Teams in the Workforce Essay -- Job Employment Working Essays

Teams in the Workforce Introduction The working environment in the United States and in many other countries is undergoing tremendous change. The global marketplace, international trade, and the Internet have brought about a new way of looking at business. Competition has risen to levels never before attained. In order for businesses to succeed in such a competitive market, they must change their organizational structures and the way they conduct their work processes. However, change is difficult. People are the heart of any organization and in order to change people, it takes time. Collaboration is one of the new constructs that will replace hierarchy as the new inter-relational model in the workplace. These new work teams have some advantages and some disadvantages. Teams that use collaboration in the true sense are the most effective. Core Values of Collaboration The seven core values that are vital to collaboration are consensus, trust, responsibility, ownership, respect, honor, and recognition. The collaborative work ethic is the foundation for the collaborative workplace. It is a set of beliefs that is based on the fact that people come first in the workplace. It is believed that people work best when they "own " their workplace culture and their objectives are in line with those of the organization. In his book Transforming the Way We Work, Edward Marshal discusses how teams use collaboration to succeed and keep businesses competitive in the new economy. He says, " Programs that focus on organizational effectiveness, empowerment, total quality, and or self-directed work teams have been a powerful new tool for change in some companies, In most instances, however, the underlying values by which these organizatio... ...s performance results in accomplishments that serve public needs. To do this public managers must take entrepreneurial risks (Levin and Sanger, 1994). Societies and economics are changing so rapidly that it is increasingly defficult to respond to public needs. Effective public managers must continually attempt to interpret those needs and rapidly design creative responses." Bibliography Cohen, Steven, The New Effective Public Manager, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1995. Greenberg, Jerald, Managing Behavior in Organizations, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 1999. Lee, Albert, Call Me Roger, Contemporary Books, New York, 1988. Marshall, Edward, Transforming the Way We Work, American Management Association, New York, 1995. Whetten, David and Kim Cameron, Developing Management Skills, Addison Longman, Inc., New York, 1998.