Chapter 9: Teams and Teamwork Learning Objectives • Explain why the use of teams is increasing.

1. Chapter 9: Teams and Teamwork Learning Objectives • Explain why the use of teams is increasing. • Explain the concept of teamwork. • Describe the structure and processes of teams. • Explain how teams make decisions and share mental models. • Explain how personnel selection, training, and performance appraisal apply to teams.

8. Chapter Summary • Work teams are an adaptive response of organizations to the changing business world. • Teams exist at a level of analysis that is in between the individual and the organization. • What distinguishes a team from several individuals working together are five core principles pertaining to the processes that operate within the team. • Teams have a definable structure as indexed by the roles members assume within a team. • Teams function through important processes pertaining to communication, conflict, cohesion, and trust. • Teams must learn to make decisions that affect every member and result in the emergence of a team mentality. • Some teams, known as virtual teams, consist of members around the world who may have never met each other face-to-face, yet they function through electronic communication. • Issues such as personnel selection, training, and performance appraisal apply to teams, just as they do to individuals. • The social processes that hold teams together and allow them to function are influenced by the cultural backgrounds of their members.