Essential external elements for the implementation of teams: a case study

Abstract

This study investigated external factors that hamper teamwork, relating them to three major elements - organizational structure, strategy and selection. The study was conducted in the subsidiary of a multinational company with more than 300 employees in Brazil from July 1st,, 2005 to March 21st, 2006. Twenty-two employees were interviewed and sixty-nine workgroups were mapped. In a second phase, 106 participants answered two questionnaires each: one about the company and one about their team. Eighteen real teams were confirmed, all with a high level of maturity and performance, probably related to the elements adopted with relative success by the company: Strategic commitment (average 3.49 in a 1 to 5 scale), accompanied by measurable actions; structure reorganization (average 3.3) and selection, which, albeit not being directed specifically for the formation of teams, is compensated by a low turn-over rate.