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Trouble with Teamwork
Mary Owen examines the role and efficiency of teams
Recruiters say that candidates who can give examples ofwork they have done as
members of a successful team are in asstrong a position as those who can point
to significant individualachievement. Indeed, too much of the latter may suggest
thatthe person concerned is not a 'team player' - one of the moreserious
failings in the book of management.
The importance of being a team player is a side effect of the increasing
interaction acrossdepartments and functional divides. Instead of pushing
reports, paperwork and decisions aroundthe organisation, 'teams provide a
dynamic meeting place where ideas can be shared and expertisemore carefully
targeted at important business issues,' says Steve Gardner, in his book
KeyManagement Concepts. He adds, 'Globalisation has added a further dimension to
teamwork.Multinational teams now study policy decisions in the light of their
impact on the local market.'
But is teamworking being overdone? 'Some managers are on as many as seven or
eightdifferent teams', says Dr Cathy Bandy, a psychologist who recently ran a
conference on thesubject. 'They take up so much time that managers can't get on
with core tasks.' Forming teamsand having meetings has, she says, become an end
in itself, almost regardless of purpose. There isalso the danger of an unhealthy
desire to keep the team going after the work has been done. 'People feel the
need to belong, and team membership can provide a kind of
psychologicalsupport.'
The idea behind teamworking is that, when the right group of people is
brought together, a'force' develops which is greater than the sum of their
individual talents. This is often true in sport,where good players can reach
unexpected heights as members of an international team.However,few business
situations have as clear a set of objectives, or as clear criteria of success
orfailure, as winning a match.
'In business, everyone needs to be clear about what the challenge is and
whether a team isthe right way of approaching it', says Steve Gardner.
'Unfortunately, people focus instead on whothe members of the team should be and
what roles they are to play' Dr Bandy agrees. 'There isalways a danger that
teams can turn into committees,' she says. 'In a lot of situations, one or
twoindividuals would be much more effective.'
So what makes a successful team? There are some general qualities that have
been identified.Steve Gardnerrecommends that in every team there should be
someone who is good atresearching ideas and another who is good at shooting down
impractical ones. There should bethose who can resolve the tensions that
naturally occur in a team and others who are focused ongetting the job done.
Also, providing a clear and achievable target at the outset is the best way
ofensuring that the team will move on to greater things.
13、 What point does the writer make about teamworking at the beginning of the
article?
A It is the most successful form of management.
B It has changed the recruitment procedure in companies.
C Well-run teams still allow individuals to demonstrate their talents.
D Being a team player is now considered an essential management skill.
14 、According to the article, teamwork developed within companies as a
response to
A modern office design.
B changing work practices.
C a reduction in administrative tasks.
D the expansion of international business.
15 、In the third paragraph, Dr Bandy suggests that
A many employees do not enjoy working in teams.
B some managers are not very effective team leaders.
C some teams are created unnecessarily.
D few teams are well organised.
16 、According to the writer, teamwork is more effective in the field of sport
because the players
A know what they want to achieve.
B are more competitive by nature.
C have more individual talent.
D can be driven by national pride.
17 、Steve Gardner and Dr Bandy agree that when a business team is created
people do notpay enough attention to
A the structure of the team.
B alternatives to the team.
C selecting the team members.
D directing the team's activities.
18、 What is Steve Gardner's advice on operating a successful team?
A Maintain a flexible approach to membership.
B Allow personalities to develop within the team.
C Select people who fit naturally into certain roles.
D Make every effort to avoid conflict between members.
