Teamwork; The Driving Force of a Company?

The bulk of Polytechnic life is centered around projects and ICAs (in course assessments) which so often or another, requires students to not only excel individually, but also "be a team player".

I'm sure almost everyone have been subjected to some degree of teamwork at some point of their lives and I'm quite sure that at some point, malicious intent would have been harboured against a particular team member for example. Thankfully so far, I have not been in situations like that (and I don't wish to be). I've been put into great teams for my modules and are looking forward to working hand in hand with them on various projects.

However, let us talk about the various aspects of teamwork and effective communication between team members in a group. Is teamwork really that important?

I'm sure the term teamwork is evidently used around the world, be it in huge organizations, companies or even in sports teams. But what does it really mean? What really is Teamwork?


Teamwork is a "Cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause" (as cited from dictionary.com). Certain keywords in the defination such as "coordinated" and "cooperative" hints at the required ingredients that constitutes to good teamwork.

In order to have good teamwork, members of the particular group have to be, as mentioned earlier, coordinated and cooperative as these are two very important factors that will ensure the success or failure of the project.
Without Cooperation, members will not listen to anyone and act upon their own instinct; a perfect recipe for failure. It is absolutely vital that someone steps up and takes charge to ensure cooperation. A saying goes that "a ship without a ruddle is like a group without a leader" and I personally find it very sensible and logical.

The human aspect of working in a group is certainly, by far the hardest to manage as different individuals working together would commonly result in various disagreements thus, slowing the work rate and productivity. I personally feel that amongst the group of people working together, there has to be a leader, a ruddle to steel the group in the right direction. This importance cannot be stressed enough.

Naturally, the leader of the group has to be capable and determined about the current project at hand. A leader of a group, any group, has to be sure of the decisions made and the direction in which the group is heading or aiming towards. Importantly, the leader must be able to command attention and respect and that falls to the cooperation of its members. The toughest job falls to the leader; to ensure eveyone works together effectively.

Communication within the group will ensure the coordination aspect of the group. Having good communication and rapport with everyone else in the group usually makes working in the group more fun and productive which will improve work rate and the quality of the products at the end.

Coordination naturally comes with good cooperation in the group and having said that, let us now look as the aspects and benefits of a group with excellent teamwork.

In every company, be it an MNC or a private film, there has to be a certain structure of authority protocol that everyone has to follow. Usually, the CEO (also known as the boss) of the company, makes and charts directional decisions for the company. That also makes him the most important person in the company (or so to speak).

Having a good team within the company would ensure that these plans are followed accordingly with as little downtime as possible; in the world of business, time is money and vice versa. This is where good teamwork comes into play.

They say that "two heads are better than one" which is relatively true. I feel that a team with good teamwork which means "acting as a team" (as mentioned earlier), will beat an outstanding individual hands down no matter how outstanding that individual is. This is just the way of how things work; we're harder and tougher in a group rather then solitary.
Ever tried breaking a chopstick? Yes, I'm sure that is easily done but now try breaking a bundle of chopsticks. Not so easy I presume. From this analogy, the benefits of having good teamwork are unrivaled.

This is why good teamwork is stressed in sectors of businesses. It is rare that people work or function alone without a team because having numbers is considered an advantage too.

The trick of teamwork is actually through cooperation and coordination (as mentioned earlier) amongst the members.

So next time when you're working in a group and feel like giving up or biting the head of another group member off, take some time and look at what the group is doing wrongly. Emotions very often deter individuals from achieving their rightly deserved success so do not let them have a chance at you. Believe in yourself and persistence will certainly pay off.

So let us work towards having better teamwork amongst our groups and working towards our success!