Teamwork, Collaboration, Communication, and Knowledge Sharing Paper Example

Introduction

In an organization, teams can be described to be collectives that exist to execute organizationally relevant functions, share common goals, and have roles interdependence. Teamwork is imperative in an organizational context because it provides the staff with a chance to create beneficial bonds in their work environment and in the process of improving their overall performance. Organizations are more likely to perform exemplary if they have a workforce that functions effectively as a team. Such success is attained in an organization because a well-coordinated teamwork creates synergy whereby the combined efforts of a team are viewed as greater than the summation of an individual's efforts. In the past, numerous publications have been authored detailing the effectiveness of teamwork in an organization and various models of teamwork in an organization. Among such research is the one prepared by Mathieu et al. (2008) that conducted a review on the possible frameworks of teamwork in an organization and their effectiveness. The following critical review of Mathieu et al. (2008) will provide a summary of the article, evaluate the author's purpose, thesis, contentions, and methods of analysis. The critical review will also examine how convincing the authors were in the presentation of the thesis and also evaluate the contribution of the publication in the understanding of strategic management.

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Summary of the Article

The article was prepared by Mathieu et al. (2008) and their focus is on the nature of work teams in organizations. Also, the review provides a discussion of the substantive differences that exist between different types of work teams in an organization. The review has been developed based on other similar research on a work team that was developed between 1998 and 2008. Such studies are representative studies that appeared between the stated period focused on the progressed input-process-outcome teamwork framework (Mathieu et al., 2008). However, the framework later evolved and it is also referred to as the inputs mediator's outcome time-sensitive methodology.

The article has also provided a comprehensive definition of a team, discussed the team effectiveness framework, analyzed teams' outcomes in an organization and explained the importance of team performance in an organization. Moreover, the article discusses the mediator team outcome associations and then executes a comprehensive literature review in support of the research publication. Ultimately, Mathieu et al. (2008) analysis have developed based on Cohen and Bailey's (1997) research on teams in an organization. In line with the arguments of the latter research, the findings of Mathieu et al. (2008) research evidenced that there have been a progress in research pertaining group recognition, collective efficacy, group potency as well as virtual and reality teams.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the research was to explain the meaning of work teams in an organization. In this case, Mathieu et al. (2008) provided good definitions of the teams in organizations, citing other definitions advanced by other authors in the past. For instance, the authors use definitions advanced by past renowned researchers like Kozlowski and Bell (2003) to provide the definition of work teams. Also, another purpose of the research has been to investigate the nature of different work teams in an organization. In this case, a thorough investigation and description of different work teams have been provided by the authors and they have also explained the unique traits of each grouping. The research also sought to determine the differences that can be manifested in differing types of teams in an organization. In this case, the differences have been well documented by the authors and their unique characteristics supported by research.

Thesis

Mathieu et al.'s (2008) have developed their research effectively based on a strong argument of points. However, the research lacks a direct thesis statement that outlines the focus of the paper. Instead, the authors of the research have summarized the objectives of their research in the abstract section of the article. Nevertheless, the statement of the objectives of the abstract section is sufficient and it is sufficient for preparing the audience of the research article on what to expect after reading the publication. Conclusively, lack of a direct statement in the research has not downgraded the quality of Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research. Instead, the description of the objectives of the research at the beginning of the article has sufficiently provided a guideline of the particulars of the paper.

Contentions

There are no contentions that have been evidenced in Mathieu et al.'s (2008). Mathieu et al. (2008) only reviewed the publications that supported their research objectives. Moreover, the findings of all the research publications featured in the meta-analysis were in support of promoting teamwork in organizations. The findings of all the featured research publications portrayed that working as a team in an organization's context promotes the performance of workers and in the long run, fosters the organizational productivity. Nevertheless, Mathieu et al. (2008) expressed in their research that despite the validity of the findings of the analyzed research in support of teamwork, more empirical and theoretical data research should be executed. That is to further offer an insight into the merits of teamwork and show examples of frameworks that can be used to promote teamwork all organizations.

