Team In Name Only

I have done some reading about teamwork, outside of class as well, and my definition is more closely aligned with the European democratic model, than the narrowly focused American model of productivity and profit. The book points out a few of the reasons the word "team" gets a bad rep at some employers: "increased responsibility - without...rewards...lack of stability...top down control alongside new forms of peer pressure"(p. 213). My present employer is one such case in point. Although all formal communication is addressed to the "team," prior financial irregularities, ethics violations, downsizing, and poor communication have undermined a spirit of community with organizational interests. In such a volatile climate the word team becomes a label for, rather than a description of organizational membership.