TEAMWORK

By : Umar Khalif Bin Zaidi

Teamwork can be defined as the ability to work cooperatively with others and work together as
opposed to separately or competitively to achieve a common goal. Teamwork is used in all aspects of life.
Analyze any situation or task involving more than one person: in almost all cases, the outcome can only
be positive if a sufficient amount of teamwork is used. For example, a marriage will only work if both
partners put in the effort. A sports team will not be successful unless the team works together as a unit. A
business or cooperation will not survive unless all members work as one team. Whether or not each
individual realizes it, they are putting complete trust in the other members of their team to work together
and achieve one common goal. In a team, people work together for specific goals and usually with
particular roles for different members of the team. In Teams, people work interdependently and they
know they can accomplish goals by mutual help. Moreover they trust each other, and share their
knowledge.
According to a Chinese Proverb behind an able man there are always other able men. To
achieve success in life, we have to work together because teamwork is the heart of great
achievement.Teamwork involves more people, which means more ideas, resources and energy than an
individual would have. There is always a team behind every successful individual or organization. If we
take examples of political leaders, pop culture icons, business innovators or spiritual leaders, they always
achieve success with the help of their team.Teamwork shows selflessness and determination. One of the
biggest advantages of teamwork is learning. People tend to learn faster when working with other people.
There is always a healthy competition in teamwork because if someone wants to excelover another team
member, then the task will be completed above and beyond expectations.
Another advantage of teamwork is that it enhances creativity. While working in a team everyone
hasdifferent ideas and concepts to share. This brings new and innovativeideas to the organization.An
impressive view in this regard could be finding an individual who is perfect for a specific designation e.g.
a managing director of a company who ought to have certain peculiar traits within him , but no one is
perfect even if its about the position he is assigned for. Therefore, this dilemma of not having such an
ideal individual in any organization can be overcome by making a strong team where the individuals
gather to work simultaneously for a mutual benefit.Every organization gives more importance to team
work because they know this is the key to success. An increasing number of companies are using teams to
respond quickly to changing conditions in an environment of intense global competition and increasing
complexity. Changing an organization to compete in a highly unpredictable business environment usually
requires multiple and continuous innovation. Achieving flexibility and innovation requires teamwork.
Organizations expect individual commitment and performance above the standards. Only this
way they make the profits that permit them to seek their other corporate objectives. Each employee can
and must make a difference. Organization however focuses on making an individual work with constant
dedication, motivation, and enthusiasm and usually fail to understand that it is wiser to concentrate on
making a good and effective team.The members of a team may work on voluntary basis. People who are
zealous, innovative and have a clear vision about certain things may unite together and pursue to achieve
certain goals. They understand the requirements of a task and the expectations from them and their own
expectations from other team members.

Many times, if the team members are passionate about their goal, they will meet employer's
expectations easily. And they can perform well despite of circumstances. By the definition of teamwork,
it is a group of individuals with different personality traits, who can contribute to diverse point of views
and better approach to the problems at hand. The team members know the strengths and weaknesses and
they understand how to work with each other. They know that in a group, competition may arise, but they
can set that aside so that they can work together. The members know the weakness of others, so they offer
the help to team mates that they can offer to them.
One of the most seen advantage of teamwork is receiving motivation an support. Utilizing
teamwork in a business or organization bolsters the weaknesses of some with the strengths of others. As
an example, If one person excels at making conference calls, while another is great at typing up
documents, then each can support each other with the talent that would be lacking if each were forced to
work solo. Likewise, one worker is bound to have an off day where enthusiasm is lagging, so another
member of the team can help encourage that worker to do a better job. The motivation team members can
give each other creates greater camaraderie, leading to greater fulfillment within relationships at work.
Teamwork also will create a creative solution. As the old saying goes, two heads are better than
one. And with a team, even more so. Solutions to problems and fresh ideas are generated by the
brainstorming that teamwork fosters. Teams allow skills, knowledge, opinions and experiences to be
pooled together for the benefit of the business as a whole. This leads to better productivity for every
member of the team, and every task completed by each worker leads to one noticeable outcome that the
whole team and company can take proud in.
In any corporation or organization, we can clearly see the competition or growth of each member
of the corporation or organization. Teamwork allows individual workers to see how other workers do
their jobs, and can be a source of education and inspiration. Less experienced workers can learn and grow
from their interactions with senior-level team members. Opportunities to learn from each others' strengths
can also lead to a healthy sense of competition that motivates the team to produce greater quality or
quantity of product or service.
Accountability is also the main advantage of teamwork. Teamwork creates an environment in
which workers are accountable for what they produce, because other team members are counting on each
individual piece to make the puzzle or the project work to everyone's satisfaction. When all workers do
their part, it lends them a sense of pride and belonging, as well as status among the team. An individual's
accomplishment such as a catchy ad slogan idea gives that worker attention and recognition among his
peers.
There are many example of teamwork shown by organization or corporate. Such example is
Apple Inc. One of the biggest focuses of Apple Inc is its team work. In its mission statement, Apple says
that its main desire is to worktogether and improve theenvironmentby workingtogetherwith its employees
and the rest of the world.Apple Inc holds its own expos, keynote speeches, and other presentations. These
are not only meant to keep the public informed but they also inform the different departments about the
happenings within the company. Next example is Emirates Airlines. Emirates Airlines also makes use of
strong and efficient team members whether it is the ground staff, on board, technical or located at airport.
It is a team effort that it holds the position of one the most hospitable airlines. Other examples are Toyota
Motors and Abbott Laboratories.

