Abstract
In recent times the work team, in contrast to the individual and his/her job, has been propagated as the most appropriate means around which to build the organization of the future. It is hoped that the use of the team as the basic building block of the future organization will release the desired synergy to meet the challenges posed by the new business order self-managing teams have been proposed as the pinnacle of the team-based organization. The purpose of this article is to discuss the philosophy behind self-managing work teams and indicate how they differ from traditional teams in organizations. Simultaneously an attempt is made to integrate the diverse literature on this concept in a conceptually sound but simple manner.
Highlights
Sustainable organizational effectiveness requires the successful resolution of the dynamic tension between at least four pairs of opposing poles (e.g. Cohen, 1993; Lawler, 1988; 1992; Mintzberg, 1991; Mohrman, 1993; Quinn & Cameron, 1988; Rayner, 1993): alignment and flexibility;- differentiation and integration;- stability and change; and- control and autonomy.An overemphasis on one pole of any pair to the detriment of the other results in the positive contribution made by that pole, a strength, inverting to an impediment, or a weakness (Miller, 1990; Quinn, 1990)
The following issues are addressed: - what are the fundamental characteristics of work teams? - what is a self-managing work team? - what are the core differentiating dimensions of these teams? - which conditions foster and support the introduction of this type of team into one's organization? - what benefits and drawbacks can be expected from these teams?
Within the organization a distinction can be drawn between different types of teams in terms of the following categories (Cohen, 1993): - formal versus informal teams - temporary versus permanent teams A self-managing work team is a formal, permanent team
Summary
Sustainable organizational effectiveness requires the successful resolution of the dynamic tension between at least four pairs of opposing poles (e.g. Cohen, 1993; Lawler, 1988; 1992; Mintzberg, 1991; Mohrman, 1993; Quinn & Cameron, 1988; Rayner, 1993): alignment and flexibility;. It is hoped that the use of the team as the basic building block of the organization will create the desired synergy to meet the challenge posed by the new world order This synergy will result from the integrated and flexible application of specialized competence and knowledge focussed on customers; and the direction given by a vision and values in a spiral of continuous improvement so that the performance of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts (Cohen, 1993). Within this context self-managing teams have been proposed as the pinnacle of the team-based organization (Lawler, 1992; Orsburn et al, 1990; Wellins et al, 1991). The following issues are addressed: - what are the fundamental characteristics of work teams? - what is a self-managing work team? - what are the core differentiating dimensions of these teams? - which conditions foster and support the introduction of this type of team into one's organization? - what benefits and drawbacks can be expected from these teams?
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