392 CHAPTER 17 Teams and Teamwork ethics> KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG > The student complained that free riders were making it hard for her team to perform well. Social Loafing Is Hurting Team Performance MAR Mastarle 1. Prychology study: A German researcher asked people to pull on a rope as hard as they could. First, individuals pulled alone. Second, they pulled as part of a group. The results from this study showed that people pull harder when working alone than when working as part of a team. Such "social loafing" is the tendency for individuals to reduce their level of effort when working with others. 2. Faculty office A student wants to speak with the instructor about his team's performance on the last project. There were four members, but two did almost all of the work. The other two largely disappeared, showing up only at the last minute to be part of the formal presentation. His point is that the team was disadvantaged because two free-riders were responsible for reduced performance capacity. 3. Telephone call from the boss "John. I really need you to serve on this committee. Will you do it? Let me know tomorrow. In thinking about this. John ponders: I'm overloaded, but I don't want to turn down the boss. I'll accept but let the committee members know about my situation. I'll be active in discussions and try to offer viewpoints and perspectives that are helpful. However, I'll let them know up front that I can't be a leader or volunteer for any extra work. WHAT DO YOU THINK? What are the ethical issues involved in team situations when some members sit back and let others do more of the work the entire team is responsible for doing? When you join a team, do all of the team's members have an ethical obligation to do a similar amount of work-why or why not? When it comes to John, does the fact that he intends to be honest with the other committee members make any difference? Isn't he still going to be a social loafer while earning credit from his boss for serving on the committee? Is his approach ethical-or should he simply decline to participate on the committee? What factors would make you more/less comfort- able with another member not pulling their weight on the team?