Working in groups vs Individually

Working in groups vs Individually In this essay various aspects of working in a group vs. working individually will be discussed. The idea here will be to study the pros and cons with relation to the particular individual and not to the group of which he is a part. First we will try to understand the dynamics of working in a group vis a vis individual, then understand the various issues involved in working as a part of the group. We would also see as to how those issues will be influencing the person, be it in the positive side or being a hindrance and also support the argument by stating prior personal experiences. Introduction:- Remember last time when you had to do a project, how did you go about doing it? You must have contemplated doing it by many ways. But some thing that comes to mind at the beginning is either individually or in a group. Every body by de facto knows what it is to be individual and perform a task individually, as he is the only person who is doing the task. But what is group and how it is formed and what are the dynamics involved in it is something we are about to discuss below. So what is a group, it may be defined as a collection of several people who come together to do a particular task or goal. And the group dynamics refer to the characteristic of a group behavior and attitude. The basic concern of group dynamics is about the structure formation and functions of the group. In any organization groups are very common entity and hence their dynamics and deep understanding of the group is important in organisational behavior (Kirschner 2009). Group dynamics basically deals with why and how groups are formed and developed. In order to explain the same many theories have been proposed. One classic theory developed by George Homans (1961), states that all groups are basically functioning of their activities, interactions and sentiments. And all the group theories professes that when individual persons share common activities, they get interactions among them and will develop either positive or negative attitudes towards each other. The groups can also be of va rious types based on how and why they are formed, that is basically we may put them in two categories like Formal and Informal groups. Formal Groups are formed to achieve specific organizational requirements such as a command group, tasks group, or functional groups. Where as the informal groups are formed by association of members based on their own interest or social activities. More or less the informal groups are involuntary associations (Mullins 2002). Coming to the main issue of whether or not working in the group is going to be beneficial or not to us will be depending largely on the group structure, which is nothing but the relationships among the members that help and hold the group together in achieving the assigned goals. The structure of the group can be defined in a many ways; common among them would be to take reference to their Size, Norms, Roles And Cohesiveness. Group Size:- A group can be of any size ranging from two persons to a collection of large people, however small groups of size 2 to 10 are considered more efficient in their job performance as it allows active and positive interactions between the groups and also has least chance of negative synergy. Usually large groups involve a lot of confusion and chaos leading to waste of time in deciding which process to be done and who should be doing it. The group size thus not only affects the group participation but also effects the satisfaction of the members. Group Roles:- In case of formal groups the roles and functions of the group members are all assigned as per pre-plan, in which each role will have specific duties and responsibilities to perform. Even though these are predetermined, some times new kind of roles also emerge in between and then it needs to be created and assigned to the already existing roles of the members. And these new roles often will be replacing the existing roles of the members who will be starting to be more assertive and start expressing themselves (Schwarzer 2007). Group Norms:- Mullins (2002) defined A group norm is an assumption or expectation held by group members concerning what kind of behaviour is right or wrong, good or bad, allowed or not allowed, and appropriate or not appropriate. They are the common behavioral patterns which are exhibited by all the members of the group. The basic reason behind the creation of these norms is to facilitate the group survival, and to make the group behavior more predictable and organized. Group Cohesiveness:- The Social interaction is a very common and natural human behaviour. The aspect of group cohesiveness reflects how badly the members of the group want to be together and the bond that exists among them. The amount of group cohesiveness is determined by a lot of factors. By normal conviction, the more difficult to be a group member, the more cohesive that group is considered to be. One more reason when a group tends to get more cohesive is when they are in tense competition from other groups or may be some external threat to their own survival. The basic thumb rule is the groups which are in small size and those which spend more time together tend to be more cohesive. The cohesiveness in work groups has many positives, like increases worker satisfaction, low turnover and absenteeism, thus leading to higher productivity (Argyle 1989). On the other hand high cohesiveness in groups