Teamwork Advantages

Teamwork is essential to the function of any workplace. Everyone in a team has an important position that is crucial to the success of their endeavor. In a good group, if one member drops the ball the others should be ready to scoop it up. With all of the members working together than there should not be any problems reaching their appointed goal when it is due. When I am working in customer service, we work as a team to get our lines down and to make sure our working environment is neat and clean. Some of us help the customers while the rest straighten up the mess on the floor. An effective team member knows how to get their work done and knows to how to work politely and patiently with others. I learned from my sources and my experiences …show more content…
One of the main ones is that you get to know the people you are working with. By having people of different cultures working together you give them the chance of learning about our differences. More importantly they learn how to either use or work with those differences to be a powerful team. Another advantage is that the work gets done faster by having more people work on different tasks, like an assembly line. One more reason is that in a good team, team members would feel more motivated to get the job done, because they feel like they are valued as a team member. In “Benefits of Teamwork in the Workplace” it is said that “…the team environment may improve trust and communication between members; this contributes to a more open environment in which creativity is supported and encouraged,” (Billie Nordmeyer). In a nurturing team all members are encourage to contribute and this helps new ideas be …show more content…
The main disadvantage in teamwork is groupthink. In the textbook Pearson Custom Business Resources groupthink is defined as “…a process by which people strive for group unanimity and consensus by eliminating all critical thinking that threatens consensus” (Shwom). If a group has a problem with groupthink they will be too afraid to argue a point even if it would benefit the project. Another hazard with teamwork is certain personalities. There are some team members that have a lazy personality; they are content to let others carry their burden of the project for them. There is also another personality that goes to the other extreme; instead of being lazy they want to do all the work themselves. They sometimes believe they are being helpful, other times they simply believe they can do a better job if they control everything. Simply put not everyone is a team player. Another issue is that sometime there can be inherent conflicts as well. Like for example in “The Disadvantages of Teamwork in the Workplace” it is said that “Contrasting personal styles can clash and some members may have difficulty accepting ideas that differ from their own,” (Chris