The Experience in Group Collaboration - Essay Example

1. Identify the best things about your group/team experiences this term

This term the best group experience we had was collaboration. This just shows that when a group of people agree on certain norms and communicate effectively, almost any endeavor is possible. Also, we observed that aside from playing different roles, we developed deeper relationships as friendships. We also understood the meaning of individual differences and tried to work around it. There were many times that some members expressed their different opinion and we have to find a way to compromise. Although we had difficulty in resolving conflicts, the more important thing is that we realized the hard way that we need one another ( interdependence) to be able to achieve our goals.   This was a consequence of not being able to attend meetings since the absent member has no idea how to keep up with the pace of the group. Group members must work together as a team since one member’s absence affects the other group members in performing their assigned tasks. Because of this, we have to scold the group member and make him realize the importance of agreements.     3. Identify the key reflections about yourself as a consequence of group/team experience this term Honestly, I became a mature person because of this experience. I used to do things in my style and time before but I realized that when one is a member of a group, he must conform to certain rules that the group agreed upon. One of the challenges for me was coming on time for all meetings which was hard to do but I was able to manage my time well. I also learned to sacrifice some personal activities to cope with the demands of group work. This experience gave me an idea of how it is in a real workplace where one must be able to conform to policies given by an organization. 4. Identify the key observations about the group/team performance from the standpoint of strategic intent   First of all, it is true that when a group has undergone all the stages of group development it will be able to maximize their effectiveness. Our report on group performance supports this point since we had difficulty resolving the conflicts that we encountered. Sadly, the conflicts even came from group members who were lagging in performing their assigned tasks. Although we were all committed to meeting our goals, our different views somehow made us stumble since some just refused to cooperate due to differences in opinion. Because of this, the leader needed to be more authoritative in fulfilling his role so that erring members would follow.   5. Identify in what way(s) the group’s performance helped/hindered your progress with the course theory, content, and learning outcomes   The group has helped me greatly by providing me with a real-life experience of   Tuckman’s group development. In theory, it seems so simple but when applied to a real group setting, it is complicated. The first stage of forming is already challenging since the group must resolve individual differences before we can play the roles assigned to us. Also, a leader must be a strong person in terms of character since he/she would be challenged by other group members who have a different view of seeing things. Because of this activity, I saw leadership in a different light. I learned that leadership was not all about popularity but discipline and respect. The learning theories gave us knowledge but the experience all taught us a humbling lesson that one cannot be a leader without becoming a good follower first.   Read More