When a group of people are working together towards a common goal, it is important to ensure that all group members work together productively. One way to help ensure this is to divide the group into smaller groups and have each group focus on completing a specific task. This is called the "division of labour" approach, and it can be very effective at ensuring that all of the group members are contributing equally to the work at hand. However, division of labour may not always be practical or feasible, especially when the group in question is a large one.
When many individuals work together in groups, there is a tendency for some members to become more passive and unproductive as the size of the group increases. This effect is called the "Ringelmann effect" after the German statistician who first identified it in the early 1900s. This effect was named after him because he studied a group of watchmakers, and found that the smaller the group of watchmakers was, the more productive the watchmakers were as a group. The larger the group became, however, the less productive the watchmakers became as a group. (Note that this effect has been documented in a number of workplaces over the years).
The reason for this effect is that when people are working on their own in small teams, they are more likely to be highly motivated to perform to the best of their abilities. But when a large group of people come together to work on the same project, some people become complacent and believe that their individual contributions do not matter as much to the group as a whole.
Fortunately, there are ways to address this issue. One way is to promote team spirit among the group members. This can be done by creating a friendly, collaborative atmosphere within the group and encouraging everyone to work together to achieve the group's common goal. By making a conscious effort to include everyone in the group and give them an opportunity to contribute to the group effort, you can increase the overall productivity and efficiency of the group as a whole.
