Reading :
In response to a change in the way companies expect their employees to do their work, schools have begun to focus more on group work. Students are now expected to complete projects as a team, rather than simply demonstrate individual knowledge on a test. This shift toward teamwork is a good development.
The biggest advantage of having a group of people tackle a problem is that the solution is likely to be found much more quickly. Every person in the world has unique skills and abilities. When a group of people is assembled, each persons special ability can contribute to the ability of the team. Moreover, breaking a large project into smaller, more manageable pieces makes the work get done much more quickly.
Secondly, teamwork encourages individuals to try out bold new ideas and this produces better and more creative results. As the saying goes, Two heads are better than one. When a group of people come up with more varied ideas and combine those ideas, they can produce a more original and creative result Moreover there is less likely to be an unsolvable issue when many brains are working on a problem from various angles. This means that teamwork often leads to a better, more creative outcome than individual work does.
Strangely enough, being a member of a team can actually encourage individuals to take more risks and actively contribute because teamwork is less burdensome to each individual. If a person is working alone and fails, all the blame is placed fully upon that individual. However, in a group, each member is willing to express his or her own ideas and actively take part in the group work, knowing that his or her teammates will help out and take some of the blame if the project fails. This mentality can maintain maximum productivity and creativity on the job.
Lecture :
youtube.com/watch?v=KccHuXhFSb4
Essay :
The article and the lecture are both discussing teamwork in the context of school and work with different opinions. While the author of the reading thinks that it is a positive thing. The lecture contradicts it by saying that team work is not perfect. According to the lecture, many people fail to understand that.
First, the reading claims that team work helps the project done quickly. The lecture however states that it is otherwise. It explains that in a team, members have to agree first before deciding, and this leads to debates. The lecture clarifies by saying that each person has a different idea about the project, And therefore, time is being wasted.
Next, though the reading points that teamwork helps to create new ideas and solutions due to the large number of members involved. The lecture counters this point by saying that teamwork is rarely creative and that usually, the members follow one or two leaders who dictate their ideas. The lecturer explains further by pointing out that the members will be afraid to express their ideas against their leader.
Finally, the reading expresses that when working on teams, members encourage each other to risk and to be acitve in their project. On the other hand, the lecture dismisses this by saying that situations happen where a member of the team would take advantage of the other members by sitting back while the others do the hard work. It adds that when the project is done, everybody in the team whether active or not gets credit and this is certainly a burden for the team.
TOEFL listening lectures: Which aspect of bee behavior does the professor mainly discuss?