Team Communication

Running head: TEAM COMMUNICATION

Team Communication

Rondrae Hunter

University of Phoenix

Team Communication

Welcome to a unique world where things are different from what you may be used to. A world where people are unaware of each others thoughts and emotions. A world of misinformation, misinterpretations and misunderstandings. Can you imagine watching a basketball game and every time a player passes the ball there is know one there to receive that pass. Or if the President of the United States was asked a question about a certain subject to which he responded. Only to have the Vice President give a completely different answer to the same question five minutes later. The United States government's integrity could be questioned because of such inconsistent responses. The aforementioned are all direct examples of problematic situations that could arise if there was no such thing as team communication.

One of the most important pieces of establishing a group is developing how it will interact with each other. Hirschhorn (1991) "stated that trust and openness are prerequisites of effective communication, and the major response to the lack of these is that people stop communicating." Communication is a main part of human society. Without it there would be no structural way for anything to get done. Blum, Raemer, Carroll, Dufresne, and Cooper (2005) believe that "There is considerable evidence that team communication or information-sharing is one of the most important team behaviors for developing common situation assessment, overcoming groupthink, stimulating creative problem solving, learning from experiential feedback, encouraging full participation, and achieving enhanced performance."

There are teams in everyday life that exemplify this type of interaction and communication. Groups such as the fire department, police department, professional sports teams, even the PTA (parent teacher's association.) depend on communication to complete there jobs successfully. In some cases in a group situation there can be a conflict amongst the members. People develop individual methods in the way that they do things. What works for one may not work for another. Personality can affect the chemistry of a team and how it functions. O'Berry (2007) believes "team members are reluctant to bring up problems for fear of being labeled doom-sayers." There are clicks or small groups that only interact with each other within a group. This can also become disconcerting to those individuals who are not involved. In addition a negative reaction to criticism or a know it all attitude can build bridges amongst fellow team members. Communication is very important because it sets the stage for a comfortable environment amongst team members. It can play a big role in resolving such situations. Businesses hire companies that specialize in creating training programs to teach its workers team building skills. This type of training can improve problem solving and increase productivity in the workplace.

Without proper communication team performance is a difficult task. Stasser (18) believes "team members who have some common and unique information tend to spend time discussing common information, fail to share enough unique information, and therefore make poor decisions." In too many situations people fail to work together because of contrasting styles. There is always going to be a situation that calls for a different perspective or outlook. It is a simple idea that can start with two people. Allowing both individuals to interact and learn each others likes, dislikes strengths, and weaknesses can create a better working relationship for both of them. In a case where coworkers are working on a project and one of the team