MOST tasks in society are being performed through organisations, be they in the public or private sector.
Even in the voluntary sector, most functions are also being carried out by organisations.
This shows that organisations have an important role to play in the development of our society.
Organisations and their employees do not live in a vacuum, separated from their societal surroundings.
Society at large has certain expectations and, at the same time, exerts influences on them, which can be through various formal and informal means.
If our organisations are to be dynamic, the surrounding factors must be very supportive of them. This also applies to the internal arrangement of organisations.
Within organisations, there are various areas which must be given high priority if the organisations are to be dynamic.
One of these areas is interaction among the people in the organisations.
Cordial individual interaction can lead to strong teamwork among the employees.
In an organisation, interaction among people take place at two levels:
WITH those outside the organisations, for example suppliers, customers and government; and WITH those inside them, for example employees, including management as well as the rank and file.
In this article, the discussion will centre on how team spirit among employees in an organisation can be nurtured for greater performance.
Islam insists that all workers must be taught that they need each other to perform well in their assignments.
It teaches that each is dependent on the other. This religious guidance must be obeyed without fail.
This is because without this commitment it will be difficult to develop the spirit of co-operation or teamwork within the organisation.
The management must make it known that working as a team is the organisation’s culture.
This spirit has to be put into the work and taken into consideration in evaluations for promotion.
At the macro level, although there is a division of responsibilities, each task is related to the other.
For example, the production division requires the research and development division to come out with better technology and products for the division to be effective.
Similarly, the marketing division plays a significant role in helping the organisation penetrate the market.
The unity of purpose in carrying out their responsibilities has to be instilled in the employees.
The mission statements of the organisation have to be understood and the objectives made known to everybody so that they can be realised.
For Muslims, unity of purpose basically is the manifestation of the concept of tawhid.
Tawhid requires Muslims to submit absolutely to the values of truth, justice and brotherhood, which are derived from divine teachings.
The realisation of these values in Muslim work culture should be much easier.
Team spirit can also be developed through adopting a participative management style.
Islam insists that every employee be allowed to express his opinion when necessary. The management must develop this dialogue regularly.
The feelings of oneness and togetherness are essential for team spirit.
Everyone should be part of the decision-making process. This will develop a sense of belonging to the organisation.
Fairness in handling the welfare of the employees is another factor which can contribute positively towards a synergistic work culture.
Man by nature is very sensitive to injustices. It is within man that he cannot tolerate injustice.
Fairness should encompass every aspect of the employee’s condition of services, such as the pay scheme, work assignment and work evaluation.
If employees are not happy with the treatment given by their employer, they will be demoralised and this will destroy their motivation to work.
The quality of work will be affected and finally they will leave for other organisations.
One of the reasons for this unhappiness may be due to unfair treatment by the top management.
If this condition exists, team spirit will never be developed.
Fairness in handling the employee’s welfare is a prerequisite for teamwork.
Evaluation of the employee’s performance should be based on fair criteria. Unfairness can also lead to disunity.
Nobody will disagree that individual merits are a very essential consideration for promotion.
It should also include the ability of the employee to work with others.
He should be willing to share his expertise. This spirit is important and should be given great emphasis in evaluating an employee’s performance.
The eagerness to develop team spirit among employees should not be carried out to the extent that it would jeopardise the development of individual creativity, which is an essential ingredient for quality work.
Islam believes that each individual employee should be given ample room so that, at the end of the day, his creativity can be nurtured to the utmost.
The ability of the management to harmonise individual space and organisational collective responsibility is indeed the Islamic formula for an employee’s dynamic performance.
Islam, from the beginning, gives great emphasis to this harmony. Indeed this is one the laws of human requirement for better performance.