Teams - More Than A Sum Of Their Parts

Teams: More than Merely Individual Components

The definition of a team given in Webster's Dictionary is simply a group of persons organized to work together. The use of teams and teamwork can be found throughout society both in recreational and professional form. In the workplace, the use of teams provides more than just the collective effort of their individual components. This advantage of teamwork in the workplace can clearly be seen through greater performance, positive use of diversity, instilment of norms, the establishment of roles for team members, and employee job satisfaction. Even when work can be done individually, there is more to be gained from the team atmosphere.

The final product of a team effort can be much more impressive than that of individuals working towards the same goal. Thus, a greater level of performance can be reached from teamwork. Working as a team creates the possibility for individuals to generate and achieve goals unattainable through individuals efforts alone. This means that teams can attempt complex and difficult projects beyond their personal capabilities, making them highly valuable to a company. When individuals work together in a team environment where they are accountable for their actions, creativity and ingenuity are inspired that may otherwise absent. This is evident in the case of Skunkworks teams which assemble to work on complex problems or create new products. These teams often experience an unprecedented level of creativity and freedom under their working conditions, separate and undisturbed from the rest of the company. The unique effectiveness of Skunkworks is described by Robbins and Langton (2003), "This gives the team the ability to work on new ideas in isolation, without being watched over by the organization members, during creative stages. Skunkworks are thus able to ignore the structure and bureaucratic rules of the organization while they work" (p.181). Teams working under these conditions are able to focus, create and produce results in a shorter period of time, therefore demonstrating a level of performance that cannot be achieved through individual efforts alone.

While working together on team projects, individual employees can build stronger relationships with each other, which results in an overall greater unity in the organization. Teams can overcome the difficult obstacle of diversity around the workplace and offer a platform for diversity to flourish and prosper. As Bagshaw (2004) states specifically, "Team diversity is founded on the premise that harnessing difference will create a productive environment in which everyone feels valued, where their talents are used and organizational goals are met. It will also bring in extra talent, new perspectives, learning, and limitless opportunities for innovation" (p.153). When individuals feel valued and all diverse members of the team can contribute to ensure goals are met, a greater sense of accomplishment is present. This sense of equal value and importance can only be recognized and felt in such magnitude when one is part of a team; furthermore, this feeling of contribution from all team members shows a beneficial and thriving environment for diversity throughout the organization, accomplished through the proper use of a team.

Creating teams in the workplace can also help found a set of norms. Defined by Robbins and Langton (2003), norms are acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by its members. When working in teams, relationships are built among team members and a set of norms is formally or informally established. Norms can cover target levels of performance, personal appearance of the employees, social interaction between team members and the allocation of the team's resources (Robbins and Langton, 2003). Kenneth Crow (2001) talks about norms as team ground rules and explains what they encompass, "Team ground rules define a behavioral model which addresses how individuals treat each other, communicate, participate, cooperate, support each other, and coordinate joint activity. They may be used to define and standardize team procedure, use of time, work assignments, meeting logistics, preparation, minutes, discussion, creativity, reporting, and respect." Establishing these basic rules and guidelines can have beneficial results on an entire organization and an excellent way to initiate this convention is in a team. This is yet another example of a valuable contribution a team can bring to the workplace in contrast to collective individual effort.

Another advantageous aspect of the use of teams is the establishment of roles for each individual team member. A role is a set of behaviour patterns related to an individual occupying a given position in a social unit (Robbins and Langton, 2003). There are two main roles for team members to play, task roles and maintenance roles. Task roles are roles that help to get the main job done. Maintenance roles look after the relationships in the group, consider the needs of individuals, and open up the channels of communication (www.srds.co.uk). When an individual is aware of how he or she is supposed to act in a given situation, thus aware of their role, a clear path can be pursued in that individual's contribution to the overall goal of the group. When roles are clarified, accountability can