What characterizes a team organization structure, and what are cross-functional teams?

The entire organization is composed of work groups whose motto is "we report to each other" — with cross-functional teams pulling members from different departments.

Characteristics:

• Teams may be permanent or temporary as the situation demands
• "We report to each other" — mutual accountability replaces vertical reporting
• Leads toward the boundaryless organization "in a borderless world"
• Cross-functional teams combine members from marketing, finance, HR, production, etc. — used to improve lateral relations, solve problems, complete special projects, and accomplish routine tasks
• Employees are more involved and empowered because barriers between functional areas shrink

Security angle: modern product security works exactly this way — "security champions" embedded in cross-functional DevOps teams, instead of a distant central gatekeeper. Empowerment cuts friction; the trade-off is keeping standards consistent across autonomous teams.

Go deeper:

• Cross-functional team (Wikipedia) — teams that pull expertise from different departments toward one goal.