Self Directed Team

Self-Directed Teams

A self-directed team is another form of an organization structure that has gained popularity in recent years. Though the idea has been abused or misunderstood. Although many organizations claim they work in teams, often times what they refer to is a work group led by a single person leader. It is like window dressing or using teams as a new name, without changing the structures.

Tasks of Self-Directed Teams

Employees on a self-directed team handle a wide array of functions and work with a minimum of direct supervision.

demands and to reduce costs in terms of faster product development, eliminating waste and generating better ideas. To illustrate, a company may set as one of its goals as finding new ways to use the scientific breakthroughs in genetic engineering to produce a medicine that cures cancer. In the traditional organizations, different departments like research, production, marketing, and finance would tackle the problem as separate units like an assembly line. Doing it this way, however, would be slow and costly because of the usual artificial barriers people create to protect their departments or the costs would be high

What is a SelfDirected Team

What is a self-directed or self-managing team? A self-directed team is a group of interdependent, highly trained employees who are responsible for managing themselves and the work they do. The central organizing fact of a team is that it has a common purpose and measurable goals for which the team can be held accountable, independent of its individual members.

Self-directed teams have authority to make decisions, unlike, the traditional structure where workers have to rely on the supervisor for decisions.

Benefits of SelfDirected Teams

One of the most commonly stated benefits of implementing teams is its ability to respond quickly to customer

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