Bus 499 - Teams

Team and groups have many differences. Difference that assist in explaining why a group and a team operate internally the way they do. When describing teams and groups the word interchangeable is but there are many differences. When different people are working together this produces diversity both in the group, team or organization. Teams and groups have their own approach on how to do tasks. Each can be successful at what they do in their own way.

Teams are groups of people with skills and talent that complement each other and commit to achieving a common goal or resolving a problem. Team members have their own function to perform and must hold each other responsible and accountable for the work done. For teams to succeed, team members must match each other's skills. Difficulties can arise when a group member does not perform up to potentials with the rest of the group. A team's assets are in the dependency on each member's resolve to succeed. Teams are harder to assembly than groups. Every member is selected based on how his or her skill set will complement others in the team. In the manufacturing world this can happen when a team has operators, technicians, and operation administrators. Each member has a task to complete and must rely and depend on each other so that there is little conflict within the group.

A successful group is a small collection of individuals whose skills complement each other abilities and are committed to be held responsible for everything he or she does together when working on a subject or assignment to complete. In a group, the leader supports goals that have to be accomplished. The leader must be responsible for what goes on in the group and is accountable. The leadership position is held by someone who can be fluid in his or her direction. The main viewpoint of the group will be presented but can include multiple or even very diverse viewpoints. A groups success is the measure achieved through group discussion, peer influence and debating the pluses and minuses of what needs to be achieved. A perfect example of group structure is within a jury. None of the members seem to know each other personally but still have to work together to solve a problem and builds group dynamics.

Group building can take a few minutes or may take hours, but team building can take years to achieve. Team member's feelings toward each other are very critical. When one team member not completing a task or is not present can have serious implications for everyone concerned. For one this can influence and impede the abilities of each member to form a consensus regarding how to solve the task or goal within the group.

The configuration of individuals in teams and groups includes many differences such as age, sex, ethnic background along with other traits. This difference is known as diversity and plays a large role in all places, particularly in the workplace. Workplace diversity involves all kinds of people within an organization. It can include how individuals function within an organization and also the communication among the organization to the willingness to spend the money. Workplace diversity has many benefits to pull from. One benefit is the assortment of viewpoints an organization can have and the diverse compilation of skills that can be brought to an organization when different types of people are working within a company. Another benefit is the flexibility that can occur from acquiring many types of people working there. Having different ways on how to approach and solve problems and having different viewpoints and talents working together can lead to success within a company. Diversity can also influence the ability to achieve effective results and seeing productivity improved from implementing all sorts of new ideas and executing new methods or ways to approach and do business.

Diversity must be interlinked with teams or groups to be successful. Deciding to build either a team or a group should be decided on what is the goal or task. Keeping an open mind to diversity in the