at times may lead to detrimental effects also if the goals of the group are misalign with the organisationa l goals. Higher cohesiveness results in individual pressure on one another to abide to a common conclusion while making decisions, which will lead to a careless judgments and unrealistic appraisals of alternatives (Revenson 2005). After having seen the dynamics of group, we will now understand the issues on which we are going to make a critical analysis of the pros and cons of group work. These issues are like Social support, group norms, peer pressure and conflicts. Social Support:- Social support is nothing but the physical and emotional comfort given and shown by our friends, family and colleagues. This basically is all about knowing that we are all a part of the larger community of people, who care and think for us and are concerned about our well being. And the critical part of this support is that unless the receiver of the support views it a support, the communicative experience or message extended to him would not be considered as support. The social support can be understood in a variety of ways like, assistance or exchanging resources. Peer Pressure:- By peer pressure it refers to the influence or pressure exerted by a peer group in encouraging an individual in changing ones attitudes, values or behavior so that he or she confirms to the group norms. The social groups influenced by the peers include formal groups like political party, trade union or informal groups like a social clique. However a person who is affected by the peer pressure may or may not wish to continue with the group. This would also help persons in finding out if they really belong to the group, which would lead to adverse affects of the groups behavior (Steinberg 2007). Conflict:- A Conflict is a perceived difference of opinion or action of course on any issue. It is usually a dichotomy of actions for a goal to be achieved. It could be a simple intra personal conflict existing in a person or an interpersonal conflict that is appearing between two individuals or a group and an individual. It can also be between one group and another group (Brem 1995). Basically there are three different types of conflicts existing, like go- go situation, where you want to do both the actions, where as you will have a chance to make only one selection. The other two types are go- no go type of conflicts and the third one being -no go- no go type, where you dont want to take either of the decisions but still you want to make one choice. All conflicts in group are because of common resources which by their very nature are limited. By convention all conflicts are not counter productive. A conflict when used and controlled in the right way will be helping a great deal in increasing the productivity of the group. On the other hand, when not handled properly a conflict can have spiraling effect and can bring down an individual dignity and collapse the whole group (Managing Conflict within or between Groups, Australia). Hawthorne Studies:- The term was coined by Henry A. Landsberger (1955) while he was analyzing older experiments from 1924-1932 at the Hawthorne Works (A Western Electric factory outside Chicago). Hawthorne Works had commissioned a study to observe the efficiency of the workers under various stimuli both external and internal, which included physical working environment and also the group structures. Light was one such factor on which the effects were studied, to see if the workers would become more productive in higher or lower levels of light. The workers productivity has improved when changes were made and slumped when the study was concluded. It was observed that the gain in productivity is more due to the fact that they are being observed rather than the actual experiment itself. This Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity where in subjects improve an aspect of their behavior by being experimentally measured simply in response to the fact that they are being studied and part of social investigatio n, not in response to any particular experimental manipulation. Advantages And Disadvantages:- Having studied the various theoretical aspects on which we are going to critically analyze the advantages and disadvantages, we will now enlist the various experiences both personal and compiled from others. Either the choices whether group or individual has its advantages and disadvantages. An introvert that I am, working alone sometimes is more beneficial to me than in a group. It is admitted that, working in groups has many benefits. With our partners, the project can be finished quicker. For example, when I was studying in university my final project was on Implementation of Stenography using BPCS. We were a group of 4 individuals working on this project and we have assigned different tasks to each person of the group. This has made the division of work more efficient thus accomplishing the task was much easier and faster. This was a good way to improve our knowledge, presentation skills and learn from each other, since every one has a different skill set and ideas to implement. At the same time we had few challenges working as a team, such as one person had he own ideas and would not coincide/compromise with rest of the team and some of us had issue with the time being spent on the project and so on. But at the end of the day we kept our difference away and worked as a team to finish the project successfully. On the other hand working individually