Teamwork is essential for an organization to achieve its goal. Teamwork can make easy a hard job. But it also has some disadvantages. So, here we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of teamwork.
Advantages and disadvantages of teamwork
Generally higher authority makes the decision and the lower level of employees implement the decision. In such a situation, employees face various problems. As a result employee participation is required that has a positive impact on the organization. Employee teamwork is very important for an organization and the advantages of teamwork are:
Advantages of Teamwork
1. More productivity: Increased productivity is possible only when there exists the fullest co-operation between labor and management. It has been found that poor labor-management relations do not encourage the workers to contribute anything more than the minimum desirable to retain their jobs. Thus participation of workers in management essential to increase industrial productivity.
2. Increase Job Satisfaction: Participation increases job satisfaction among the employees. Employees who participate in the decisions of the company feel like they are a part of the team with a common goal. They find their sense of self-esteem and creative fulfillment heightened.
3. Quality of work: Participation make employee committed toward the organizational goals. So they give the best effort to fulfill their commitment. Besides this, employee helps each other in solving a different problem that ensure the quality service or product.
4. Acceptance of change: Managers who use participative style find that employees are more receptive to change than in situations in which they have no voice. Participation keeps employees informed of upcoming events so they will be aware of potential change.
5. Commitment to goal achievement: Decisions are made with the consent of the employees. It increases the commitment of employees to the organization and the decisions they make. They try hard and soul to fulfill their commitment.
6. Low turnover downward: Employees find their sense of self-esteem through participation. It also creates the opportunity to meet up employee demand. As a result turnover rate goes downward.
7. Cordial Relationship: Management and employees are not opponent parties. A good relationship between the two parties is necessary for the smooth operation of the business. Participation helps in building a cordial relationship as managers respect employee’s knowledge, experience, and education. This is one of the most important advantages of teamwork.
8. Development of morale: In a participatory system employees have a scope to present their opinion. It makes employees loyal to management. This organization can achieve its target and employee morale improves.
9. Development of Motivation: Participation creates a positive work environment. Employees may have the chance to show creativity and analytical ability. These opportune unities make them more motivated.
10. Less cost and time: There are a few costs, however, to obtaining participatory input. A participatory decision is a group decision. So less time is required to implement it. And the cost of participation is less than its benefit in case of successful participation.
11. Increases creativity and innovation: Creativity and innovation are two important benefits of participative management. By allowing a diverse group of employees to have into decisions, the organization benefits from the synergy that comes from a wider choice of options. When all employees, instead of just managers or executives, are given the opportunity to participate, the chance increases that valid and unique ideas will be suggested.
12. Increase capacity & Influence of a Management: Participation creates mutual faith, understanding, and cooperation. So employees. So employees hardly disagree with the manager’s decisions. It indicates that managers can easily influence the employees to implement various decisions.
13. Positive Work Environment: Managers listen to staff, ask their opinions, and take them seriously. For these employees consider themselves a part of the organization. This results in a positive environment in the workplace.
14. Effective Decision: Decision is the process of selecting the best alternative. For single problems different solutions, even thousands of solutions. So participation facilitates the decision process.
15. Better operation: Organizations will run better if staffs are more loyal, feel needed, and wanted. They feel that they are respected, and their opinions count. If management proactively seeks their input into decision-making, decisions tend to be better when they can call on a wider range of knowledge, information, and experience.
16. Increases the trust: Trust is an important factor of leadership. Participatory approaches usually mean that decision-making is more transparent. That, in turn, increases the trust of the staff, and the leadership of the manager is increased. And transparency itself is an added benefit to this approach.
17. Work enthusiasm: The manager may accept the employee’s idea or not. When their ideas are accepted they feel proud and become more enthusiastic about their work. When management does not accept their ideas and shows the logic behind the refusal, work enthusiasm will not reduce.
18. Acceptance of decision: Employees accept any kind of decision without showing an argument. Because management asks their suggestions and proposal while making a decision. As they participate in the decision process so workers accept the decision and work to implement it.
19. Increases goodwill: Participation helps to build a good relationship between management and employees. It increases employee’s efficiency and they can produce quality products and services for the customers. A good working condition is available at work. All these things increase the goodwill of the organization.
Disadvantages of Teamwork / Participation
As we said before there are some advantages and disadvantages of teamwork. Though participation has advantages it has some limitations. The disadvantages of teamwork/participation are described below:
1. Lack of competence: In participation, employees put their own opinion. In some cases, incompetent people are bound to put their opinion. For management’s pressure. Management ignores unexpected and irrelevant opinion. Inexperienced and illogical opinion creates a dome problem to participation.
2. Unwillingness of management: If the benefit of participation is less than its cost management will not entertain participation. Management thinks that participation may reduce their authority. So they discourage it.
3. Political Involvement: Political parties influence the participation process. They influence it to achieve their own interests. It obstructs the purpose of participation.
4. Less training: Not only the employees but also the management have less training in this regard. Management cannot create a favorable environment for participation. An unable to manage it properly. Employees are unaware of how to behave at participation. The deficiency of proper training is a problem of effective participation.
5. Not cooperative attitude: Employee expects management to accept their opinion. But it is not possible for a manager to accept all the opinions. So employees become dissatisfied with management which results in a non-cooperative attitude of employees.
6. Lack of education and updated knowledge: To make participation successful both management and employees should have the education and updated knowledge on different things. Most of the participants are not updated in terms of knowledge.
7. Lack of trust: Communication is the process of transferring ideas, thoughts, and knowledge from a sender to the receiver. So communication skill is very important for effective participation. Without this skill, participation can never be effective. Most of the employee’s communication skill is below average.
8. Trade Union: All most all the large organization has trade unions. Members or Leaders of trade unions interferes with the participation program for their personal interest. Again political parties may use the trade union in order to fulfill their interest. As result participation and not be effective and fruitful for the organization.
9. Universal participation: Everybody wants to share his or her opinion in the decision process. But all of them cannot effectively participate in every subject. On the other hand, it takes a long time to come to an end.
Hope these advantages and disadvantages of teamwork will clear your concept about teamwork.
More article about the team:
- 10 essential Objectives of Teamwork to achieve the Organization’s goal
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Organization Development
- Importance of Team for an Organization
- Disadvantages of unequal power distribution in a team
- 8 Essential Conditions for Successful Team
- Difference between Team and Group
- Difference between Traditional Structure and Self managed Team
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