Ask Business Management Expert

1. Summarize the author's ideas on goals and objectives, empowerment, and trust.
2. Paraphrase one of the main concepts presented in the article.
3. Provide an ex of a direct quote from the article.

Team Basics

During the last decade of the Twentieth Century, nearly every company in North America caught the team bug. If the hype was to be believed, workplace teams would solve virtually every corporate problem, ratchet up quality, increase productivity and profits, improve organizational culture, and cure the common cold. Teams were good. Teams were in. Hierarchy was bad. Hierarchy was out.

Try this thought experiment: The boss comes back from a conference (always a dangerous thing) carrying a big binder they handed out at the conference and announces that the organization is going to "institute teams." Clearly he or she expects everyone else to share the zeal and, so, forms an executive team to plan the "teaming effort." Soon, teams are being formed across the company. There's a big kickoff meeting or videoconference broadcast. An eye-catching logo and clever motto are flashed on the screen and emblazoned on T-shirts, baseball caps, and buttons that are distributed to everybody in the company.

The training department gets into the spirit and training classes, Web sites, manuals, and posters are popping up all over the place. There are teams meeting everywhere, employees carrying notebooks, gathering data and making presentations to management with their proposals.

It's now 18 months later. The posters are gone; the buttons are junk in the back of that pencil drawer in your cubicle and the word "team"?if spoken at all?is whispered or elicits a sneer.

Ring a bell? It would in lots of cubicles and offices across America. So what happened? Was the idea to try teams a bad one? The answer, I believe, is a clear and resounding NO! The problem was not with teams. This is a description of what can happen in any organizational change effort and isn't about teams.

The truth is that the boss probably didn't understand the complexity of the task, failed to count the costs and pay the price. Building effective teams is complex, takes a lot of thought and work, and requires long-term commitment. Just as there are different kinds of tasks, there are different kinds of teams; it's not a "one size fits all" kind of thing. A team isn't the right structure for every task and sometimes may even be counterproductive.

But done right, with people who know how to do it, management who knows how to support it, and leaders who understand the process, teams can be a superior organizational structure and tool. People in teams can (not necessarily do) accomplish much, much more than those same individuals working separately. Companies that have realized the complexity, counted the costs, and paid the price have reaped the benefits.

Smart leaders and managers know this. That's why virtually every study of the skills organizations expect their employees to develop places interpersonal competence in a team setting near the top of the list. Understanding the basics is the first step. This section starts at the beginning. Here you'll find information about the why, when, how, how big, and who of teams

Business Management, Management Studies

  • Category:- Business Management
  • Reference No.:- M926692

Have any Question?


Related Questions in Business Management

Name a company that addressed a recent ethical problem in a

Name a company that addressed a recent ethical problem in a positive way. Also, explain how or if this positively affects us as a community?

When it is appropriate to use the trade-off process what

When it is appropriate to use the trade-off process. What conditions apply, and the technical evaluation criteria that might be used?

Need help with a essay with the following phrase for

Need help with a essay with the following phrase for analyzing : " Capitalism is at the heart of how people and organisations are managed in contemporary society" May i ask for a better explanation of the question? Also ...

How could these three tenets of the auburn creed be used to

How could these three tenets of the Auburn Creed be used to motivate others: "I believe that this is a practical word and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work." "I believe in educ ...

How can these two tenets of the auburn creed by used in

How can these two tenets of the Auburn Creed by used in addressing teamwork issues: "I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men." "I believe in the human ...

Discuss the advantages of having and interacting in a

Discuss the advantages of having and interacting in a diverse workplace. Consider the wide range of ideas and perspectives that a range of team members bring to a team, that are of differing ages, ethnic backgrounds and ...

Parmigiano-reggiano global recognition of geographical

Parmigiano-Reggiano: Global Recognition of Geographical Indications What historical factors have helped support the consortium's claims for the geographic specificity of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan? What are the eco ...

Communication planthis communication plan will be a roadmap

Communication Plan This communication plan will be a roadmap on how the new division will best be able to communicate with Biotech's corporate headquarters, suppliers, other divisions, and internally. This should lay out ...

Discuss strategies to obtain feedback from a customer and

Discuss strategies to obtain feedback from a customer and clients when working in sales.

Describe different networking methods and the advantages

Describe different networking methods and the advantages and disadvantages of them?

  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked
  • 13,132 Experts
  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered

Ask Experts for help!!

Looking for Assignment Help?

Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment

Write us your full requirement for evaluation and you will receive response within 20 minutes turnaround time.

Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps even

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps, even when the institution is exposed to significant interest rate

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and coupon bonds. Under what conditions will a coupon bond sell at a p

Compute the present value of an annuity of 880 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 880 per year for 16 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As

Compute the present value of an 1150 payment made in ten

Compute the present value of an $1,150 payment made in ten years when the discount rate is 12 percent. (Do not round int

Compute the present value of an annuity of 699 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 699 per year for 19 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As