TEAMWORK ADVANTAGES

Teamwork Advantages

Teamwork Advantages

Introduction

Success of an organization rests heavily on decisions made by its employees. Decisions are critical for the existence of any firm because they determine whether it would rise to the top or fall and fade away. Firms grant decision rights to teams of employees in order to benefit from their diverse opinion, specialized knowledge, and unique talent. Teamwork is beneficial because by sharing information in a group setting a wide range of ideas take place. It is less likely for new ideas to emerge in a sequence of bilateral communications between a decision-maker and individual employees. Sharing ideas in a group can stimulate unique ways of thinking. An employee may view an issue from a completely different perspective than his/her co-worker.

Therefore, different views and ideas that arise within a group could lead to a well-developed idea about performing an action, writing a policy, or creating a product. In addition, each employee's comprehension is minimal in a sense that not a single employee has full knowledge to make correct choices every time. Put in differently, there's a limit to how much information any one individual can process, and a limit on how many perspectives one person can see. Many decisions need full group participation to explore the situation, provide input, and make a final choice. As you've probably seen, groups can often make better decisions than any one person operating on his or her own. This is one of the main reasons that good companies have boards, to which important decisions are taken. This statement iterates that there is a certain extent to which an employee can process information and apply that information to his/her job. When several differing interpretations are incorporated, than the ultimate goal of collaborative decision-making is achieved.

Discussion

It is important for firms to remember the importance having full and precise information in the making of decisions. Through teamwork more informed decisions derive from accurate information applied by all group members. However, there is a cost associated with assigning decision rights to teams. Each team member must carry equal responsibility in getting the job done. One of the challenges facing teams is low productivity of some members as they estimate that other team members contribute fully to the completion of their collective tasks. Hence, they may decide to shirk. “Team members bear the full costs of their individual efforts, but share the gains that accrue to the team. This arrangement encourages team members to free-ride on the efforts of others”. While responsible team members invest sufficient time and effort, others wait to receive equal reward and recognition for results derived from teamwork. Likewise, time can be an issue when it comes to making collective decisions: “Some companies have a culture of driving to full consensus on all decisions, willing to spend the additional time to review and re-evaluate options and issues, until everyone on the team agrees on every item (Diehl, 1991).

This may work in some environments, but it can also be unproductive ...