A successful team effort should produce which of the following benefits?

• A. Cost savings from participative problem solving.
• B. Increased project duration
• C. Higher defect rate
• D. Reduced teamwork

Answer: (A)

When a team collaborates effectively, the main payoff is cost savings from participative problem solving. By tapping the diverse knowledge and experience of team members, problems are analyzed more thoroughly, root causes are identified faster, and solutions are chosen with broad buy-in. This leads to less rework, fewer defects caught earlier, smoother implementations, and quicker decisions, all of which trim costs. The other options don’t fit because they describe outcomes that would result from poor teamwork or quality issues—longer projects, more defects, and less collaboration undermine the very benefits teamwork brings.