Following introduction, Dr. Frigeri opened the discussion with statistics demonstrating the increasing use of work teams in the United States and throughout the world, stating that a business operations have become more complex, interdependency has grown. He defined a team as a group of people working together for their mutual benefit and the pursuit of a common goal, or any group of people attempting to achieve a common goal through combined effort.
Teams are, in part, a response to the complexity of issues in the modern business world.
Few individuals possess the level of expertise necessary to deal with these issues on their own. Competition is keener, consumers purchase based on cost, and brand loyalty is dead as consumers search for bargains. Frigeri then discussed critical issues encountered when dealing with teams. These include the delegation of responsibility and authority within teams, which he noted is different than within standard work groups. While work groups are traditionally let dy a supervisor, teams possess the authority and responsibility to make autonomous decisions.