Increasing Team Effectiveness Through Diversity
Increasing Team Effectiveness Through Diversity
A team is more than people who share a workplace; “a real team is a group of very different individuals who share a commitment to working together to achieve common goals” (Fripp, 2007). More attention is being given to the influence of diversity in the workplace as the structural makeup of personnel continues to change (Hobman and Bordia, 2006). Knouse (2006) speculates that teams composed of diverse individuals should have more opinions to contribute, varying methods to solving problems, and broader viewpoints to analyze decisions. However, that does not always work to the team’s advantage. The differences could be so vast as to drive the team in to chaos and render it unable to attain its purpose (REFERENCE?). The determination on this theory reasons that the importance of a team’s effectiveness lies not in the composition of the individual members but in how the team chooses to utilize its resources and focus its attention.
What makes a team? Individuals who are not equal in talent, experience or education, but equal in commitment (Fripp, 2007).
A diverse team could be more likely to handle conflict properly, as they would expect disagreements to arise when grouped with a variety of individuals. However, when team members recognize others as being similar to them, they would be less likely to expect disagreements to arise and not know how to handle friction. “The assumption is that people who look like us think like us, but that’s usually just not the case” (Stanford, 2007). The fact that someone is the same race or ethnicity as you, for example, does not mean in actuality that the person has the same beliefs or opinions as you. This could be consequential to notions and assumptions someone might make about a person’s personality based solely on their appearance.
Even if they have the same views as you, it is not beneficial to the team to have comparable minds working towards the same task. The
A team is more than people who share a workplace; “a real team is a group of very different individuals who share a commitment to working together to achieve common goals” (Fripp, 2007). More attention is being given to the influence of diversity in the workplace as the structural makeup of personnel continues to change (Hobman and Bordia, 2006). Knouse (2006) speculates that teams composed of diverse individuals should have more opinions to contribute, varying methods to solving problems, and broader viewpoints to analyze decisions. However, that does not always work to the team’s advantage. The differences could be so vast as to drive the team in to chaos and render it unable to attain its purpose (REFERENCE?). The determination on this theory reasons that the importance of a team’s effectiveness lies not in the composition of the individual members but in how the team chooses to utilize its resources and focus its attention.
What makes a team? Individuals who are not equal in talent, experience or education, but equal in commitment (Fripp, 2007).
A diverse team could be more likely to handle conflict properly, as they would expect disagreements to arise when grouped with a variety of individuals. However, when team members recognize others as being similar to them, they would be less likely to expect disagreements to arise and not know how to handle friction. “The assumption is that people who look like us think like us, but that’s usually just not the case” (Stanford, 2007). The fact that someone is the same race or ethnicity as you, for example, does not mean in actuality that the person has the same beliefs or opinions as you. This could be consequential to notions and assumptions someone might make about a person’s personality based solely on their appearance.
Even if they have the same views as you, it is not beneficial to the team to have comparable minds working towards the same task. The
References: Egan, T. M. (2005). Creativity in the context of team diversity: Team leader perspectives. Advances In Developing Human Resources, 7(2), 207-225. Retrieved April 15, 2007, from Management & Organization Studies: A SAGE Full-Text Collection database. Fripp, P. (2007, March 17). A Team Is More than a Group of People. Retrieved April 28, 2007, from Fripp, A Speakder for All Reasons Web site: http://fripp.com/art.team.html Knouse, S. B. (2006). Task Cohesion: A Mechanism for Bringing Together Diverse Teams. International Journal of Management,2 23(3), 588-596. Retrieved April 15, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1146757801). Stanford Business School Research: Diverse Backgrounds and Personalities Can Strengthen Groups. (15 August). Business Wire,1. Retrieved April 15, 2007, from Business Dateline database. (Document ID: 1095152081). Ward, A. J., Lankau, M. J., Amason, A. C., Sonnenfeld, J. A., Agle, B. R.. (2007). Improving the Performance of Top Management Teams. MIT Sloan Management Review, 48(3), 85. Retrieved April 15, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 1250414231). Five Components Needed for High-Performing Teams. (2007, April). Design Firm Management & Administration Report, 7(4), 3-6. Retrieved April 15, 2007, from ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry database. (Document ID: 1237822681). Kirkman, B. L., Tesluk, P. E., & Rosen, B. (2004). The impact of demographic heterogeneity and team leader-team member demographic fit on team empowerment and effectiveness. Group & Organization Management, 29(3), 334-368. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from Management & Organization Studies: A SAGE Full-Text Collection database. Hobman, E. V., & Bordia, P. (2006). The role of team identification in the dissimilarity-conflict relationship. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 9(4), 483-507. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from Psychology: A SAGE Full-Text Collection database. Williams, H. M., & Meân, L. J. (2004). Measuring gender composition in work groups: A comparison of existing methods. Organizational Research Methods, 7(4), 456-474. Retrieved April 22, 2007, from Management & Organization Studies: A SAGE Full-Text Collection database.