Apart from all the positives effect of teamwork, sometimes conflict occurs in any organization.
Thus we should have our own methods of dealing with those conflicts. First, we need to have positive
perspective. Accept conflict as a natural growth process and influence your company culture to view
constructive conflict positively. Conflict can be an asset to your small business if it is handled properly. It
can help your organization to learn from its mistakes and identify areas of needed improvement.
Innovation can be inspired from creative solutions to internal or external conflicts, and new ways of
thinking can emerge.
The most common step used to solve conflicts is taking disciplinary action Most businesses
maintain a set of policies designed to limit workplace conflict by prohibiting certain modes of dress,
speech and behavior. If the owner or management staff of a business fails to enforce those policies, it can
lead to conflict. By making it a point to enforce the policies through disciplinary actions, such as verbal
reprimands or unpaid time off, businesses limit some of the sources of conflict. Simple reprimands often
serve to "shock" employees back into work appropriate behavior. In a small number of cases, dismissal of
employees that will not alter their behaviors proves the only solution to conflict resolution.
Next, we need to have grievance procedure. Create a formal grievance procedure for all
employees. Let employees at all levels of your organization know that their voices will always be heard,
and respond promptly and reasonably to employees issues. This can prevent bad feelings from festering
and growing into resentment and bitterness. Conflict is best handled quickly and openly. If your company
culture is sufficiently friendly toward constructive conflict, your staff should see the value of letting their
complaints, ideas and issues be heard.
Furthermore, we need to get to the cause and find the root of the problem. ocus on deep-rooted
causes rather than superficial effects when assessing conflicts. Parties to a conflict often claim to have
issues with the behavior of co-workers or the outcome of company policies and work procedures, but
these issues are likely being caused by something deeper. Attempting to resolve the conflict by addressing
surface issues will rarely create meaningful change or lasting solutions. Look deeper to address the
reasons that incidents occur.As an example, if a supervisor finds himself constantly in conflict with a
loyal employee due to falling productivity levels, the supervisor may naturally want to address the
employees behavior head-on. Upon closer analysis, however, the supervisor may realize that the
employee has been increasingly dissatisfied with his job ever since last year disappointing performance
review. Revisiting the review with the employee may be much more effective than creating incremental
performance goals for him.
Other than that, we need to give the person whos having the conflict to have an equal voices.
Give all parties to a conflict an equal voice, regardless of their position, length of service or political
influence. Conflict participants can become defensive if they feel they are being marginalized or are going
through a process leading to a predetermined outcome. It can be tempting to take the word of managers
over front-line employees, or to take the word of a loyal employee over a new employee, but remember
that your most trusted associates are not necessarily infallible. Go beyond simply giving everyone an
equal chance to speak; give their arguments an equal weight in your mind when mediating a conflict.
Not to forget, we need to put our listening ears on .Teamwork and collaboration involve effective
listening, so if you can discuss a time when you took the time to listen to others, patiently and skillfully,
and how doing so eased tensions and increased collaboration, that will demonstrate your teamwork
abilities.

Final step is resoluting all participants. Involve all parties, if possible, when drafting conflict
resolutions. The theory of Management By Objectives (MBO) states that employees are generally more
committed to goals that they have helped to create. The same holds true for conflict resolutions. There is
more than one side to every conflict, and all sides should benefit from conflict resolution. Seek
resolutions that will prevent the conflict from occurring again, rather than simply delaying a repeat
occurrence.
In a nutshell, Every big goal to be achieved seems smaller and easily accessible when there is a
team that unites as one to accomplish something. Every large or small organization has different levels of
expertise, and teamwork acts as a bridge to connect these dissimilar levels.Organizations are focusing
more on teamwork as they know that teamwork is the platform for new and fresh ideas. Effective
teamwork is essential for organizations to realize their full potential and to meet certain goals. Teamwork
is essential for a success of any organization, as sometimes the tasks are too immense to be done by any
one person. Individuals are encouraged to interact at all levels of management, sharing ideas and
suggesting ways to improve the effectiveness and quality of products and services. Hence, teamwork is
needed for organizational success.