Bernard Bailyn has recentlyreinterpretedthe early historyof the United States
by applyingnew socialresearchfindingson theexperiencesofEuropean
migrants.Inhisreinterpretation,migrationbecomes the organizingprinciplefor
rewritingthe historyofpreindustrial North America. His approach rests on four
separate propositions.The firstof these asserts that residentsof early modern
England moved regularlyabouttheir countryside; migrating to the New World was
simply a natural spillover. Although atfirstthe colonies held
littlepositiveattractionfor the English D they would rather havestayed home D by
the eighteenth century people increasingly migrated to America becausethey
regarded it as the land of opportunity. Secondly, Bailyn holds that, contrary to
thenotion that used to flourish in America history textbooks, there was never a
typical NewWorld community.For example, the economic and demographiccharacterof
early New Englandtowns varied considerably.Bailyn's third proposition suggest
two general patterns prevailing among the manythousands of migrants:one group
came as indenturedservants,another came to acquire land.Surprisingly,Bailyn
suggests that those who recruitedindentured servants were the drivingforces of
transatlanticmigration.These colonialentrepreneurshelped determine the
socialcharacterof people who came to preindustrialNorth America.At
first,thousands ofunskilled laborers were recruited; by the 1730's, however,
American employers demandedskilled artisans.Finally, Bailyn argues that the
colonies were a half-civilized hinterland of theEuropean culture system. He is
undoubtedly correct to insist that the colonies were partof an Anglo-American
empire. But to divide the empire into English core and colonialperiphery, as
Bailyn does, devalues the achievements of colonial culture. It is true, asBailyn
claims, that high culture in the colonies never matched that in England. But
whatof seventeenth-century New England, where the settlers created effective
laws, built adistinguished university, and published books Bailyn might respond
that New England wasexceptional. However, the ideas and institutions developed
by New England Puritans hadpowerful effects on North American culture.Although
Bailyn goes on to apply his approach to some thousands of indenturedservantswho
migrated just prior to the revolution, he fails to link their experience with
thepolitical development of the United States. Evidence presented in his work
suggests howwe might make such a connection. These indentured servants were
treated as slaves for theperiod during which they had sold their time to
American employers. It is not surprisingthat as soon as they served their time
they passed up good wages in the cities and headedwest to ensure theirpersonal
independence by acquiringland. Thus, it is in the west thata peculiarly American
political culture began, among colonists who were suspicious ofauthority and
intensely anti-aristocratic.
1.Which of the followingstatements about migrants to colonialNorth America is
supportedby information in the text
[A] A larger percentage of migrants to colonial North America came as
indenturedservants than as free agents interested in acquiring land.
[B] Migrants who came to the colonies as indentured servants were more
successful atmaking a livelihood than were farmers and artisans.
[C] Migrants to colonialNorth America were more successfulat acquiringtheir
own landduring the eighteenth century than during the seventeenth century.
[D] By the 1730's,migrants already skilled in a trade were in more demand by
Americanemployers than were unskilled laborers.
2.The author of the text states that Bailyn failed to
[A] Give sufficient emphasis to the cultural and political interdependence of
thecolonies and England.
[B] Describe carefully how migrants of different ethnic backgrounds preserved
theirculture in the United States.
[C] Take advantage of social research on the experiences of colonists who
migrated tocolonial North America specifically to acquire land.
[D] Relate the experience of the migrants to the politicalvalues that
eventuallyshapedthe character of the United States.
3.Which of the following best summarizes the author's evaluation of Bailyn's
fourthproposition
[A] It is totally implausible.
[B] It is partially acceptable.
[C] It is highly admirable.
[D] It is controversial though persuasive.
4.According to the text,Bailyn and the author agree on which of the
followingstatementsabout the culture of colonial New England
[A] High culture in New England never equaled the high culture of
England.
[B] The culturalachievements of colonialNew England have generallybeen
unrecognizedby historians.
[C] The colonistsimitatedthe high cultureof England ， and did not develop a
culturethat was uniquely their own.
[D] The southern colonies were greatly influenced by the high culture of New
England.
5.The author of the text would be most likely to agree with which of the
followingstatements about Bailyn's work
[A] Bailyn underestimates the effects of Puritan thought on North American
culture.
[B] Bailyn overemphasizes the economic dependence of the colonies on Great
Britain.
[C] Bailyn'sdescriptionof thecoloniesas part of an Anglo-American empireis
misleading and incorrect.
[D] Bailyn failedto test his propositionson a specificgroup of migrants to
colonialNorth America.
