Team Dynamics and Conflict Resolution
Most individuals have different understandings and definitions of a team. Katzenbach and Smith (1993) define a team as "a small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goal, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable" (p.45). Based on the definition provided by Katzenbach and Smith we determined that there are several essential aspects to take into consideration when forming a team, because many times it is difficult for a team to be successful because people are accustomed to working alone. The essential aspects to forming a team are understanding the concept of a team, the number of individuals participating in the team, range of skills, clearly define and challenging goals, common approach, mutual accountability, conflict resolution, and communication.
When teams are formed, it is important that all members understand the concept of a team and know the difference between a team and a group. Many teams fail because the members are not aware of the difference between a team and a group. According to Hicks (1998), a group has individual performance goals while a team has performance goals to achieve and members of a team feel mutually accountable to achieve them. In a team, each member learns how to work and interact with others. For instance, the goal of a team is to put together the best possible presentation that represents the work of all team members, while in a group each member provides a contribution without working together. In a team, each member endeavor by working together for the best possible product or result. Typically, the result of a team is more than what an individual could achieve, whereas in a group each member ...