![Freshman Working Group on Addiction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Freshman_Working_Group_on_Addiction.jpg)
A working group, or working party, is a group of experts working together to achieve specified goals. The groups are domain-specific and focus on discussion or activity around a specific subject area. The term can sometimes refer to an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new activities that would be difficult to sustain under traditional funding mechanisms (e.g., federal agencies).
The lifespan of a working group can last anywhere between a few months and several years. Such groups have the tendency to develop a ''quasi-permanent existence'' when the assigned task is accomplished; hence the need to disband (or phase out) the working group when it has achieved its goal(s).
A working group's performance is made up of the individual results of all its individual members. A team's performance is made up of both individual results and collective results. In large organisations, working groups are prevalent, and the focus is always on individual goals, performance and accountabilities. Working group members do not take responsibility for results other than their own. On the other hand, teams require both individual and mutual accountability. There is more information sharing, more group discussions and debates to arrive at a group decision.
Examples of common goals for working groups include:
:* creation of an informational document
:* creation of a standard
:* resolution of problems related to a system or network
:* continuous improvement
:* research
Working groups are also referred to as ''task groups'', ''workgroups'', or ''technical advisory groups''.
Characteristics
The nature of the working group may depend on the group's ''raison d’être'' – which may be technical, artistic (specifically musical), or administrative in nature.
Administrative working groups
These working groups are established by decision makers at higher levels of the organization for the following purposes:
# To elaborate, consolidate, and build on the consensus of the decision makers; and
# To ensure (and improve) coordination among the various segments of the organization. A shared commitment to agreed common aims develops among the parties as they work together to clarify issues, formulate strategies, and develop action plans.
For example, the
Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs The Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs (IWGYP, or Working Group) is a group within the executive branch of the U.S. government, and is responsible for promoting healthy outcomes for all youth, including disconnected youth and youth who ar ...
is a group of twelve federal agencies within the executive branch of the U.S. government, and is responsible for promoting achievement of positive results for at-risk youth. This working group was formally established by Executive Order 13459, ''Improving the Coordination and Effectiveness of Youth Programs'', on 7 February 2008.
Quality circles
A quality circle or quality control circle is a group of workers who do the same or similar work, who meet regularly to identify, analyze and solve work-related problems. It consists of minimum three and maximum twelve members in number. Normally ...
are an alternative to the dehumanizing concept of the division of labor, where workers or individuals are treated like robots. Quality circles can help enrich the lives of workers or students and aid in creating harmony and high performance. Typical topics are improving occupational safety and health, improving product design, and improvement in the workplace and manufacturing processes.
Musical working groups
Although any
artisan
An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...
or artist can benefit from being part of a working group, it is especially of great import for
session player
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
s. Musicians face a variety of challenges that can impede the formation of musical working groups, such as touring and studio recording sessions. Such activities make it that much more difficult to concentrate on the developing the cohesiveness that is required to maintain a working group.
However, working groups have been shown to be rewarding to the
stakeholders, as it fosters innovation. By working with the same people frequently, members become familiar with the répertoire of other members, which develops trust and encourages spontaneity.
Some of the more notable musical working groups include:
*
Abdullah Ibrahim Trio;
*
Alex von Schlippenbach Trio;
*
Dave Holland
David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years.
His extensive discography r ...
''(Trio, Quartet, or Quintet)'';
*
Die Like A Dog Quartet
Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life.
Die may also refer to:
Games
* Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers
Manufacturing
* Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...
;
*
Gary Bartz Quartet;
*
Vandermark 5
Ken Vandermark (born September 22, 1964) is an American composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist.
A fixture on the Chicago-area music scene since the 1990s, Vandermark has earned wide critical praise for his playing and his multilayered composi ...
; and
*
William Parker Quartet ''(Trio/Quartet).''
