Teams and Their Limitations

A team is a cohesive group that can efficiently complete any particular task to achieve a common goal. Many ideas have been shared as to what components and characteristics are necessary to create a well balanced team. Some say that diversity is necessary, although it is never quite clear as to what the definition of diversity actually is. Similarly some believe that a good team will consist of group members who are able to satisfy roles which are necessary to develop cohesiveness through a hierarchy as well as individual job responsibilities. I feel that it is important to understand alternative views when creating a team. Overall, I believe that if a group of people can effectively complete a task, it is more important to understand the specific characteristics of that team for that particular type of task. It may also be that the particular group on people in question may be absolutely horrible at working together on  a different goal. The goal is always dependent on the group. The number of group members is also a very important factor in determining how effective it will be in completing a task. It may be that adding or subtracting one member may drastically alter the cohesiveness of the group. Too many inputs will always result in reduced productivity. For every group task there is a limit of resources that can be put into completing that project. Once you have reached your resource limit, productivity will taper off and output will become fixed and in some cases stagnate. In any case you must first understand what your necessities are for the task at hand to completely understand how to organize your workforce to create a cohesive group that will not impede productivity due to its size.

Listening and its Difficulties

I have always felt as if I were a very good listener. However, after thinking on it I have determined that I am a horrible listener under stressful circumstances. If I am distracted or am exposed to any little interruptions I have a hard time paying attention to anyone who may be speaking to me at the moment. It is also common for me to stop listening to a person when  I do not have any real care or concern as to what it is they are saying in the first place. I do not make it obvious when I am not listening but at times I will not be able to give the best response to the person I am communicating with. In any case, in order to improve my listening skills I need to first make a conscious effort to pay attention when someone is speaking to me. Similarly I need to be sure that I can do my best to stay free of distraction. I do see this being a little more difficult in an office setting in which case you do not necessarily know when you may be interrupted or distracted. I feel that in order to improve my communication skills immediately I must put forth the effort. Once I have done this I do believe I will see immediate improvement.

Laziness: An Opinion or Misunderstood Cultural Norm

After looking through, and thinking on our recent discussion. I feel as though there are many people who are of the opinion that young Americans are becoming more lethargic as the years go by, with respect to education and motivation. Time after time we hear that we are no longer producing professionals in science and engineering due to increasing laziness in younger generations. I think that this opinion should not be counted out, because it is a valid argument. However, can we not also say that young Americans have now found themselves expressing new cultural norms that clearly no longer flow with older generational views and opinions. Today many of us would agree that we need more science and engineering professionals, and many of these new professionals would have most likely been born in the late 80's. These people have lived their entire lives with advanced technology, where older generations were just being introduced to it by the tie they were already in their 20's or older.  Personal Computers, The Internet, Cable TV, digitized media, text messaging, smart phones, laptop computers, wireless technologies, smart cars, smart TV's,  and social media and networking (Which connects to virtually every piece of technology you own!), and the list goes on. Every year all of these technologies get faster, smaller, thinner, and prettier. My point is that this technology has improved exponentially over the past 20 years and these so called lazy people have never known life without it. Being a product of this generation myself...it is no wonder that many of these people were not interested in going into science and technology, because they have always had science and technology around them and expect it to always be there for them always getting better. It's almost as if we are spoiled...not lazy. The older generations had put in the time and work to develop the technology, and the younger generation is so acclimated to it that they never even considered getting into that work force themselves because, in their eyes, they didn't need to. Thus we see the creation of a new culture, and in it a set of norms that determines what we feel is important to us, and will determine the development of new cultural norms in the future. In any case, if we do not get our students interested in math and science, the United States will definitely loose its competitiveness and innovation to the nations who are currently exceeding our abilities. I do feel as though many of our competing countries have the same chance find themselves in a lull similar to ours, and we will eventually find a happy equilibrium in a more globalized world.