Developing Teams in Business
Team:
A team is a group of people who work together toward a common goal. Teams have
defined membership (which can be either large or small) and a set of activities to take part in.
People on a team collaborate on sets of related tasks that are required to achieve an objective.
Each member is responsible for contributing to the team, but the group as a whole is
responsible for the team’s success.
Types of Teams
1) Functional
These teams are permanent and always include members of the same
department with different responsibilities. A manager is responsible for everything, and
everyone reports to him. These types of teams are more likely to be found in companies that
incorporate traditional project management.
2) Project
Project teams are created for a defined period of time to achieve a specific goal.
Members of a project team often belong to different functional groups and are chosen to
participate in the team based on specific skills they can contribute to the project. Software
development is most commonly done by project teams.
3) Virtual
Virtual teams have members located in different places, often geographically
dispersed, who come together to achieve a specific purpose. Academic researchers often work
on virtual teams with colleagues at other institutions.
4) Cross-Functional
Cross-functional teams combine people from different areas, such as marketing
and engineering, to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Healthcare services are frequently
delivered by interdisciplinary teams of nurses, doctors, and other medical specialists.
Benefits of Teamwork
The benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, the ability to focus different minds on
the same problem, and mutual support.
, The primary benefit of teamwork is that it allows an organization to achieve something
that an individual working alone cannot. This advantage arises from several factors,
each of which accounts for a different aspect of the overall benefit of teams.
Higher Quality Outcomes
Teamwork creates outcomes that make better use of resources and produce richer ideas.
Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish
more than an individual working alone.
Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often
complete tasks and activities in less time.
More thoughtful ideas: Each person who works on a problem or set of tasks may bring
different information and knowledge to bear, which can result in solutions and
approaches an individual would not have identified.
Greater effectiveness: When people coordinate their efforts, they can divide up roles
and tasks to more thoroughly address an issue. For example, in hospital settings
teamwork has been found to increase patient safety more than when only individual
efforts are made to avoid mishaps.
Better Context for Individuals
The social aspect of teamwork provides a superior work experience for team members, which
can motivate higher performance.
Mutual support: Because team members can rely on other people with shared goals,
they can receive assistance and encouragement as they work on tasks. Such support can
encourage people to achieve goals they may not have had the confidence to have
reached on their own.
Greater sense of accomplishment: When members of a team collaborate and take
collective responsibility for outcomes, they can feel a greater sense of accomplishment
when they achieve a goal they could not have achieved if they had worked by
themselves.
The total value created by teamwork depends on the overall effectiveness of the team effort.
While we might consider simply achieving a goal a benefit of teamwork, by taking advantage of
what teamwork has to offer, an organization can gain a broader set of benefits.
Team:
A team is a group of people who work together toward a common goal. Teams have
defined membership (which can be either large or small) and a set of activities to take part in.
People on a team collaborate on sets of related tasks that are required to achieve an objective.
Each member is responsible for contributing to the team, but the group as a whole is
responsible for the team’s success.
Types of Teams
1) Functional
These teams are permanent and always include members of the same
department with different responsibilities. A manager is responsible for everything, and
everyone reports to him. These types of teams are more likely to be found in companies that
incorporate traditional project management.
2) Project
Project teams are created for a defined period of time to achieve a specific goal.
Members of a project team often belong to different functional groups and are chosen to
participate in the team based on specific skills they can contribute to the project. Software
development is most commonly done by project teams.
3) Virtual
Virtual teams have members located in different places, often geographically
dispersed, who come together to achieve a specific purpose. Academic researchers often work
on virtual teams with colleagues at other institutions.
4) Cross-Functional
Cross-functional teams combine people from different areas, such as marketing
and engineering, to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Healthcare services are frequently
delivered by interdisciplinary teams of nurses, doctors, and other medical specialists.
Benefits of Teamwork
The benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, the ability to focus different minds on
the same problem, and mutual support.
, The primary benefit of teamwork is that it allows an organization to achieve something
that an individual working alone cannot. This advantage arises from several factors,
each of which accounts for a different aspect of the overall benefit of teams.
Higher Quality Outcomes
Teamwork creates outcomes that make better use of resources and produce richer ideas.
Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish
more than an individual working alone.
Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often
complete tasks and activities in less time.
More thoughtful ideas: Each person who works on a problem or set of tasks may bring
different information and knowledge to bear, which can result in solutions and
approaches an individual would not have identified.
Greater effectiveness: When people coordinate their efforts, they can divide up roles
and tasks to more thoroughly address an issue. For example, in hospital settings
teamwork has been found to increase patient safety more than when only individual
efforts are made to avoid mishaps.
Better Context for Individuals
The social aspect of teamwork provides a superior work experience for team members, which
can motivate higher performance.
Mutual support: Because team members can rely on other people with shared goals,
they can receive assistance and encouragement as they work on tasks. Such support can
encourage people to achieve goals they may not have had the confidence to have
reached on their own.
Greater sense of accomplishment: When members of a team collaborate and take
collective responsibility for outcomes, they can feel a greater sense of accomplishment
when they achieve a goal they could not have achieved if they had worked by
themselves.
The total value created by teamwork depends on the overall effectiveness of the team effort.
While we might consider simply achieving a goal a benefit of teamwork, by taking advantage of
what teamwork has to offer, an organization can gain a broader set of benefits.
