ISSN 0798 1015

Vol. 39 (Number 32) Year 2018 • Page 28

High performance work groups for small business

Grupos de trabajo de alto rendimiento para pequeñas empresas

Elizabeth SALINAS Narea 1

Received: 23/02/2018 • Approved: 11/04/2018

Content

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Results

4. Conclusions

Bibliographic references

1. Introduction

This goes back to the twentieth century with the discovery of quantum physics that cause the revolution of information and communication and later to globalization, where companies have shown that organizational structures aligned to the principles of Taylor and Fayol are currently inefficient and ineffective for decision making, to detect new opportunities, to generate and implement effective strategies, to maintain a pleasing organizational culture, etc.; which in the end will impact on a competitive disadvantage and an unstable sustainability of SMEs.

Nowadays, the environment and scenarios of the paradigm of the traditional administration remain in effect in the SMEs; showing that traditional methods used in business management do not give total solution to the current needs of customers, employees, shareholders, etc .; that’s why the author of this research considers it as a state of chaos, and as an opportunity for SMEs to self-organize; with the above as sustenance it can be affirmed that organizations, economy and globalization are fractal, chaotic and complex systems characterized by their transitivity, by the dense periodicity of their behavior and by their high sensitivity to the initial conditions; precisely this latter characteristic is known as butterfly effect.

The origin of quantum physics also brought with it a new way of doing science, based on a non-linear dynamic; mainly represented by chaos theory and complexity science, by properties of unpredictability and uncertainty leading to a new way of doing science against the predictability of linear dynamics.

In the late twentieth century industries entered an era of change, where the emergency and uncertainty impacted directly to the organization and therefore the administration. Accelerating change, globalization, increased competitiveness, new technologies of information and communication gave way to a new economic and social order.

In the XXI century, technological changes, the ambitious competitors, fractured markets, omnipotent customers, seditious shareholders and increasingly demanding consumers tested the theories of the paradigm of traditional administration that fails to meet current demands of the society; and it has created a chaotic scene, in which on the one hand, costs are reduced so that organizations can be balanced, and secondly, the risk and uncertainty rises, which SMEs have figured as constant victims by failing to give way to self-organization.

Currently large organizations are constantly self-organizing to confront the chaos and complexity and seek in their high-performance teams their value generated in their results; however, SMEs show a lack of knowledge on how to define, shape and measure a high-performance team.

But how does the lack of high performance teams influence the results of SMEs? Why the bosses, superiors and executives of large companies have been able to form effective teams to solve problems in a complex and chaotic state work; a difference of SMEs? What is the mechanism used by large organizations to adapt to complex and competitive market?

The present article aims to diagnose the factors for the formation of high performance teams that allow the improvement of the results of SMEs; to know the skills and qualities necessary to lead effective work teams for SMEs and the characteristics that SMEs need to strengthen the performance of their employees; examine the mechanism used by large organizations to adapt to complex and competitive market; and establish techniques used by organizations in industrialized countries to develop the intellect of employees on procedures and organizational results.

1.1 Theoretical framework

From traditional or classical perspective, the term chaos is understood as "disorder"; but for quantum perspective, chaos, is "finding order within disorder"; for an SME to be able to adapt to quantum chaos, effective work teams are needed to cope with the challenges of negative black swans and to maximize the benefits of positive black swans. (Taleb, 2007).

Mario Morales (1995) considers that the High-Performance Teams differ from groups and work teams, characterized by the use of specific processes for the execution of their work; achieve special consistency and intensity levels; They identify with the mission, vision, values and objectives of the company's strategy to achieve expected results in the shortest possible time and steadily.

Delkys Oliveros y Monica Cova (2010) they say that high-performance teams transcend structures, breaking hierarchies and establishing their own as a standard in the organization, become the basis of processes within organizations.

