Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration in the Workplace
Advantages and Disadvantages of Collaboration in the Workplace
Finding new and creative solutions to problems is a challenge in today's business world. In order to stay competitive companies and organizations must produce better products in a shorter amount of time. The development of collaborative teams is becoming a common practice in organizations with growing popularity across the nation and around the world. Collaborative teams can be defined as a group of individuals who have open communication, share common thoughts, ideas, or beliefs, and are working towards a common goal.
There are many advantages for organizations to allow and incorporate collaboration between employees and potentially other organizations. One good example occurs when a project is too large for one person, or just one division, to tackle individually but is perfect to split up into parts and distribute among groups. Some projects span more knowledge areas than just one corporation, department, or individual may be able to accommodate, which forces collaboration and the formation of collaborative teams.
Another advantage of collaboration is decrease of production time brought about by the spreading out the resources. Many projects have deadlines that are dependent upon other initiatives that cannot be changed. It is imperative that more resources are pulled into the project in order to complete it on time. Competition created in the team environment may also boost productivity thereby allowing projects to be completed sooner.
Simply by its nature, collaboration brings together different and varying ideas. The benefit of having multiple people in a group, where the talent pool is larger, creates a valuable resource in groups that is not available in individual work product. People have different personal experiences and academic backgrounds that create a diverse environment for ideas. It is imperative for the success of problem-solving that ideas and solutions are out of the box
Finding new and creative solutions to problems is a challenge in today's business world. In order to stay competitive companies and organizations must produce better products in a shorter amount of time. The development of collaborative teams is becoming a common practice in organizations with growing popularity across the nation and around the world. Collaborative teams can be defined as a group of individuals who have open communication, share common thoughts, ideas, or beliefs, and are working towards a common goal.
There are many advantages for organizations to allow and incorporate collaboration between employees and potentially other organizations. One good example occurs when a project is too large for one person, or just one division, to tackle individually but is perfect to split up into parts and distribute among groups. Some projects span more knowledge areas than just one corporation, department, or individual may be able to accommodate, which forces collaboration and the formation of collaborative teams.
Another advantage of collaboration is decrease of production time brought about by the spreading out the resources. Many projects have deadlines that are dependent upon other initiatives that cannot be changed. It is imperative that more resources are pulled into the project in order to complete it on time. Competition created in the team environment may also boost productivity thereby allowing projects to be completed sooner.
Simply by its nature, collaboration brings together different and varying ideas. The benefit of having multiple people in a group, where the talent pool is larger, creates a valuable resource in groups that is not available in individual work product. People have different personal experiences and academic backgrounds that create a diverse environment for ideas. It is imperative for the success of problem-solving that ideas and solutions are out of the box
References: Berkley, T. (2004). Oracle Takes on Enterprise Collaboration Impress. : Network World, 65, 66. Brown, S. (2006). Right Stuff. : Fortune, 153(11), 96. Derosa, D., Hantula, D., Kock, N., & D 'Arcy, J. (2004). Trust and Leadership in Virtual Teamwork: A Media Naturalness Perspective. : Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 43, 219-232. Fontaine, M. A., Parise, Salvatore, & Miller, D. (2004). Collaborative environments: an effective tool for transforming business. : Ivey Business Journal Online, p1(10). Johnson, B. (2003). Teacher collaboration: good for some, not so good for others. : Educational Studies (Carfax Publishing); Dec2003, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p337-350, 14p . Tovey, J. (2003). Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams. : Technical Communication, 50, p420. Yassi, A., Tomlin, K., Sidebottom, C., Rideout, K., & De Boer, H. (2004). Politics and Partnerships: Challenges and Rewards of Partnerships in Workplace Health Research in the Healthcare Sector of British Columbia, Canada. British Columbia, Canada: International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health. Philadelphia: Oct-Dec 2004. Vol. 10, Iss. 4; pg 457, 9 pgs.