Teamwork

The other day in OB class we talked about the qualities and abilities that our program tries to promote and instill in us. Among other things, one that came up was teamwork.

Teamwork. Obviously important in all situations. At school. At work. In life. It's pretty rare these days that you're not working on things with other people. Especially when collaboration is such big thing in this high tech world.

So how have we built teamwork in the program?

Formally, the program gives us a lot of opportunities to work in groups/teams. Most assignments are done in groups. And of course, the big things are the case comps and audit contest, and the tax planning project that's coming up next term. These are quite "interesting" because there's a lot at stake and you don't get to choose your groups. So, you really are forced to develop a certain amount of teamwork skills.

Effective? To some extent I guess.

But I think we all agreed that our teamwork comes from the informal circumstances.

Because of the intensity of this program, there is a need to...simply...survive. When having two exams and two assignments/projects due each week is the norm, you really need to find ways to get through. (As Mr. B said to me the other day, "Oh yea. I have two exams and a few projects next week. But that's nothing new.")

As a result, in many ways, we've all banded together to help each other through. A few minutes ago, I helped a few people with a past operations exam question they couldn't figure out. A few hours ago, I received, in my email, social psych textbook notes that other people made. Despite the competition to stand out and come out on top, we still help each other our.

When you all need to survive, teamwork just happens naturally.

Thanks to all the people that have helped me through this awful term.