Formal – a formal team is created for a specific purpose e. g. the employees at BMW work as a formal team because they work together to meet their aim: “To be the most successful premium manufacturer in the industry. ” Informal – an informal team develops in a less structured way e. g. a group of students at John Ruskin College may start a discussion on the way the teachers teach and if they are not happy with it, they might get together and do something about it. Temporary project or task teams – this type of team only stands for a short amount of time.

It is only made to complete a task or a series of tasks. This team normally dissolves when the task or project is finished e. g. Adidas might call an advertising team in to re-launch one of their old products. Permanent team – this type of team works together on an on-going basis. Some teams can work together for years. Their work is continuous and frequent e. g. a football team like Manchester United Football Club work together every day, where their main task is to work in a team in order to win the Premier League.

Teams can be categorised by how they work and what type of people are in them. Some examples are: Management teams – made up of managers representing different areas and coordinating other teams. Problem-solving teams – they work together to sort out a certain issue or problem that arises. Work teams – they normally take control of all the work affairs in the organisation. Quality circles – they work together to resolve any issues or problems within the workforce

Virtual teams – they communicate on behalf of the workforce through the Internet. Before they had self-managing teams, BMW have a system that was very rigid and less opinionated. The case study tells us that this caused “disputes that seemed to occur every week” and “workers viewed themselves apart from the management”. It also tells us in the case study that it caused discontent, which created “misunderstanding, communication problems, poor productivity and a reluctance to change”.

The workers at BMW also worked under a hierarchical system. As the case study tells us, BMW worked under a “traditional ‘production line format'”, where they had to take orders on what needed to be done and did not have a chance to express their thoughts on certain issues. Now, they have revolutionised the workforce and changed the programme “to a team based approach” where “cell production has replaced the production line and the emphasis at Cowley is based on self managing teams”.

The use of teams in BMW is very efficient and helps to achieve strategic aims and objectives. For a team to achieve its goals, its members must do more than just carry their own weight. They must involve, support and share information with their teammates. They must also commit to the success of the entire team, not simply their own success. Working as a team clearly teaches employees the personal, interpersonal and organisational skills of working together, whether in teams or groups.