CHAPTER 9: SOLVING PROBLEMS IN GROUPS

Sometimes as much as we think we may be right about something, it's always best to get a second opinion just to make sure we've done that something in the most appropriate manner possible. This is when we can refer to solving problems in a group. One of the advantage of solving problems in a group is that we get various resources. Resources need not be in the form of ideas, input and knowledge only; sometimes, resources can be in the form of physical actions(manpower). Relating this to studying for midterms last minute, a group of friends and I decided to collectively study together each night before a paper to refresh our memory and to get the best out of each other, as in to ask the rest on a chapter that we're weak at for instance, or it could be a statistics question that we can't seem to get the proper method to solve the equation, there again; we ask for help. Personally, I feel studying in a group certainly helps me alot more than studying alone because I instantly can counter check with my peers if im unsure about something that im reading and by helping them with areas they are weak in, I not only feel good about it, I also am revising my work by helping someone else with theirs. Another advantage of group problem-solving would be the increased likelihood of catching errors or better known as accuracy.By revising with the rest, the margin of errors made can be easily reduced as you have your peers checking on you from time to time; vice versa. Besides that, groups also generate a higher commitment to carrying solutions out. By making solutions that we think is best for the whole group, we are determined to carry out those solutions made. This is co-related to the principle called participative decision making in which the people who live with a plan help make it. Everyone puts in their ideas and work toward a common goal. There are undoubtedly disadvantages as well to solving problems in a group, but the ratio is very minimal compared to the advantages of solving problems in a group. As for me, I do believe in individual progress, but i am more of a person who gets the best out of something better when working together in a group instead of doing things by myself.
posted by Haylena. xx