Do Groups Work?
Essentially, working in a group can bring about a multitude of factors. There are so many advantages to disadvantages that it could either way. To me, team work all depends on each actual individual within the group because without them there simply would be no group. As we saw in the Art case study, each person was a leader in their own field and within their own right a leader within the group and they also has a language barrier- HUGE DISADVANTAGE!! However, they did not let that stop them, they persevered and each team member met their individual goals that would then lead to the creation and final placement of the Lady Liberty. If team leadership had not been as focused or as dedicated, these two factors would have a huge disadvantage for this team. However, I believe that it created an advantage because even though they could not understand one another, they each believed in making this idea into reality. Team members who believe in the goal at hand and are not swayed create a huge advantage in group work. Also, we saw examples in which working in a group was not the best of ideas or caused problems. In the Apple Inc. case study, team leadership
|
created a huge disadvantage for the company. Apple lost money whenever the team leader or leaders could not work together to accomplish their goals and caused confusion for the company. Team members who do not or choose not to work together hinder a team and created a situation that is not helpful. Also, a factor of knowledge comes into to play when we talk about groups. Members have to know the knowledge behind getting to the goal or they will just slow down the group. At Apple, some of the CEOs had no knowledge of the actual technology of Apple and we saw huge losses in the market. However, when leaders like Steve Jobs ran the company, Apple made huge success in the markets. Also, being able to learn from past mistakes and make decisions for future preferences is another factor that plays into groups. NASA is based on experimenting and so any future missions rely on knowledge from previous ones in order to make it a more safe and secure launch. So in a sense, being able to critique one's work is necessary in group projects. All in all, working in groups can be a disadvantage or an advantage, however, the individual decides the outcome of that team and whether the team will make it or break it. So pick wisely.
|