Write 5 page essay on the topic Developing Teamwork Productivity in a Diverse Workforce.Download file to see previous pages... There are many potential advantages to teamwork. One of the major benefit

Write 5 page essay on the topic Developing Teamwork Productivity in a Diverse Workforce.

There are many potential advantages to teamwork. One of the major benefits is that there can be an increased level of individual effort in teams. This occurs because members of the team can motivate each other. In some cases, team members will purposely make efforts to motivate each other. In other cases, a team member will be motivated simply by knowing that the other members of the team are relying on them. Another related factor is that a team member performing well is likely to be recognized and rewarded by the team members. Even though this is only reward by praise, it can be a strong motivator because most people seek the approval or their peers and have a desire to be recognized as valuable by others. Another benefit of teamwork is that it can increase the job satisfaction of employees. Dalton, Hoyte, and Watts (1999) describe how the Hawthorne effect showed the importance of human relations in the workplace. In short, productivity and efficiency increases when there is positive human relations. The use of teamwork is one way that human relations can be improved since it means that employees are working together, which meets their basic needs for belongingness and affiliation. Another benefit is that creativity can be increased by the use of teams. This occurs because team members can work together to solve problems or develop new ideas. The combination of several minds is often much better able to create new and innovative ideas than one mind working alone. This is especially true because most organizations have a diverse group of employees. There can be diversity in background, education, skills, knowledge, and thinking style. The major benefit of a team is that all of these skills can be combined and put to good use in various situations. For example, one team member may have a critical thinking style, where they question every new idea and look for potential problems. If this person is working along, this focus may prevent them from trying new ideas. Another person may have a creative thinking style, where they are always developing new and innovative ideas. If this person is working alone, they might try many new ideas that have no potential for positive results. If these two people work together, their approaches can combine well. The creative person creates new ideas, while the critical person assesses them. This shows how the different approaches of individual team members can complement each other, with the team likely to achieve more as a unit than any of the members could achieve alone.

While these are potential benefits of teams, there are also some potential disadvantages. The first disadvantage is that a team can take some time before it begins to operate effectively. Initially, teams will typically progress through a forming stage and a storming stage. In the forming stage, team members will be trying to settle into the team environment. In the storming stage, the team will be in a state of conflict, where members will typically disagree about aspects of the team including how the team should function. In this stage, it is also typical for there to conflict over who will lead the team, with several team members often trying to assert their power.