Problem Solving Teams or Quality Circles - Essay Example

It is now proposed to discuss the merits and demerits of each of these team types for organizational problem solving and goal achievements. Analysis:In the context of legal enforcement, the problem-solving team would typically comprise of around 8 - 10 agents or officers, who would be required to crack cases and bring an action for prosecution of alleged offenders and criminals. The team would be mostly within the force, and they would share methods, information, and pieces of evidence, by which the guilty could be brought to the process of law.

The main difficulties and drawbacks would be their inaccessibility to pieces of evidence and information from an outside organization, and also their inability to get all concerned people totally involved in the case-cracking ventures. Next, it is the self-managed work teams that are independent teams that not only solve problems but also take up full responsibilities for their outcomes. They are fully involved in their works from the conceptualization of their work processes until the achievement of final results.

This team is fully at liberty to choose their own teams, and therefore, there is a greater degree of autonomy and transparency in their operations. However, this team is limited by the absence of functionaries from other departments and functions to participate and contribute to this team building.The third type of work team is called cross-functional teams which are individuals/groups drawn from diverse back groups and experts who are assigned to solve intricate and complex problems through sharing of knowledge and expertise.

In the context of law enforcement, the cross-functional teams could be set up for multiple murder cases, terrorist activities, cross border crimes, and related violence. Finally, it is sought to explain the virtual teams which use online computer communication systems like wide-area networks, video conferencing, e-mail, and websites. (Robbins 2003, P.262). Crime-fighting and law enforcement could greatly benefit from the use of virtual teams since geographical distances or language barriers do not influence the functioning of such teams.

Thus it is possible for crime-fighting agencies to communicate with one another, on a global level. International Police (Interpol) is one of the best examples of virtual teams, in which the crime-fighting machinery of all countries pool their common knowledge and resources in their quest for global law enforcement. However, one of the common drawbacks of the virtual networks would be the lack of personal contacts among the members and also the high costs and resource mobilization involved in such teamwork.

It is also essential that the benefits derived from the use of such virtual teams should exceed their cost implications, and, to a large extent, should be able to justify the high investments made on it. (Robbins 2003, P. 262).Conclusion: It has been seen that the use of networking teams are more effective and result-oriented, in law enforcement, due to the high degree of complexity and stress involved in fighting modern-day crime and maintenance of international law and order. There cannot be any pre-designed system for mobilization and practical use of teams/workgroups and a lot would depend upon the demands of special circumstances and the effective deployment of law enforcement machinery to counter threats and instability to the individual or State.