Group and Team Paper

Running Headline: GROUP AND TEAM PAPER

Group and Team Paper

Sandy Webb

MGT307

Dr. Tim Dosemagen

“There is no ‘I’ in team” partly based on the mnemonic: - Together Each Achieves More …which values the togetherness of individuals, this well meaning adage is to emphasize that egos have no place in teams and that the generic direction of everyone is the same (Haworth, 2008). In this group and team paper it will cover the differences between a group and a team. Included will be an examination of the importance of workplace diversity in my organization, and how it relates to team dynamics in the workplace.

A group is defined as two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives (Robbins, Judge, 2009, p.284). The group can be formal or informal. Formal groups are used in organizations to pool together information, develop plans, distribute work increase, negotiate, resolve conflicts, conduct inquests and organize activities. Informal groups are natural formations in the work environment that appear around the social needs of people than around the performance of tasks. Informal groups usually serve; needs of association, and acts as a meeting for exploring self-concept as a means of gaining support, and so on.

A team is defined as any group of people organized to work together interdependently and cooperatively to meet the needs of their customers by accomplishing a purpose and goals (Heathfield, about.com). A team can be created for long or short term interactions. Long term teams could be a product development team, an executive leadership team, and a departmental team. Short terms may include a team to plan the annual company party or a team to respond to a specific problem or complaint.

There are three common types of teams; functional or departmental, cross-functional, and self-managing. Functional or departmental teams are groups of people from the same...