What you’ll learn to do: Explain and explore the tension between individual versus groups and group dynamics in organizational life.

When it comes to completing work, managing projects and achieving goals, managers have many choices on how they manage the people they lead. They can deal with each of their subordinates individually, assigning individual goals and allowing them to work alone. Conversely, managers can look at their subordinates as one large group, or a subset of smaller groups, and set them on a course of solving organizational problems and achieving objectives.

What are the pros and cons of choosing to assemble a group? And how does it compare to assigning an issue to a single subordinate?