Командная работа: сотрудничество для достижения общих целей.

Collaborative effort of a team to achieve a common goal

Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in an effective and efficient way. Teamwork is seen within the framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individuals who work together towards a common goal. Teams need to be able to leverage resources to be productive (i. e. playing fields or meeting spaces, scheduled times for planning, guidance from coaches or supervisors, support from the organization, etc. ), and clearly defined roles within the team in order for everyone to have a clear purpose. Teamwork is present in contexts including an industrial organization (formal work teams), athletics (sports teams), a school (classmates working on a project), and the healthcare system (operating room teams). In each of these settings, the level of teamwork and interdependence can vary from low (e. g. golf, track and field), to intermediate (e. g. baseball, football), to high (e. g. basketball, soccer), depending on the amount of communication, interaction, and collaboration present between team members. Among the requirements for effective teamwork are an adequate team size. The context is important, and team sizes can vary depending upon the objective. A team must include at least two members, and most teams range in size from two to 100. Sports teams generally have fixed sizes based upon set rules, and work teams may change in size depending upon the phase and complexity of the objective.

The Oxford English Dictionary records the use of "team work" in the context of a team of draught animals as early as 1800. Even though collaborative work among groups of individuals is very prominent today, that was not the case over half a century ago. The shift from the typical assembly line to organizational models that contained increasing amounts of teamwork first came about during World War I and World War II, in an effort for countries to unite their people. The movement towards teamwork was mostly due to the Hawthorne studies, a set of studies conducted in the 1920s and 1930s that suggested positive aspects of teamwork in an organizational setting. After organizations recognized the value of teamwork and the positive effects it had on companies, entire fields of work shifted from the typical assembly line to the contemporary High Performance Organizational Model.

A team must have certain interrelated characteristics to work effectively. Among these is strong group cohesion. There is a positive relationship between group cohesion and performance. Communication is another vital characteristic for effective teamwork. Members must be able to effectively communicate with each other to overcome obstacles, resolve conflict, and avoid confusion. Communication increases cohesion. Communication helps to clearly define the team's purpose so that there is a common goal. Having a common goal increases cohesion because all members are striving for the same objective and will help each other achieve their goals. Commitment occurs when members are focused on achieving the team's common goal. Accountability is necessary to ensure milestones are reached and that all members are participating. Holding members accountable increases commitment within team relations.

One way organizational psychologists measure teamwork is through the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) Teamwork Test. This test was developed by Michael Stevens and Michael Campion in 1994. It assesses people who want to join a team by measuring 14 KSA requirements for teamwork, especially within formal teams. The test has two main categories: Interpersonal KSAs that contain items such as Conflict Resolution and Communication, and Self Management KSAs that include items such as Goal Setting and Task Coordination.