Each employee then convened within their departments and discussed the pro's and con's of each provider. Every staff member could voice their opinion and their decision as a group was the final outcome. By allocating departmental teams, Hart Associates was able to give their employees a voice and a sense of empowerment. Hart Associates takes conflicting opinions and points-of-view into consideration and turns them into an asset, rather than a liability. In other companies however, personality differences can cause major disruptions in the decision-making process. Coworkers might pressure others to go along with their opinions or ideas and this could cause quiet individuals to be persuaded to change their minds. This brings us to another point: trust. A team with no trust is a non-functioning team. One must be able to rely on his/her colleagues in a team environment and if s/he doesn't then it becomes harder to go carry out goals. Robbins provides evidence that " three out of four Canadians do not trust the people for whom they work."# Job satisfaction in a team environment cannot be granted to all because individuals have conflicting needs and wants. As long as employees understand ahead of time that problems in teams are due to " manifestations of invisible structures in the relationship among people ,"# they can adapt to the stresses and implications of being on a team.
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While there are these inherent problems sewn into the fabric of teamwork, based on individual wants and needs, there are inestimable benefits as well. Today there is a global emphasis on teamwork in a wide array of fields. It's become the new buzz word. Teamwork, (and along with it, employee involvement), equals motivation. Why does employee involvement produce motivated employees? According to human resource professional, Susan M. Heathfield, involving staff in work decisions " increases ownership and commitment, retains your best employees, and fosters an environment in which people choose to be motivated and contributing.
