A team is a relatively permanent work group whose members must coordinate their
activities to achieve one or more common objectives. The objectives might
include advising others in the organization, producing goods or services, and
carrying out a project. Because achievement of the team's objectives requires
coordination, team members depend on one another and must interact regularly. A
work team generates positive synergy through coordinated effort.
A team is a small group of
people with complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a
common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable
(Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). Team building is a collaborative way to gather
and analyze data to improve teamwork (Schermerhorn ,2002). Team has following
advantages (Robbins, 2003):
Ø Teams typically outperform
individuals.
Ø Teams use employee talents
better.
Ø Teams are more flexible and
responsive to changes in the environment.
Ø Teams facilitate employee
involvement.
Ø Teams are an effective way to
democratize an organization and increase motivation.
Types of Teams
Based on their objectives,
teams may be classified as problem-solving teams, self-managed teams and
cross-functional teams.
1. Problem-solving Teams: Problem-solving teams consist of
groups of 5-10 employees from the same department, who meet for a few hours
each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work
environment. These members share ideas or offer suggestions on how work processes
and methods can be improved. Problem-solving teams meet regularly to discuss
their quality problems, investigate causes of problems, recommend solutions and
take corrective actions.
2. Self-managed Work Teams: A self-managed team includes
collective control over the pace of work, determination of work assignments,
organization of breaks, and collective choice of inspection procedures. Fully
self-managed work teams even select their own members and have the members
evaluate each other's performance. As a result, supervisory positions take
decreased importance and may even be eliminated. These teams do their own
scheduling, rotate jobs on their own, establish production targets, set pay
scales that are linked to skills, fire co-workers and do the hiring.
3. Cross-functional Teams: Cross-functional teams are made up
of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work
areas, who come together to accomplish a task. Cross-functional teams are an
effective way to allow people from diverse areas within an organization (or
even between organizations) to exchange information, develop new ideas, solve
problems and coordinate complex projects. These teams are not easy to manage.
Their early stages of development are often time consuming as members learn to
work with diversity and complexity. It takes time to build trust and teamwork,
especially among people from different backgrounds, with different experiences
and perspectives. There are two types of cross- functional teams. They are:
a. Task force – is nothing more
than a temporary cross-functional team.
b. Committees – composed of
groups made up of members from across departmental lines.
Self-Managed Teams
Self-managed teams are ones
that make decisions that were once reserved for managers. Self-managed teams
are one way to implement empowerment in organizations. Self-directed work teams
are teams that have ongoing responsibility for an entire work process or
segment and are charged with improving operations, solving routine problems,
and planning and controlling their work.
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