Saturday, October 6, 2007

what is a team???

Team is defined as a group of two or more individuals engaged in some joint action with a specific mission or goal. In most traditional perspective, teams usually have a leader and members who work closely together over time on a common set of interests. Team work is very important in organizations because productivity, creativity, and results will be greater in a team environment.

Teamwork has to be well managed. A balanced team composition is essential. Team members have to be carefully selected. The full range of knowledge and skills required must be present. Team members need to be committed to the task. Teamwork plays an important role because efficiency and productivity are the result of a well functioning team. In order to have productivity and efficiency, team needs following essentials:

Common vision: The vision creates the foundation to a team. In order to be successful, every team member must believe in the vision. The group must have a reason for working together that makes sense to the team members. They should have a sense of belongingness to the project

Defining goals and objectives: A clear goal provides a guiding light for the team and Clarity provides the understanding necessary to contribute fully within a team. If objectives are established in the beginning of the team's formation then success is likely to occur. If the goals are not compatible, groups or individuals in the company start pulling in different directions and the overall progress of the company is affected.

Assigning roles and responsibilities: Having a clear understanding of every one's role in the team prevents future disrespect. To set a clear direction for the team, the role of each team member needs to be defined clearly. This shows each person how they can contribute to achieving the goal. In this process, it is important to develop clear areas of responsibility, provide adequate resources and ensure that each person is accountable for their actions.

Communication: Communication seems to be the key to making interpersonal relationships work. A team is very much an interpersonal relationship with a lot of potential pitfalls. It is common for people on a team to try to bury problems due to a desire to not create a scene. This can be very destructive because the issues do not get resolved. Instead, they lie buried and slowly build into something that is blown out of proportion. It is important to safeguard the team from this by setting up a system of routine meetings where people have a chance to discuss potential problems.

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