The truth about teams

Abstract

Many companies have adopted self‐directed work teams as a way to empower their employees and thus enhance both productivity and quality. Many of these same companies, however, have experienced a myriad difficulties and problems in attempting to implement a team programme. Explains how to determine if your company could benefit from using a team management approach, as well as how best to “set the stage” for an empowerment programme such as teams. Includes useful strategies for implementing teams, a discussion of the critical role of management, how long the transition can be expected to take, how to deal with issues of accountability, and the importance of initial and ongoing training. Addresses the concept of team efficacy in the context of why teams are successful at some companies and disastrous at others.