Differences Between Groups and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Differences Between Groups and Teams - Essay Example A group can be defined as the formation of two or more people working together to achieve a common goal (Schermerhorn & Hunt & Osborn, 2003, p.172). Groups can be either formal or informal. Any gathering of multiple employees constitutes a group. When the manager arranges a meeting with the employees the leader is directing his message towards a group. There are five stages that characterize the formation of a group. The stages of group formation are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjuring. During the norming stage the employee build a bond of trust between them and the other members that helps improve the overall performance. The size of the group is an important factor to consider. The optimal size of a group is between seven to eight members. Group decision making can be improved using techniques such as brainstorming, nominal group technique, and Delphi technique. A team is a type of formal group in which the members work together to accomplish common goals. One of the major differences between a group and a team is that in team settings individual and group accountability exists (Katzenback & Smith, 1993). Companies create teams for strategic purposes, while most work groups are formulated to accomplish specific tasks. Teams tend to be formulated to achieve long term tasks. For example a company can create a quality control team to reduce product defects. Work groups are different because they are typically formed to achieve short term goals. Another discrepancy between teams and groups is the way they operate. The five steps of the participation process of team members are illustrated below: An important aspect of teamwork is the necessity of leadership to manifest itself. Due to the nature of teamwork employees are able to exert leadership while working in settings even if the person is not the official team leader.

What Happened to Muses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Happened to Muses - Essay Example They find the inspiration in something else. Usually these methods to get it are not right and decent: drinking alcohol, using drugs etc. Not very long ago actual women, wives or girl-friends, played a role of Muse for some artists. Today it is not necessary to an artist to have a Muse. In ancient times three Muses were divine creatures and the daughters of Zeus. Their mother, Mnemosyne, was the goddess of memory. Hesiod decided to expand the number of muses, so now we know nine: Clio, Calliope, Euterpe, Terpsichore, Melpomene, Thalia, , Polyhymnia, Urania, Erato. Nine Muses were given different roles later by Romans: Clio was the muse of history, Erato of lyric poetry, Polyhymnia of sacred poetry and so on. Nine muses were considered to be kind, caring creatures. According to Hesiod, they came to the chosen and lucky artist and presented him with their invaluable gifts. At the same time Muses could punish artists and other creatures. We all know how they punished Sirens when they want to compete with them: they made them loose their wings and Sirens fell into the sea. The power of the ancient Muses was transferred to the modern ones. Many modern Muses were mostly strong women with difficult characters and interesting lives. Among them we can define Gala, the Muse of Salvador Dali, Georgia O’Keeffe, the Muse of Alfred Stieglitz, and many other. In the 21st century it is not very easy to find a Muse. Some artists still have Muses, very often they are their own wives, but the relationships between them does not have an element of divinity any more. They are just partners and their relations are the relations between two people, just human beings, usually with equal talent. Women do not limit themselves to the role of Muses any more, they want to create masterpieces themselves. Feminist ideas do not allow to treat women as objects. Muses did not completely disappear, just the idea of them was changed.