Pros and Cons- When writing and working in teams

Advantages of teams:
Increased information of knowledge- Pooling resources of several individuals, teams have access to more information in the decision making process.
Increased diversity of views- More than one perspective brought to the table as long as they have a shared goal.
Increased acceptance of a solution- Those who participate in making a decision are more likely to be enthusiastic about the decision and encouraging others to accept it.
Higher performance levels- Can unleash new amount of creativity and energy in workers who share the same purpose and mutual accountability. They can also be better then one top performing individual to solve complex problems. It also fills the individuals need to belong to a group, increases feeling of dignity and self-worth and reduces stress and tension between workers.

Disadvantages of teams:
Groupthink- If you have taken Motivation & Leadership then you probably know what this is. If you don't is basically making a decision because of pressure from other individuals on the group whether you think its right or wrong.
Hidden agendas- private counterproductive motives, such as trying to take control of the group or undermining others.
Free riders- Don't make any contributions, but take credit for the work just because they are in the group.
Cost- This is pretty self-explanatory. The more people and resources, the higher the cost.

Strategies for effective team collaboration:
-Select collaborators carefully
-Agree on project goals before starting
-Give your team time to bond before diving in
-Clarify individual responsibilities
-Establish clear processes
-Avoid writing as a group (plan, research and outline together but leave the actual writing to one person or divide larger projects among multiple people)
-Make sure tools and techniques are ready and compatible across the team
-Check to see how things are going along the way