also has some different kinds of advantages. The first major advantage that comes to mind is that we can work independent of any other person and dont have to rely on others. While working alone, we have the freedom of using our own methods and work at our own pace and convenience. Working independently gives us the confidence to make our own decisions, based on our experience and expertise on our work. Moreover, we can manage our time and resources better when we work by ourselves. From my experiences of working individually and also in a group, working individual always gave me success and the ability and knowledge to learn new things. As I am an introverted person, I didnt find much joy doing job in a group. However I felt that I was not having any new innovative or divergent ways of working, which other wise would have made me to do a better job by being a part of the group. Lets discuss how working in a group can enrich you individually as a person, while still being a part of the group. Just as said that many hands would make the job easier, we can achieve more as a collection of individuals rather than individually. There are numerous benefits of working as a part of a team, some of them can be stated as below 1. Creativity Every body is born with a different skill sets, knowledge and personal attributes. When in a group different people with different ideas come together and more creative and innovative ideas are generated, which will help us in enriching our knowledge and may be use them for our future endeavors. 2. Satisfaction As a team keeps on interacting more and more they tend to be more cohesive and enjoy the success of one another which leads to a greater satisfaction and team success. 3. Skills No individual is born with all the skills required for doing every thing. So when we are in a team we can make use of the pool of skills from the group for implementing the job more easily. 4. Speed When there is a need to do a big job, it would take a lot of time in finishing it, if everything has to be done by ourselves. However when the same job is performed by a team, there is an advantage of job sharing, and the same job can be assigned to members of the team, where in the job is completed at a much faster pace. For example, if we look at my final year project I mentioned earlier and if I had to do everything myself it would have taken long time, but since we separated the task and worked as a team we could finish it quickly with a great success. Working in a team also has few disadvantages, which are usually hard to see them in our everyday work. When working in a team there will not be any individual losers or winners and no one can be blamed or no one can feel good of having achieved some thing like success. When we have situations where the group consists of only leaders then their team might just not work at all. The worst thing is that the people who are not of a leader type they may be pushed aside by the other members of the team. Leaders would be concentrating on achieving the goal and wont care about helping other team members and socializing with them and wont become a good team. And on top of all these groups would have the conflicts, peer pressure and unnecessary waste of time. Conclusion:- The question of which one has more advantages is only of academic interest as ultimately, the result depends on what is best suited of the type and nature of the job and the individual personality and level of skill required along with all other constraints like time, money and resources available at your hand. Given that you have all the knowledge of above things, we would be able to make a decision which one works better for based on the situation. Though I prefer to work independently, if my job or situation needs me to be part of a group, I am always up for it and willing to be a great team player to contribute to the team success.

Big business affects ethics in promotion Essay

Ethics in marketing and promotion activities has been disregarded in the business world today. The reason again is the big profit at stake. Because big business entails big amount of profit, promotional ethics has been undermined. This gives birth to the deterioration of promotional ethics. History has shown many promotional activities that have evolved in style as well as in form while safeguarding the basic interest of promotions which is to profit just like in the lottery form of promotions. â€Å"In the 1960s, lottery-like contests designed to publicize products through sweepstakes competitions spread rapidly. In the 19th century, every state banned lotteries—defined as competitions in which chances to win prizes were sold—to protect citizens. In 1868, Congress prohibited the distribution of lottery materials through the mail. The mid-20th century sweepstakes, however, did not require contestants to purchase tickets or products to win prizes and were thus considered legal. † (Congress, 1970) In promoting a product, it is of a general rule that one must be honest. But looking at the business world today, honesty has vanished. The promotions in the business world have been characterized by deception. Majority of the companies promoting their products are only deceiving clients for earning purposes. They want a fast disposal of their products so that their capital and profit will soon be seen. They don’t care if the product is falsely advertised, all they care about is the people buying it. This absence of honesty and truthfulness plagues the business