A team exists whenever two or more people work together to accomplish a task or achieve a common goal. The potential for synergy results from the impact the team members have upon each other and the work they do. Because of this impact and the goals they hold in common, team members recognize they are dependent upon each other and accountable to each other.
Working with others can be an enjoyable, and transforming, experience. Consciously or unconsciously, there are many things that a team does to develop sense of collective cohesion and commitment we call teamwork. Although there are still many jobs in firms today that can be handled more effectively by one person, a basic aspect of organizational life is that fewer work assignments are fully performed by one individual alone. Indeed, teams are increasingly being employed in every type of organization in every industry, from restaurants and traditional manufacturing environments to service oriented and high-technology companies. Just as there are difference between combination of individuals and teams, there is significant variability in the ways workgroups and teams are structured, with important meaning for team functioning. Work teams should be structured to maximize member and team proficiency and success in task related assignments and coordinate and integrate each member's efforts with those of the other team members. In practice, teams run from arrangements where members are assigned to a team, yet are still largely accountable for individual contributions and report to a manager, to team in which members are mutually empowered and accountable for group outcomes. There are also a variety of ways work teams are structured, ranging from teams that have distinct formal hierarchies, to self-managed nonhierarchical teams, to virtual teams.