Final answer:
The term 'cross-functional team' represents a group in a company comprised of specialists from diverse areas working together temporarily on projects, promoting flexibility and a multi-dimensional approach to problem-solving.
Step-by-step explanation:
A cross-functional team creates flexibility as it brings together specialists from different areas of a company to work temporarily on individual projects. Such teams are essential in modern organizations to respond quickly to changes, such as shifts in technology, economics, foreign competition, globalization, and workplace demographics. These team-based structures facilitate sharing responsibility and risk while utilizing complementary skills of different team members, ensuring a multi-dimensional approach to problem-solving and business management. However, it's noteworthy that team structures do not always guarantee increased productivity and their effectiveness is a subject of ongoing research.
Flexibility in the workplace can be instrumental for employees to adapt to new challenges and cultures, especially in scenarios where companies engage in practices like offshoring or outsourcing to improve competitiveness.