world. A product of such untruthfulness most of the time are discussed in court where a lot of clients give their complaints. Dishonesty can also be seen in instances like a company is telling the public that the product weighs like and the product gives vitamins such as these. But in reality, all they are saying are false and untruthful. This reality is very prevalent that sometimes people see it as just normal in marketing. Being dishonest sometimes is already accepted as part of the business world. In promotions, companies never look at the quality of their products. They just focus on promoting it and deceiving the public just again for profit. Promotions then become just words of manipulating the people. They do away from the criteria that what is said regarding a product must coincide with the truth about it. But in reality, truth about the product and the quality of the product diverge in two different directions. In promotion ethics, welfare of the clients must be first and foremost bannered. The clients are the ones giving life to the business world and they are the ones using the products. Again, with the prevalence of deception, businesses view the people as only tools for a desired end. They forget that the reason they indulge in business is not only for profit but for the service to the people. The people must experience good quality service from the business world. People must be given an honest and sincere service by businesses. The glamour for money of the people makes the promotional ethics deteriorate. This is a sad reality that we face. Now, it is true that it is very hard to overcome this because most people are very much inclined with money and the power in it. The constant desire of people to gain and assimilate material things brings about all the disease in promotional ethics. These are diseases that eat every persons’ being and not only deteriorates the promotional world but also the dignity of people inside it. SUMMARY While big business becomes bigger, media will continually be challenged to hold on to their ethical standards while balancing itself on the persuasive power of business to control media decisions of what to communicate and what information to keep away from public scrutiny. As these two forces contend with each other, using each other as leverage to further one’s own interests, balancers are needed. Social responsibility and media ethics are needed to strike the balance between these two forces from using each other’s strengths in order for the other to become bigger monsters that they are. â€Å"Big business has changed the world. The global growth of corporate culture has brought with it the spread of democratic systems, increased wealth and education, and diversified local economies. But it has also created extreme degrees of exploitation, greed, and environmental destruction. † (Enlightennext, 2006) It is a matter of time when consumers finally realize that they have the power to tip the scales between big business and media and forge these two giants to adhere to their social responsibility, ethical standards in a global setting. REFERENCES: American Advertising Federation Board of Directors, March 2, 1984, San Antonio, Texas.Berlau, John. March 18, 2002. Is big business ethically bankrupt? Insight on the News Blohowiak, Donald W. 1987. No Comment! An Executive’s Essential Guide to the News Media. Praeger Publishers Bowers, Chris. 2004. Media Conglomerate Will Attempt to Swing Election For Bush http://www. mydd. com/story/2004/10/9/153537/663 Congress, House, Select Committee on Small Business, Investigation of iPreselected Winnersi Sweepstakes Promotions: Hearings before the Subcommittee on Activities of Regulatory Agencies Relating to Small Business of the Select Committee on Small Business , House of Representatives, 91st Cong., 1st sess. , Washington, D. C. , November 12, 13, and 14, 1969 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1970). DuBrin, J. , Andrew, (February 2004). Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior. South- Wester Publication, 2004 Donaldson, T (1988). â€Å"Broadcasters Seek to Clean Up the Industry and Hope to Regulated Commercial Activities on the Air,† â€Å"Ethical Dilemnas†. Chicago, 1988 Evans, Fred J. 1987. Managing the Media: Proactive Strategy for Better Business-Press Relations. Quorum Books. Ethics and Television. November 21, 2006 from http://www. museum. tv/archives/etv/E/htmlE/ethicsandte/ethicsandte. htm Enligthennext. 2006. Can Big Business Save the World? Retrieved November 21, 2006 from http://www. wie. org/business/ Gardner, Howard and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, William Damon 2001. Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet. Basic Books Glover, JD. 1954. The Attack on Big Business. Harvard University Press How Much Do Television Ads Cost? November 21, 2006 From http://www. gaebler. com/Television-Advertising-Costs. htm Liebert, R. M., & Sprafkin, J. (1988). The Early Window (3rd ed. )New York: Pergamon. McGuire, William J, 1986. â€Å"The Myth of Massive Media Impact: Savaging and Salvaging. † in C. Comstock (ed) Public Communication Campaigns. 2nd edition. Newbury Park CA: Sage. NBC. â€Å"National Broadcasters Meet at Chicago and Adopt Code of Ethics† New York Times (New York), March 26, 1929. Perse, Elizabeth M. 2001. Media Effects and Society. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Smith. J. W. 1994. The World’s Wasted Wealth II, (Institute for Economic Democracy, 1994), p. 224.

