Teamwork is becoming more and more important in the business world, as interdepartmental and interdisciplinary teams are brought together to solve complex problems within the organization. At the same time, the workplace is becoming increasingly diverse in terms of gender, age, culture, and many other factors. As such, in recent years businesses have been faced with the dual challenges of creating effective teamwork and managing diversity among employees (Lankard, 1994).
There is significant evidence to suggest that diversity has a largely positive effect on teamwork. Deborah Gruenfeld of Stanford's Graduate School of Business suggests that teams with at least two diverse points-of-view on a specific topic make more effective decisions than teams with a single point-of-view. Notes Gruenfeld (2000), "the pressure of the minority forces the majority to think more complexly and consider diverse evidence." Further, Ernest H. Drew, CEO of Hoechst Celanese notes that diverse teams (consisting of a mix of minorities, females, and white males) have broader solutions to business problems than a homogenous group of mostly white males (cited in Lankard, 1994).
At the same time, researchers note that cultural diversity can have a strong negative impact on the effectiveness of teamwork. Cultural differences can show up in differences...
Teamwork The important features influencing the magnitude and composition of a team are quantity, type, and intricacy of the assignment concerned. Involvement in work is increasingly regarded a privilege of individuals in the offices and a manner to render establishments increasingly effectual and prolific. (Williams, 1996) Though a team must all the time possess sufficient members to deal with the tasks and not leave the associates experiencing subdued, a bloated workforce
Teamwork Defined and Analyzed For decades organizations have promoted the concept of teamwork. More and more organizations are creating teams to improve productivity and efficiency. In many organizations across the nation teams are replacing individual employees to accomplish organizational goals and tasks. The idea that many heads are better than one is familiar among employees in corporations large and small. Many people assume that a group of people working together on
She would also have teams working together on projects and weekly meetings to share ideas. Creativity can only occur in an organization that promotes creativity. There has to be an environment that makes it easy for employees to offer ideas and listen to and be open to other people's ideas. This makes people want to come up with new thoughts and comment on how things are presently being done. As seen,
Leadership Self-Assessment Exam Attributes The leadership assessment test discussed within this document was for a college student, who is in the final stages of securing an undergraduate degree. The student also works in a part-time capacity in the health care industry. The leadership assessment was conducted with feedback from both a supervisor and colleagues of the student. The student was born in America but is presently located in Australia, and wants
Team and the Team Goal The team that will be discussed in this paper is a workplace team that was formed to analyze and design a system that will provide their company with automation of most of the manual processes that the company and its customers undergo in business transactions. The team was named Strategy Solutions Team. The Strategy Solutions Team was composed of one representative from each department of the
Physician Assistant Program Narrative Personal Statement: My Motivation towards Becoming a PA We all have dreams and aspirations. As a young child, my dream was to become a chef. When asked why I wanted to become a chef, my answer was always consistent; "I wanted to delight people by preparing them delicious dishes." As I grew up, I became more informed and my view of the world became clearer -- and it
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