Work team (working group) is a group linked with the organization (enterprise). It can exist within the formal structures of the organization, as well as outside them. The aims of such groups can be different, not necessarily overlap with the objectives of the organization. It is an element of employee participation in management, which has many advantages in area of motivation and result achievement.
Types of work teams
They are following types of work teams:
- functional groups - are groups created within the organization to achieve a number of objectives; its existence is indefinite; group still exists even after reaching its objectives, because they are replaced with other objectives,
- Informal groups (interest groups) - they are created by group members themselves, the objectives need not be related to the goals of the organization; lifetime is not specified; Such groups can have a huge impact on the functioning of the organization, so managers should not underestimate their role.
- task force - group created by organizations to achieve a relatively narrow range of objectives within a specified time horizon; organization determines in which group the employee is supposed to work.
- team - is a specialized form of the task force, group of employees functioning as separate business entity, often with little supervision or lack thereof, to perform the functions and activities related to work.
Features of the work teams
Work teams have the following features:
- Structure of role - is a set of specific roles and relationships between them that are defined and adopted by the members of the group. This structure consist of the partial roles: expected role, perceived role and played role.
- Standards of conduct – adopted by the members of the group standards of behavior.
- Group cohesion – the degree to which members of a group are loyal to the group and participate in its affairs; the degree of mutual attractiveness within the group.
- Formal and informal leadership - formal leader is appointed by the organization or elected by the members of the group; informal leader is a person engaged in the managing of the team, but not formally recognized by the organization.
Stages in the formation of work teams
- Constitution - the members get acquainted with each other.
- Storming - members of the group develop its structure and patterns of cooperation.
- Standardization - members mutually accept their roles, they share a sense of unity.
- Action – the members of the group take in their roles, as they strive to achieve goals and results.
- Campion, M. A., Papper, E. M., & Medsker, G. J. (1996). Relations between work team characteristics and effectiveness: A replication and extension. Personnel psychology, 49(2), 429-452.