In this week’s readings and videos, it was fascinating to
learn of not only the academic benefits of collaboration, but of the social
benefits as well. Collaboration can optimize both learning and
workplace achievement. But it also helps
individuals to grow as functional members of society who are able to contribute
in a wider array of settings. I can
think of few things in life where the world is tailored to individual
isolationism than to group collaboration.
Aspects of group collaboration can be found almost anywhere.
Johnson & Johnson’s Social Interdependence Theory
describes the five factors which impact group collaboration as:
- Positive Interdependence
- Individual Accountability
- Promotive Interaction
- Social Skills
- Group Processing
When the correct strategies for each are used, these five
factors are said to optimize collaboration in academic undertakings. And while the context for this week’s
readings and videos is clearly in academic settings, there are absolute
take-aways from this theory to be applied in organizational, work and volunteer
settings as well. One generalization
that I often hear about the military is “you all always work together so
well”. In looking at military group
interaction through the lens of Social Interdependence Theory and other
collaborative strategies, its is apparent that many of these factors are
ingrained in military members, as well as a part of the military culture. In fact, each of the five factors listed
above are vital to mission accomplishment in the military. And typically, no mission can be accomplished
by just one individual. The same can be
said for many civilian work environments too, which is one of the underlying
purposes for social constructivism at large.
In the military, I would say that while each of the five factors is
present, factors 1 through 3 play a larger role in some cases. This is because of the clear-cut chain of
command and hierarchical structure. But,
the hierarchy does not replace steps 4 and 5, rather is generally used to
eliminate conflict in these steps. The
lack of ambiguity here helps to enhance the benefits of steps 1 through 3.
It is interesting to see the many ways in which
collaboration benefits both the individual and the team at large!
-Bryan
