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History
of Team Building
The emergence
of the team idea can be traced back to the late 1920s and early
1930s with the now classic Hawthorne Studies. These involved a series
of research activities designed to examine in-depth what happened
to a group of workers under various conditions. After much analysis,
the researchers agreed that the most significant factor was the
building of a sense of group identity, a feeling of social support
and cohesion that came with increased worker interaction. Elton
Mayo(1933), one of the original researchers, pointed out certain
critical conditions which were identified for developing an effective
work team:
The manager
(chief observer) had a personal interest in each person's achievements.
He took pride in the record of the group.
He helped the group work together to set its own conditions of work.
He faithfully posted the feedback on performance.
The group took pride in its own achievement and had the satisfaction
of outsiders showing interest in what they did.
The group did not feel they were being pressured to change.
Before changes were made, the group was consulted.
The group developed a sense of confidence and candour.
These research findings spurred companies to seriously consider
the idea of grouping their employees into effective work teams and
to this day they are still important considerations for human resource
developers.
Dyer, J. L.,
1984, Team research and team training: A state-of-the-art review.
Human Factors Review, pp. 285-319.
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