Debate On The Relevance Of Leaders In Modern Business Environment: Experience And Analysis

Description of the Experience

 The study presents a debate topic for the team “leaders are more relevant than ever, that drive the modern business environment and are necessary to focus and refine the efforts of follower, power emanates from the leader”. On the other hand, the debate topic opponent team “Leaders are less relevant in the modern business world” followers shape modern business environments and Trajblaze innovation and progress and bestow the power on the leaders”. This study also discusses the debate day situation, and how each student performs, learns, and participates in this debate competition.

 On the 18th of March 2022, the debate started from 10 am to 12 pm, University’s department professor or tutor told us in our classroom lecture that students will be holding a discussion or debates mainly as a fundamental principle of our evaluation in the 1st week of April. In the debate preparation and organization, the professor provides us with a short overview and details of how this debate discussion will start. In this preparation, the tutor instructed us to make a two-team of students, one team represented the support of the topic, and another team would be against the topic. Both the teams take a distinct position on debate topics. Moreover, the first team began presenting their arguments and positions. While the second team is permitted to ask different questions to challenge the debate and arguments. Subsequently, the first team summarizes every argument and point which were generally made. Each section is 7 minutes long. Thus, following this system, this process is repeated and continues, and the other team begins with the arguments and points. We already had attended one practice discussion session on the 11th of February; this was like a demo of how to start debates and discussions and understand the rules of debates, I Madiba take place on teams as well as the rest of the groups live in our class.

For the discussion, we divide into two teams: our group has 5 members, three girls, and you boys, these two suddenly join our team on debate day. The names of the team members are Balpreet, Kalamjit, Sony, Madiha, and also Suma. We five plan how to prepare own self for this debate. At the start of this debate, Suma gives an introduction on the debate topic “leaders are less relevant in the modern business world”, Sony presents a summary related to the entire debate topic and Madiha asks questions from the opponent team. The two boys who are joining our team in debate, are not mainly prepared for this debate. We rest members of this team support them debating what we are required to speak about, who will next respond to the opponent team’s questions and arguments. The opposite group against the topic is “leaders are more relevant than ever before that derive the modern business environment”. The opponent’s team has three members or boys, the names are Chris, Abdul and also Alex. Madiha which is me, I prepared both questions and answers parts, Suma prepared the topic introduction part, and Sony prepared a summary on the debate topic. The rest two boys of this team, prepare nothing just join our team to support us and respond to the questions and answers (Pitts, 2021). On the other hand, the opponent team has also done some preparation, Alex participates in this activity through a virtual platform, he presents an introduction from their group, and the other two boys Abdul and Chris join this activity in a classroom setting.

Feeling About the Experiences

  To begin this directly with the proper organization, Suma, Sony, and I Madiha sat down together. In the discussion, I designed a presentation in a Doc file where we three can work together and cooperatively. We three select that at the initial stage, we do some analysis and research and those we all speak again and plan other parts of debate on forthcoming Monday.

In the discourse one week after, we split the teams, as two new people will be joining in this debate. Moreover, Madiha, Sony, Suma prepare all the things and also do a great research debate topic and present with unique examples and defend points. This unique presentation of debate helps us to earn more points and win over our opponent team. In our discussion, Madiha proposed and suggested that we split the three sections of the discussion between us. This will be easier and more helpful for us to present and memorize all the things accordingly and one by one.

 On the debate day in the classroom, Suma, Sony, Madiha, Balpreet, and Kalamit, were all present in person, but the opponent team had one person join this debate through an online platform. First, the opponent team started with their arguments. Suma begins by introducing points and arguments. Suma strengthened her debate lines with different quotes, learning, and research. After this session, the two other participants wanted to begin asking questions. Suma was not familiar and aware of certain questions which were being interrogated by the opposing group. My team clarified and explained that, and Abdul could begin asking some questions. Sony concentrated on the lack of viewpoints from opposing groups. After the session of questions and answering, the teams had an opportunity to summarize and outline the entire speech and debate (Menggo et al. 2019). Because of the misunderstanding, the other participant referred mainly to the points and justification from the starting as well as not only to the certain questions asked as well as their responses. My team made her aware of important points so that she can add some more points to her arguments. My team was first in line. At the start of our team presentation, my team first sat in an organized way, and then Sony began with her prepared logical arguments. She begin with a brief introduction and opening speech on the debate topic, as well as presented the important and core debate lines with the representing sources. In addition, this was observed and followed mainly by the cross-questions to Sony and Madiha with the debate summary (Rinzy, 2020). Madiha answers the asked questions mainly with further logos and arguments. The presentation of the summary by Sony was brief, that’s why I was capable to add more points afterward. My team prepared everything seriously and thus was capable of mainly carrying out the entire team part confidently.

