Teamwork in Organizations: Importance, Improvement, and Case Study

This report examines the importance of teamwork in organizations, focusing on its role in enhancing efficiency, idea generation, learning, and communication. It reviews literature defining teamwork and its benefits, along with strategies for improving team dynamics. A primary research component includes observations and an interview at a Starbucks outlet to illustrate real-world applications of teamwork principles. The report concludes that teamwork is crucial for organizational success, supported by both theoretical concepts and practical observations, emphasizing the need for coordination to achieve organizational goals and customer satisfaction. The study also references various articles and scholarly work to support the claims.

Running head: TEAM WORK
TEAM WORK
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1TEAM WORK
Table of Contents
Research Question...........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review............................................................................................................................2
Team work...................................................................................................................................2
Importance of team work.............................................................................................................3
How to improve team work in an organization...........................................................................4
Primary Research.............................................................................................................................4
Discussion........................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References........................................................................................................................................6

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Research Question
To what extent is teamwork important for an organization?
Introduction
The primary objective of the given research paper is to throw light into the importance of
teamwork in an organization and to determine why it is necessary for the chosen organization to
ensure that the team dimensions in the organization are appropriate. The report will be following
a systematic format whereby the first part of the paper will be reviewing the literature to
determine the concept of team work, followed by the importance of team work in the
organization. The measures to improve team work will also be discussed (Galegher, Kraut &
Egido, 2014). A case study of the organization, Starbucks will be taken into consideration in
order to determine the real life application of the theories of teamwork. This will be followed by
a discussion examining the findings of the analysis.
Literature Review
Team work
Team work can be described as the effort as the combined effort as taken up by a team to
achieve a common objective or to work in the most effective manner. A team is largely described
as the group of different individuals who work together and are largely dependent on one another
for the common achievement of the goal. The teamwork needs to be effective in nature and they
should ensure that all resources are utilized effectively (Maxwell, 2013). The team work concept
can be used in various contexts such as a school team, sports team, health care system and an
organization as well. Teamwork requires communication, collaboration and interaction so as to
be able to achieve the given set of objectives.

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Importance of team work
Team work plays an efficient role in an organization but is often ignored in an
organization due to unexplainable reasons or for the sole purpose of earning profits in an
organization. Working in a team has a wide variety of benefits and the importance is stated as
follows:
Team work assists in increasing efficiency
When certain individuals tend to work together in a team then the accomplishment of
objectives becomes quite easy (Costa, Passos & Bakker, 2014). The entire procedure of the
organization becomes considerably easy. When certain problems are faced then the organization
will be easily able to achieve success with respect to them when different members in a team
work collectively towards it.
Helps in idea generation
According to Robinson & Stubberud (2014), one of the biggest benefits of an effective
team work is that it contributes to team work and team discussions can give rise to ideas which
will be beneficial for the long term of the organization. Creativity prospers in an organization
when different individuals tend to work together for the achievement of the clear objective.
Helps in learning
Team work can prove to be an enriching learning experience (Warrick, 2016). When
different individuals tend to work together, then they can learn from the mistakes of one another
and become better at working for goal achievement.
Enhanced Communication

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Communication is the key to success in different organizations. Team work comprises of
different activities which tend to assist in meeting together and discuss different ideas. When
information is shared across the organization then enables effective communication and allows
each member to prosper.
How to improve team work in an organization
There are several ways in which an organization can improve team work. Some of them
have been listed out below:
Implementation of Recognition Programs- This shall assist in helping to motivate the different
team members.
Encouraging Social Activities- It helps in encouragement of team building ([Business Matters,
2018).
Outlining clear responsibilities- It assists in outlining roles and duties.
Solving disputes- It helps in maintaining harmony.
Primary Research
In order to understand the importance of team work better in an organization, I
understood a study whereby the methodology involved was that I went to an outlet of Starbucks
and observed the operations. The different employees in the given outlet work together as a team
and a delay from one side may cause disruption in the entire procedure. Furthermore, I undertook
an interview of the different the manager of the given outlet. As per their comments on various
questions being asked by me, the manager mentioned that team work helps in carrying out the
different operations quite easily. Furthermore, it also assists the given organization to be able to
satisfy the customers. To improve team work, the store manager conducts different activities in

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the given organization which help in team building. This has worked effectively for the outlet
and it has been able to perform well. The store has received good reviews from the customers as
well.
Discussion
The primary research which I conducted to find the importance of team work in an
organization was revolved around finding the importance of team work in Starbucks. For this
purpose, I interviewed the manager of an outlet and according to his comments it could be
understood that team work tends to play a major role in an organization and is essential to
receive the goals of the given organization. Team works has gone further to achieve synergy at
Starbucks which has then been able to further strengthen my concepts related to team work.
Starbucks is an interesting example of how the coordination between the different departments
and members of the staff can lead to success and achievement of the ultimate objective of
customer satisfaction. Hence, although I possessed a rough idea about team work, experiencing
the real observation, my concepts have been strengthened and the concepts are related to the real
life and that a lack of coordination leads to inefficiency. Hence, for any organization it is
recommended that the team work is improved so that the firm is easily able to achieve its goals.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis it could be stated that team work forms an essential
aspect of the organization. The paper discussed the various concepts related to team work like
the importance of it and measures how to improve team performance. The primary research was
conducted based on Starbucks and the interview with the manager helped in confirmation that as
stated in theory, team work has a big role to play in a firm.

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References
[Business Matters]. (2018). Profile of the successful project team.
Costa, P. L., Passos, A. M., & Bakker, A. B. (2014). Team work engagement: A model of
emergence. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 87(2), 414-436.
Galegher, J., Kraut, R. E., & Egido, C. (2014). Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological
foundations of cooperative work. Psychology Press.
Maxwell, J. C. (2013). The 17 indisputable laws of teamwork: Embrace them and empower your
team. Thomas Nelson.
Robinson, S., & Stubberud, H. A. (2014). Teaching creativity, team work and other soft skills for
entrepreneurship. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 17(2), 186.
Warrick, D. D. (2016). What leaders can learn about teamwork and developing high performance
teams from organization development practitioners. Performance Improvement, 55(3),
13-21.