|
|
|
|
|
Teamwork
|
|
|
Since my only experience of working in a team is the first week of this semester I had a lot of arisen questions in this subject. The most basic one: Is working in a team or working by myself more suitable for me? First I said: “Working by myself, of course. I do not want to depend on anybody and I will not let anyone to tell me what to do:” Then a sentence came to my mind: Nobody is Perfect-But a Team Can Be” It made me think the whole problem over again. Working in a team should be efficient, but throughout preparing our business plan we did not achieve what we could have. As a consequence I decided to approach the issue from another point of view. I chose to look into the features of teams to understand our failures and to find out how could we develop our group at working together. Therefore I will write down what I have encountered. First of all I will explain what is meant under the expression of team. Team is a special kind of group which member work together. (Later on I will use both the terms: team and group as well.)Groups of human beings became a scientific problem with the appearance of capitalism. At that time not only the goods had been put on the market but personal capabilities as well. Of course it is the individual person’s free decision where, when, how much and for how much ‘to sell’ from himself. If we want to examine the nature and the functioning of groups we have to focus on their structure. Group structure is a relatively stable pattern of relationships among the differentiated elements in a group. Differentiations occur along several dimensions, of these the most important are: status, power, linking, role and leadership. Status is the prestige ranking within a team. It motivates the members to recognize that they behavior has consequences. It also makes the individual notice the differences between their own perception of themselves and how others perceive them to be. Furthermore we have to distinguish two forms of status: Formal status refers to a collection of rights and obligations associated with a position, a distinct from the person who may occupy the position. Social status is the relative ranking which shows the value of a particular person as measured by the group. An individual’s formal status is based on hierarchical position and ability. Meanwhile social status is abstract and ascribed through the perception of others. Therefore it is always tenuous, it may be withdrawn or downgraded any time. Many people seek status in order to fulfil their need for self-esteem; group provides them with personal satisfaction. Similarly, the withholding of it can act as a group control mechanism to bring deviant members into line. The second dimension on which differentiation occurs is the power structure. Special individuals within a group are able to control the behavior of others and may have to if the team wants to achieve its goal. By having a power structure the group avoids continued power struggles which could disrupt its functioning.
|
|
|
|
Still Can't Find What Your Looking For? Then Try a Essay Search!
|
