Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy

Introduction

Most people recognize that the knowledge-based, twenty-first-century organization depends on cross-disciplinary collaboration, flattened hierarchies, and continuous innovation. One reason for this is that expertise has narrowed and many fields have splintered into subfields. Unfortunately, the problems that need solving in the world haven’t narrowed accordingly. Instead, they’ve just become more complex. This means that many challenges must be approached by people working together across disciplines. Product design, patient care, strategy development, pharmaceutical research, and rescue operations are just a few of the activities that call for cross-disciplinary teamwork.

To succeed in a changing and competitive global economy, organizations ...