Method of Analysis

The method used by Mathieu et al. (2008) in their research is the meta-analysis research. The meta-analysis technique combines the data collected from multiple studies and uses it to derive a conclusion for a single research need. In this case, the researchers performed a review of all research publications that were relevant to the research objective. The identified publications were from 1998 to 2008 and they all contributed to the development of understanding on the importance of teamwork in organizations. All the key findings of the research were certified by the findings of other research-validated publications throughout the article. Subsequently, the attained findings were employed to develop a conclusive argument for Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research objectives. The chart below portrays some examples of the research publications that were reviewed in Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research.

Chart 1: illustrates the examples of research publications in Mathieu et al.'s (2008) meta-analysis. The chart classifies the outlined research based on the study's researchers and the type of research.

Evaluation of the Thesis Convincingness

As earlier stated, Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research lack a well-defined thesis statement. However, to make up for its absence, the researchers have provided a comprehensive description of what they intended to cover in their research. The explanation of the objectives sections is very brief and direct to the point, in addressing the key areas that shall be addressed in the article. For instance, in the introduction section, Mathieu et al. (2008) mentioned that they executed a meta-analysis on research publications developed in the past decade focused on work teams in organizations.

Also, the section directs the audience that the paper will also review Cohen and Bailey's (1997) five key areas of recommendation and then provide Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research recommendations for future research and conclusion. The statement of the research objectives in a short and direct way coupled with a brief statement of what other research has done on work teams have made the researcher's call for future research convincing. Also, such an explanation commands the attention of the audience and promotes their acceptance that there is a need to executed more empirical and theoretical-based research on the effectiveness of work teams in organizations.

Article's Contribution to the Public Sector

Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research have played a primary role in enlightening the public sector on the importance of promoting teamwork in an organization as a strategic management initiative. The research portrayed that organizations with personnel that is well coordinated and working as a team attain exemplary performance in all their functions. In this case, the collective efforts of a team if coordinated effectively can be measured to be more effective compared in achieving a predetermined objective compared to the overall efforts of a single individual (Mathieu et al., 2008). Also, Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research have illustrated that there is a range of teamwork models that can be employed in an organization setting to coordinate the efforts of different groupings of employees.

That is with the primary objective of enhancing organizational performance. As such, different stakeholders of the public sector will benefit from this research by utilizing it to enhance their overall productivity. Ultimately, working together as a team in various organizations in the public sector helps individuals to identify their personal strengths and weaknesses. Teams in such public sectors can tailor their team roles depending on the individual functions of different persons in their group. Subsequently, this promotes the attainment of different organizational goals and an overall progress of a nation's economy due to a vibrant public sector.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Mathieu et al.'s (2008) believed that much progress had been made by other researchers on their research on work groups in the decade spanning from 1998 to 2008. Nevertheless, they believed that there was a need for a solid theoretical as well as an empirical base to be adopted from which future investigations on the same topic could have been developed. Also, Mathieu et al.'s (2008) research were largely developed from the works of Cohen and Bailey (1997). The latter researchers offered a comprehensive literature review of publications focusing on teams in organizations. Also, their research ascertained five areas that needed further research, which was; (a) group mood, cognition, and effect, (b)group collective self-efficacy as well as potency (c) global and virtual teams. (d) time and (e) institutional or environmental factors. By employing the five recommendations of Cohen and Bailey's (1997) research, Mathieu et al.'s (2008) progressed on the research. Ultimately, Mathieu et al. (2008) concluded that a great progress had been made in reference to group cognition, global and virtual teams, as well as in collective efficacy and potency.

References

Balkundi, P., & Harrison, D. A. 2006. Ties, leaders, and time in teams: Strong inference about network structure's effects on team viability and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(1): 49-68.

Barrick, M. R., Stewart, G. L., Neubert, J. M., & Mount, M. K. 1998. Relating member ability and personality to work team processes and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 377-391.

Bell, S. T. 2007. Deep-level composition variables as predictors of team performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92: 595-615.

Bunderson, J. S., & Sutcliffe, K. A. 2002. Comparing alternate conceptualizations of functional dive...