By Anat Freund
School of Social Work, Faculty of Health and Welfare Studies, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
and Anat Drach-Zahavy
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Welfare Studies, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
The present research examines teamwork in community clinics, and has four major aims: (a) to portray the state of interdisciplinary teamwork in the community from the perspective of the different professions included in the teams; (b) to identify personal factors (job and organizational commitment) that enhance or hinder the effectiveness of teamwork; (c) to identify organizational factors (bureaucratic or organic job structuring) that enhance or hinder the effectiveness of teamwork; and (d) to propose and examine a model that views the different kinds of commitment and the potential conflict between them, as mediators between personal and organizational factors and effectiveness of interdisciplinary teamwork.
The research was conducted in 70 clinics randomly sampled from national lists of clinics, by means of closed questionnaires. 683 professionals participated in the research. The research findings indicate that staff members are convinced of the importance of teamwork, but nevertheless the frequency of teamwork in clinics is still low. Furthermore, processes are evident in the clinics of differentiation among the different professional groups with regard to their views of the goals of teamwork and the ways to achieve these goals. With respect to job structuring, it was found that although the clinic members see their jobs as structured in a more bureaucratic sense, the combination of bureaucratic and organic job structuring leads to effective teamwork. In terms of commitment, it was found that while staff members are committed primarily to their profession and not to the organization, it is commitment to the organization that leads to effective teamwork in the clinics. The research findings are discussed from both organizational perspectives and from professional, sectoral perspectives, in the context of effective teamwork in health organizations.