Team Work

Throughout our educational career and work career we learn to accommodate to the requirements of working in teams. Some of us are individualist while others enjoy collaboration with teamwork. While working in a health care environment I have noticed how teams and teamwork are a necessity. The workload required to work in a hospital is too complex and demanding for an individual to do the job. So each discipline is set up in teams, and managers run the different floors/units to have a successful facility. There are two forms of team structures that are used to construct and facilitate the type of team they desire. The formal structure is the literal structure of the organization chart. It uses a hierarchical reporting relationship and work process that allows workers to report to the chain of command. The informal structure is usually referred to as the “grapevine”. It allows relationships to develop in organizations and contribute strongly to work culture. There is no set chain of command and people establish leaders on their own. Utilizing both methods of structure helps teams run through their course of action set out. Both strategies have been researched and both have a positive outlook, the type of method that is chosen is based on the individual in charge of the hospital/organization. The type of career path that the class and my self have decided to pursue is going to be dependent on working with teams. Training our team and providing them with effective management is going to be the primary focus on having quality initiatives. Dr. Hung states, “By formal teams, we refer to the curriculum in which learning might be characterized as focusing on structured content, extrinsic motivation, and strict assessments.” (Hung 2) Some of us may feel like a formal organizational team structure will better suit the type of team we want. As stated in the text, “a formal team is formally recognized, organizationally based, social system.” (Burns 126) This type of team is

References: Burgers, J., & Jansen, J. (2009). Structural differentiation and corporate venturing: the moderating role of formal and informal and integration mechanisms. Journal of Business of Venturing, 1(24), 206-220. Retrieved from http://libra.msra.cn/Publication/35547515/structural-differentiation-and-corporate-venturing-the-moderating-role-of-formal-and-informal Burns, Bradley, Weiner. Shortell and Kaluzny 's Healthcare Management, 6th Edition. Cengage Learning US, 01/28/2011. <vbk:9781435463950#outline(5.7.2)>. Hung, D., & Lee, S. (2012). Authenticity in learning for the twenty first century: bridging the formal and informal. Education Tech Research Dev, 1(60), 1079-1091. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ986749&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ986749 Lawson, B., & Peterson, K. (2009). Knowledge sharing in inter organizational product development teams: the effect of formal and informal socialization mechanisms. Product Innovation Mechanism, 1(26), 156-172. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2009.00343.x/abstract Nitrel, N., & Schmidel, H. (1994). Formal and informal authority of hospital directors . Journal of Management in Medicine, 8(5), 37-48. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10140627