A team comprises a group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. Teams are especially appropriate for conducting tasks that are high in complexity and have many interdependent subtasks.

A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize his or her strengths and minimize his or her weaknesses.

Thus teams of sports players can form (and re-form) to practice their craft. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively Transport logistics executives can select teams of horses, dogs or oxen for the purpose of conveying goods. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order Oxen (singular ox) are Cattle trained as draft animals. Often they are adult castrated males

Theorists in business in the late 20th century popularized the concept of constructing teams. The word theory has many distinct meanings in different fields of Knowledge, depending on their methodologies and the context of discussion. A business (also called firm or an enterprise) is a legally recognized organizational entity designed to provide goods and/or services to The term team building generally refers to the selection development and collective motivation of result-oriented Teams Team building is pursued via a variety of practices Differing opinions exist on the efficacy of this new management fad. Management (covering theory practice and scope of management and Manager' (covering the people who manage might help clarify and systematise Some see "team" as a four-letter word: overused and under-useful. The phrase four-letter word refers to a set of English words written with four letters which are considered profane, including common popular or Slang Others see it as a panacea that finally realizes the human relations movement's desire to integrate what that movement perceives as best for workers and as best for managers. Human Relations Movement refers to those researchers of Organizational development who study the behavior of people in groups, in particular workplace groups Management (covering theory practice and scope of management and Manager' (covering the people who manage might help clarify and systematise Still others believe in the effectiveness of teams, but also see them as dangerous because of the potential for exploiting workers — in that team effectiveness can rely on peer pressure and peer surveillance. Peer Pressure is a term describing the pressure exerted by a Peer group in encouraging a person to change their Attitude, Behavior and/or Morals Surveillance is the monitoring of Behavior. Systems surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people objects or processes within systems for conformity

Compare the more structured/skilled concept of a crew, and the advantages of formal and informal partnerships. A crew comprises a body or a class of people who work at a common activity generally in a structured or hierarchical organization For partnership in cricket terminology see List of cricket terms A partnership is a type of Business entity in which partners

Team size, composition, and formation

Team size and composition affect the team processes and outcomes. The optimal size (and composition) of teams is debated and will vary depending on the task at hand. At least one study of problem-solving in groups showed an optimal size of groups at four members[1]. Other works estimate the optimal size between 5-12 members. Less than 5 members results in decreased perspectives and diminished creativity. Membership in excess of 12 results in increased conflict and greater potential of sub-groups forming.

David Cooperrider suggests that the larger the group, the better. David Cooperrider is the Fairmount Minerals Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and Faculty This is because a larger group is able to address concerns of the whole system. System (from Latin systēma, in turn from Greek systēma is a set of interacting or interdependent Entities, real or abstract So while it may not be effective at solving a given task, Cooperider asks us to consider the relevance of that task: "effective at what?"

Regarding composition, all teams will have an element of homogeneity and heterogeneity. The more homogeneous the group, the more cohesive it will be. The more heterogeneous the group, the greater the differences in perspective and increased potential for creativity, but also the greater potential for conflict.

Team members normally have different roles, like team leader and agents. Large teams can sub-divide into sub-teams according to need.

Many teams go through a life-cycle of stages, identified by Bruce Tuckman as: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of Group development was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965, who maintained that these phases

Types of Teams

Independent and Interdependent Teams

A rugby union scrum

Of particular importance is the concept of different types of teams. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short The term "concept" is traced back to 1554–60 ( l conceptum - something conceived but what is today termed "the classical theory of concepts" is the theory of Aristotle A bright line is usually drawn between "independent" and "interdependent" teams. To continue the sports team example, a rugby team is clearly an interdependent team:

• no significant task can be accomplished without the help of any of the members;
• within that team members typically specialize in different tasks (running the ball, goal kicking & scrum feeding), and
• the success of every individual is inextricably bound to the success of the whole team. Sport is an Activity that is governed by a set of rules or Customs and often engaged in competitively Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School A typical Rugby league team consists of thirteen players on the field plus four substitutes on the bench A drop goal, also referred to as a dropped goal or field goal, is a method of scoring points in Rugby union and Rugby league. Scrum (an abbreviated form of scrummage, which is now rarely used in the sports of Rugby union and Rugby league, is a way of restarting the game either No Rugby player, no matter how talented, has ever won a game by playing alone. Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School Rugby football (usually just " rugby " may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of Football developed at Rugby School

On the other hand, a tennis team is a classic example of an independent team:

• matches are played and won by individuals or partners,
• every person performs basically the same actions, and
• whether one player wins or loses has no direct effect on the performance of the next player. Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles) If all team members each perform the same basic tasks, such as students working problems in a math class, or outside sales employees making phone calls, then it is likely that this team is an independent team. The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. They may be able to help each other — perhaps by offering advice or practice time, by providing moral support, or by helping in the background during a busy time — but each individual's success is primarily due to each individual's own efforts. Tennis players do not win their own matches merely because the rest of their teammates did, and math students do not pass tests merely because their neighbors know how to solve the equations. An equation is a mathematical statement, in symbols, that two things are exactly the same (or equivalent

Coaching an "interdependent" team like a football team necessarily requires a different approach from coaching an "independent" team because the costs and benefits to individual team members — and therefore the intrinsic incentives for positive team behaviors — are very different. This article refers to the act of coaching people For other uses of the word see Coach (disambiguation Coaching -a definitionProminent Football is the word given to a number of similar Team sports all of which involve (to varying degrees kicking a Ball with the foot in an attempt to score a An interdependent team benefits from getting to know the other team members socially, from developing trust in each other, and from conquering artificial challenges (such as offered in outdoors ropes courses).

