Improving Group Dynamics: Creating a Team Charter (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION In our institution's graduate business program, incoming students are organized into class cohorts. Through activities at an orientation weekend, including: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality inventory, completion of a work history, skills inventories, and demographic profiles, students are formed into teams. The overarching goal in creating these teams is to staff each with as many different work functions as possible while also mixing gender, age groups, and other factors. This cross-functional approach is a common feature of teams (Fleming, 2004). The structure of this group organization provides a basis for learning to work in teams. It has been estimated that 50% of Fortune 500 employees are working in teams (Joinson, 1999) and experts predict growth in working in teams both for those in the managerial ranks as well as those in service operations (Thompson, 2000). While the value or functionality of work teams in business is not universally accepted, bringing a team structure to the educational setting does make sense for the many organizations that do utilize a team structure. However, there are potential drawbacks including the "free-rider" effect. In this context, it strengthens the relevance of the program.