Week 4 Individual Paper

When it comes to team, trust is a key factor in keep the team together and have the team work towards achieving goals in the most effective and efficient manner. An environment rich in trust creates an ideal workforce and workplace.
Team members rely on each other because they are required to work together to reach their goals. When the level of trust is increased the group has higher performances; when the level of trust is decreased, a team may experience lower performances. Trust is not completely black and white. Trust has degrees. At the beginning, there may be an assumed degree of trust, at least enough to start working together. “Work teams consist of members who are at least moderately dependant on each other because they are required to work together and/or to rely on each other to reach their goals” (Hartman, Frank, Slapni-ar,Sergeja, 2009, p722). But a truly high degree of trust requires much more than that. Over time, the team may build that high level of trust, so that the team members become much more effective than when the team was first created. For example, high trust in another party may keep a trustor, from developing negative attitudes towards another party, even if that party does not promptly respond to a previous communication. Trust can thus affect the way people interpret nonresponsivness.
Trust may also have a main effect on the direction of effort. In groups with high level of trust, individuals can feel comfortable directing their effort towards the group task, because they are not afraid that their partners will take advantage of them or will be undependable.
I agree with the article, trust is somewhat assumed when the group is first formed. After working together for a period of time the group members learn who can and cannot be trusted. At this point the member must work to gain his or her trust from