The Opposite Sex

Well, I have now been going out with the most interesting woman I could ever meet. She is called Lolita, she is 28 and lives in a Manchester flat. She is a kind and thoughtful woman who is always up for a laugh and she is also in a way slightly aggressive as she cannot control herself at times. Her best feature though is the fact that she is very attractive. But in my opinion there is a flaw to her which in a way annoys me because I don't understand it. The problem is that I cannot understand the mind of the opposite sex. I think that I start to understand her, and then I'm lost and confused. I met her at a concert, over the Christmas holidays. We have been going out ever since. I think that she is wonderful, but she is so confusing to me. For example, what happened the other night. We were watching a film, ‘Saving Private Ryan'. At parts I got a bit upset, not emotional, but it made my go â€Å"aww†, and the odd thing that Loli did was that when the dying captain whispered the words in the young privates ear and then died, not even a blink. When the German sniper got shot through the eye, and the Germans all being shot after the wall fell, she was distraught. I thought it was because it seemed such a cold and evil death, but when the Jew was killed by the man who the party saved him, not even a squeak. This I did not understand a bit. At one point I thought that she was a Nazi. But I think that the cold killings and disgusting scenes were the problem, and then by the end of the film she was used to it. Nothing really to get upset over though. Once I was talking about PMT. This was at the start of our relationship and I hadn't known her that long. Before with previous girlfriends and my sister, they all made sarcastic laughs or smirked. I assumed that, that was the same with most women and could laugh at there own problems, but I couldn't have been more wrong. We had just had a small drink with some of our mates, we only had two drinks and we then went home. I had decided previously to stay the night at her house, so I walked home with her. We got home and we sat down. She had the idea of getting a takeaway. So I told her what I wanted. This was 7:30 when I decided.. It took till 8:00 to order the meal as she didn't know whether to order an Indian or a Chinese, and then what she wanted to order. Loli now got a bit edgy as she was so hungry, and then dipstick here decided to discuss PMT, to try and cheer her up as there was just a report about it on the news. Oh how I should not have gone their, I haven't forgotten it and I don't think I ever will. What happened was that I started off by repeating something that the reporter had said, I questioned her PMT. I started, â€Å"You know, that could be right. I mean PMT was only invented in the 1950's.† I looked at her, she was giving me an icy stare that would have made Cybil Fawlty jealous. My mistake was to continue, that stare was a warning. But I didn't stop, and then all of a sudden. Poof! Loli had sent a cushion flying across the room and it smacked me in the gob. The zip even caught me in the cheek. â€Å"†What was that for?† â€Å"Can't you take a hint?† she barked. â€Å"There was no need for that, it really hurt. I didn't know you were so touchy about it.† â€Å"Just don't do it again, you have no idea how much that sort of thing winds me up.† No-one has ever done that to me over a joke that isn't personal. And I think that if I did it again we would get into a big argument. That made me think that it didn't take much to get her upset, it made me a bit weary. Those are the bad things, but there is also good in everyone, even Hitler. It was my birthday three weeks ago. My 24th. I was just expecting to have a drink with my mates, maybe a party at my house which I had organised. I got something much better than that. I woke up slightly late for me on the Saturday morning, my birthday. I was woken to toast, pancakes, waffles, bucks fizz, croissant, cereal, and a sausage, bacon and bean breakfast. I was gob smacked. I would probably never have this much for a five course meal, let alone breakfast. I tucked in and then got up. Scattered around the house were balloons and then downstairs was my present. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 of vouchers for the local mall. We went out and I bought us lunch and a jacket for me and a DVD of U2 which Loli had her eye on. I came home and opened the door to find that I had a surprise party thrown for me and all my mates had clubbed together to buy me a 2 night holiday to Amsterdam. Then I collapsed. It was like having 8 Christmas's rolled into one. That showed me the kind and thoughtful side to Loli. She showed me what a fantastic woman she is. I also saw the fact that I think that without each other we are useless. But I think that, that is the same with everyone. We all need the opposite sex, you can't enjoy life being a hermit. So get out there and live!

