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Glite Dictionary
departmentalism

departmentalism

8.3
A tendency for teams in an organization to act separately and not cooperate
  • noun
  • /dɪˌpɑːrtˈmɛntəlɪzəm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : departamentalismo
  • The company's departmentalism led to communication breakdowns.

Examples

  • Many employees felt that departmentalism was harming productivity.

  • Her strong departmentalism sometimes made it difficult to cooperate with other groups.

  • The company's progress was slowed by departmentalism and a lack of communication between teams.

  • Efforts to reduce departmentalism included organizing more cross-department projects.

  • The CEO addressed the issue of departmentalism, urging teams to collaborate more effectively.

  • The company's struggles were largely due to departmentalism, as each department prioritized its own goals over collaboration.

  • Management is concerned about departmentalism, which is preventing the organization from achieving its overall objectives.

Synonyms

factionalism
vsdepartmentalism
2 8.8

Small groups inside a larger group compete and disagree, causing conflict

focuses on loyalty inside formal units rather than broad internal conflict
siloing
vsdepartmentalism
  • Jargon
1 7.5

Keeping groups separate so people do not share information or work together

is driven by loyalty to one's own group rather than structural isolation

Antonyms

cooperation
443 2.5

Working together with other people to reach a common goal

collaboration
150 4.0

Working together with others to reach a shared goal

How Divided

siloing
  • Jargon
1 7.5
departmentalization
  • Specialized
7.2
departmentalism
  • Specialized
8.3
coordination
85 3.5
integration
47 4.0

Surface Forms

departmentalism singular
departmentalisms plural

Morphology

departmentalism = departmental (transparent) = department + al + ism

Formation from 'departmental' + '-ism' clearly denotes a tendency or ideology related to departments.

Etymology

Departmentalism comes from department, meaning 'a part of an organization', and the ending -ism, meaning 'a strong habit or way of thinking'. So departmentalism is the habit of putting your own department first and acting separately from other groups, which makes teamwork harder.