Teamwork is when several people work together towards a common goal. Teamwork also means understanding between the members of those who are completing a task. A group of people combines their potential, skills, and ability to produce a better result. Perfect teamwork is performing as one and focusing on the performance to succeed in their shared goal. Teamwork is influenced by the contribution of all the members in a group and the marks will be given based on the outcome that a group submits. So, unity and cooperation are highly needed for a group task to be done on time. Other than that, a good-performing team needs time management skills, leadership skills, language skills, problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills. This skill will help students to overcome all the challenges that will arise during coordinating teamwork. The difficulties that students encounter in coordinating teamwork are people do not contribute to the work, teamwork is not effective in an online environment, students essentially do not like teamwork and different people have different styles of working.
The most common problem students are dealing with in teamwork is the lack of contribution of team members. For example, some members are quiet and do not play their roles properly in tasks. This is because of delegating unfair marks on workload contribution (Labeouf, Griffith & Roberts, 2016, p.18). When a group submits their project all the group members get an equal mark regardless of their contribution. So, group members are taking advantage of this marking system. Students who give more contributions are unfairly disadvantaged by the ones who do not perform well in group work. Hand in hand, this situation forms free riders in the teamwork process (Bovees & Thill, 2014, p.512). Students do not like to contribute to a teamwork-based project because of these free riders. The free rider does not give their full commitment to teamwork. They just get benefits from the effort of other members. Based on (Bushe & Chu, 2011, p.186), students are facing difficulties in expressing true opinions. In this case, students give less contribution to the team. They have less confidence and lack skills which makes them hesitate to speak their mind. Students should have the belief that they will not be punished if they make a mistake to overcome the problem of expressing opinions.
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Continuously, students are encountering difficulties in coordinating teamwork because teamwork is not effective in an online environment. Information technology has become a big part of a student’s life. Therefore, they started to work in groups virtually. So, teamwork is now hindered by complicated and unreliable technology, insufficient transfer speed, and limitations on understudies getting to the internet (Karin, 2011, p.3). Online teamwork depends on the internet. Students get into trouble to finish a group project when insufficient accessibility occurs. Based on (Karin, 2011, p.3), work cannot be done earlier because of a lack of communication in online teamwork. They suffer to exchange ideas when a slow internet connection takes place. Students could not receive or share the details completely. This creates misunderstandings and delays the project work. Students find it confronting to collaborate when they never might meet face to face (Karin, 2011, p.3). Online team members only communicate once in a while for discussions and get disconnected. Such a case brings no bonding among team members. At the same time, it makes the teamwork unproductive.
Next, students essentially do not a group work. Students understudies favor work independently (Daft, 2012, p.511). Because some give less collaboration in groups it is hard to find out who is participating and who is not participating. So, they prefer working independently. Students do not enjoy the process of working in group work. They feel anxious, shy, and introverted to work in a group (Labeouf, Griffith & Roberts, 2016, p.17). Students who are introverted and shy usually do not voice out or remain silent during teamwork. They feel nervous and awkward to share their thoughts and ideas. In this case, discussions and meetings become harder and the work is left undone. Based on (Bovee & Thill, 2014, p.72), students dislike working in groups because they think that it is a waste of time. Group tasks need the cooperation, performance, presence, and collaboration of all team members. It takes a quite long time to be completed due to a lack of participation and busy schedules. Some members do not collaborate well and some might work slowly. Students should wait until the other’s part is done to finish a group task. Teamwork is consuming a lot of time. Thus, students are not interested in being involved in teamwork.
In addition, students suffer in coordinated teamwork because different people have different styles of working (Witt, 2011, p.12). Some students are a loud and outgoing person. On the other hand, some students are quiet and need a little time to open up. Various types of personality may lead to conflict and arguments in a group. Based on (Bearmen, Owen, Brooks & Grunwald, 2013, p.6), discussion and disagreements will slow down the problem-solving process. This can delay the group's work. Each student has various abilities and skills. A lack of understanding of the skills and abilities of people also can lead to conflicts in teamwork. Team members should understand the potential of all the members and divide the work according to their ability. The existence of cultural differences can also disturb the work process (Bearmen, Owen, Brooks & Grunwald, 2013, p.6). A team consists of members from various countries, religions, and family backgrounds. The reason team members struggle working in a multicultural team is because they are not aware of the cultural differences. They behave or talk improperly without knowing it can hurt a person from a different culture. Students should try to understand the culture of their team members to avoid problems.
Finally, trying to gather in a group to work together is very hard and also takes up a lot of time. If team coordination is not handled properly can result in a loss of time and decrease the efficiency of the team. At the same time, if everyone comes together to work towards success, there is nothing better than that. Communication, understanding, role clarity, and leadership attitude can be a great strategy to overcome the obstacles of effective teamwork. People do not contribute to the work, teamwork is not effective in an online environment, students essentially do not like teamwork, and different people have different styles of working are the difficulties that people will face in coordinating teamwork. Effective teamwork can help students to complete their assessments successfully. They must upgrade their skills and potential to overcome struggles in coordinating teamwork. The types of skills that students should learn are communication skills, leadership skills, creativity, problem-solving skills, and understanding skills. Teamwork is necessary because it can bring the strength of members together to achieve a task.
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