Pros and Cons of Teamwork

Teamwork is a group of people who work together toward a specific goal regardless of personal feelings toward one another. A team will use their individual skills and provide constructive feedback to each other.

While finding a good balance, conflicts will most certainly arise. Conflict resolution strategies must be utilized, for the team to be effective and meet the goals and objective of their assignment. These conflicts may be more evident in certain types of teams more so than in others. Conflict is common when working in teams. Its is important to have team meeting in order to lay out potential problems and disagreements and prepare to support the teams final decision. (Weinstein, 2007)

Team work means that a shared sense of purpose is felt and a common purpose is identified. This bonds individuals into a team and creates the ideal scenario for success and achievement.

What is teamwork? Teamwork is defined as "a formal work group consisting of people who work together intensely to achieve a common group goal." (University of Phoenix, Apollo Library, 2007). A group becomes a team when members demonstrate a commitment to one another to reach a common goal. There is a high degree of cohesiveness and accomplishment in a team. Simply put two heads are often better than one. (University of Phoenix, Apollo Library, 2007). Teamwork can help us communicate in many ways.

There is a saying that many hands make light work. The essence of this statement is that more can be achieved as a collective than individually. We all have different skills, knowledge and personal attributes. By utilizing all of these different aspects in a team, more ideas can be generated. As more ideas are generated, more creative solutions are generated, leading to better results. It is amazing the amount of support that is created in teams, especially when the going gets tough. People will often go to what seems like extreme lengths when they know that they can rely on the support and encouragement of the team. Never underestimate the significance of this in

The first learning we took from the book is the cascading effect within teams. This effect is created

Teamwork is the product of two or more persons working together to accomplish a given goal. Take for instance the Egyptian Pyramids. If one man alone tried to plan and build these colossal monuments by himself, he would have failed miserably. However, when men bond together and put their efforts to work toward a common goal, they can

Although teamwork is discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this text, it is important to note that any individual who works as a part of a greater team should be an effective

When working with a large task it is helpful to have a plan of action. There are usually many steps and much involvement is necessary for production and or operation. Because of this, it is helpful to have a helping hand. Once team members have been selected and plans are complete it is then necessary to think about who will be better suited for each type of function. Often times, a majority of these functions overlap and involve one another and team members need to work together. That is when teamwork comes in handy. Without teamwork many of the largest projects could not be complete and possible. They are an essential part of business.

Throughout life there are many instances in which an individual has to work in a group to complete a task/project. The importance of group work is to have teamwork with each member of the group. Humans are driven to connect with each other and by working as a group ideas become much more enriched and the ideas or thoughts that each person ‘brings to the table’ each individual is able to add onto that idea or it can trigger one to think of something completely different.

Characteristics of effective teamwork include clear purpose, informality, participation, listening, civilized disagreement, consensus decisions, open communication, clear roles and work assignments, shared leadership, external relations, style diversity, and self-assessment. (p. 307), and high performance teams have attributes which includes participative leadership, shared responsibility, aligned on purpose, high communication, future focused, focused on task, creative talents, and rapid response. (p. 323)

Teamwork: Team work is effective actions combined with a group of people to reach a certain goal. This is a value that an effective leader must have. Good teamwork maximizes strengths, bringing out the best in each team member. An individuals strengths in this case the leader are then complimented by the strengths of others, or of the team as a unit.

Teamwork is the backbone of effective communication and the crucial cog that keeps the wheel of successful project management turning. The role of teamwork in enhancing problem solving skills, cohesion, learning, and productivity can no longer be ignored. Proper teamwork plays an integral role in promoting the effective implementation and fulfillment of shared goals in a team project in a manner that is better and quicker. Team work also provides a solid platform on which team members can take on different responsibilities and contribute in ways that together makes the entire team an effective unit.

The mentor of this group has not provided them with the guidance to manage their conflicts. For this situation, it is best to reschedule the team meeting so that people can collect their thoughts, approach the

A further disadvantage of teamwork may be that the team has existed too long and inspiration of new ideas has expired. This idea is discussed in Fincham and Rhodes (2005). There is a risk of team members becoming too friendly with each other and that friendships and professional relationships may be difficult to distinguish. If this occurs, team work is affected as it may be easy for team members to become distracted by personal issues rather than focussing on the task set. In this way team work may become less effective. It is important that team members remain professional when working in