146 Why It Matters: Teamwork and Communication

Why demonstrate the importance of teamwork and effective communication in a business environment?

Why do businesses stress teamwork and communication? Why have you been subjected to the dreaded “group project” in some of your classes? We think of ourselves as individuals, each hired or chosen for our individual expertise, talents, and experience, and yet we are often asked to work with others on assignments and projects. Why? Because, as the video below demonstrates, we are capable of so much more when we work together. In this module you will learn about teams, why businesses use them, why they succeed and why they fail. As part of our examination of teamwork, we’ll also look at the critical role played by communication. You’ll discover that even a team of star players is doomed to fail if it can’t communicate effectively.

Learning Outcomes

• Differentiate between a group and a team, the characteristics of a team, and why organizations use teams
• Identify the stages of team development and the characteristics of each stage
• Identify factors that contribute to team success
• Explain the importance of effective communications within an organization
• Distinguish what is appropriate and inappropriate in business communications
• Identify communication flows, channels, and networks within an organization
• Identify common barriers to communication in organizations