Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Sadly, I actually know the feeling

http://maxbarry.com/2009/11/24/news.html

It's tough having the right answer in a class where everyone else has the wrong answer. It's also tough using a mathematical problem to teach teamwork, especially when the answer can be misconstrued.

I have to agree with Mr. Barry's choice not to pursue business courses - especially if "consensus" and "teamwork" are what are being taught as sound business practices. Don't get me wrong, these ARE sound business practices, but in the end, a company can employ teamwork and consensus all it wants, but if it isn't doing the RIGHT things, it will still fail, and all of those commerce students will still be out of their jobs. In a case like that, the right answer counts just as much as teamwork, even moreso.

Then again, the lesson may have been lost on me - I employ teamwork for the right reasons - to teach and to allow employees to specialize in some small part of the whole that gets the job done expediently, I don't employ it just because it is teamwork. That would be a waste of resources.



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