“Businesses and other organizations have overemphasized the importance of working as a team. Clearly, in any human group, it is the strong individual, the person with the most commitment and energy, who gets things done.”
Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
Reference:
- Arco Issue 36
- 老莫舊版作文 Issue 36
Views differ when it comes to the issue of the importance of teamwork. Some people consider teamwork essential to successes while other people think that it is the strong individual who gets things done. To some extent, I agree with the author’s assertion that strong individual is important to help organizations and businesses succeed. However, the author unnecessarily extends this assertion to an extreme while overlooking other compelling factors that might affect the issue. On balance, both sides of this issue need deeper and more fundamental analysis as discussed below.
On the one hand, it is undeniable that the author’s statement, although suffering some obvious drawbacks, accords with common senses and our experience in some cases. After all, it is strong individuals who bring us incredible innovations in every fields of human civilization, such as science, mathematics, and economics. Take Steve Jobs, the funder of Apple Computer, for example. Steve Jobs is the one who has the most commitment and energy in the computer industry. Without his passion, the computer industry might be totally different today. However, Steve’s energy also created lots of troubles inside Apple. Lacking teamwork atmosphere, the company was divided internally and the sales volume started to decline. Eventually, Steve left Apple Computer because of his personal traits.
On the other hand, working as a team actually improves the quality of management decisions and final outputs, no matter tangible outputs or intangible services. Teamwork involves the collaboration and brainstorming among team members, thereby creating synergy in some cases. In the example of Apple Computer, the teamwork spirit improved after Steve left. The engineers and programmers were reorganized and shared the same goal. The company enjoyed a period of growing sales because of a seamlessly integrated management team. Nevertheless, overemphasizing teamwork might stifle the company’s creativity. Even though Apple’s products were still good and of great quality, the company lost it’s direction and vision, thereby losing ground in the industry.
Therefore, the two different views should be equally important. A person’s commitment and energy can complement a teamwork approach. A successful team requires a natural leader and natural followers. Without a leader, the team could accomplish little; without followers, an excellent leader could go nowhere. In the case of Apple, Steve Jobs, understanding the importance of teamwork now, returned Apple in 1990. He could lead the company to a brand new field with his vision and leverage his development team simultaneously. Eventually, Apple resumes the focus of the industry and brings us lots of amazing products, such as iPods and iPhones.
In conclusion, issue of whether teamwork or individual ability is more important is complex, requiring thorough analyses and subjective judgments. The personal traits and commitment are indispensable to the success; otherwise, the whole organization might lose directions. On the other hand, teamwork can also create synergy inside organizations, thereby making things better. Therefore, the two important factors should be complementary and operate in a synergistic manner to achieve an organization’s goal.
Li-Wei's Mac in Academia 