One person vs a group of people - Essay Example

Case 15 Summary This case looked at how not having one person in charge of a group can be beneficial to the entire group. In normal businesses andgroups there is general a single person in charge, whether they are considered the boss, or with the main focus of this case, a conductor. This case examines the Orpheus orchestra and the way that they run the orchestra. What makes they different from others is that they do not have a conductor that dictates the entire orchestra, rather, everyone has a say.

The group started out with people who had gone to music school and coming out they decided that they were not willing to give up their musical creativity and always be under the leadership of another person. So they created this group and decided that every person would have a say in every piece of music that is to be performed. So we are talking 27 musicians who all are very opinionated and are all “strong-willed” putting their input into everything. So as one may put together, it was just too many opinions at one time.

It took the group countless hours to rehearse all of the song with all of the suggestions that were made. So what they had decided to do was make core groups and depending on the song would depend on the group that would make suggestions and changes to how the song would be performed. They would also do the same with a concertmaster. Instead of the concertmaster acting like a conductor, they would be almost like a mediator. They would run the rehearsals and make sure that the rehearsals we productive and that the discussions didn’t get too out of hand and off track.

The concertmaster would also become more influential as the concert date approached where as during the beginning of the practices for the concert, the core group would have more influence and the concertmaster less. This proved to be an extremely effective method to running the orchestra and Orpheus has become a model for many different companies like Kraft Foods and Novartis AG. They have gone to the point of hiring Orpheus to demonstrate the process of how their group works. They have shown that even though many would think that their way of running the group would chaotic, that it really isn’t.

They have become a very successful group with recording deals and concerts all over the world. They are setting examples that some may not agree with, but yet they are very effective. Questions 1. What businesses like Kraft Food would benefit from observing Orpheus in action is they can see how working as a group can be beneficial. In a lot of businesses there is one person in charge and everyone does as that person in charge says, whether or not they agree. That was of dictatorship works, but may not be the most beneficial.

Having one person in charge can mean less chaos, but it may not mean that the best results can be produced. Having the input of other team member and taking into consideration the opinions and thoughts of others can lead to something great that one person’s idea may not be able to do. I think that yes, you do need to have someone who can oversee a project, almost like the concertmaster, because you need someone who can organize all of the ideas and make sure that the ideas on in line with the scope of the project, but not be a person who bosses the rest of the group around.

Having this mindset in a company like Kraft Food can mean better more effective productions, and what company would not enjoy that? 2. The logic or rotating the leader is to make sure that everyone has a chance to have their say as a leader while at the same time not having one consistent leader who always has the same suggestions and brings the same ideas to the table every time. If you are going to have one leader all the time then it defeats the purpose of changing core groups, because in the end it comes down to the concertmaster making some of the final calls.

With rotating they get different ideas each time. It allows for variation and it allows for there to now be a power struggle between the person in charge and the person who wants to be in charge. This is what makes this group the group that they are. They have the ability to allow each person to have their time to make a piece what they think it should be and since everyone has that chance they all respect the choices that the others make. 3. Some of the substitutes for permanent leadership that exist within Orpheus are the designs of core groups and a rotating concertmaster.

The core groups allow for different people to voice their opinions and make changes and conduct the piece of music how they think is best as opposed to a conductor making these changes all of the time. What is also nice is that the core group changes depending on the piece that is being worked on. This goes the same for the concertmaster. As mentioned before, the concert master has a little bit more control as the performance date approaches. They help tie all of the ideas together and make sure that the group keeps it together and that he group doesn’t stray from the task at hand.

The concertmaster also rotates depending on the song. So at no point is their just one person in charge of the entire performance. The entire concert is a blend of the ideas of the whole group in one way or another.