1. Workteams – Lesson 1
The success of an organisation often depends on the
quality and effectiveness of its teams. While individual
initiative is important, managers recognise the benefits
of collective performance and look for ways to combine
the different talents of employees to harness the
synergy of a high-performance team.

2. Quality teams
 Teams can be brought together on a short- or long-
term basis depending on the reason for their
formation, and they vary in size depending on the
type and location of the organisation.
 When forming teams for specific projects,
consideration must be given to the availability of
physical and human resources to ensure that the
best possible outcome is achieved.
 Some common types of organisational teams are
outlined in figure 6.1 on page 324

3. Quality teams
 Teams can operate as a group of individuals
or as a united team. Which road they take
and how successful they are, depends on
management attitudes, support, training
and the initial direction provided.
 The performance of members who operate
as a group rather than a united team is
often characterised by significant
differences. These differences are outlined
in figure 6.2 on page 326

4. Quality teams
 To assist teams in achieving peak
performance, there are eight
fundamental questions that should be
addressed continuously throughout
the life of the project, as outlined in
figure 6.3 on page 327.

5. Quality teams
Characteristics of teams
Irrespective of the size of a team, certain characteristics will assist
teams in successfully achieving their purpose. Some such characteristics
are:
 an appreciation of diverse talents
 commitment to a shared purpose and direction
 an ability to work within clearly defined roles and tasks
 a willingness to take risks and accept decisions
 an ability to self-evaluate performance
 an ability to assume shared responsibility
 a willingness to employ multi-directional communication
 the ability to allow participative leadership
 the ability to create a supportive environment.

6. Questions
 Look at the list of characteristics of a
successful team. Individually, select the
three characteristics you consider to be
most important.
 Then form groups of two or three and
compare your lists.
 Now produce a team list of the best three
 Type a paragraph explaining reasons for
your selection