Team Dynamics, what is needed for an successful team environment.

Essay by akijione January 2004

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Team Dynamics

Many organizations in today's society focus on teamwork. This is largely due to the complexity of organizational environments and the need for change as jobs become larger than one person can handle. A team is a small group of individuals embedded in an organization who have the same common goal and work toward this goal in a joint effort. This may be a small organization where everyone is a team to a larger organization where there are many teams. Teamwork is achieved through the successful building of the team, the team process and the team dynamics.

Various authors have presented models to explain the factors contributing to team effectiveness. While there are some variations, most of the time they agree that teams are systems with factors that are present in the beginning referred to as inputs; factors that impact the team members interaction known as process. The inputs, either directly or through processes will result in outcomes (West et al 1998, Guzzo and Shea 1992).

In order to build a successful team, there are four essential ingredients: dedication, responsibility, motivation, and commitment that are characteristics of teams. Team members have an obligation to the assigned task that they may have assisted in developing. In Pamela's experience, team members are more dedicated when given the opportunity to contribute to the details of the main goal or task. The second ingredient the members on the team must reciprocate is mutual respect. It is important that each member have the commitment to be responsible for his/her contributions. The third ingredient is that members of the team must be confident in one another. When people feel confident that a team member is motivated to complete the part that has been given to them, there is a sense of harmony. The fourth ingredient...