Book Review And Critique Example

Book Review And Critique Example Book Review And Critique â€" Assignment Example > Prologue: A Brief Perspective on Teamwork and CollaborationWhen Teams Work Best, by Frank LaFasto and Carl Larson provides an interesting perspective regarding the elements that foster collaborative teamwork and enhance the quality of results that spring from the integration of goals. LaFasto and Larson emphasize on the fact that there are many obstacles in the path towards goal achievement of the team. They discovered this by observing hundreds of teams and surveying 6,000 team members in various public and private industries and businesses. After 20 years of extensive research, the authors were able to identify five conditions that either hinder or help teams in reaching their goals: Team members can either be collaborative or dysfunctional; Good teams are highly dependent on relationships; Group processes can help make good decisions or muddle them; Team leaders can either help or get in the way of performance; An organization environment can either encourage or discourage worki ng together. (P. xii)According to LaFasto and Larson, there has been a significant and noticeable change in the way business is conducted in the private and public sector. Most notably is the transformation of the tone followed by modern day operational sphere from individual work to teamwork and collaboration. This is true in almost all areas where decisions are made and individuals combine their efforts to achieve a common goal. LaFasto and Larson (2001) addressed this when they wrote, “…people with different views and perspectives coming together, putting aside their narrow self-interests, and discussing issues openly and supportively in an attempt to solve a larger problem or achieve a broader goal” (P. xvii). The evolving character of business practices prompted the U. S. Department of Labor to report on the importance of teaching workplace skills in public schools. LaFasto and Larson (2001) found that the evolution toward teamwork and collaboration is the result of the increasing complexity of problems and social evolution. LaFasto and Larson (2001) stated, “For an organization to change or refocus its efforts in any significant way-in strategy, in design, or in structure-requires a coordinated effort among hundreds, or thousands, or even tens of thousands of individuals” (P. xviii). CritiqueThe beginning of the paper has created a platform for the discussion of the various premises that must be taken into consideration for the study and analysis of teamwork. The basic ideas expressed in the prologue demonstrate the fact that there are various perspectives in management control issues that can either support or discourage team work. This has not been propounded very strongly in the prologue which leaves out the most important take on any paper â€" the theoretical perspective. This is important for a variety of reasons. To begin with, even though the disciplinary separation between comparative policies and social relations within the organiza tion has been regularly challenged, in the traditional theories it continues to persist as a result of institutional inertia and hiring practices which finally makes or breaks teamwork and the result orientation. Result orientation is an important activity of goal achievement within the framework of teamwork. The traditional perspective on teamwork describes control as a means of regulation and a means of setting certain standards for inspection. In this regard, the traditional perspective more often than not seeks to restrain rather than enable in order to manage and exercise control within the team. This perspective must be fully explored from the very beginning of the paper.