In the last phase of this debate, the tutors of the institution will appreciate both the teams for our efforts and performance and also announced the results of this debate. Our team is the winning team of this year and after that tutors will describe how all five proceed with the assessments. In the end, we all congratulate one another for the success.

 When I read the notice related to this debate and first knew about this activity, I became confused about what is the link between this course and the debate. This situation made me nervous and excited about how the team members will perform and how we present our thoughts and arguments in front of the opposing team, and all these things make me confused about the debate. I was nervous and scared of missing and forgetting something crucial. Maybe this situation has become easier and more comfortable when we all start the debate, after starting this we become confident. Specifically, the communication in between mainly before and after the debate was generally what we missed all. I observed at the time of debate, it is quite difficult for Alex, the opposing team member, due to the poor connection of the internet. Sometimes it creates issues in the middle of debate; these technical issues as well as delayed answers did not seem easy for all students. The opponent team also performs well and they also give their best level. In my personal opinion, all students are happy with the categorization of the groups. I like and appreciate working with Suma, Sony, Kalamljit, and Balpreet because they are all my classmates and already know all of them as well as consider them reliable. The entire team at the beginning of this discourse was quite confused and afraid about what question will be asked by the opponent party, how we all respond and manage the situation positively, and three of them prepared each and everything in detail. But the two-member of our team are a little bit confused and extremely nervous about the debate because they suddenly come and join our team. So we have to manage them within a short period before the starting of the debate session. We three guide and instruct both of them on how they respond to the debate questions. They both smartly present their arguments and good defending points. I feel very happy when they both perform competently and put their full efforts into the success of this team, it makes me feel proud as a team member and also other ea members (Yaacob and Asraf, 2021). I also feel that when we all present our arguments and point of view, we look at each other and present our speech. Teamwork is a strength for me because it reinforces my confidence level and helps me to present my argument without any nervousness. When selecting the topic for the debate, I mainly had the understanding and feelings that Suma and Sony liked it. Thus, I accept it as well am quite satisfied and happy. In hindsight, I expect that it was good and fine for both Bapreet and Kamalpreet. In the initial meeting and communication with Suma and Sony, the enthusiasm and eagerness were quite high. More, tangible plan as well as I believe she was happy and appreciated my tangible suggestions. In my opinion, it feels great to build a plan appropriately before participating in any debate because it reduces stress on one single person if the members divide all parts and responsibilities among them.

From my perspective, several things were extremely good about this experience-, particularly the preparation. Additionally, It supported communicating through this discourse at the starting as well as examining it once. However, I was generally not capable of placing the work in overall circumstances at that short time. She was also questioned if we all concur with the topic and teams. In general, participating and working with Suma, Sony and Balpreert and Kamaljit was extremely enjoyable. We all had a good experience as a team and also enjoyed this teamwork. We began straight away, cooperated or coordinated closely as well as responded positively towards the individual requirements. Furthermore, we all communicated clearly and transparently as well as was understanding. Thus this didn’t matter when we were able to defend one point against opposing teams. It was excellent how Kamalpreet and Balpreet merged themselves into this team. When the teams were formed, the solution and answer were generally decided by the team people in their presence. The engagement of each student did not mainly work so well, however, the answers were accepted or undertaken by each people at the last moment. In the process of this discussion, there were mainly several points and arguments that actually worked and were defended very well, yet some points did not. In this discourse, we had an excellent and good environment. We were collaborating on another and also had a great understanding of each situation. Thus, the overall discussion sessions went very well and were amazing; however, there was a little misunderstanding at the end of the debate session. Due to the connection and technical issues of the opposing party, it was quite difficult for Sony to understand the speech and words, Alex. Sometimes, connections interrupt in the middle of the debate but Sony manages the situation and presents his arguments with clear visions, and defends every point. It was also difficult for Alex to manage this situation and he also performed well. Both the team members faced difficulties and they managed the situation as per their understanding and it was a good experience for both the team. The bad experiences in this activity are that both teams had a discourse rather than answering as well as skiing questions. This generally made the situations chaotic and disorganized (Adeani, Febriani, and Syafryadin, 2020). The asking question parts were chaotic and disordered as well as I spoke to shortly in the synopsis. Apart from this, we all had a great thread, associated with one another, and also kept bringing many new studies and learning. Throughout this experience, opponent team member Alex who participated digitally was quite challenging. Not just the communication on the distracted yet also facial expression, as well as gestures, fell away. These issues did not mainly make the environment any better, yet it was good how much apprehension there was.

