Working in Groups Free Essays

Teamwork can be defined as a â€Å"collection or coalition of people who interact meaningfully in the pursuit of common goals or objectives and who have at least a tacit sense of agreed standards, values and common identity† (Schein, 1965). This has left many academics to analyse the benefits of working within a group, and how these compare to the disadvantages. Working in groups has become increasingly popular with academics and organisations due to the excessive advantages which are obtainable. We will write a custom essay sample on Working in Groups or any similar topic only for you Order Now Groups who set their mind on one specific goal can draw on each other’s knowledge, perspectives and experiences which increase the quality of innovation. There is much evidence suggesting that teams â€Å"outperform individuals when the tasks being done require multiple skills, judgement and experience† (Sims, R 2002) compared to those working alone. Members of a team could develop new ideas which can encourage their own learning and widen their knowledge and interpersonal skills with other people.However, many critics view that low- performing teams are â€Å"characterised†¦ by conflict among members† (Sims, R 2000) when there are diverse opinions; these could arise due to the different learning styles we posses. This is supported by Honey and Mumford (1992), they categorised learning styles into activists; reflectors; theorists or pragmatists. This was further emphasised within the 3 hour workshop I was asked to prepare because I found I had to consider all the styles for the newly appointed graduate management trainees otherwise conflicts could amount.Another disadvantage of working within a group could delve from the dictatorship which can occur from an overbearing leader. Buchanan and Huczynski (1985) define leadership where â€Å"one individual influences the behaviour of others. † Proposing these influences are negative, then individuals who are shy may feel intimidated and unwilling to share ideas. Some of the basic tactics of influence have been summarised by Forsyth (1998: 521) as bullying; manipulation; demand and evasion. This domineering influence may leave individuals â€Å"to form sun- cultural units- based around resistance to managerial activities. This hostility may impact upon the group performing poorly by the tension and stress that has occurred. However, it can be argued that a leader brings organisation by directing group members to a particular task to achieve a goal. They are in a sense attracted to â€Å"help each other overcome obstacle and barriers to personal growth and development† (Cartwright and Zabder, 1968). This had been demonstrated during the ‘Sonare Desert’ activity whereby I found as a group we had reached better decisions.I personally conclude the reason being was because we had appointed a team leader who was able to communicate â€Å"a clear understanding of the team’s objectives† and appoint the members to sections of the task to complete it in good time, so we had time to discuss it as a group after. The clarity of the leaders’ direction and instruction allows an excellent communication tool between the leader and the members of a team. Overall, I feel working in groups provides an opportunity which would not be readily available for individual learners.This is because members may introduce new ideas, perspectives and experiences which may increase an individuals’ knowledge. This is supported by most social scientists and theorists who emphasise the benefits of working within a group. Although it can be questioned as to what extent working in groups is beneficial to all types of situations. How to cite Working in Groups, Papers Working in Groups Free Essays Aryanna Cabrera Working in Groups Thesis Statement: Working in groups has many downsides and few upsides for its participants. I. Body 1: A. We will write a custom essay sample on Working in Groups or any similar topic only for you Order Now Positive side to group work is limited. B. Less work to do, more people. C. More ideas than just one person. II. Body 2: A. Negative side to group work is more abundant than the positives. B. Different opinions lead to disagreements. C. Not everyone does his or her job. III. Body 3: A. Evaluation is unfair most of the time. B. Individual contributions are not reflected in the grade. C. If someone is not doing his or her job, report it to the teacher. When working in groups, students are usually evaluated on others work. If they did a good job then everything is fine, but if they did a bad job, it could potentially hurt the evaluation process. Working in groups has many downsides and few upsides for its participants. Positive things about working in groups are very limited. One of the positive things about group work is that work can be divided among several people, which can help the job get done faster than if it was all done by one person; like John Heywood said: â€Å"Many hands make light work. † Another good thing is that a group of people brainstorming together will come up with more ideas and solutions than a single person working alone. Vincent Lombardi, an NFL coach, once said that â€Å"Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work. Everyone must do his or her part in order to be successful and get a good evaluation. This does not always happen. On the contrary, group work has too many downsides. One negative thing about working in groups is that when you have many different ideas and opinions, disagreements are bound to arise, which can stall the project. Some other negatives about group work are that if one person doesn’t complete their tas k, the whole project will suffer; the bigger the group, the more difficult it is to schedule times when everyone can get together. Most times, there is always one person that says they do not know how to do anything; another, that always does all the work and then is going insane, and one that does not do anything until the last minute. â€Å"There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. † This quote by Indira Gandhi is right on point. Every group always has these kinds of people and that should be taken into consideration by the professor when evaluating. The evaluation process for group works is usually very unfair because it is not individual. It would be considered unfair because individual contributions are probably not reflected in the grades, weaker ones students disadvantage stronger students, and it may be perceived as unfair by students. Daphne Patai, a university professor, once said: â€Å"The professor needs to investigate and learn how the group in fact functioned and who did what. I believe this way the professor makes sure that the grading process is fair for everyone. † Working in groups is supposed to be fun. It should teach the participants how to communicate, how to be responsible, how to collaborate with others, and how to do teamwork. Instead, it makes you want to never want to work in a group again, not trust anyone in the group, and always double check everyone’s work just in case there could be anything wrong. Cathy Middlecamp said: â€Å"When you put students into groups, many of the hard working students do all of the work and the lazy students do nothing and still receive the same grade. This is not fair to those who worked hard, or to those who sat in the corner and talked the entire time. Because of all of the arguments presented above, I believe that working in groups is not wise unless the professor gives individual grades; even then, I do not like working in groups. Works Cited â€Å"Grading Group Projects. † WMST-L. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. http://userpages. umbc. edu/~korenman/wmst/group_grading. html â€Å"Grading Methods for Group Work. † Enhancing Educa tion. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. http://www. cmu. edu/teaching/assessment/howto/assesslearning/groupWorkGradingMethods. html â€Å"Indira Gandhi Quotes. † Brainy Quote. Web. 1 Jan. 2013. http://www. brainyquote. com/quotes/quotes/i/indiragand109081. html â€Å"Inspirational Quotes About Team Work. † Inspiring Team Work Quotes And Short Teamwork Stories. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. http://www. values. com/inspirational-quotes/value/92-Team-Work â€Å"Teamwork Quotes. † Desktop Quotes. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. http://www. desktop-quotes. com/teamwork-quotes. html â€Å"Teaching Stories: Disadvantages of Collaborative Learning. † CL1. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. http://www. wcer. wisc. edu/archive/cl1/cl/story/middlecc/TSCMD. htm How to cite Working in Groups, Papers