345Understanding SAP ERP
improvements in efciency, quality, and productivity to quantum leaps in new-product development.
Even in traditional businesses, the number and variety of teams instituted for various functions,
projects, tasks, and activities has been on the increase.
Increasingly, companies are populated with worker teams that have special skills, operate semi-
autonomously, and are answerable directly to peers and to the end customers. Members must not
only have higher level of skills than before but also be more exible and capable of doing more jobs.
The empowered workforce with considerably enhanced managerial responsibilities (pertaining to
information, resources, authority, and accountability) has resulted in an increase in worker ...