Organizational Development: A Manual for Managers and ... - FPDL

1999) Since coherence is a key factor in creating synergy and all corresponding outcomes, both
external and internal ones, it should also be managed.
Below, we will briefly address the six mentioned aspects of manager’s job. These are not all
aspects of his job, of course. Our selection was based on our perception of priority in addressing
these aspects when working with organizations.
Building teams
Teamwork is among the most popular concepts in management and training. An incredible number
of publications are available for anyone interested. There would be no reason to come back to the
topic if there were not so many cases of misunderstanding and misuse surrounding the idea. It
directly reflects on the way organizations are built. That is why the author considers it important to
comment on the topic.
A team is a higher-level entity than individuals who constitute a group. Being a distinct entity, it
should possess certain emergent qualities that justify the inevitable loss of freedom its members
sacrifice for the sake of the greater results that may be achieved in the team.
For example, five officers in the social department of one local government agreed to meet
applicants not all at the same time, (as before, when everyone would talk with applicants who
belonged to his or her corresponding districts), but to do it in turns, each one meeting all
applicants. Then each officer was busy with applicants only one day per week, thus drastically
improving productivity on other days. In this way the general productivity - and satisfaction of
applicants who no longer felt they were disturbing somebody - rose considerably. No additional
work, but better results. That could happen only with their shift in attitude – instead of ‘everyone
meets his clients’, the new attitude was ‘we all together meet our clients’.
A group of people working in close proximity does not necessary constitute a team. Not any group
- even belonging to a single department, or sitting in the same room, or doing similar jobs, or
contributing to the same project, or having extremely warm private relations, or sharing absolutely
identical moral and values, even if very successful in communication, and celebrating all birthdays
as great events – may be called a team. What makes a team is a common purpose as an
organizing factor.
People in a team together perform one and the same task. The result will be one and the same for
everyone. Some individual gains may be different – but they come from the same common result.
The team was able to reach it, or not. The goal is accomplished, or not. The index is fixed on the
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