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Teamwork

2008-12-16 06:34:16

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Teamwork is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as "a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group."

This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal.

In order for teamwork to succeed one must be a teamplayer. A Teamplayer is one who subordinates personal aspirations and works in a coordinated effort with other members of a group, or team, in striving for a common goal. Businesses and other organizations often go to the effort of coordinating team building events in an attempt to get people to work as a team rather than as individuals.

A 2003 national representative survey, HOW-FAIR [1], revealed that Americans think that 'being a team player' was the most important factor in getting ahead in the workplace. This was ranked higher than several factors, including 'merit and performance', 'leadership skills', 'intelligence', 'making money for the organization' and 'long hours'.

The old structures are being reformed. As organizations seek to become more flexible in the face of rapid environmental change and more responsive to the needs of customers, they are experimenting with new, team-based structures (Jackson & Ruderman, 1996).

Teamwork

Aside from any required technical proficiency, a wide variety of social skills are desirable for successful teamwork, including:

Listening - it is important to listen to other people's opinions. When people are allowed to freely express their ideas, these initial ideas will produce other ideas.
Discussing It is important to discuss your ideas with your teammates until you agree.
Questioning - it is important to ask questions, interact, and discuss the objectives of the team.
Persuading - individuals are encouraged to exchange, defend, and then to ultimately rethink their ideas.
Respecting - it is important to treat others with respect and to support their ideas.
Helping - it is crucial to help one's coworkers, which is the general theme of teamwork.
Sharing - it is important to share with the team to create an environment of teamwork.
Participating - all members of the team are encouraged to participate in the team. (which usually consists of three or more people)
Communicating - For a team to work effectively it is essential for team members to acquire communication skills and to use effective communication channels between one another e.g. using email, viral communication, group meetings and so on. This will enable team members of the group to work together and achieve the team's purpose and goals.

The forming-storming-norming-performing model takes the team through four stages of team development and maps quite well on to many project management life cycle models, such as initiation - definition - planning - realisation.

As teams grow larger, the skills and methods that people require grow as more ideas are expressed freely. Managers must use these to create or maintain a spirit of teamwork change. The intimacy of a small group is lost, and the opportunity for misinformation and disruptive rumors grows. Managers find that communication methods that once worked well are impractical with so many people to lead. Specifically, leaders might encounter difficulties based on Daglow's Law of Team Dynamics: "Small teams are informed. Big teams infer."

Team Building

Team Building, or Team Development, is a coverall term given to methods of developing an effective team.

The methods of doing this vary widely, and include

simple social activities - to encourage team members to spend time together
group bonding sessions - company sponsored fun activities to get to know team members
personal development activities - personal change applied on a group level, sometimes physically challenging
team development activities - group-dynamic games designed to reveal how individuals approach a problem and how the team works together
psychological analysis of team roles, and training in how to work better together

Team building generally seats within the theory and practice of organizational development.

Critiques of teamworking

There is a range of debates concerned with the negative features of teamworking. The move to teamwork in industry and services has led to a greater amount of peer pressure, performance management, and stress. Management control is seen by critics to be reinvigorated by transferring the disciplinary dimension of management to employees and team members themselves. There are studies showing how team members pressure each other into working harder. The literature goes into questions of bullying and of surveillance. (See Phil Garrahan and Paul Stewart The Nissan Enigma Chapter 4 published by Mansell in London - 1992). This had led to a debate on the regulation of teamworking and the need to establish rules and procedures regarding its development and boundaries.