Why teams dont work

I. Introduction:

I undertook this study to prove the legendary story about the Camelot?An historic example of team, effort gone awry. In the legendary story, a few events transformed Camelot from a utopia kingdom into wasteland. This isn't just idle meandering. There are corporate Camelot's, too, (such as my company MobileComm); those companies that started with such promise and fell victim to problems in their teamwork concepts. It is clear to see that team-based systems simply don't work; better controls equals better management. An emphasis on separating workers into specifically defined jobs, having centralized management control, and maintaining a structured chain of command contributes to a much better and more effective workplace situation. It makes more sense, therefore, to stick to traditional structures in the workplace.

II. Review Of Literature

1. Blair, Gerard. Groups That Work, www.ee.ed.ac.uk/~gerad/Management/art0 (1998). The effectiveness of the team takes a nosedive, and the productiveness of the team is far less than the individual could have achieved had they not brought together.

2. Blair, Gerard. ?How to Build Quality into your Team? IEE Engineering Management Journal, (1996). There are certain frameworks within which teams attempt to work. It's the inability to function within these ?frames? that in another disadvantage to teamwork. The ?forming stage? is when first comes together. Everyone is considered and civil, and allows for everyone to participate. Discussion is slow and guarded since no one wishes to be seen as conflict. Even though it is not verbalized, it's always destructive.

3. Davidmann, Manfred. Style of Management and Leadership, (1982). Business experts have to work together to achieve their goals, and discord in one area can inconvenience many people. It is essential. Therefore, that people cooperate with each other?but organization is the more difficult it is to achieve the necessary degree of cooperation. Larger organizations are usually much less effective using a ream approach, as people tend to work against each other rather than with each other,

4. Rayner Kimball Fisher- Steven Belgard Williams. Tips for Teams (1995). Team members and team leaders typically have problems defining their own roles, making it difficult to work toward results than busying themselves with the activities of the team.

5. Rayner Kimball Fisher- Steven Belgard Willaims. Tips for Teams (1995). Sometimes the Manager of the team will discount not what his own team is trying to accomplish, but the efforts of others. A manager may insist that the success of other teams was nothing more than a ?fluke? or they suggest any success was due to highly unique circumstances.

6. Carl L. Harshman- Steven Phillips. Teaming Up (1994). One of the major reasons why management teams don't work comes down to human nature. People in organizations fear loss of power, and ?leadership barriers?, where a resistance to leadership leads the all the employees to believe that the team approach is unnecessary.

7. Dennis Kinlaw. Team Managed Facilitation (1993). Productive teamwork is almost always the result of successful team meeting. Unfortunately, team leaders as well as members don't receive adequate instructions on how to carry this out, or demonstrate the strategies for organizational development that are necessary. Team meetings, rather than being a productive and efficient means to solve an organization's problems, can deteriorate due to lack of proper facilitation.

8. Deborah Mackin-Harrington. Keeping the Team Going (1996). If the team has functioned as a group for any appreciable length of time, they often feel they know each other's quirks and have no desire to alter the dynamics of the group, even when it is apparent what they have isn't working.

9. Nelson Roger Mosvick- Robert B. We?ve Got To Start Meeting Like This (1987). Organization have been 'structured historically to reinforce authoritarian management styles?.

10. Steven Rayner. Team traps (1996). An emphasis on separating workers into specifically defined jobs, having centralized management control, and maintaining a structured chain of command contributes to a much better and more effective workplace situation.

11. Fran Rees. How to Lead Work Teams (1991). Many leaders don't know how to manage the participating of employees in these processes, even when a team is set, and frequently discourage time participation by their actions.

12. L.R. Sayles. Leadership for the Nineties (p.8-11). More than ever they need to able to count on the workers in a team, moving away form 'the typical hierarchical conception of us? and 'them??, and towards a more unified effort.

III. Statement Of The Problem

To describe the major problems presented in the teamwork approach is that people are not accustomed to ?group problem-solving? It is a practice that not only hasn't been learned, but also is difficult one to institute. This is an important research because it seams that teams are being formed for every imaginable reason- quality improvement teams, project teams, management teams, task force teams; companies are quick to assume that increased employee involvement leads to improved productivity. But the problem that occurs is trying to increase employee involvement outweigh the benefits

IV. Method

Observation ' I observed three teams of mixed ethics for four weeks and recorded the data of information I was looking for. I also did a questionnaire: general and concept questions. Also, I randomly chose three people out of the three teams to discuss their group activities.

V. Findings

My findings are listed in all areas of study: Problem with a group approach, what are we supposed to do/, working together isn't so easy, Barriers for management teams, team barriers, team myopia, plain and simple?poor management, too many qualifications: too little time, team quality, the face is familiar, and team meeting.

A. Problems with a group approach

It is a practiced that not only hasn't been learned, but also is difficult one to institute. When I gave my questionnaire to each of the five members of the three teams; one of the questions asked if sharing was taught to them in school. All inserted no, but one. In school, children are taught to rely on their own resources; to develop their individual capabilities. Deborah Cockston (personal interview) stated that fourth graders wouldn't be allowed to say ?Hey, Joe, you?re good at word problems and I?m good at multiplication tables, so let's get together for this test?, yet the adult equivalent of this is seen in the workplace when teams are expected to come up with a group solution problem. When I observed group one, which consists of two blacks (male, female), two Hispanics (male, female), one white male, I timed them on a group collogue. I only gave them 5miniutes to be creative ...

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