2. A group of people into a team
Author
admin
Reading (3 minutes)
In many organizations, perhaps the best way to approach certain new projects is to assemble a group of people into a team. Having a team of people attack a project offers several advantages.
First of all, a group of people has a wider range of knowledge, expertise, and skills than any single individual is likely to possess. Also, because of the numbers of people involved and the greater resources they possess, a group can work more quickly in response to the task assigned to it and can come up with highly creative solutions to problems and issues.
Sometimes these creative solutions come about because a group is more likely to make risky decisions that an individual might not undertake. This is because the group spreads responsibility for a decision to all the members and thus no single individual can be held accountable if the decision turns out to be wrong.
Taking part in a group process can be very rewarding for members of the team. Team members who have a voice in making a decision will no doubt feel better about carrying out the work that is entailed by the decision than they might doing work that is imposed on them by others. Also, the individual team member has a much better chance to “shine”, to get his or her contributions and ideas not only recognized but recognized as highly significant, because a team’s overall results can be more far-reaching and have greater impact than what might have otherwise been possible for the person to accomplish or contribute working alone.
Listening
Texts
Now I want to tell you about what one company found when it decided that it would turn over some of its new projects to teams of people, and make the team responsible for planning the projects and getting the work done. After about six months, the company took a look at how well the teams performed.
On virtually every team, some members got almost a “free ride.” They didn’t contribute much at all, but if their team did a good job, they nevertheless benefited from the recognition the team got. And what about group members who worked especially well and who provided a lot of insight on problems and issues? Well…the recognition for a job well done went to the group as a whole, no names were named. So it won’t surprise you to learn that when the real contributors were asked how they felt about the group process, their attitude was just the opposite of what the reading predicts.
Another finding was that some projects just didn’t move very quickly. Why? Because it took so long to reach consensus; it took many, many meetings to build the agreement among group members about how they would move the project along. On the other hand, there were other instances where one or two people managed to become very influential over what their group did. Sometimes when those influencers said “That will never work” about an idea the group was developing, the idea was quickly dropped instead of being further discussed.
And then there was another occasion when a couple influencers convinced the group that a plan of theirs was “highly creative.” And even though some members tried to warn the rest of the group that the project was moving in directions that might not work, they were basically ignored by other group members. Can you guess the ending to this story? When the project failed, the blame was placed on all the members of the group.
Explanation
The claim in the reading passage
There are some advantages of working in a group for a project.
The first reason
First, given that each individual in a group possesses different skills and expertise, the group could work quickly and produce creative solutions to problems.
The second reason
Secondly, considering how groups tend to make more risky decisions than individuals do, the group might come up with many more creative solutions.
The third reason
Third, participating in a group processes can benefit group members. Each member could perform work better when his or her voice is reflected, which improves the efficiency of work. Furthermore, because a team’s overall accomplishment is likely to be greater than an individual’s, each individual could accomplish more in a group rather than working alone.
The argument against the reading passage
Forming a group of people to work together for a project can be a bad idea and this was evident when the company took a look at how well the teams performed.
The first reason
First, there was a problem with fairness. There were free riders who didn’t contribute at all but received the same credit as the members who came up with great ideas and worked hard.
The second reason
Second, there was a problem with time management because it took a lot of time to reach a consensus among group members. Sometimes, a few influential members in the groups decided on dropping some ideas the group was developing.
The third reason
Third, some influential group members may decide the direction of the project, which might not work well, and when the project was not successful, all group members were blamed.
In many organizations, perhaps the best way to approach certain new projects is to assemble a group of people into a team. Having a team of people attack a project offers several advantages.
First of all, a group of people has a wider range of knowledge, expertise, and skills than any single individual is likely to possess. Also, because of the numbers of people involved and the greater resources they possess, a group can work more quickly in response to the task assigned to it and can come up with highly creative solutions to problems and issues.
Sometimes these creative solutions come about because a group is more likely to make risky decisions that an individual might not undertake. This is because the group spreads responsibility for a decision to all the members and thus no single individual can be held accountable if the decision turns out to be wrong.
Taking part in a group process can be very rewarding for members of the team. Team members who have a voice in making a decision will no doubt feel better about carrying out the work that is entailed by the decision than they might doing work that is imposed on them by others. Also, the individual team member has a much better chance to “shine”, to get his or her contributions and ideas not only recognized but recognized as highly significant, because a team’s overall results can be more far-reaching and have greater impact than what might have otherwise been possible for the person to accomplish or contribute working alone.
Listening
Texts
Now I want to tell you about what one company found when it decided that it would turn over some of its new projects to teams of people, and make the team responsible for planning the projects and getting the work done. After about six months, the company took a look at how well the teams performed.
On virtually every team, some members got almost a “free ride.” They didn’t contribute much at all, but if their team did a good job, they nevertheless benefited from the recognition the team got. And what about group members who worked especially well and who provided a lot of insight on problems and issues? Well…the recognition for a job well done went to the group as a whole, no names were named. So it won’t surprise you to learn that when the real contributors were asked how they felt about the group process, their attitude was just the opposite of what the reading predicts.
Another finding was that some projects just didn’t move very quickly. Why? Because it took so long to reach consensus; it took many, many meetings to build the agreement among group members about how they would move the project along. On the other hand, there were other instances where one or two people managed to become very influential over what their group did. Sometimes when those influencers said “That will never work” about an idea the group was developing, the idea was quickly dropped instead of being further discussed.
And then there was another occasion when a couple influencers convinced the group that a plan of theirs was “highly creative.” And even though some members tried to warn the rest of the group that the project was moving in directions that might not work, they were basically ignored by other group members. Can you guess the ending to this story? When the project failed, the blame was placed on all the members of the group.
Explanation
The claim in the reading passage
There are some advantages of working in a group for a project.
The first reason
First, given that each individual in a group possesses different skills and expertise, the group could work quickly and produce creative solutions to problems.
The second reason
Secondly, considering how groups tend to make more risky decisions than individuals do, the group might come up with many more creative solutions.
The third reason
Third, participating in a group processes can benefit group members. Each member could perform work better when his or her voice is reflected, which improves the efficiency of work. Furthermore, because a team’s overall accomplishment is likely to be greater than an individual’s, each individual could accomplish more in a group rather than working alone.
The argument against the reading passage
Forming a group of people to work together for a project can be a bad idea and this was evident when the company took a look at how well the teams performed.
The first reason
First, there was a problem with fairness. There were free riders who didn’t contribute at all but received the same credit as the members who came up with great ideas and worked hard.
The second reason
Second, there was a problem with time management because it took a lot of time to reach a consensus among group members. Sometimes, a few influential members in the groups decided on dropping some ideas the group was developing.
The third reason
Third, some influential group members may decide the direction of the project, which might not work well, and when the project was not successful, all group members were blamed.