There is a lot of disagreement on the idea of working as a team. Some people think that working in a group can be very efficient in completing tasks and increasing social skills because they have to collaborate with people they may not otherwise spend time with in their daily life. However, other people are of the view that working individually is better because there is less distraction and they can focus on their own goals without being concerned about whether teammates have done what they are supposed to do or not. But when we look at all the pros and cons; is working as a group better, or working individually?
Here we look into and discuss the conflict in ideas between ‘The Ringelmann effect which is the tendency for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the size of their group increases, or the proverb which goes ‘If we don’t all row, the boat won’t go,’
Firstly, working as a team has its own advantages and disadvantages. As an example of one of the advantages; when people are working in a group, they divide the workload and every member has a different role on the project. This helps the members finish their work easier and faster because they have less to do and they can focus on only their part of the work. When they only have one part to focus on, they can do more detailed research and work harder on it. However, dividing the workload and having different roles on a project can also be a disadvantage at the same time. Because there is going to be more than one person, maybe two people can be good at one of the roles and they can both want the same one which may not be possible, and therefore resulting in a possible conflict. Or, while one of the members are doing their own part on time, some may not be as responsible or may not be able to finish it in time because their part is harder; which can lead to chaos in the group.
On the other hand, working individually also has its advantages and disadvantages. When someone is working on a project by themselves, there weren’t be any disagreements or chaos. Also because there is no one to blame, they would have to finish it on time and make it perfect as possible on their own, which would make them study harder on it and put more effort in it. However, because there won’t be anyone to share the work with, the workload will be much more than if it was with a group and it will take much longer to complete.
In conclusion, both working in a group and working individually have their own difficulties and eases. The choice of which suits a person better depends on the person’s social skills and how much they are willing to work. The most important part is, if someone is working in a team, they must do their work on time and obey the group rules.