Citation
Wing, L.S. (2003), "Editorial", Team Performance Management, Vol. 9 No. 3/4. https://doi.org/10.1108/tpm.2003.13509caa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Editorial
Team organization is in itself an organizing principle which may provide an excellent form of organization for both modern organizations, as well as postmodern organizations.
On one end of the organizational theory continuum, the modern organization, described as Fordist modern in the literature, can be characterized as one with tight control, bureaucracy, public order, formal tasking within the organizational structure, authority as central to decision making and the use of rational logic as the primary organization of reality in the system. High degrees of government control and regulation control the modern organization.
A postmodern organization can be characterized at another end of the same continuum of organization style. Postmodern organizations exhibit a kind of playful, decentralized structure. Individualism is fostered in the postmodern organization. Human development as well as organizational development is perceived to be as important as the pursuit of organizational agendas. The organization is described as a kind of flow, as opposed to rigid and formal tasking, and aesthetics and pleasure are used with rational logic as acceptable forms of reality in the system.
The tasking of teams may be highly differentiated between these two forms of organization. Organizational theory literature in those two domains of Fordist modern and postmodern organization may bring some interesting dimensions to team research. For instance, a highly decentralized form of postmodern teaming may or may not work in a highly structured environment of the modern organization; and, a highly structured form of teaming which could be characterized as formal, centralized and authority based may not work well in a postmodern organization.
The twentieth century was the century of organization study, with the onset of team research from the middle to end of the century. There is much yet to learn.
Linda S. WingEditor. Email: DrWing@usinternet.com