| Date: | 15 November 2010 |
| Times: | 9:30am – 12:30pm |
| Venue | 97 Drummond Street CARLTON VIC 3053 |
We are all members of groups and teams. What makes a team? You can put people in a group together and call them a team but that does not make them one. Often the terms "teams" and "small groups" are used interchangeably however, not all groups are teams. Teams are one type of group.
" A team is a set of interpersonal interactions structured to achieve established goals. A team is not just a group of people working together. It is "two or more individuals who:
- are aware of their positive interdependence as they strive to achieve mutual goals
- interact while they do so
- are aware of who is and is not a member of the team
- have specific roles or functions to perform and
- have a limited life span of membership". (Dyer 1987)
Teams can be placed along a continuum according to the amount of collaboration (integration and role differentiation) required. For example, at one end of the continuum is a gymnastics team where the individual efforts combine to make a team score and at the other end of the continuum is a basketball team where each member is contributing to the greater good with roles clearly defined in order for the whole to be more than the sum of the individual parts.