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Creating Team Based Organizations

Satisfactory Essays

Introduction
Sandra Kay Richardson of the Center for the Study of Work Teams cites fourteen common blunders organizations face when trying to create a team-based, empowered organization (2002). Some of the more noteworthy include:
• Assuming teams are for everyone
• Lack of planning to implement changes
• Lack of customization to fit current organizational culture
• Relying entirely on outside consultant
• Underestimate money and time needed
• Expect immediate results
• No long term direction to managers and they fear loss of power
• Lack of training managers in new role
The common misconception and the general theme of the above blunders is that throwing a team together is a fix-all for any organization. The above blunders …show more content…

Education and training are available from a myriad of sources. There is almost no limit to the amount of written and online material available on the topic of empowered teams. In depth training should precede any attempt at an organizational change of this magnitude. Change should not be taken lightly and simply sitting Joe, Jane and Jean together by the water cooler for an hour each day after lunch with no direction is not the definition of an empowered team. The individuals will need to be educated about their roles, resources and limits and trained in leadership, communication, delegation, etc. It is no small task and empowering teams is a great undertaking with substantial rewards if planning, education, training, money, time and other precious resources are allocated and utilized properly.
Implications
Upon collectively making the decision to empower teams, the management staff must fully support and embrace the decision. If this is not the case, ultimately failure will ensue if the effort is half baked and the change is simply for the sake of change. It is common in the business world to copy the successes of other organizations without fully understanding the implications of such decisions. Industry key words and jargon can be commonly slung around in attempts to create an empowered synergy from a hodgepodge of industrial fads; but big words and empty planning will only make for empty

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