Final answer:
Cohesion in teams increases collaboration but may reduce creativity. Effective conflict management and gender diversity can improve team performance. Small teams face fewer collective action problems due to enhanced monitoring and peer pressure.
Step-by-step explanation:
The consequences of cohesion in teams can vary significantly. While increased cohesion might improve collaboration and team dynamics, it could also lead to a reduction in creativity and potentially to groupthink, where individual members conform to the perceived consensus. Conversely, increased conflict as a result of too much cohesion can result in stress that harms team morale and productivity. However, with the right balance, and efficient conflict management, teams can harness the positive aspects of bureaucracy, such as increased productivity and efficiency, while minimizing negative effects. The 'team halo effect' suggests that teams often appear to work better than they actually do, which can be an issue if it masks underlying problems. In ensuring effective team performance, diverse gender mix has been found to be beneficial, improving sales and profits in certain team configurations. Moreover, collective action problems are less severe in small teams, as individual behaviors are easier to monitor, and peer pressure can drive positive outcomes.