Effective Time Management And Teamwork In Engineering: A Case Study

Task 1: LO4.3B

The engineering topic of choice is the solar power generation for use in residential and industrial applications. To do this assignment in the given short period, it was necessary to manage time effectively to ensure that the assignment was done in good time. The group discussion had several members and each of us was assigned a task according to our abilities to handle the assignment.

Good workload distribution is a good leadership tactic employed by our group leader to give each of us an opportunity to work on the areas we were good at. Due to the time constraint, I planned the work and ensured I knew which tasks to perform after another. The workload had several sections and I prioritized the key sections and tackled them first. Other tasks were done efficiently as the backbone of the assignment had already been completed. I set work objectives which I sought to accomplish at the end of the assignment. These acted as guidelines for the tasks. I was focused all through the assignment setting aside some time to specifically do the assignment without any interruptions from friends, family, or other external factors. These focused sessions enabled me to make huge strides in accomplishing the assignment. I made sure not to procrastinate the tasks by doing them as and when the time is allocated. To avoid procrastination, one needs to manage external time wasters. It could be the use of social media on phone or in the laptop. Another key strategy employed to manage time is disregarding the concept of multitasking as a way to accomplish more.

On the contrary, multitasking causes on to be less focused on a particular task and that could easily affect their performance in a given task. Good research requires focus and a lot of consistency to come up with conclusive statements. It is also healthy to take breaks in between tasks for one to rejuvenate and be refreshed as they proceed with the tasks. In a nutshell, it is not really time management but management of events in a given time frame where time is a limited and very valuable resource.

Team work is a key area of focus in group dynamics. Teams are comprised of different kinds of people and it is important to interact well with each and every member to ensure the completion of a particular project. Every team has a team leader who coordinates the activities of a group. A wise team leader allocates duties to different person according to their ability to perform effectively.

The team leader chose to pair up those who were well off with those who did not grasp the concepts clearly to ensure that the group performed well at the end of the task. Gestures and facial expressions are a common non-verbal means of communication and they determine a lot in group dynamics. From these two one can determine if a member is content or not. The group members were able to help one another especially if one noticed that another member was learning slowly or unable to deliver a task in time. Verbal communication was done using Skype where members could give daily reports on their progress on their tasks. Reports were sent to the group leader for compilation at the end of the session.

In group dynamics, conflicts are bound to arise and they affect the group interaction in a way as to cause discord or when well-handled the members can move forward and complete the projects successfully. We met from time to time according to the schedule defined by the team leader. The team leader was keen to ensure the performance of the group was good and the interaction among the members was equally improving.

In most cases, use of transferable skills was present when the leader paired the members. Knowledge is much easier to share in smaller groups than in larger ones. The members interacted in pairs and the result was a good research on the topic. In conclusion, every team is bound to have problems of a given kind, but good leadership skills help them rise above conflicts. Each member of the team feels involved when they are assigned a task.