OB IS FOR EVERYONE
Ever wonder what causes
flurries of activity in groups?
Should individuals be paid
for their “teamwork” or
their individual
performance?Why do some teams seem
to get along better than
others?Is building a team just from
people who are friends a
good idea?Why don’t some team
members pull their
weight?
1 What are teams and
groups?he students at Glenforest
Secondary School in Mississauga,
Ontario, took part in the ninthannual Canada FIRST Robotics Games in
spring 2002.^1 They had eight weeks to
design and build a remotely operated
robot that would compete with other
robots built by secondary school teams
across the country. The students wanted
to do a better job than they had in 2001.
The team’s previous robot moved well, but
it could not meet the challenge of firing
balls at pie plates. The students suspected
that to improve their entry, they needed a
better team and more coaching from
adults. Although they knew little about
teamwork, they had support and encouragement from
teachers, engineering mentors, and corporate sponsors.
What factors could help the students have a better team
and build a better robot than their previous attempt?
For teams to excel, a number of conditions need tobe met. Effective teams need wise leadership, a variety of
resources, and a way to solve problems. Team members
need to be dedicated, and they need to build trust. In this
chapter, we examine why teams have become so popular
in the workplace, how groups and teams develop, how to
create effective teams, how virtual teams work, and when
a team is your best option to get work done.T
151TEAMS VS. GROUPS: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
There is some debate whether groups and teams are really separate concepts, or
whether the terms can be used interchangeably. We think that there is a subtle dif-
ference between the terms. A groupis two or more people with a common relation-
ship. Thus a group could be co-workers or people meeting for lunch or standing at the
bus stop. Unlike teams, groups do not necessarily engage in collective work that
requires interdependent effort.
Ateamis “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed
to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold them-
group Two or more people with a
common relationship.
team A small number of people
who work closely together toward a
common objective and are account-
able to one another.Glenforest Secondary School
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