Reflective Journal On Teamwork And Case Study Assessment

Description of the Events

A corporation is very often divided into different teams with each team being provided with the opportunity of working together for the achievement of their business objectives (Cater III, Kidwell, and Camp, pg. 301-326). It is for this reason, I believe that during our course in universities, we are very often given the course assignments in groups whereby the contribution of each of the members is very crucial to the success of the entire team. In the previous assessment, we had been given the task of making an academic poster and case analysis whereby the entire team had to work together in order to conduct the given task. The report is a self-reflective journal whereby the different events which took place in lieu of preparing the poster will be described, analyzed and evaluated with respect to practice concepts as well as theory,

The task in hand involved forming an academic poster and case analysis whereby we were required to make a digital poster using the PowerPoint tools which is the most commonly used software for poster making. The positive aspect of the situation was that we all were very enthusiastic to make the poster as it was a new learning experience for us, moreover, as the team was formed by the course lecturer, we students had the opportunity of working with previously unknown classmates. Hence, we decided to put our best foot forward.

Although the excitement about learning to make a poster kept us driving, there was a negative aspect associated with the situation was that all of us were inexperienced with respect to the knowledge about making a poster. This was a new experience and hence, we faced certain issues with respect to the formation of the design, layout and other such issues. However, we undertook the help of different classmates to learn. According to me, another negative aspect of the situation was that the schedules of the different classmates, stood as a barrier in front of the group meetings and it became quite difficult to manage the timings of the meetings.

However, this scenario was soon solved as we decided to conduct the physical meetings once a week and the virtual ones thrice every week. The first meeting took place in the third week of the coursework which was followed by the second meeting which took place in the fifth week of the coursework. Each of the members divided the task among themselves and then contributed collectively towards the success of the entire project.  Initially during the first few meetings, conflicts and arguments became a common part of the meetings and hence, for this reason, the meetings often got delayed.

Reasoning and Evaluation of the Events

However, during the latter half of the team project, the situation and schedules became more cooperative in nature and the members started to interact with one another more easily. We started attending seminars together and on certain occasions, went out for lunch as well. When the cooperation phase increased, the results became quite visible in nature and the poster was completed with due consideration to all the requirements which had been stated. Hence, I believe that the experience was a learning one and it helped me to understand the team dynamics.

According to Collins et al, (pg. 63-91), team conflicts are often considered to be a prominent part of any team building and group tasks. During the initial phase of the team, the team conflicts are on a rise because of various factors like the responsibility factors, the non –acquaintance aspect of the members and clarity regarding the task (Maxwell). However, as stated by Crawford and Jeffery (pg. 32-48), as the group progresses towards a mature phase, the conflicts decrease and the contribution increases.

This is what happened between our team members as well and as we started progressing with the task in hand, the conflicts began to reduce and a positive environment of cooperation began to took place (Ku, Tseng and Akarasriworn, pg.922-929). With respect to this, we were effectively able to ensure that we are successfully able to complete the task in hand.

The team dynamics tends to play a crucial role in determining the success of a team. The team dynamics can be described as the psychological, unconscious force which exists in a team and has a huge influence on the performance of the team as a whole (Galegher, Kraut and Egido). It determines the pattern and the manner in which the different team members tend to interact with one another and the way in which these members need to act in order to ensure that all the team objectives are successfully attained (Galegher, Kraut, and Egido, pg.15-34).  According to me, had we undertaken Eubanks et al`s (pg. 556-568) take on the improvement of the team dynamics, we would have become quite successful in undertaking roles and dividing the tasks successfully. According to the author, there are various ways in which the team dynamics can be improved. These range from aspects such as understanding the different members of a team, to tackling problems along with gaining feedback effectively (Georgiadis, pg. 187-218). Moreover, I believe that the roles and responsibilities of the different team members needs to be stated down in the beginning of the team formation itself as it helps in ensuring that the different team members are clear on what their contribution each member needs to make and what they can expect from others.

Personal Experience

According to me, this is an aspect where our team lagged. This is because, the roles and responsibilities of the different members was not clarified and identified in the introductory phase. Hence, this lead to a wastage of time and lead to ambiguity (Flaherty, pg. 210-223).  This could have been improved with effective focus on communication and other team building activities which could have been held. The team building activities can be described as the activities which take place during the initial formation of the team and assist in its success. Hence, if this aspect could have been improved, it would have gone a long way in assisting the different members to gel with one another easily.

Hence, working in a team, helped me in understanding my strengths and weaknesses. I have realized, that I need to work on my skills and need to become more participate in nature in order to ensure that my contribution towards the team can increased considerably. Moreover, there were various areas where I faced difficulties such as understanding the role in a team, bringing up creative ideas and other such aspects. Peer learning contributed in a great way by making me understand the way in which things need to be done in a team. Hence, I would like to learn from these aspects and then use these learnings in my future assessments. I also learnt about making posters which would then assist me in making better presentations in future and being able to make use of posters more effectively. Moreover, the case analysis also assisted in ensuring that the concepts were well understood.

Conclusion

Therefore, from my experience as stated in the reflective journal it can be effectively noted that it is the team dynamics and the team conflicts which take place in a team which help the team to grow in nature and help the members to learn their roles and objectives. Before, involving myself in the team, I preferred working alone, but my experience on this team has changed my views and from now on, I would like to contribute more towards team projects and build my skills. Participating in the poster making team activity improved my communication skills and creativity skills as well. Moreover, my theoretical knowledge on team building skills, team dynamics and others have also improved.

References

Cater III, John James, Roland E. Kidwell, and Kerri M. Camp. “Successor team dynamics in family firms.” Family Business Review 29.3 (2016): 301-326.

Collins, Catherine G., et al. “Unpacking team dynamics with growth modeling: An approach to test, refine, and integrate theory.” Organizational Psychology Review 6.1 (2016): 63-91.

Crawford, Eean R., and Jeffery A. LePine. “A configural theory of team processes: Accounting for the structure of taskwork and teamwork.” Academy of Management Review 38.1 (2013): 32-48.

Eubanks, Dawn L., et al. “Team dynamics in virtual, partially distributed teams: Optimal role fulfillment.” Computers in human behavior 61 (2016): 556-568.

Flaherty, Jane E. “The effects of cultural intelligence on team member acceptance and integration in multinational teams.” Handbook of cultural intelligence. Routledge, 2015. 210-223.

Galegher, Jolene, Robert E. Kraut, and Carmen Egido, eds. Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological foundations of cooperative work. Psychology Press, 2014.

Galegher, Jolene, Robert E. Kraut, and Carmen Egido. “Technology for intellectual teamwork: Perspectives on research and design.” Intellectual teamwork. Psychology Press, 2014. 15-34.

Georgiadis, George. “Projects and team dynamics.” The Review of Economic Studies 82.1 (2014): 187-218.

Ku, Heng-Yu, Hung Wei Tseng, and Chatchada Akarasriworn. “Collaboration factors, teamwork satisfaction, and student attitudes toward online collaborative learning.” Computers in Human Behavior 29.3 (2013): 922-929.

Maxwell, John C. The 17 indisputable laws of teamwork: Embrace them and empower your team. Thomas Nelson, 2013.