Marcial Losada (Newfield Network, 2005) Chilean scientist did not settle for being a psychologist and studying human behavior and found in nonlinear mathematics his great passion and the tools to investigate and realize what today is known as the most complete scientific investigation that exists on High Performance Teams in the organizations. The Losada Meta-Learning model is based on a nonlinear dynamics since it found that the best jobs that have been done with linear models in equipment behavior have a 70% error, while the Losada model has an error of only 8%.

The author of this research by analyzing different sources concluded with 4 fundamental factors for the formation of high performance teams for SMEs:

1.2 Leadership/Coaching

To Lydia Arbaiza (2009) the theory of complexity has been used as a source of new models of leadership. Institutions have been conceived as complex adaptive systems and both leadership and change have been subjected to an analysis focused on the nonlinear and emerging. The current paradigm of institutions, focuses on scientific theories of management, which show a philosophy that focuses on the need to control and predict. This need for control, reflects a need for security and fear of the unknown. The changing reality requires us to let us face these fears and uncertainty. According to the theory of complexity, the order we desire through control is actually the result of change and uncertainty. The act of controlling can be a problem for the creativity and innovation that is sought in the organization.

William Hendricks  (1996) describes several characteristics that a leader / trainer must possess; the author of this article considers that clear objectives and goals, support, trust, respect and perspective are indicated for SMEs.

1.3 Empowerment

Urilch (1997) believes that people have become over the past two decades an essential source of competitive advantage for companies, taking into consideration that the success of which depends not only leaders but largely on participation and integration of its employees, thereby seeking permanence and sustained competitiveness.

Peter Drucker (1985)  in his model "the 10 golden rules of empowerment" expresses the elements that companies must have in order to implement an effective empowerment of personnel; the author of this article believes that information and communication, feedback, motivation, and training are necessary for the implementation of empowerment in SMEs characteristics.

1.4 Innovation

Complexity sciences can explain new paradigms of leadership; as well as explaining the creation and emergence of innovative environments based on the self-organization of their agents.

From the perspective of complexity theories, what we perceive as innovations are but temporary stabilizations of institutional patterns that organize the organizational activity that emerges from the processes of human interaction in local situations and common shares. The process for intercommunication in which regular patterns (routines and values) are played continuously, at the same time the process in which even small variations in playing habits are potentially amplified. From this perspective no institution is fixed or permanent but is always potentially changing in perpetual evolution. Therefore, to understand why and how an institution is or not changing, attention should focus on how individuals develop their potential (Shaw, 2002)

Para Xavier Ferras (2016) innovation has become the true strategic process of any organization that wants to succeed or at least survive in a world of exponential change; therefore it considers that innovation is a creative, recombinant and cumulative, open and accessible, holistic process.

1.5 Neuromanagement

Para Braidot (2008) neurosciences applied to business management are the master key to innovation in leadership, leadership and management of organizations and companies.

One of the challenges that the leaders of the work teams must face is to achieve that the people achieve their maximum potential, in the hand of the development of the organization. It is imperative that the discoveries of neuroscience related to the understanding of human behavior to reach a clear and practical executive, leaders, managers, executives and every member of the Organization.

The application of neuromanagement in the organization allows CEOs to detect, incorporate, mix, produce, improve and innovate with available and possible human and material resources, while optimizing and capitalizing the links between them to generate an optimal end result; but to achieve this result it is necessary for human talent to peak potential and develop emotional and multiple intelligence.

The preparation of this article involved the use of a derived epistemology, the study of complexity science, so to understand the singularities and irregular patterns of self-organization that are the essence of organizational phenomenon.

In addition, a correlational descriptive study was used, since the correlation between the conformation of high performance teams and their impact on results in SMEs was determined. The theoretical method used in the research was the structural systematic; because through this the process of forming high performance teams addressed by studying the different elements that comprise it, while the empirical method was carried out through literature review and documentary analysis, which allowed a contact direct with the object of research using primary and secondary sources, statistical and field techniques such as observation and surveys where the primary objective was to describe a situation in order to get to identify components at the forefront of a market globalized

In order to obtain the population size, SMEs in risk of the industrial sector of the city of Guayaquil were taken into consideration. Statistical information was collected from the state sources responsible for the study and analysis of SMEs; in this case the Superintendence of Companies through its web portal of information of the corporate sector provided the list of SMEs in the province of Guayas where through leaks was obtained the list of SMEs in the industrial sector of the city of Guayaquil. The website of the Superintendency of Companies also provided us financial statements and indicators to identify SMEs that during the year did not meet the financial standards required by financial institutions to grant credit and the National Public Procurement Service (SERCOP) through resolution No. RE-SERCOP-2014.

