Team Synergy
Levi and Slem (1995) are psychologists who examined teamwork in high-tech companies. They studied factory production teams and engineering research and development teams to determine factors related to team success. These are the factors they found necessary for the successful development of teams:
Evaluation and rewards. Teams need fair and objective criteria for evaluation, team member performance evaluations should relate to their team contributions, and members should be rewarded when their teams are successful.
Social relations. Teams need training in social skills so they can resolve internal conflicts and function smoothly.
Organizational support. Management, the organizational system, and the organizational culture must support the use of teams.
Task characteristics. Teams need clear direction and goals, tasks that are appropriate for teamwork, and work that is challenging and important.
Leadership. Leaders need to facilitate team interactions and provide assistance to teams when problems occur.
Think about a team that you were a member of that was particularly high performing. What specifically did the team leader do to facilitate positive team actions and behaviors? Describe how synergy was demonstrated on the team and what it looked like.
Your post should be at least 300 words. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ postings by Day 7.
Reference
Levi, D., & Slem, C. (1995). Team work in research and development organizations: The characteristics of successful teams. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 16, 29–42.
