Team Management Concepts When we think of the word team, many different ideas may come to mind about what a team actually is. Some may think of an NFL team (Tennessee Titans), an NBA team (Sacramento Kings), or a NASA astronaut team with pioneers like Edwin Aldrin, Jr. and Neil Armstrong as members. You might even think of the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, or Marines as teams. Actually, they all are, and they have a lot in common as teams. However, for the purposes of this article, I will examine the characteristics of work teams, as they apply to organizations, and provide answers to the following questions: What is a team? Where does the concept of team come from? What are the types of teams? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having teams in organizations? What does it take to make a team effective?A work team will be defined for the purposes of this article by a definition borrowed from Bateman and Snell (2004). A team is made up of people (usually a small number) with complementary skills, who trust each other and are committed to a common purpose, common performance objectives and a common approach for which they hold each other accountable. Teams generally perceive themselves and are perceived by others as a social entity, interdependent because of the tasks performed as members of a group..