Editing Team (section)

{{short description|Group linked in a common purpose}}
{{other uses|Team (disambiguation)|Teams (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Teem}}
[[Image:Team work.jpg|thumb|A team at work]]

<!-- This article uses British spelling -->
A '''team''' is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their [[goal]].

As defined by Professor [[Leigh Thompson (academic)|Leigh Thompson]] of the [[Kellogg School of Management]], "[a] team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to information, resources, knowledge and skills and who seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common goal".<ref>{{cite book|title=Making the team : a guide for managers|last1=Thompson|first1=Leigh|publisher=Pearson/Prentice Hall|year=2008|isbn=9780131861350|edition=3rd|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makingteamguidef0003thom}}</ref>

A group does not necessarily constitute a team. Teams normally have members with complementary skills<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book | last1 = Melsa | first1 = James L. | chapter = 7: Total Quality Management | editor1-last = Sage | editor1-first = Andrew P. | editor1-link = Andrew P. Sage | editor2-last = Rouse | editor2-first = William B. | title = Handbook of Systems Engineering and Management | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eFRwQuzPnEcC | series = Wiley series in systems engineering and management | edition = 2 | location = Hoboken, New Jersey | publisher = John Wiley & Sons | date = 2009 | page = 347 | isbn = 9780470083536 | quote = Teams must develop the right mix of skills, that is, each of the complementary skills necessary to do the team's job.}}</ref>
and generate [[synergy]]<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Beatty | first1 = Carol A. | last2 = Barker Scott | first2 = Brenda | chapter = 3: Ream Problem Solving for Pros | title = Building Smart Teams: A Roadmap to High Performance | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YH1CEYKYDyYC | location = Thousand Oaks, California | publisher = SAGE | date = 2004 | page = 65 | isbn = 9780761929567 | quote = Synergy occurs when the team's combined output is greater than the sum of the individual inputs. Synergy creates an excess of resources.}}</ref>
through a coordinated effort which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Naresh Jain (2009) claims:

<blockquote>
Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their [[true self|true potential]], and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations.<ref>
{{cite book| last1= Jain| first1= Naresh| chapter               = Run marathons, not sprints| editor1-last  = Davis| editor1-first         = Barbee| title= 97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know: Collective Wisdom from the Experts| chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SnJFzi7M9XcC| publisher= O'Reilly Media, Inc.| date      = 2009| page= 96 | isbn                  = 9781449379568 | quote= Team members need to learn how to help one another, help other team members realize their true potential, and create an environment that allows everyone to go beyond their limitations.
}}
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</blockquote>

While academic research on teams and teamwork has grown consistently and has shown a sharp increase over the past recent 40 years, the societal diffusion of teams and teamwork actually followed a volatile trend in the 20th century.<ref>Weiss, M. & Hoegl, M. (2015). The History of Teamwork's Societal Diffusion: A Multi-Method Review. Small Group Research, Vol. 46(6) 589–622.</ref> The concept was introduced into [[business]] in the late 20th century, which was followed by a popularization of the concept of [[team building|constructing teams]].  Differing opinions exist on the efficacy of this new [[management]] [[fad]].<ref>
{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/strategicmanagem0000clel|url-access=registration|title=Strategic Management of Teams|last1=Cleland|first1=David I.|date=1996|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9780471120582|page=[https://archive.org/details/strategicmanagem0000clel/page/132 132]|quote=Managers may believe that the current use of teams is a management fad that will go away in time, and the traditional vertical organizational design will once again hold forth.|author-link1=David I. Cleland|access-date=2014-05-05}}</ref>
Some see "team" as a [[four-letter word]]:  overused and under-useful.<ref>
Compare: {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SaWWgkdSZi8C|title=Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions By Knowing What To Ask |last1=Marquardt|first1=Michael J.|date=2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9781118046784|series=J-B US non-Franchise Leadership|volume=180|page=133|quote=Margaret Wheatley (2002) observes that in too many organizations team is a four-letter word.|access-date=2016-03-23}}
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Others see it as a panacea that realizes the [[Human Relations Movement]]'s desire to integrate what that movement perceives as best for workers and as best for [[management|managers]].<ref>
Compare:{{cite journal |last1=Dunphy |first1=Dexter |last2=Bryant|first2=Ben|date=1996-05-01 |title=Teams: Panaceas or Prescriptions for Improved Performance?|journal=Human Relations |volume=49|issue=5 |pages=677–699 |doi=10.1177/001872679604900507|s2cid=146423108}}</ref>

