Problem
In 2012, a group of Google employees investigated what makes an effective team. Why are some teams successful, while others fail? Code-named Project Aristotle, the project called on the top statisticians, organizational psychologists, sociologists, and engineers to analyze hundreds of teams within Google, with the hope of finding the key to building top-performing teams.
Review the article The five keys to a successful Google team to explore what Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. Describe a case analysis paper to consolidate the learnings from the article on Project Aristotle and the teamwork skills and competencies of the high-performing teams to answer the questions below.
A. The study revealed that 'group norms' were significant. In this context, how did the researchers distinguish a "workgroup" from a "team" in the study? Explain the difference(s) based on your understanding of the team design characteristics.
B. The study identifies five key factors for team success. Explore the elements of cohesion, social loafing, and collective efficacy in these factors and discuss:
a. Do the findings suggest that cohesion can help support team performance if the group values task completion? Explain.
b. Which teamwork skills are essential to combat social loafing within larger groups? Justify your answer.
c. Does collective efficacy help or hurt a team?