Technical working groups
In many technical organizations, for example
Standards organization
A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...
s, the groups that meet and make decisions are called "working groups". Examples include:
*
IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; in French: ''Commission électrotechnique internationale'') is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and r ...
working groups
*
IETF
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster or requirements and a ...
working groups (which are subordinate to Areas)
**
HTTP WG, original led by
Dave Raggett
*
IEEE-SA working groups
**IEEE WG
802.3, Ethernet Working Group
**IEEE WG
802.11
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) technical standards, and specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) computer com ...
, Wireless LAN Working Group
*
ISO
ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization.
ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance
* Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007
* Iso ...
working groups (which are subordinate to an SC (subcommittee), subordinate to a TC (technical committee)
*
International Conference on Harmonisation
*
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
(IUPAC)
*
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; french: link=yes, Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is a nongovernmental organisation with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreac ...
*
W3C
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web. Founded in 1994 and led by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations that maintain full-time staff working to ...
working groups
**
Device Description Working Group
**
SVG Working Group
*
Bioethics Council
*
Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems
The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) was founded in 1982 for governmental and quasi-governmental space agencies to discuss and develop standards for space data and information systems. Currently composed of "eleven member agenc ...
(CCSDS)
*
European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS)
*US
National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
In some cases, like the
Printer Working Group
The Printer Working Group (PWG) is a Program of the IEEE Industry Standard and Technology Organization (ISTO) with members including printer and multi-function device manufacturers, print server developers, operating system providers, print manag ...
, an entire consortium uses the term "working group" for itself.
The rules for who can be a part of the working groups, and how a working group makes decisions, varies considerably between organizations.
Mechanics
It is imperative for the participants to appreciate and understand that the working group is intended to be a forum for cooperation and participation. Participants represent the interests and views of stakeholders from disparate sectors of the community which happen to have a vested interest in the results of the WG. Therefore, maintaining and strengthening communication lines with all parties involved is essential (this responsibility cuts both ways –
stakeholders are expected to share what information, knowledge and expertise they have on the issue).
Programmes developed should be evaluated by encouraging community input and support; this will ensure that such programmes meet the community's vision for its future. The WG should also regularly seek community feedback on their projects. Apropos questions to be asked during such meetings include:
* What were the objectives of the program?
* What were the results of the project?
* What effect did the results have on the identified problem?
* What unexpected results — desirable or otherwise — were observed?
* How were the results achieved? (Was it by the methods and techniques originally intended, or did these evolve with implementation?)
* Was there an effective use of community resources?
* Should our objective or methods be changed?
Depending on the lifespan of the WG, involved parties (at the very least) convene annually. However, such meetings may happen as often as once every semester or trimester.
The managers are constantly called upon to make decisions in order to solve problems. Decision making and problem solving are ongoing processes of evaluating situations or problems, considering alternatives, making choices, and following them up with the necessary actions
[The Decision‐Making Process by John Wiley & Son]
and now with this managed to reach a
continuous improvement
A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes. These efforts can seek " incremental" improvement over time or "breakt ...
.
See also
*
Leadership
Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...
*
Action group
*
Facilitation
*
Facilitator
A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neutral", meaning t ...
*
Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument
The Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI) is a system to measure and describe thinking preferences in people, developed by William "Ned" Herrmann while leading management education at General Electric's Crotonville facility. It is a type of c ...
*
Adhocracy
*
Interdisciplinarity
*
Workers' self-management
Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-management is a def ...
*
Learned society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership m ...
*
Professional association
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...
*
Scientific community
The scientific community is a diverse network of interacting scientists. It includes many " sub-communities" working on particular scientific fields, and within particular institutions; interdisciplinary and cross-institutional activities are als ...
*
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
*
Public participation
Public participation, also known as citizen participation or patient and public involvement, is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. Public participation is similar to but more inclusive than stakeholder e ...
*
Skills management
*
Syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest.
Etymology
The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...
References
External links
IETF Working Group Guidelines and ProceduresTools To Support Participatory Urban Decision Makinga component of the United Nations' Urban Governance Toolkit Series (PDF)
Establishing and Supporting the Working Group ProcessA source book for the
Sustainable Cities Programme (PDF)
{{Authority control
Research
Negotiation
Types of organization