Abstract
Courts used conventional manager and assistant method of work environment before 1990s. The corporate and private companies have developed to self-directed work teams (SDWTs) in the same time. So, the courts also have decided to travel in the same direction by which there will be minimum supervision on the groups, instead of micromanagement. Team leaders play a major role in shaping the teams to deliver what is expected out of them. These team leaders are expected to undergo proper training before handling the projects and teams. If the team leaders are not trained properly, the total team would go out of track. Each team member requires to qualify a certain standard to be in the team. Every person needs to contribute for the overall success of the teams. Thus, by implementing the teams, courts have finally changed to modernized organizing principles (Zaffarano, 1995).
Team Work in Courts
The way courts work has to be changed, there are innovations in private sector in organization structures, but in court systems there have been no changes for the past many decades (Zaffarano, 1995). Self-Directed Work Teams (SDWTs) are the new form of powerful and more effective groups that are being used by the courts instead of traditional teams. These SDWTs are helpful in better decision making. The experts believe that these groups are helpful in the success of the management (Zaffarano, 1995).
When determining the formation of teams, the administrative officer or clerk must check if the team if it is suitable to 1) Project difficulty 2) Number of team members required 3) Better tram players 4) Is training required 5) Who can be a team lead. There were three different styles of leadership types. They are Supervisory Leadership followed in 1970s, Participative Leadership followed in 1980s and Team Leadership followed in 1990s. All the government and the private organizations have felt the need to change the type of teams to improve the employee participation in the organization’s success (Zaffarano, 1995).
Self-Directed Work Teams
A Self-directed Work Team is highly trained team consisting of 6 to 18 members who are responsible to finish a well-defined piece of work (Fisher, 1993). The following characteristics are shared by good performing teams: values sharing, together everyone will achieve more, dedication towards work, risk taking, rewards program in the team work (Zaffarano, 1995). The next aspect is the team leader, whose responsibilities include to maintain respectful relations between the employees and the top management (Fisher, 1993). A effective team leader will remove politics from the teams that drag the work performance. Team leader helps to understand the real and the perception borders of projects, the team leader understands if he/she is the barrier to the development, team leader always thinks of better future of the teammates and creates full energy necessary by the team (Fisher, 1993). A leader should be having social skills, technical skills and business skills in order to be successful.
The Current Use of Teams by Corporations, Governments, and Courts
Courts are the only organizations where the working teams’ concept is new, but it is common in private sector. Corporations have realized the fact that the concentration should be on employees instead of middle managers. Managers are replaced by efficient teams so that the productivity should be increased. Many multinational companies like Xerox, Harley-Davidson, Proctor and Gamble, General Electric, Boeing, Ford, and Kodak have changed to self-directed work teams (SDWT) (Zenger, 1994).
Many organizations have kept the basic core processes in the workplace, but there is a constant thought about the future. A team leadership is not maintaining people, but to bring the best from the people (Zenger, 1994).