Along with mom and apple pie, teamwork has become a sacred cow to American businesses. Yet, one survey by Mercer Management found that only 13 percent of 179 teams revived high ratings. “Somehow, we have to get past this idea that all we have to do is join hands and sing Kum Ba Yah and say, “We’ve moved to teamwork”. Many companies are narrowing the focus and time horizon of teams. A team manageer at Texas Instruments counsels that not everyone has to be on a team and that only 5 percent of its workforce are on self-directed teams. Harvard professor Amy Edmonson questions weather many firms “might be barking up the wrong tree” in stressing the use of teams: I’ve begun to think that teams are not the solution to getting work done.

Discuss potential reasons why teams often fail to deliver the hoped for results?

Answer must be minimum 500 words, citation, and references required