Activity: Team Essay
Identify a team in which you have had many opportunities to participate, observe, and interact. This team does not necessarily need to be from industry; however, please review the concepts below that you will be required to discuss prior to selecting the team you wish to cover. The list of concepts may help you select or eliminate certain teams. The team you choose should have been in existence over a reasonable period in order for you to discuss team development and to have specific examples to support your conclusions.
If you have never personally participated in a team suited for this activity, you may select a team in which you were not a member and interview two (2) or more team members. In your interviews, you should focus on each of the concepts below that will then be developed into an essay. You should not simply ask, "What type of team is this?"because many people are not familiar with the terms you have learned in this course. Rather, you should ask more general questions such as, "Are each of the team members in the same department, or are they in different departments? Are all members in one location? Do team members meet in person, or is their communication only via e-mail, voicemail, or teleconferencing?"
After identifying a team, describe that team with the concepts presented in the text. The objective of your essay is to demonstrate that you understand the concepts and that you can apply them to a real-world situation; therefore, you should discuss/explain each of the following five (5) concepts and then relate your team to each concept using examples. Provide two (2) or three (3) examples for each concept.
1. Type of Team: functional team, cross-functional team, self-managed team, virtual team, or global team
2. Team members' characteristics, including expertise and functional experience
3. Team culture and how it affects their ability to implement employee participation
4. Team challenges: developing groupthink, presence of free-riders, negativity, and lack of trust
5. Team leadership and how it affects employee participation