Working in Teams - Essay Example

In fact, there is a very simple test to check whether their group is a team or not. If there is at least one common objective that can only be accomplished by the joint efforts of all people involved then that group is a team (Hardingham, 1998). On the other hand, if we dig deep down in a technical aspect, if there is only one person accountable for the objectives that a group of people is working to achieve by joining efforts, then that cluster of people cannot be regarded as a team. That is a group.

But it doesn’t mean this structure is less efficient or less effective than a team (Parker, 2003). But the more important question than the definition of group or team is the direction of these collections of individuals. Where are they heading? It is a common misconception that forming only a team will help increase the efficiency, if there is no specific purpose to bring together people, either as a group or as a team it is not going to serve the purpose. Another misapprehension is that only companies and giant corporations have mission and vision statements.

An effective team is like a small dense company model that takes care of the mission it is given and acts under a team or group leader who recognizes the potential and individual abilities of team/group members. That is how a team work or a group is defined which amazingly a small number of people identify.