The financial indicators and standards to consider SMEs in a state of risk are the following:

• Current Liquidity < 1
• Debt to asses ratio > 0,7
• Debt to capital radio > 0,9
• Operational Margin < 0,05

Which in the end reflected a population of 301 SMEs and a sample of 170 SMEs at risk from the Industrial Sector of the city of Guayaquil.

Given that SMEs have recently been the victims of a strong global crisis, which has caused most of them to enter into a state of risk, a statistical instrument has been used in which several questions are answered to superiors and subordinates to collect enough data to determine whether it is feasible to invest in human talent with creating high performance teams. 

Table 1
Survey for Managers

Reviewed the results of the statistical information was diagnosed as senior positions in SMEs are immersed in the paradigm of traditional administration; they still consider that the fundamental factor of the company are the clients, they do not provide full support and trust to their subordinates, they do not take into account the opinions or comments of the collaborators which generates a lack of awareness of the company's objectives.

Subordinates do not feel empowered with the organization because there is an egocentric organizational culture headed by lack of motivation, training and lack of feedback processes, which in the end is reflected in the lack of information and communication.

SMEs that were the subject of this analysis are not interested in innovation processes, are satisfied with stability, which does not allow them to be creative and restructure the presentation or contents of their products or services; this is due to the lack of information and knowledge since they do not have external advice that guides them through the appropriate processes in a chaotic and complex market.

The SMEs analyzed have not been involved in the new changes brought by globalization, they do not know and much less apply the techniques to develop the emotional intelligence of their collaborators and achieve their maximum performance.

Currently, SMEs in Ecuador are in a critical risk factor due to the rapid evolution of the complex market, the highly competitive and chaotic world, the advances of technology and the arrival of globalization and is why nowadays the High Performance Teams are for the companies of the developed countries the strategic resource primordial for the fulfillment of its goals and objectives.

Therefore, it is verified that the creation of High Performance Teams would be the best investment and strategy for SMEs in the industrial sector that are at risk in the city of Guayaquil; and that this would involve adapting to the advances of technology, administrative sciences and globalization, which would allow to increase the competitiveness in the market in order to fulfill the established goals and objectives.

Nowadays the studies aligned to the Taylor and Fayol theories fail to give total solution to the chaos that SMEs live; And, it is from the twentieth century scientific discoveries in quantum physics and later to the revolution of information and communication to reach what is now the digital economy; has changed the perspective of the world and therefore of the market, transforming it into a chaotic and complex market in which linear or mechanistic systems no longer give full effectiveness; so that organizations enter into a state of emergency and uncertainty so they need to self-organize.

