot lead a team without knowing the purpose and goal of the team.
  • The leader must be involved and a member of the team to effectively influence the members' productivity and function in the grand scheme of things.

• Matrix Structure

  • The matrix structure groups employees by both function and product .
  • A matrix organization frequently uses teams of employees to accomplish work, in order to take advantage of strengths, as well as mitigate weaknesses of functional and decentralized forms.
  • Weak or functional matrix: A project manager with only limited authority is assigned to oversee the cross-functional aspects of the project.
  • The functional managers maintain control over their resources and project areas.
  • It brings the best aspects of functional and projectized organizations.

• JIT manufacturing principles

  • Employees work together in problem-solving teams to gather data and build consensus on how to improve work processes.
  • Employees have cross-functional skill sets that allow them to be assigned to areas which need help, and to help them adopt a broader ("big picture") view of the production process.
  • Managers are charged with hiring employees who can work in a proactive team environment, and provide the training and incentives to build a work culture that is focused on continuous improvement.

• Organizing team meetings

  • The following issues should be discussed, agreed upon and written down before a team can be expected to perform:
  • Some practitioners suggest that efficiency teams should meet at least two to four times a month.
  • Encourage team members to do their own research and collect their own facts,
  • Remember that the point of formulating a group is to produce results (i.e. assigning teams is not a solution in itself),
  • Understand that every group is unique and requires a different start-up, functional style and form of leadership,

• Definition of Management

  • Management's primary function is to get people to work together for the attainment of an organization's goals and objectives.
  • A manager who is in charge of developing a new product, for example, must coordinate the efforts of his team (human resources) and make sure they get the tools needed to get the job done.
  • Management functions include: Planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.
  • The addition of work teams and servant leadership has changed what is expected from managers, and what managers expect from their employees.
  • In a team management arrangement the manager is a guiding hand to help the members of the team work together to solve problems but doesn't dictate policy and the entire team receives the reward of meeting those goals.

• Identify your information systems needs

  • The three general approaches to setting priorities (also known as developing a strategic plan for the IS function) are:
  • The person in charge of the IS functions, particularly in larger organizations is called the Chief Information Officer or CIO.
  • A competent CIO should be able, therefore, to do a good job of setting priorities for the IS function.
  • Many organizations use a cross-functional steering committee to discuss and agree on overall priorities for the IS function.
  • In larger organizations, it is usually developed by a project team, sometimes with the assistance of outside consultants.