In: Operations Management
A workgroup represents a collection of individuals that are put together but with no specific sense of requirements of direction or a particular goal in mind. It can be considered on the basis of self-coordination since it does not technically have a leader and based on individual contribution, efforts and understanding of one’s role, one can relate to the group’s purpose to be generic. On the other hand, a work team has a high level of specificity, in the sense that it has a leader, a set goal, members with an inclination towards the goal, consideration of challenge and commitment.
The most significant difference between a work team and a workgroup is its inherent understanding of direction, need for coordination between its members and the leadership, and a sense of purpose to commit for everybody to invest their efforts to overcome specific challenges.
Work teams are, therefore, task-specific, and workgroups are function-specific.
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