Challenges, problems and conflicts that may occur in teams (Teamwork Essay

Challenges, problems and conflicts that may occur in teams (Teamwork vs. Individual work in efficiency of decision making) - Essay Example g need not always be the responsibility of an individual alone, and various professional as well as academic contexts reveal the decision making process taken up jointly by a team. The effectiveness achieved when making individual decisions differs from the effectiveness attained when teams take decisions. However, if a particular decision should be taken by an individual or a team is totally dependent on the nature of the problem that needs to be solved as well as the available time and resources. Therefore, whether decisions made by individuals are more effective from that of teams or vice versa cannot be ultimately stated as each problem differs from the other, thereby requiring unique decisions as well as different forms of decision making. In order to understand the difference in effectiveness arising out of individual and team decisions, one must first be thoroughly understand the concepts of individual and team with reference to decision making. Larson and LaFasto (1989) provide a definition of team, which states that it is a â€Å"unit of two or more people† who engage in interacting as well as coordinating their work in order to â€Å"accomplish a specific goal† (Morden, 2004, p. 248). Katzenbach and Smith further describe the concept of team as a small group of people who possess â€Å"complimentary skills† and are committed to a â€Å"common purpose, performance goals, and approach† for which they are mutually accountable (p. 248). Therefore, team is comprised of two or more individuals who are influenced by a common commitment and who are ready to coordinate their activities in order to take decision regarding a particular problem within a stipulated time frame. There are different t ypes of teams and each category or type has a basis of its own. Morden identifies the different types of teams such as â€Å"permanent or temporary team,† based on the period or purpose for which they are created; â€Å"formal† teams including, vertical and horizontal teams that

The Importance of Teaching Culture with the Language Research Paper

The Importance of Teaching Culture with the Language - Research Paper Example The main point of the paper is that effective communication does not deal only with language proficiency and that in enhancing and enriching communicative competence, cultural aspects can also lead and contribute to the respect toward different cultures around the globe. Introduction Several components comprise the learning of foreign language such as grammatical competence, communicative competence, language proficiency, and considerations of attitudes with regard to one’s culture. Scholarly, knowledge about customs, beliefs, and culture of other countries are indisputably considered as an integral part of foreign language learning, and teachers who are teaching language have seen the importance of including the teaching of culture into the foreign language curriculum. Foreign language learning is also considered foreign culture learning and thus, culture has been taught in the foreign language classroom. However, debates arises on the issue of what the culture meant and how can it be integrated into the language learning and teaching. In language learning, culture is not a separate subject to learn along with the studies and learning about speaking, listening, reading, and writing but rather it is always in the background and considers as the secondary factor in learning the language skills. This paper has also the aim to disentangle issues, shedding some light about the role of teaching culture, as well development and understanding the importance why this has to be incorporated in language teaching. Furthermore, communications are requiring understanding and to be able to come up with understanding, it requires being in the shoes of foreign culture. What is culture and why should it be taught? It is important to scrutinize the relationship between language and culture and why is it important to study the culture along with the studies of language as an integral part of the English language curriculum. Language is considered as a social institution, p laying an important role in the society, it is influential between and among the people at large. It must be understood among the people of any nation that language is a cultural practice, aside from the fact that it is considered as a part of the culture itself. Nevertheless, if language is considered as a a cultural practice and a part of the culture it self, undeniably, it is relevant to say that it would just be proper to study culture in relation to language. Language never claims to be independent construct but it is considered as a social practice brought about by the society structures and forces of social institutions where in we lived in. Language and culture interpenetrate, which means that language cannot exist alone like in a vacuum because there is a big connection between the two (Webster, J. 2008). The existence of language cannot be separated from culture, it is passed and inherited from the past practices and beliefs and determines the quality and consistencies of the lives of the people. It is considered as an explanation to the cultural past of certain society and a guide to social reality (Salzman, P. 1998). The interdependence of language and culture is well manifested in the daily lives. Children speak and master their mother tongue through making and using hypothesis under the circumstances where it can be used, and by learning probabilities. Children, during the process of