How a Company Made Everyone a Team Player
| August 15, 2007 |  View for printing |
American corporations love teamwork. But few companies are as smitten as ICU Medical Inc.
At the San Clemente, Calif., maker of medical devices, any worker can form a team to tackle any project. Team members set meetings, assign tasks and create deadlines themselves. Chief Executive George Lopez says he's never vetoed a team decision, even when he disagreed with it. These teams have altered production processes and set up a 401(k) plan, among other changes.
Teams have been in vogue in business since the 1980s. Now, companies are experimenting with different kinds of teamwork as competition and complexity increase and business problems cross departmental or geographic boundaries. Consulting firm Accenture Ltd. has scores of globally dispersed teams serving clients. Teams at International Business Machines Corp. share information on internal Web sites using "wiki" technology that allows collaboration online. Google Inc. assembles teams of three or four employees to assess new ideas.
By Erin White
From The Wall Street Journal Online
Full Story: http://www.careerjournal.com/myc/man ... ontent=mail
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