Teamwork in Modern Organizations

Introduction

The Microsoft quote brings into light the need for an increased relevancy of group collaboration and team efforts across organizations (wright, 2018). The team effort has throughout time been recommended as a way to increase both the quality and quantity of output. However, it is in the modern days that teamwork has found better platforms which organizations can utilize to enhance collaboration of efforts. From new office designs to technological tools such as the use of online communication and information sharing platforms, teamwork is more than ever relevant and essential for goal achievement organization growth and development (Costley, 2014). With increased globalization and cross-functionality, collaboration is becoming the norm in organizations and teamwork is becoming key to organization success (Cross, Rebele, & Grant, 2016). Over the past two decades, collaborative efforts have more than doubled amongst both managers and employees. Contributing beyond ones individual role has been established through research to contribute majorly to organization success (Zhao, Walter, Zhang, & Xin-An Yu, 2015).

Benefits and Challenges

Benefits

Teamwork promotes unity within the organization which essential in getting work done. Teamwork engages individuals from different levels and departments allowing them an equal opportunity to be productive. Teamwork also promotes diverse thinking and organizations are able to draw from diverse expertise, experience and skills.

Challenges

Team conflict resulting from personality differences and lack of shared goals in teams can result in loss of morale and derailed success Hempel, Zhang, & Tjosvold, 2008). Teams are also associated with less efficiency as a result of lengthy decision making. This leads to a lack of quick and responsive action (Desivilya, Somech, & Lidgoster, 2014). Role uncertainty among members might result in confusion. Disengagement and lack of motivation might lead to non performance

What Do Managers Need to Learn

Managers need to learn how to build relationships and encourage inter-personal collaboration (Tinuke, 2013) in order to effectively utilize and trap into team member's intelligence.

Managers need to think outside the box in order to draw from the expansive collaborative skills and knowledge inherent in their employees. To provide the right atmosphere for productive teamwork, they need to apply modern technology and digitize the workplace using advanced tools essential for teamwork. They should move away from technologies that are individually oriented (Harvard business review, 2018).Organizations should seek to utilize collaborative communication software's at workplaces such as video conferencing, meeting systems. Connectivity tools in the modern age bring people together and allow better collaboration. They should also utilize the use of open offices to enhance collaboration. Reduced spatial boundaries facilitate teamwork and minimize isolation (Bernstein & turban, 2018). Enhanced transparency motivates teamwork. Managers should create a culture of openness and responsibility toward goal achievement and overall organizational performance.

Managers should set shared goals within the organization to encourage collaborative ideas and solutions. They should also enhance open communications with and among employees. The need to recognize team effort and performance is also crucial. Management should focus on providing incentives and performance-based reward systems that focus on team effort and results. This enhances competitive performance amongst teams. No one should take credit alone for the team effort. (Kate, 2017). Organizations should encourage the use of shared recourses across organizations such as information platforms, cloud-based database system etc.

References

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Cole, M. L., Stavros, J., & Cox, J. D. (2016). Building collaboration in teams through emotional intelligence: Mediation by SOAR (strengths, opportunities, aspirations, and results). Journal of Management & Organization. doi:10.1017/jmo.2016.43

Costley, K. C. (2014). The Positive Effects of Technology on Teaching and Student Learning. Arkansas: Ed.gov. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED5545557.pdf

Cross, R., Rebele, R., & Grant, A. (2016, January). Collaborative Overload. Havard Business Review. Retrieved from Havard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2016/01/collaborative-overload

Desivilya, H. S., Somech, A., & Lidgoster, H. (2014). Innovation and Conflict Management in Work Teams: The Effects of Team Identification and Task and Relationship Conflict. Negotiation and Conflict Management Research. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.464.7311&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Extra milers' behavioral influences in teams. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(4), 1025-1039. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/apl0000010

Harvard Business Review. (2018). The Workplace Evolution. Pulse Survey. Retrieved from https://query.prod.cms.rt.microsoft.com/cms/api/am/binary/RE23w1o

HEMPEL, P. S., Zhang, Z.-X., & TJOSVOLD, D. (2008). Conflict management between and within teams for trusting relationships and performance in China. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 30, 41-65. doi: 10.1002/job.540

Kate, J. (2017). Teamwork Can Change Everything: Journal of Infusion Nursing. Journal of Infusion Nursing, 40(2), 90. doi:10.1097/NAN.0000000000000213

Tinuke, F. (2013). Towards Effective Team Building in the Workplace. International Journal of Education and Research, 1(4), 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.ijern.com

Wright, L. (2018, April 19). The new survey explores the changing landscape of teamwork. Retrieved from Microsoft.com: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/04/19/new-survey-explores-the-changing-landscape-of-teamwork/

Yu, C. (2018). Literature review on collective intelligence: a crowd science perspective. International Journal Of Crowd Science, 2(1), 64-73. doi:doi.org/10.1108/IJCS-08-2017-0013

Zhao, L. N., Walter, H. H., Zhang, S. L., & Xin-an Yu, J. (2015). Achieving more with less...