Teamwork and Stress

Paper Summary:

In evaluating what stress is and the aspects of teamwork that contribute and detract from it, the writer presents an analysis, completed from a series of books, journals and articles to ensure the accuracy and completeness of analysis. The writer notes that employees face many stressors as contributors to an organization that are in turn amplified when they participate in and contribute to groups. This paper analyzes different aspects of working in a team that contribute to higher levels of stress in employees, and compares them to those factors that detract from or lessen stress. The writer concludes that ultimately the leadership of teams must concentrate on minimizing the catalysts of stress and infusing instead trust, certainty, and most important, ownership of both jobs and goals to the individual level of their teams if goals and objectives that require coordination and collaboration are to be achieved.

Outline:
Introduction
Team Factors That Contribute to Stress
Team Factors That Reduce Stress
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In addition to all these factors that significantly increase stress, there are the stressors that groups experience together when their collective roles and direction are not adequately defined. This inter-group conflict and confusion causes stress that permeates the entire group. The result often begins to pervade between groups as well often leading to intergroup stress, conflict and confusion as well. These stressors taken together lead to strategies on the part of both individuals and the groups themselves to minimize and eliminate risk altogether, leading to groups becoming paralysed in fear of doing anything. Resistance to change sets in and the groups are then more difficult than ever before to embrace change both at the individual and collective level which in turn influences the culture of organizations over time."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ali E Akgun, John C Byrne, Gary S Lynn, Halit Keskin. 2007. Team stressors, management support, and project and process outcomes in new product development projects. Technovation 27, no. 10 (October 1): 628-639. http://www.proquest.com (accessed January 2, 2008).
• Alstyne, Marshall van, Erik Brynjolfsson, and Stuart Madnick (1997). "The Matrix of Change: A Tool for Business Process Reengineering". MIT Sloan School Working Papers. EBSCO Host. Accessed January 4, 2008: http://ccs.mit.edu/papers/CCSWP189/ccswp189.html
• Anat Drach-Zahavy, Anat Freund. 2007. Team effectiveness under stress: a structural contingency approach. Journal of Organizational Behavior 28, no. 4 (May 1): 423. http://www.proquest.com (accessed January 3, 2008).
• Anderson, Peggy and Pulich, Marcia (2001). Managing workplace stress in a dynamic environment. The Health Care Manager; Mar 2001; 19, 3; pp. 1 - 10. ABI/INFORM Global
• Fincham, Robin, Rhodes, Peter (2005). Principles of Organisational behaviour, 4th edition. Oxford University Press. 24 February, 2005. 784 pages; concentration on chapter 2, pp. 54 - 92.

More papers on Teamwork and Stress:

• Term Paper # 115849 : "Stress in the Workplace"
• Book Review # 99588 : "Stuart Levin and Michael Crom's "The Leader in You"
• Essay # 52483 : "Behavioral Styles"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: