The Importance of Group Work

Organizational context and the environment in which the company (Google) operates:

Question 1

A comprehensive and systematic evaluation of different companies was used to establish Google as the case study organization. The evaluation included making replicable and compelling inferences by clearly understanding the company’s strategies and business competence in the market.

Question 2

Given that the assignment was a group project, it enabled the students to collaborate effectively resulting into better outcomes among other life-long communication and teamwork skills.

Question 3

While the group project inculcated important communication skills among the students, it also encouraged unequal participation among the members, limited individual creativity, and occasionally brewed conflicts.    

Question 4

A work breakdown structure (WBS) was used to break the project down into activities and assign such activities to individual group members. Specifically, the WBS process entailed organizing the team’s work into manageable segments.   

Question 5

When making the ultimate decision, the group first established the problem; the members then gave a clear definition of the problem by aggregating relevant information that was used to develop alternative solutions. The members then brainstormed before selecting the best alternatives to be implemented and evaluated by the team. 

 If every group member did not agree with the selected course of action, then the group leader was tasked with first acknowledging the input of the opposing members and then offering transparent and convincing explanations on why the selected decisions were right.   

Question 6

Yes, one of the group members surfaced to lead the team. The group leader chosen by the members was always very positive and optimistic about the project, trustworthy, veracious, decisive, enhanced communication with the members and led by example. 

Question 7

The group work did not affect the individual students’ ultimate expectations and goals (grades and project quality). Undoubtedly, the group work enabled the students to be more detailed in their responses leading to a deeper knowledge of the research topic.

Question 8

I would not have preferred to do this assignment alone because group work ensured mutual support among the members increasing our efficiency and the inherent ability to grasp important concepts.

Question 9

Looking back, establishing clear roles and responsibilities of every member, putting more focus on efficient communication and good feedback from the team leader could have improved the effectiveness of the group.