S u m m a r y

 

Ramstad E & Jokelainen T (2000)

The reconstructed definition of a team

Psykologia 35:433-441. Vammala ISSN 0355-1067

 

A variety of definitions have been offered to describe the concept of a team. In literature terms like group, self-management, shared goals, interdependence, cooperation, shared responsibility and multiskilling are used to characterize the essential features of a team. The difference between the concepts work group and team is obscure: some experts use the concepts team and work group interchangeably while others consider team as something special compared to work group. The aim of this study was to make a theoretic analysis of the concept of a team and to reconstruct a new definition on the basis of the analysis and empirical studies. The new reconstuction of the definition is explicated by four criteria. In this article the new definition is introduced and argued.

 

Key words:

The definitions of a team

 

Elise Ramstad, M.A. (Ed.), Ministry of Labor, Eteläesplanadi 4, FIN-00130 Helsinki, Finland.

Terhi Jokelainen, M.A. (Ed.) and M.S., Oulu University Hospital, PO Box 22, FIN-90221 Oulu, Finland