"People work more productively in teams than individually. Teamwork requires cooperation, which motivates people much more than individual competition does."
[Sample Essay]
Teamwork as a whole can naturally produce an overall greater productivity through the concept of "synergy", where the total of the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts. But the idea that people work more productively in teams rather than as individuals is going to vary greatly between the types of teams that are organized, the end reward or motivation for both the team and the individuals, as well as the individuals themselves.
Regarding individuals, some people are born with the desire to succeed, no matter what the situation or task that they are facing. These people may evolve into the classic "Type A" personalities that work ferociously because they are driven by an internal fire that says they must always be doing something, whether individually or as part of a team. Other people may desire to be less socially involved or are very highly competitive with other people. For these people, their work is most productive as individuals, because the very idea of cooperating with other people limits their effectiveness and efficiency because they simply do not want to be a part of the team. Whether this mindset is innate or developed over time does not matter, it is merely the state of their being and neither motivation nor rewards can generate inside them the desire to work collectively as a team.
Some people are highly motivated by social interaction and the desire to work with others towards a collective effort. Obviously these individuals are at their most productive when working as part of a team. Organizational behavioral studies have shown that Asian cultures are much more likely to develop this type of collective behavior as opposed to the more individualistic behavior associated with Western cultures. It could naturally be assumed then that there may be cultural values that can determine whether people are at their most productive individually or as part of a team.
Another variable is the end reward that is involved with the task at hand. Will the rewards be greater if the team works together towards a common goal, or are the rewards more geared toward individual performance? To the extent that the individual is motivated by the end reward, obviously his or her performance inside of a team may be more or less productive with respect to the entire team, depending on how the performance is rewarded. Individual goals may interfere with the group performance. Synergies may not be achieved because the individuals are not working towards a whole "sum" but rather towards an individual reward. Productivity thus will vary for each person as a team member or as an individual depending on the degree to which that person is motivated by an individual or overall team reward.
Finally, the degree of productivity of a person will depend upon the type of team that is organized. Is the group composed of equally contributing individuals? Does the group have an outstanding leader that can motivate both the individuals and the team as a whole? From a pure productivity standpoint, the presence or absence of a charismatic and exceptional leader can make all the difference whether a person would be more productive as a part of a team or as an individual. Personality types that work well together can prove to be much more productive as part of a team than as individuals, and vice versa.
Fundamentally, measures of productivity depend greatly on the individuals themselves. The dilemma facing leaders in all areas of life is how to best assess these individuals to determine how to best harness their capabilities to reach their ultimate productive capabilities. Whether a person is more productive alone or while working in concert with others is one of the great challenges that leaders and managers must face to accomplish tasks effectively and efficiently.
汉译对照
[题目]
"当人们以团队的形式工作时，要比以孤军奋战的形式来得更加富有成效。团队的协同工作需要相互合作，它比个人竞争更能激励人们。"
[范文]
总体而言，团队的协同工作自然能通过"增效作用"(Synergy)这一理念而带来更高程度的整体生产效率，因为在这里，整体大于个体相加之总和。然则，"当人们以团队的形式工作时，要比以孤军奋战的形式来得更加富有成效"这一观念注定会产生巨大差异，取决于所组织起来的团队的类别，团队与个人所能获得的终极回报或激励，以及个人本身。
关于个人，有些人天生就具有获取成功的欲望，无论他们所面临的情形或任务是什么。这些人会演变为工作狂这一经典的"A类"人格，因为受到一股内心的热火所驱使，这股热火时刻告诉他们必须不停地"有所事事"，无论是作为个人抑或是作为团队的一分子。另一些人则可能希望不必那么多地介入社会，或者他们倾向于与其他人激烈竞争。对这些人而言，作为个人，他们工作起来会最富有成效，因为由于他们根本就不想成为任何团队的一部分，与他人合作便会限制他们的效率。这一思想倾向是否与生俱有，还是随着时间的推移而形成，这都无关紧要。这仅仅只是他们的一种生存状态，无论是动机还是回报，都无法在其内心深处激发起作为一个团队集体工作的欲望。
有些人，由于社会互动以及与他人协作去实现某种集体努力的欲望，而具有极强的动机。显然，这些个人在作为团队的一部分进行工作时，他们便会处在其最富有成效的状态。组织行为学研究表明，亚洲文化更有可能形成此类集体性行为，与那种常和西方文化联系在一起的较为个人主义的行为构成对比。这样，人们自然会认为，某些文化价值观可以决定人们是否作为个人还是作为团队的一部分工作起来最富有成效。 另一项可变因素是与所要从事的任务相涉的终极回报。如果一个团队为着一个共同目标而协同工作，回报是否会更大，还是说回报更多地是宜于个体表现的?只要个体受终极回报所驱使，显然他(她)在团队内部的表现会相对于整个团队来说，会显得更富有成效，或不那么富有成效，取决于其表现是如何获取回报的。个体目标可能会危及群体表现。"增效作用"可能无法得以实现，因为个体并非在为那个"总和"作出贡献，而只是在致力于个体回报。因此，对于每一个人来说，无论是作为团队成员，还是作为个体，生产效率会因人而异，取决于此人在多大程度上为个体回报所驱使，还是为整个团队回报所驱使。
最后，一个人的生产效率将取决于所被组织起来的团队的类别。该团队是由作出同等贡献的个体组成的吗?该团队是否拥有一个杰出的领导者，既能激励个体，又能振奋整个团队?纯粹从生产效率这一出发点来看，是否存在一个具有超凡魅力和出类拔萃的领导者，在决定一个人是否会作为团队的一部分或是作为个体来得更富有成效方面，可以有着天壤之别。那些善于协同工作的人格类别，作为团队的一部分无疑会比作为个体更富有成效，反之亦然。 根本而言，生产效率的措施很大程度上取决于个体本身。领导者在诸多生活领域中所面临的两难困境在于，如何去对个体作出最佳评估，以确定如何去利用其才干，从而实现其最终的工作价值。一个人是否孤军奋战时更富有成效，还是与他人通力协作时更富有成效，这是领导者与经理们为了更有效地和更高效地完成任务所必须面对的巨大挑战之一。