Teamwork Effectiveness

Introduction Despite the idea that teams are not always effective than individual working alone, several modern and prudent organizations realize that the best way to achieving business goals, effectively and efficiently, is to organize work in definable units by pulling together various talents and skills. This paper will discuss the question whether individuals become more efficient when working in teams. Also, a number of theories of team development will be examined and applied to analyse a practical case study to provide a better understanding in how teams can be established effectively. Literature review Team effectiveness It has been noticed that although positive impacts of teams are addressed in many laboratory studies, most of them suggest either null or negative ones (e.g., Mitchell 1982; Mudrack 1989; Steiner 1972; Widmeyer, Brawley and Carron 1992; Worchel, Cooper and Goethals 1991; Summers, Coffelt and Horton 1988; Tziner 1982). They have argued that teams cost more resources and often more time than individual because teams generate more demands for communication, more meetings to be held and more conflicts to be resolved. There is also the danger of compromise and decisions being made in line with the “highest common view” (Widmeyer, Brawley, and Carron 1992) and the phenomenon of the so-called risky-shift (Kogan and Wallach 1967). Moreover, the efficiency of teams problem solving depends somewhat on the types of tasks assigned (Thorndike 1938). This means there are some tasks which are handled more effectively by individuals rather than teams. Further, the strong and consistent evidences relating to the efficiency of teamwork are not revealed in the deep examination of empirical field research (e.g., Beekun 1989; Hackman and Morris 1975; Macy and Izumi 1993). Allen and Hecht, indeed, concede that “overall, the evidence regarding the effectiveness of teams must be described as modest, at best” and the obvious mismatch between “this