Special Purpose Team - Definition & Importance

Published in Human Resources Terms by MBA Skool Team

What is Special Purpose Team?

A special purpose team is formed to solve a very well defined and short term special purpose project. These teams mostly work on this special purpose project alone while they are at it. The examples for special purpose teams will be - committees that are planning and conducting a particular event or committees that have been designated to solve a particular problem. Such teams are also called Task Force Teams.


Importance of Special Purpose Teams

The unique characteristic of these special purpose teams is that they are not permanent. They dissolve once the purpose of the team and the goal sent henceforth is met. The whole idea behind creation of these special purpose teams is that they are required for executing a special & unique task, which otherwise would not be carried out by other existing teams. As a part of team management, these teams are created diligently and the members are trained for the special requirements. They are different from the existing teams like cross functional team, self directed work teams, shamrock team etc.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Special Purpose Teams

Below are the Pros and Cons of the Special Purpose Teams

Pros:

1. The member are chosen whenever necessary and are chosen basis their skills.

2. Special purpose teams also allow the team member to learn from each other.

3. Since the purpose is unique and is not a part of the job description of the team members. This in fact goes on to become a window for growth and learning.


Cons:

1. Special purpose teams take away the members from their current work.

2. This can lead to hindrance to other ongoing projects. It may take a while for the team to work harmoniously and that will effectively effect the output and the overall time taken to complete the project.

3. The Special Purpose Teams will be a sheer waste of time, energy and resources if the goals are not met in the prescribed timings.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Special Purpose Team along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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