Team and Group Paper - Essay Example

Running Head: Team and Group Paper Team and Group Team and Group The words team and group have beenused synonymously in several contexts. However, this might not be the case as the two words have different meanings, especially when it comes to the organizational context. The erroneous use of these two words interchangeably to refer to the same thing arises from the fact that both of them refer to a large collection of people or things. Below are the definitions of the two words and the different contexts in which they apply.

The word group refers to a collection or crowd of people who have something in common, for instance they know each other, they have a common interest or because of either gender, sex or other similarities. Furthermore, most groups are headed by a leader to whom everyone in the group is accountable to and the group’s goal is actually one furnished by the leader. On the other hand, a team is a collection of people who have specific roles in the team and who work together in order to achieve certain specific goals.

The members of a team are accountable to each other and to the group (Parco, 2007). There are several differences between a team and a group. For instance, groups are easier to form than teams, because teams needed internal structures and the careful selection of members in order for goals to be achieved. Other differences include the fact that in teams everyone contributes in decision-making and problem-solving, while in a group the leader dictates everything, in a team, there are shared responsibilities and decisions are made through a consensus, while in a group, the leader is in charge of everything and makes every decision, which have to be followed by the group members, in a team, every team member’s view point is considered, while in a group only the team leader’s view point is considered important.

Other differences are the fact that groups focus on individual work and results, while in teams the team works together and the success belongs to teams not individuals, groups are more concerned about individual challenges, while in teams, a member’s challenge becomes the team’s challenge, which comes forward to help deal with the challenge. The set up of organizations makes them places of huge differences in personalities and places where diversity of character and culture come face-to-face.

Diversity in organizations comes in form of differences in gender, religion, race, nationalities and social status. In circumstances such as these, it is very easy for differences between various people to flare into full-fledged calamities that undermine the goals of the organization (Lockwood, 2005). However, if wisely put to the organization’s advantage, these diversities have the ability to soar the company to great heights. This is where creation of teams comes into play. If an organization understands the different personalities and cultures, as well as work ethics of its workers, it is very easy for them to group people who can work together to bring positive returns to the company, depending also on their skills and experiences.

The benefits of diversity to an organization are endless, including developing of tolerance among workers in order to achieve company goals, different solutions to problems and the introduction of different and diverse skills to the workforce that may prove worthwhile in different situations. Diversity in the office affects team dynamics in workplaces. Team dynamics involve the intangible forces that make or break teams (Parco, 2007). It is therefore crucial for the teams in workforces to be teamed in such ways as to increase cohesion among team members in order to achieve the set goals.

In a world of business where cut-throat competition is the order of the day, an organization can benefit greatly by ensuring that team dynamics among its various teams in the offices are working towards benefiting the company. This is imperative because communication, hence information and knowledge flow freely among teams which are working together, rather than those which are marred in conflict. Furthermore, teambuilding helps to bring out the best in people due to the notion of shared responsibility.

References Lockwood, N. (2005).Workplace diversity: leveraging the power of difference for competitive advantage. Alexandria, Va.: Society for Human Resource Management Parco, P. (2007). Develop Your Team Building Skills. New Delhi: Lotus Press.