Towards a team‐based approach

Many organizations in Australia, in both public and private sectors, are introducing organization structures and cultures which consolidate the major technological and structural reforms of the 1980s and early 1990s and provide a platform for ongoing micro‐reform. Outlines the processes and interim outcomes of a cultural change programme in one decentralized area of the Department of Social Security, Victoria, Australia. The change was towards teamwork rather than individual performance. The strategy was based on the Margerison‐McCann Team Management Systems model, and involved progressively training teams in the concepts and language of teamwork, systematically interlinking the teams across the area and aligning other organizational systems and structures to the teamwork model. Outcomes support the contention that the rigorous and consistent application of a well‐founded theoretical model can provide a solid platform for cultural change.