Many people believe in the effectiveness of teams, but also see them as dangerous because of the potential for exploiting workers — in that team effectiveness can rely on [[peer pressure]] and peer [[surveillance]].<ref>
Compare:{{cite book |title=Key Concepts in Work |last1=Blyton|first1=Paul |last2=Jenkins |first2=Jean|date=2007|publisher=SAGE |isbn=9781848607415|series=SAGE Key Concepts series|location=London|page=206 |chapter=Teamworking|quote=In this view, teams represent the latest means of controlling the worker, where peer pressure from fellow team members adds to other managerial controls to increase the level of work intensification. [...] For this view, therefore, teamworking has a 'dark side' of surveillance, peer pressure and self-exploitation, which augments broader management controls of work behaviour.|access-date=2019-02-04|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ycMsaaOuLeoC}}
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However, Hackman sees team effectiveness not only in terms of performance: a truly effective team will contribute to the personal well-being and adaptive growth of its members.<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book|title=Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances|last1=Hackman|first1=J. Richard|date=2002|publisher=Harvard Business Review Press|isbn=9781633691216|location=Boston, Massachusetts|page=29|chapter=1: The Challenge|quote=[...] I [...] do not count as effective any team for which the impact of the group experience on members' learning and well-being is more negative than positive.|access-date=2019-02-04|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wkgxCgAAQBAJ}}
</ref>

English-speakers commonly use the word "team" in today's society to characterise many types of groups. Peter Guy Northouse's book ''Leadership: theory and practice''<ref>
{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZnZAAAAMAAJ|title=Leadership: theory and practice|last1=Northouse|first1=Peter Guy|date=1997|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=9780803957688|page=160|quote=The failures of teams have also been very dramatic and visible, however, making the need for information about and understanding of team effectiveness and team leadership essential for today's organizations [...].|access-date=2019-02-04}}
</ref>
discusses teams from a [[leadership]] perspective. According to the team approach to [[leadership]], a team is a type of organizational group of people that are members.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} A team is composed of members who are dependent on each other, work towards interchangeable achievements, and share common attainments. A team works as a whole together to achieve certain things. A team is usually located in the same setting as it is normally connected to a kind of organization, company, or community. Teams can meet in-person (directly face-to-face) or virtually when practicing their values and activities or duties. A team's communication is significantly important to their relationship.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} Ergo, communication is frequent and persistent, and as well are the [[meeting]]s.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} The definition of team as an organizational group is not completely set in stone, as organizations have confronted a myriad{{quantify|date=February 2019}} of new forms of contemporary collaboration. Teams usually have strong organizational structured platforms and respond quickly and efficiently to challenges as they have skills and the capability to do so.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}} An effective organizational team leads to greater productivity, more effective implementation of resources, better decisions and problem-solving, better-quality products/service, and greater innovation and originality.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Alongside the concept of a team, compare the more structured/skilled concept of a [[crew]], the advantages of formal and informal [[partnership]]s, or the well-defined – but time-limited – existence of [[task force]]s.

A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transforming-transform-chris-goodman/|title = Transforming to Transform – Preconditions to Launching as a Team}}</ref>

Thus teams of [[game]] players can form (and re-form) to practise their craft/sport. Transport logistics executives can select teams of [[horse]]s, [[dog]]s, or [[ox]]en for the purpose of conveying passengers or goods.