Individual performance refers to exact performance intents achievable by a single person through putting effort into his area of expertise. In an individual performance, the person works alone and takes responsibility for their tasks without others' help. One has to rely on his skills to realize the anticipated goals entirely. A good example of individual performance is running a small retail shop. In this case, the shopkeeper solely performs the duties of attending to customers, taking records, and general management of the shop.
On the other hand, group performance refers to the definite performance objectives designed for individuals with group accountability, with a suitable weighting practiced based on the envisioned focus. In comparing individual and group performance, there is a need to determine the distinction between a group and a team. Since the paper evaluates individual versus group performance, it is fundamental to understand how a group differs from a team for certainty throughout the discussion.
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A team can be as open as two or more individuals working together to achieve a common goal or as multifaceted as two or more organizations synchronized to work as an entity to attain their set goal. Therefore, the formation of a term involves a group of individuals or parties coming together. However, not all groups can form a team because a group refers to two or more interdependent persons and interact over time, but they may not necessarily be working towards a common objective. The chief difference between a group and a team is that a group has a leader, the manager, who controls and issues instructions and guidelines for the group to follow. In contrast, a team has no leader because individuals in a group perform a single task where every individual performs where he/she is good at in a concept called skill differentiation.
After perceiving the difference between a team and a group, it becomes apparent to compare and contrast individual and group performances. In group work, a collection of individuals coordinate their exertions to meet their goals. Contrariwise, individuals perform duties at their own pace and decide what to do and how to do it. There are two types of groups; nominal and interacting groups (Boyle et al., 2016). Several persons work on an issue in a nominal group without intermingling, while in an interacting group, several persons intermingle to solve a problem or perform a duty. Therefore, when comparing and contrasting group and individual performances, it is imperative to discuss the two types of groups individually. This is because these types of groups do not yield similar results upon application. They also vary in their characteristics and way of operation.
Brainstorming is a technique used in groups to generate ideas. It is used in both nominal and interacting groups. The method gives the difference in views created by the two types of groups regarding quality and creativity. Besides, the technique relates ideas generated by an individual to those of a group. The said technique requires group members to loudly state their ideas and points without commenting on the ideas until all of them are given. Comparing the group's creativity and that of an individual, a group, becomes more creative since the diversity of pondering allows the collection of vast knowledge from members of the group (Boyle et al., 2016).
Apart from brainstorming, there are other aspects of which reveal the difference between group and individual performances. Some of them include effort, decision-making (Lumen n.d). Lumen argues that many organizations prefer group decision-making to individual decision-making. Lumen supports the statement by saying individual decision-making is prompt and may happen with little knowledge. In supporting group decision-making, Lumen (n.d) presents that group members' coming together to make a decision provides a platform for bringing many options and ideas for discussion. After the contributing ideas, group members assess the presented options and finally settle on the most appropriate decision. However, Teeboom (2018) highlights some of the advantages of individual decision-making over the group decision-making process. He states that the quickness of individual-based decisions saves time and cost. He adds that individuals are accountable for wrong decisions, unlike in a group where no specific individual is responsible for a bad decision.
Ruhe (2014) argues that there is less effort involved in performing tasks individually than as a group. He uses decision-making as an example to illustrate how the two factions manifest effort. He says that one would prefer making decisions at an individual level because there will be no arguments or efforts to persuade others. In that way, an individual uses less effort to make decisions, unlike group decisions where one has to invite members, discuss the prevailing issue, give options and persuade each other to settle on one decision. Even though there is less effort involved in individual decision-making, Ruhe (2014) cites that groups yield better decisions than individuals because of the large output.
In conclusion, group versus individual performance is a fascinating topic that helps organizations and businesses determine their success routes. Both groups and individuals have their pros and cons in terms of performance, but group performance outperforms individual performance. The coming together of group members to either make a decision or perform designated duties means a lot to a business. Even though making decisions is costly in groups is expensive, the outputs give better decisions than individual-based decisions. The coordination of individuals in a group to perform their designated duties is another road to success.
References
Aamodt, M. G. (2016). Industrial/organizational psychology: An applied approach. In Industrial/organizational psychology: an applied approach (pp. 479–488). essay, Cengage Learning. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412952651.n173
Lumen. Organization Behavior and Human Relations. Group vs Individuals . https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-organizationalbehavior/chapter/group-vs-individuals/
Ruhe, D. (2014). Individual vs. Group Effort: 3 Leadership Strategies for Maximizing Both. Blanchard. https://leaderchat.org/2014/03/10/individual-vs-group-effort-3-leadership-strategies-for-maximizing-both/
Teeboom, L. (2018). Group Vs. Individual Decision Making for a Business. Chron. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/decisionmaking-styles-organizations-24385.html