Habits and Traits of Wolf Spiders, Family Lycosidae

The wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) are difficult to spot and even tougher to catch. Most lycosids live on the ground, where they use keen eyesight and quick speed to capture prey. Lycosa means wolf in Greek and wolf spiders are one of the largest spider families. Its very likely that you will come across wolf spiders a few times in your life. They live in a variety of habitats throughout the world and are prevalent in North America.  A wolf spider bite can be quite painful, but it is not necessarily dangerous, though you should see a doctor anyway. What Do Wolf Spiders Look Like? Wolf spiders vary greatly in size. The smallest may measure only 3 millimeters in body length, while most lycosids are larger, reaching up to 30 millimeters. Many species live in burrows in the ground, and most are nocturnal. Most lycosids are brown, gray, black, pale orange, or cream. They often have stripes or speckles. The head region of the cephalothorax usually narrows. The legs, particularly the first two pairs, may be spiny to help the spiders hold their prey. Spiders in the family Lycosidae can be identified by their eye arrangement. Wolf spiders have eight eyes, arranged in three rows. Four small eyes make up the lower row. In the center row, the wolf spider has two large, forward-facing eyes. The remaining two eyes in the upper row vary in size, but these face the sides of the head. Classification of Wolf Spiders Kingdom - AnimaliaPhylum - ArthropodaClass – ArachnidaOrder – AraneaeFamily - Lycosidae What Do Wolf Spiders Eat? Lycosids are solitary spiders and feed primarily on insects. Some larger wolf spiders may also prey on small vertebrates. Rather than build webs to trap prey, wolf spiders hunt them down at night. They move very fast and are known to climb or swim while hunting, despite being ground dwellers. The Wolf Spider Life Cycle While males rarely live beyond one year, female wolf spiders may live for several. Once she has mated, the female will lay a clutch of eggs and wrap them in a round, silk ball. She attaches the egg case to the underside of her abdomen, using her spinnerets to hold it in place. Burrowing wolf spiders place their egg sacs in the tunnel by night, but bring them to the surface for warmth during the day.   When the spiderlings hatch, they climb onto the mothers back until they have grown enough to venture out on their own. These mothering behaviors are characteristic of and unique to the  life cycle of wolf spiders. Special Behaviors of Wolf Spiders Wolf spiders have keen senses, which they use to hunt, find mates, and protect themselves from predators. They can see quite well  and are highly sensitive to vibrations which alert them to movements of other organisms. Wolf spiders rely on camouflage to hide them in the leaf litter where they roam. Lycosids do use venom to subdue their prey. Some wolf spiders will flip onto their backs, using all eight legs like a basket to hold an insect catch. They will then bite the prey with sharp fangs to render it immobile. Are Wolf Spiders Dangerous? Wolf spiders are known to bite humans when they feel threatened. While the venom is poisonous, it is not deadly. The bite will hurt quite a bit and some people may have an allergic reaction. Its recommended that you always seek medical treatment after a bite. Where Are Wolf Spiders Found? Wolf spiders live nearly worldwide, just about any place where they can find insects for food. Lycosids are common in fields and meadows, but also inhabit mountains, deserts, rainforests, and wetlands. Arachnologists have described over 2,300 species. There are about 200 kinds of wolf spiders living in North America.