Network Design

Individual Assignment # 3

Groups and Teams Paper

Mgt 331

Mr.Zaharoff

February 8, 2006

This paper will clarify the difference between a group and a team. This explanation will show the components of both groups and teams. It will also confirm how a group can become a high performance team. The paper will address the facts of how certain circumstances effects, like culture diversity and demographic characteristics, can cause a high performance team to excel or fade.

Webster dictionary defines groups as a small unit of three to fifteen people. Groups can form coalitions and signs of organization can be seen. When a group is too large, communication is not effective with all of its members. Standards will be developed within a group. Roles will evolve from those standards. These roles often influence the interactions of the group. Groups usually have a common objective that they labor individually to accomplish. However, the larger the group the less effective their communication is. Whatever the intention of the group is, they will attempt to struggle through oppositions to reach the end (Collins, 1995. p.2).

Teams have two or more persons, which are able to work adaptively and interdependently to complete a joint, explicit, and treasured plan (Collins, 1995. p.1). Team members must have complementary abilities, because they are dedicated to the same objectives and the same performance aspirations. They also hold each other accountable for their own actions (Collins, 1995. p.1). Teams that have a common idea can create distinctiveness for themselves. This identity gives the team a direction to venture towards. Having a common idea allows the team's identity to expand ahead of individuals involved.

Why do some teams succeed and some do not? Most businesses know what the definition of a team is. Most businesses have the knowledge to put a team together. They attempt to single out and pick the finest associates for their teams. Once a team has been created the businesses will delegate the assignments to the team for completion (Walsh, 2004). Nonetheless, some teams will fail to do what they have been created to do. Being a high performance team is no easy task. High performance teams must be effective, efficient, flexible, adaptable, committed, responsible, and organized. This team must have these factors: a logical purpose, clear leadership, productive environment, suitable work assignments and roles, proven methods, and creative power (Walsh, 2004). Any group can turn themselves into a high performance team. Let's take a look at what needs to happen.

The high performance team must move toward a common target. They must do this to generate a level of achievement that is greater than what can be produced by a person functioning on their own. The team as a whole has to be superior to anyone of its individuals (Collins, 1995. p.2). This team must bond and be a genuine force. The first step is to look at the roles people portray. A business that wishes to have a high performance team must look at its workers and come to a decision what roles are best suited for them. People are predisposed differently from childhood into adulthood. Some employees were suited to sell, while others can crunch numbers and do not fit well into crowds. It is imperative to choose correctly when establishing a team. What roles would a high performance team have? The team would need a leader, who would manage the needs of the team. A planner is needed to create strategies and schedules. The director is needed to verify the audits and progress. An enabler is needed to