Townsend, K: Teams in New Workplaces

The study of work teams has captured the attention of academics and practitioners throughout the latter stages of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century. There has been much debate and one could be forgiven for thinking that we know the answers. However, there are still substantial gaps in our knowledge of the practical operations of work teams.Furthermore, the labelling of formal work groups is rather ambiguous, even clichéd. The intent of this book is to examine diverse teams to consider how teams influence factors such as control, cooperation and resistance within organisations.This research was developed to consider all employee actions in the workplace. This includes actions that would be viewed by management as positive and actions that would be considered by management as deviant or negative. Teams in these organisations are a structure of social organisation and managerial control rather than employee empowerment. The notion of the managerially constructed work team seems to have some longevity and hence, cannot be completely dismissed as a managerial fad.