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Importance of teamwork essay free
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Working together in groups
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The Essence of Teamwork
“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. For if one of them should fall, the other one can raise his partner up. But how will it be with just the one who falls when there is not another to raise him up?” – Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10
As the scriptural text quoted above implies, teamwork can accomplish what the individual cannot do on his or her own. Teamwork is defined as “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable.” (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993) In today’s society, with so much emphasis on pride and personal achievement, the concept of teamwork seems to be old-fashioned or basic. Clashes of personality, different perspectives and cultures prescribe one to develop a natural inclination toward individual work and an unhealthy reluctance towards team work. Nevertheless, teamwork, if managed properly, can be a source in which complexity is simplified, a problem meets a solution and great things are accomplished. So with the focus on teamwork, what are the present challenges to teamwork? What are some good approaches towards building a successful team? Finally, what are the personal and collective benefits of teamwork?
The Challenges to Teamwork
When asked the question, “What are some challenges to teamwork?” most people would respond with common answers such as: conflicts of personalities, stress, job dissatisfaction, unethical behavior, miscommunication or lack of communication. However, with advancements in technology and a never before experienced contact between the western and eastern hemispheres of the world, there are new challenges that are being encountered now and will continue to be dealt with in the future. The challenges that must be met by today’s project teams are: Virtual Project Teaming, Cross-functional teams, Globalization, Diversity and Time to Market Pressure. Most of the common contributing factors to teamwork failure such as personality conflict, miscommunication or stress are the consequences experienced if the previously mentioned challenges are not met.
The greater proportion of the work of virtual project teams is carried out online. These sorts of teams exploit reliable and consistent communications in order to work together and overcome some of t...
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...dividual ideas. An individual’s communication, critical thinking, evaluation, conflict resolution and academic skills are improved through positive teamwork activities. As a result of good teamwork, social connections are formed between team members that may extend beyond the workplace or classroom and thus improve team morale and camaraderie. An individual’s communication, critical thinking, evaluation, conflict resolution and academic skills are improved.
Bibliography:
Cohen, E, (1986). Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press.
Katzenbach, J.R and Smith, D.K. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High performance Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School.
Kliem, R and Anderson, H (2003). The Organizational Engineering Approach to Project Management: The Revolution in Building and Managing Effective Teams. Boca Raton: St. Lucie Press.
Lipnack, J and Stamps, J (1997). Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations with Technology. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (1984 Revision). New York: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
... or face to face in the case of virtual and non-virtual teams, respectively, as well as quick response to conflicting issues (Shuffler et.al., 2010).
Larson, C. and LaFasto, F. (1989), Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong. Newberry Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
A work team will be defined for the purposes of this paper by a definition borrowed from Bateman and Snell (2004). A team is formed of people (usually a small number) with complementary skills who trust one another and are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and a common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Teams generally see themselves and are seen by others as a social entity, which is interdependent because of the tasks performed as members of a group.
A virtual team is a group of people working interdependently via various types of electronic media across organizational and geographical boundaries for a shared purpose (D’Souza & Colarelli, 2010). Research indicates virtual teams are becoming increasingly popular in organizations across the United States and the world (D’Souza & Colarelli, 2010; Rusman, van Bruggen, Sloep, & Koper, 2010). These teams vary in size, degree of geographic dispersion, prior shared work experience, nature of assignment, and expectations of a common future (Rusman et al., 2010). Although virtual teams have potential advantages like the removal of physical boundaries, the ability to form new partnerships, and optimization of competencies (Chinowsky & Rojas, 2003), they also introduce many challenges that may not be as prevalent in traditional teams.
The successful passing of information creates an important bond between virtual team members. “Without creating the connections, a virtual team can’t do what it needs to; function as a cohesive unit” (Thompson, n.d., Introduction section, ¶2). Information should be specific to the task at hand with a common goal in mind. Complete and accurate information not only helps a team reach its goal, but it also avoids problems and conflicts that arise between members. The importance of clear, concise information in a virtual team can not be stressed enough; however, timing should also be considered when sharing information. Information not received in a timely fashion also jeopardizes the cohesiveness of the team.
“Human beings have always functioned in face-to-face groups. While the use of teams is on the rise the Wall Street Journal reports that two-thirds of American companies employ them – the face to face aspect of normal working relationships is changing. Electronic communication and digital technologies give people a historically unprecedented ability to work together at a distance.” (Lipnack, J., & Stamps, J., 1997).
It is well known that the team work is far better than performing a task individually. Such kind of practice plays a very important role in software engineering. A lot of things can be achieved together with the combination of diversified people, as they input different tactics and skills so that the main objective of a certain mission can be accomplished appropriately. Even though teaming up and working for a project is essential and helpful; there exist some issues that could bring interruptions and conflicts in the team.
Organizations use teamwork because it increases productivity. This concept was used in corporations as early as the 1920s, but it has become increasingly important in recent years as employ...
In David Wright’s “The Myths and Realities of Teamwork,” (Wright, D., 2013), he outlines six myths that are ubiquitous and perpetuated by many people. Here is a short examination of all six.
Virtual teams – virtual team is one of the most popular teams in every organization because in virtual team the member are separated in different nation and use technologies to communicate to accomplish their goal on the time.
Teams have been around for many years. It is vital for members who are a part of any team to work together so that their labor is not in vain. A major advantage for working cohesively as teams is greater output and interpersonal skills. The drawback of not working in uniformity can lead to project delays and time constraints. Organizations create teams with the purpose of fulfilling certain obligations and acquiring business success. Roming (1996) states that togetherness and dependability means that members within the team assist each other and the team. Which in turn, yields a better-quality product.
Working in teams provides an opportunity for individuals to come together and establish a rapport towards others within a group. Teamwork is classified as people with different strengths and skills who work together to achieve a common goal. When a team works well, specific objectives are fulfilled and satisfied. Teamwork plays a crucial role in implementing and fulfilling a common goal in a team project. Each member plays a role and takes on different responsibilities combined together. In different stages of teamwork, conflicts and arguments may occur for as members have different standpoints which need to be harmonized within the team. The key to having an effective teamwork is to explore each member's unique abilities to motivate them.
In today’s workplace teamwork is an essential part of success. We have more and more business that are incorporating teamwork in some type of way. They are effectively implementing ways on how to create effective teams, teamwork and team building. They are also creating a work culture that values collaboration. Teamwork, is about people working together and working towards reaching their common goal.
Teamwork is defined as, “the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a goal.” (Business Dictionary, n.d.) Ultimately, it provides us with a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of unity amongst each other. It allows us to create healthy relationships, and bond further with our peers, and generally, it’s a necessity for our lives. Teamwork aids us with developing imperative life lessons and skills. It also helps us gain a new perspective, and discover our strengths and weaknesses. Personally, I believe that I work well in a team, and I possess the skills of a good leader. Regardless, some individuals
Many businesses place an emphasis on the importance of teamwork. A good team consists of people with different skills, abilities and characters. A successful team is able to blend these differences together to enable the organisation to achieve its desired objectives.