Team Building and Cohesiveness

The most interesting aspect of Chapter 11 was the discussion regarding team building activities; I thought this was surprisingly related to team cohesiveness, which was discussed earlier in the chapter. If team building exercises are used effectively, they can create trust, loyalty, and even friendship among team members. All of these factors contribute to team cohesiveness and create a sense of ease and slightly enhance productivity among employees. The two types of team cohesiveness include "socio-emotional" and "instrumental." That is, togetherness which is derived from two different sources, that of satisfaction from group participation, and realization of the mutual dependence of team members, respectively. These two types of cohesion should be balanced to achieve a higher level of teamwork and productivity.

Being a political science major, I recently read about the president and how he organizes the Executive Office of the President, the White House, Bureaucracy, and his Cabinet. Depending on whether or not there is a hierarchical or collegiate structure to the president and his staff, the amount of information which reaches the president can be greatly affected. The teamwork the cabinet and other presidential offices can achieve is greatly hindered by the organizational structure the president sets up. If meetings are regularly held, the different presidential appointees will be updated on all of the issues, and they can find areas of overlap, which would allow problems to be solved more effectively. Teamwork with the president is essential.