Unlike large organizations, SMEs have been the most affected, since most of them have not been incorporated into globalization and therefore have not been self-organized. In this process of self-organization, the Newtonian thought that regarded the world as a mechanical system that can be described as the sum of the parts that make up the system and do not take into account the human observer changes, these thoughts were linked Theories of Taylor and Fayol. Chaos theory and complexity science point to the company as a living being in which its members have different skills and abilities interacting and working as a group effectively can find order within disorder and achieve a common goal, managing to improve the results of the company in a constant way. The creation of high performance teams will achieve special levels of consistency and intensity; self-identify with the mission, vision, goals, values and strategy of the company to achieve the expected results in the shortest possible time and steadily. Self-organization helps us reflect on the true nature of leadership, and allows us to focus the reflection, not so much on the leaders who act on the organizations, but on aspects that are a little softer but at the same time much more defined, such as the conversations, the knowledge, motivations and the values that guide the operation of the companies. So that managing complexity requires fostering leadership at all levels to achieve it becomes everyone's job, not just some chosen few located at the top of the pyramid. In this discourse, the concept of self-organization becomes one more term of the concept of empowerment or delegation. This immediate impulse to transform complexity into simplicity leads to the inexistence of truly novel approaches in the management of organizations. Simply reproducing the dominant discourse does not help explain how people actually do things. When one succumbs to the drive to reduce complexity in simplicity, one loses sight of the mechanisms through which self-organized interaction produces patterns of emergent and coherent behavior. Complexity sciences can explain new paradigms of leadership; as well as explaining the creation and emergence of innovative environments based on the self-organization of their agents. From the perspective of complexity theories, what we perceive as innovations are but temporary stabilizations of the institutional patterns that organize the organizational activity that emerges from the processes of human interaction in local situations and ordinary actions. Therefore, innovation is not the consequence of a rational decision but, a potential in all the communicative interaction; we may innovate, and through these innovations we may find new equilibria and stabilizations in our common actions and external conditions. Through new flows of interaction, individuals may end up perceiving the need for change.

The application of neuroscience to business management is a discipline focused on exploring the neurophysiological processes involved in decision making, developing emotional intelligence at a personal and organizational level, encouraging executives to develop their business vision and develop the skills of the professionals. Neuromanagement develops the neurocognitive and emotional capacities for people to improve and optimize the skills they need to exercise their profession, to perform effectively in their work and to solve complex and chaotic situations.

It is recommended that SMEs create high performance teams, but doing so is not easy. They must learn to manage human and strategic factors to create a collaborative environment and fit correctly in the structures of a company; in addition, it is necessary to implement modern strategies that allow the solution of problems of effective way and also the accomplishment of goals and objectives in a constant and permanent way.

Leadership / Coaching, Empowerment, Innovation and Neuromanagement are the factors that every company that makes up a high-performance team must consider; these techniques or strategies meet the characteristics required by globalization in order to compete successfully in a rapidly changing and industries dominated by big market.

SMEs must adapt to the constant changes in the environment in order to survive and maintain pleasant results, so they must change the paradigm of traditional administration and focus on strengthening human talent on the processes and results planned; They should include external advice to enable them to be updated, and to provide them with the tools and techniques to form effective high-performance work teams and meeting its goals and objectives consistently.

It is also necessary to constantly train staff so that they can obtain up-to-date knowledge that allows them to develop their skills in a globalized environment.

Arbaiza, L. (23 de 11 de 2009). Americaeconomia.com. Obtenido de http://mba.americaeconomia.com/articulos/columnas/liderazgo-y-complejidad-una-nueva-vision-para-la-gestion

Braidot, N. (2008). Neuromanagement: Cómo utilizar a pleno el cerebro en la conducción exitosa de las organizaciones. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Granica S.A.

Drucker, P. (1985). The Discipline of Innovation. Harvard Business Review, May-June: 67-72.

Ferras, X. (13 de 04 de 2016). Innovación 6.0. Obtenido de http://xavierferras.blogspot.com/2016/04/7-caracteristicas-de-la-innovacion-en.html

Hendricks, W. (1996). Coaching, Mentoring, and Managing. New Jersey : Career Press.

Losada, M. (10 de Octubre de 2005). Newfield Network. (J. Olalla, Entrevistador)

Morales, M. (1995). Equipos de trabajo efectivos. Santiago de Chile: Universidad Católica de Chile.

Oliveros, D., & Cova, M. (30 de 06 de 2010). grupokaizen.com. Obtenido de http://www.grupokaizen.com/mck/Equipos de alto desempeño.pdf

Shaw, P. (2002). Changing Conversations in Organizations: A Complexity Approach to Change. London: Routledge.

Taleb, N. N. (2007). El Cisne Negro. Nueva York: Paidos.

Ulrich, D. (1997). Recursos Humanos Champions. Buenos Aires: Granica.

1. Magister in management and business services, Planning Coordinator and professor at the Technological and Business University of Guayaquil