The entire process of the debate was great and both the teams performed well and competed with one another. Both the teams appreciate the efforts of each other and motivate one another to speak openly without getting nervous. These things make the environment more positive, balanced, and enjoyable for everyone. This situation makes a sense that whatever the results for both the groups we always respect one other opinion, must value other opinions, and give motivation to people to achieve success. It also became clear how tough it is to participate from a virtual platform, it takes a long time to complete the arguments between Alex and Sony but they managed anyhow and answered everything properly. I was also happy and satisfied with the method the team was divided because all the people who belong to my group, are all my classmates and good friends. I think the bonding between us creates a sense of confidence and security. Moreover, studies have observed that individuals stay motivated and inspired if their achievement and success are estimated by aspects they can impact themselves. One concept and theory supports me to comprehend how all members merged into the teams. This concept explains the three steps: socialization, exploration, and entry. It states that teams with the same or common activity often mainly look to individuals who have the most required abilities, skills, and qualities (Morris, Swinnerton, and Coop, 2019). That is the reason I am extremely happy with all my team members. During the discussion, there were several misunderstandings regarding the procedure in the other team. But my team was better organized and prepared here as well as thus the results were positive and we won the debate.

Conclusion 

After these discussion experiences, I want to mention two crucial key lessons: the first thing is that I must express and communicate my thoughts as well as feelings more transparently and clearly in the further stages of life. Sometimes, we lose confidence or situations break our confidence level but discussion and debates are the only way to remove this type of fear for students and learn to speak directly and confidently when we also don’t understand and comprehend the situation. I also need to learn to get out of my comfort zone and effectively communicate my thoughts and feelings without any nervousness. The division of teams is one of the important things in this activity as per their strengths. This method of discussion will be balanced or maintained and I also would have great team members to support one another. The process back may have brought everyone many steps forward. The second point is that I need to work on myself and must take part in this type of activity at institutions to expand knowledge and improve learning skills.

For future and further study, it is crucial that I mainly take my important learning and knowledge with me as well as put them all into practice. To begin asking my team questions as well as sharing my opinions and thoughts during the debate, I require becoming highly confident and assertive in such conditions. Teamwork is one of the most important things in every organization, it is not only in the academic field and is also vital in the field of work. In my future work, I encourage teamwork tasks, group activities, and how to collaboratively perform tasks. Collaboration and support of team members boost an individual’s confidence to speak up in front of everyone without any fear. From this activity I also learned how to prepare own selves before any discussion, this makes things more relevant and helps to organize each thing in a disciplined way I want to continue this disciplined way and use this preparation process in my all work, this helps me to learn and understand the things more easily and makes the process of learning more easier. In the end, I want to mention one more thing: I want to participate in seminars, group discussions, and workshops to foster my confidence level and learn new things through this activity.

 References

Adeani, I.S., Febriani, R.B. and Syafryadin, S., 2020. USING GIBBS’REFLECTIVE CYCLE IN MAKING REFLECTIONS OF LITERARY ANALYSIS. Indonesian EFL Journal, 6(2), pp.139-148.

Menggo, S., Suastra, I., Budiarsa, M. and Padmadewi, N.N., 2019. Needs Analysis of Academic-English Speaking Material in Promoting 21st Century Skills. International Journal of Instruction, 12(2), pp.739-754.

Morris, N.P., Swinnerton, B. and Coop, T., 2019. Lecture recordings to support learning: A contested space between students and teachers. Computers & Education, 140, p.103604.

Pitts, R.T., 2021. Pinpointing Where to Start: A Reflective Analysis on the Introductory Evaluation Course. Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, 35(3).

Ritzy, A., 2020. A self-reflection-critiquing a qualitative research article using the Gibbs model of the reflective cycle.

Yaacob, A. and Asraf, M., 2021. Empowering Learners’ Reflective Thinking through Collaborative Reflective Learning. International Journal of Instruction, 14(1), pp.709-726.