Given the ideal team members, working in teams can be very advantageous. However, multiple personalities and opinions can also cause conflict.
When a team has autonomy they tend to perform better than when they do not. Autonomy
“is the degree to which workers have the discretion, freedom, and independence to decide how and when to accomplish their jobs” (Williams 203). Luckily, a group that is self-managing has significantly more autonomy than most. The teams in this course could be defined as a selfmanaging team because they are “a team that manages and controls all of the major tasks of producing a product or service” (Williams 204). For this course, all teams have the responsibility of finishing the project efficiently and punctually. From the start, the teams discuss how the project will be done. They are not required to have the professor’s approval on how they do it or what they do in order to get it done. So, from the start of the project to the finish, the team decides on the best way to get the project done. The only things self-managing teams do not have complete control of is creating the team, the task or project that they are assigned, and the membership of the team. All of the teams in the course have the qualities of a self-managing team. Teams could also be considered a project team because they “are created to complete specific, one-time projects or tasks within a limited time” (Williams 205). They are assigned a task and it must be completed within the given time frame. The person in the group with the most leadership skills could be considered the project manager because they help delegate tasks, are the first to communicate things and keep everything rolling smoothly. Each one of the group members has a different functional area where they are strongest which is considered to be an
2 advantage. For instance, in a group there could be a really good writer, someone who is good with time management, another who is great at research, and so forth. When there are multiple people with different strengths, it can be quite useful in helping teams finish their project.
Whenever teams have free communication and the ability to discuss what they think, it can help the project speed along. Teams also have flexibility because when they get done with this project, they return to lecture and then eventually begin a new project with new team members.
Creating teams requires attentive detail to a person’s characteristics and skills. Unless teams have people “who are suited for teamwork” (Williams 214) they will face many problems.
An ideal team member will have superior interpersonal skills. These skills include listening, questioning, communicating, and providing feedback. Collaborating with other team