Independent teams typically view these activities as unimportant, emotion-driven time wasters. They benefit from more intellectual, job-related training. The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge skills and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge The best way to start improving the functioning of an independent team is often a single question, "What does everyone need to do a better job?"

Self-managed Teams

Normally, a manager acts as the team leader and is responsible for defining the goals, methods, and functioning of the team. However, interdependencies and conflicts between different parts of an organization may not be best addressed by hierarchical models of control.

The main idea of the self-managed team is that the leader does not operate with positional authority. In a traditional management role, the manager is responsible for providing instruction, conducting communication, developing plans, giving orders, and disciplining and rewarding employees, and making decisions by virtue of his or her position. In this organizational model, the manager delegates specific responsibility and decision-making authority to the team itself, in the hope that the group will make better decisions than any individual. Neither a manager nor the team leader make independent decisions in the delegated responsibility area. Decisions are typically made by consensus in successful self-managed teams, by voting in very large or formal teams, and by hectoring and bullying in unsuccessful teams. Consensus has two common meanings One is a general agreement among the members of a given group or Community, each of which exercises some discretion in Bullying is the act of intentionally causing harm to others through verbal Harassment, physical Assault, or other more subtle methods of Coercion The team as a whole is accountable for the outcome of its decisions and actions.

Self-managed teams operate in many organizations to manage complex projects involving research, design, process improvement, and even systemic issue resolution, particularly for cross-department projects involving people of similar seniority levels. While the internal leadership style in a self-managed team is distinct from traditional leadership and operates to neutralize the issues often associated with traditional leadership models, a self-managed team still needs support from senior management to operate well.

Self-managed teams may be interdependent or independent. Of course, merely calling a group of people a self-managed team does not make them either a team or self-managed.

As a self-managed team develops successfully, more and more areas of responsibility can be delegated, and the team members can come to rely on each other in a meaningful way. [2]

Project Teams

A team used only for a defined period of time and for a separate, concretely definable purpose, often becomes known as a project team. A definition is a statement of the meaning of a Word or Phrase. A project team is a Team whose members usually belong to different groups functions and are assigned to activities for the same Project. Managers commonly label groups of people as a "team" based on having a common function. Members of these teams might belong to different groups, but receive assignment to activities for the same project, thereby allowing outsiders to view them as a single unit. For all other uses see Project (disambiguation. A project, as defined in the field of Project management, consists of a temporary In this way, setting up a team allegedly facilitates the creation, tracking and assignment of a group of people based on the project in hand. The use of the "team" label in this instance often has no relationship to whether the employees are working as a team.

Sports Teams

A sports team is a group of people which play a sport together. Members include all players (even those who are waiting their turn to play) as well as support members such as a team manager.

Virtual Teams

Developments in communications technologies have seen the emergence of the virtual work team. A virtual team is a group of people who work interdependently and with shared purpose across space, time, and organisation boundaries using technology to communicate and collaborate. A Virtual Team &mdash also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT &mdash is a group of individuals who work across time space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened Virtual team members can be located across a country or across the world, rarely meet face-to-face, and include members from different cultures^[1]. Many virtual teams are cross-functional and emphasise solving customer problems or generating new work processes. The United States Labour Department reported that in 2001, 19 million people worked from home online or from another location, and that by the end of 2002, over 100 million people world-wide would be working outside traditional offices (Pearlson & Sounders, 2001).

Not All Groups are Teams

Some people also use the word "team" when they mean "employees. " A "sales team" is a common example of this loose or perhaps euphemistic usage, though interdependencies exist in organisations, and a sales team can be let down by poor performance on other parts of the organisation upon which sales depend, like delivery, after-sales service, etc. A euphemism is a substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener or in the case of doublespeak An organization (or organisation &mdash see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and An organisation (or organization &mdash see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals which controls its own performance and . However "sales staff" is a more precise description of the typical arrangement.

See also

• Air-defense experiments
• Coalition
• Community
• Forming-storming-norming-performing
• Group (sociology)
• Groups of people
• Team Action Management
• Teammate
• Teamwork
• Team building
• Player
• Virtual team
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

References

1. ^ Kimble et al (2000) Effective Virtual Teams through Communities of Practice (Department of Management Science Research Paper Series, 00/9), University of Strathclyde, Strathclyde, UK, 2000. The Air-defense experiments were a series of Management science Experiments performed between 1952 and 1954 by RAND 's Systems Research A coalition is an alliance among individuals during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own Self-interest. In biological terms a community is a group of interacting Organisms sharing an environment. The Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing model of Group development was first proposed by Bruce Tuckman in 1965, who maintained that these phases In Sociology, a group can be defined as two or more Humans that interact with one another accept expectations and obligations as members of the group and share a Albert Humphrey was a business and management consultant who specialised in Organisational Management and cultural Change and devised the SWOT analysis technique A general dictionary defines teamwork as a " Cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common The term team building generally refers to the selection development and collective motivation of result-oriented Teams Team building is pursued via a variety of practices A player of a Game is a participant therein The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in Game theory and in ordinary recreational Games A Virtual Team &mdash also known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT &mdash is a group of individuals who work across time space and organizational boundaries with links strengthened The Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a bestselling business book by consultant and speaker Patrick Lencioni.

External links

• What Do Teams Bring Into Organizations?
• Intercultural Team Building
• Surviving the Group Project: A Note on Working in Teams
• An example of a football/soccer team

• Battle Command Knowledge Management System (BCKS)