Collaboration in the workplace Outline
I. Introduction
Collaboration is not at all easy task to achieve especially in the workplace where professionals may at times compete with each other and engages in self-serving activities that promotes only self-interest that inhibits the advancement of the needs of others. A number of factors such as giving a great deal of effort to synergize all the people and to foster commitment among the people involved must be taken into consideration first before can collaboration occur in the workplace. In this essay, we come to define what collaboration is and the advantages and disadvantages of collaboration it brings to the workplace.
By collaboration, it refers to the processes wherein people get to work together in the advancement of interest, rather than self-interest, wherein the needs of all the parties involved is meet.
An example of collaboration is the bargaining power between trade unions and management such that both sides will try to figure out means in which to foster conditions on both sides. Simply stated, formulating a win-win situation.
II. Advantages of collaboration in the workplace
According to an interview by when a project requires brain power, teams are much more efficient. The collaboration of two diverse teams that is cross-functional and cross-cultural being teamed by Americans, Dutch, British and Indonesians, enables Maxus Energy to came up with an excellent results of avoiding expected 15% reduction but instead, leveled off production and had add oil reserves to the stockpiles brought about by the great collaboration of minds to come up with solutions that is beyond expected through being able to work together towards a common goal which is to maximize oil and gas production. Therefore, the collaboration of teams especially if the team constitutes diverseness, they are likely to come up with innovative solutions because they think differently, thereby their varying perceptions when taken together results to innovative solutions. Perhaps, one of the reasons why successful companies, like the IBM and Honda, is embodying and promoting diversity in their company for them to be able to continue in the collaboration of creating more creative and innovative solutions that would serve as their competitive advantage in the marketplace.
In collaboration, wherein groups work together to aim for the common goal is susceptible to deliver high standards for the very reason that not one or two persons work but group as composing of more or less five members. The task can be subdivided and in a way more efficient as all of the members can contribute and assess the whole outcome, whether or not it needs further improvement or it reached the level of standards being set by the group. For example in Intel Corporation, the collaboration of teams that are composed of combination of employees coming from different countries is employed by Intel as they are being utilized in the medley of projects: in the formulation and deliverance of sales strategies for specific products; development of new products so as in the manufacturing and production of microprocessor elements. When working in a group, how much more in collaborating with diverse people, an individual in the group is challenged to show what he or she has to offer, thus, imposing a high standard upon himself to be able to meet those standards and in a sense that an individual in the group strive to give the best for the group leading to the achievement of group purpose.
i. Project management
Working in collaboration is indeed a learning process. In project management, a group member would be able to learn the basic principles and factors that underlies in the success of project management. Being a good team member, as much as possible necessitates active listening, mutual sharing, co-operating with and encouraging others. It is by being proactive in the collaboration enables on to accomplishment of tasks in the project.
ii. Time management
Given the demands of the responsibilities attached in collaborating, it is a duty bound reliability to be able to be there when one is needed. A member or even a leader cannot make others wait for hours since that would very much be inconsiderate that may lead to the decrease of trust among the group and may be putting the effectiveness of collaboration at risk. Through collaboration, it makes one to be at all times being consciously aware so as not to create delays in the working processes.
iii. Problem solving
Collaboration allows those involved to air their opinions that may be valuable and upon hearing the opinions, they can draw out and reach for solutions that would work and balance all sides, thus, coming up with all the necessary ingredients to decide for the one that works for everybody. As what have been previously mentioned, it is coming out with a win-win situation.
iv. Communication
In a study by the results yielded that for highly interdependent or true teams, enhanced communication and cohesion are the most important processes to improve team performance. The collaboration of true teams manifested and place great emphasis in alleviating any possible barrier in any means of communication methods so that the team can readily act on and work progressively.
v. Negotiation
From the start of collaboration, it entails negotiation. Negotiation plays a role in collaboration because it enables to meet both ends and the solutions that will be drawn would be fair enough on every side.
III. Disadvantages of collaboration in the workplace
When group people is not mixed or comprises of diverse people, group think would likely be the outcome of the collaboration. It works disadvantageously in a way that the thinking of ideas would not be diverse enough and the resulting solutions may not go under scrutiny and further examination and resists to the ideas by rejection if the idea or the solution seems to be foreign to them.
The problem may arise in the inequality of the work loads between the collaborators. Perhaps, the other collaborator would feel that the distribution of the work load does not coincides with what is considered fair causing the other collaborator not to perform well since his or her work performance has been affected by the fact that he or she feels unfairness.
Logistically, says , if the technology isn’t there–if team members don’t have groupware, or E-mail and videoconferencing capabilities so they can communicate rapid-fire–people will find it a physical bar-tier. The unavailability of technology resources reduces the motivation of collaborators such that it causes delay and inhibits the necessary means to make collaboration works in terms of meeting the standards of both sides.
Collaborators are individuals that may have conflicting point of views and beliefs, interpersonal conflict is evident in any collaboration but it can be minimized but not totally be eradicated of the fact that any collaborator is unique in his or her own special way.
Collaboration in the workplace can work advantageously. However, attached to it, it can also works advantageously if not being settled and by not giving precise terms and clear specific common goal to meet.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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