本文摘自The Economist英國《經濟學人》雜誌最新一期。在儘量不影響文章大意的情況下進行了節選。
When teamwork works
The pros and cons of co-operating
Businesses value collaboration. The latest survey by the Financial Times of what employers want from MBA graduates found that the ability to work in a team, to work with a wide variety of people and to build, sustain and expand a network of people were three of the top five skills that managers wanted. Practical qualifications like accounting, programming and applied microeconomics were among the least-desired attributes.
But managers always have to balance the merits of teamwork, which help ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal,with the dangers of 「group-think」, when critics are reluctant to point out a plan’s defects for fear of being ostracized by the group.
A related phenomenon is the 「wisdom of the crowds」. Large groups are remarkably good, on average, at estimating such things as the number of beans in a jar or the weight of a prize calf. But that accuracy relies on the guesses being independent. When people are aware of the views of others, there is a tendency for them to herd, as participants are reluctant to look foolish by deviating from the majority view. The same effect may lead to stockmarket bubbles.
Further clues come from a book, 「Superminds」, by Thomas Malone of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He says that the three factors determine the 「collective intelligence」 of collaborating groups: social intelligence (how good people were at rating the emotional states of others); the extent to which members took part equally in conversation (the more equal, the better); and the proportion of women in the group (the higher, the better). Groups ranked highly in these areas co-operated far better than others.
Close teamwork may be vital in the lower reaches of a hierarchy, but at the top someone has to make a decision. At this stage, intense collaboration may be less helpful…Co-led teams of Himalayan climbers are more likely to suffer deaths than those with single leaders. Co-leadership 「creates uncertainty over who is really in charge」. Less than 5% of companies in the Fortune 500 have used a co-CEO since 1989. In short, collaboration maybe a useful tool but it doesn’t work in every situation. Except at the Economist, of course.
單詞與語法簡析：
pros and cons：好處與壞處 ≈ upsides and downsides, positive and negative aspects, good and bad things
value ['væljuː] vt. 評價；重視；估價 (文中 ≈ attach importance to; cherish; treasure)
collaboration [kəlæbə'reɪʃn] n. 合作 （文中 ≈ co-operating, teamwork）
build → sustain → expand：建立→維持→擴張（三個動詞，層層推進）
least-desired：最不想要的（由least「最少的」和desired「渴望的」組合而成）
skills = qualifications = attributes：技能，資質（在本文中這三個單詞基本等同）
balance A with B: 平衡A和B
group-think：群體思維
merit ['merɪt] n. 優點，價值；功績；功過 （meritocracy：賢良治國，精英管理的社會）
reluctant [rɪ'lʌkt(ə)nt] adj. 不情願的；勉強的；頑抗的
defect ['diːfekt] n. 缺點，缺陷；不足之處
ostracize [ˈɒstrəsaɪz] vt. 放逐；排斥；（≈ dislike, reject, oust）
wisdom of the crowd：大眾的智慧
on average：平均而言
prize calf：獲獎的小牛
deviate ['diːvɪeɪt] vi. 脫離；越軌 （一般用法：deviate from, ≈ stray from ≈ not follow the topics or agenda）
lead to ≈ result in ≈ cause：導致，引起
collective intelligence：群體智慧，集體智慧
social intelligence：社會智力（評估他人情感狀態的能力）
the lower reaches of...：下遊
intense [ɪn'tens] adj. 強烈的；緊張的；非常的；熱情的 (文中 ≈ strong, close）
co-led：adj. 被聯合領導的
co-leadership：n. 聯合領導