Introduction
The Sustainable Organizational Change project asked members of the class to form groups of 3-4 people. I teamed up with 3 other members of the class, Cameron, Taylor, and Nathan. This essay is a reflection of my experiences working in a team for this project. According to Tuckman’s stages of group development (Wood at al., 2006), we are in the forming stage, in which ‘the team meets and learns about the opportunities and challenges, and then agrees on goals and begins to tackle the tasks.’ Our group expressed these goals in the Team Charter. These goals centered on communication, motivation, and the overall grade we would like to achieve for our report and presentation, which was an ‘HD’. Another experience that is symptomatic of the ‘forming stage’, is that ‘team members tend to behave quite independently.’ They may be motivated but are usually relatively uninformed of the issues and objectives of the team.’ This is evident in our team, as all of the member had different schedules we would have to work around. I work full-time on top of my studies, except for the few hours I am on-campus on Mondays. All of the other members had conflicting schedules on other days of the week. This meant that we had to communicate mostly online, and while at first as a group we had not foreseen this issue, it did affect when members were able to contribute.
My group consisted of four members. When starting our project, we set our goals and ground rules in the group charter. The goals were mainly centered on good communication, cooperation and having a common understanding. For the projects to progress well, good communication among the group members should be encouraged. The group also arranged on how to meet and conduct discussions. We had to establish when and how the meetings would be conducted, how members would contribute, and leadership of the group. As the group started, it was hard to get the members to fully attend group meetings. People had different schedules. However, as the project progressed, some changes had to be made to ensure that the main goals of the group as written down in the charter are met.
Identification of Challenges
During the first stage the team members meet and they learn about the opportunities and the different challenges that they may face as they progress with their project. The members then agree on the goals that they intend to achieve and then start tackling the tasks ahead of them. The main aim of the group was to achieve exceptional results/grades at the end of the project. The forming stage is usually characterized by different personal characters (Frances, 2010). The members tend to behave independently and not in the interest of the group. In our case, people had different school schedule. Apart from the normal class/lecture days, some of the group members were not easily available. Taking an example of myself, I was working full time. The only time I was available in school was on Mondays during classes.
The other group members also had different schedules. It made it hard for us to create appropriate meeting times when all the members were available. Most of the consultation and communication had to be done online. It was quite inconvenient since some of the members could not respond immediately. It slowed down the communication and we lagged behind as per the time period that we had set down to tackle and complete some tasks. Some of the group members were, however, able to work on their schedules and create some time for the group meetings. One of the group member was however notorious for missing group meetings.
Conflicts emerged from the issue. Only two of the members were consistent with the group meetings. One attended most of the time while one had a tendency of missing almost all of the meetings. He blamed lack of a better communication for his absenteeism. He claimed that he saw most of the emails late that was why he did not attend the meetings on time. However, two of the members felt that he was simply ignoring the emails. They argued he was taking advantage of the communication hitches. Two of the members felt that he was a social loafer since he did not contribute much to the progress of the group (Robbins et al., 2013).
The member with absenteeism issues felt that the other members were attacking him based on something that was not his fault. According to Wood et al., (2006), different personalities are the main cause of personal conflicts among group members. Usually, such conflicts are easy to solve. The back and forth disagreements based on that issue created a conflict between the group members. It was two against one, with only one member not taking side. He was the neutralizing factor in the conflict.
In the charter, the group had not decided on a specific leader or on a way of getting or appointing one. The lack of consistent and full house meetings also made it hard for the members to appoint a leader or an acting leader. The group previously felt that appointing a leader would somehow limit the participation of all the members. We felt that each and every member had to act as a leader and take upon themselves the leadership role to ensure that everyone remains effective. Come to think of it, if the group had a leader, some of the issues could not have emerged. A leader is key to resolving issues that the members are facing (Robbins et al., 2013).
Changes
Changes had to be made to ensure that the members are on the same page. They had to be made regarding the different schedules that the members had. We, as the members, had to incorporate ways through which mutual meeting times could be established. Changes also had to be made regarding the leadership position. We had to find a leader who would direct the activities of the group.
The group conflicts needed to be resolved for normalcy to be attained. Resolution of the conflicts promotes cooperation among all the members (Forsyth, 2009). We needed to ensure the goals that had been set down in the charter could be realized. We had to resolve our own issues in a way that one of the members did not feel like he or she was being attacked by the others. As much as he had to work on his character, he had to feel comfortable working with the other members. Cooperation was key in ensuring that the project was successful and that the intended objectives and goals of the group were achieved.
At this stage, it was critical for the group members to air out opinions concerning some of the trends and challenges that the group was facing. The members had to give out their opinions concerning the different conduct of some members, whether they were under performing. Conflicts and challenges are normal during the forming of group since different members of the group have different personalities (Griffin, 2011). While there are some factors that can be changed with time, some are hard to change. For our group, as stated earlier, the main challenge was the different personal schedules of the members. The group had not set specific meeting times where all members had to avail themselves. The meetings were normally done randomly based on how the members had communicated online. If one or two of the members failed to get the message on time, it meant that they would be late for the meeting or even fail to attend the meetings.
The first change was to get a leader. The idea was communicated to all the group members. No one opposed the idea. A meeting was arranged where all members were required to be present. It was a good thing since it was one in a few meetings where all of the members were present in a sitting. The members had to decide on one person that they felt could fit the position of being their leader. The process did not take a lot of time since there was only one person who had demonstrated some leadership quality. The member did not take sides when conflicts emerged. He was the only one who was not been involved in some of the conflicts that had been witnessed in the group. The member openly accepted the position since he knew that it was crucial for the group to have a leader. Our group was clearly behind when it came to the schedule that we had set to complete some of the tasks. The leader that we chose took it upon himself to ensure that communication, understanding and cooperation was present.
A key change for the leader was that he had to set rules or regulations that the members has to follow (Robbins et al., 2013). If it concerns attendance of meetings, a leader should ensure that all members attend the meetings. A valid reason has to be given by members who did not intend to attend the group meetings. It was also easier for the leader to report misconducts to the tutor if the correction measures failed to work. A group member cannot just walk to the tutor lest the other member feel like everything is personal.
Another key step was to work on the schedules of the members. The leader asked the members to look into their schedules and suggest times that they could be available for group meetings. All members were available during the weekend, especially on the afternoon. The meetings had to be increased to two or three each week since the group behind the set schedule. The other option was that we increase our meeting time during the Saturday’s meetings. We agreed that the meeting time on weekends be extended to 5hrs from the previous 3hrs. This was aside from the meetings that we would have on Mondays for 2 hours after our classes on campus. It was also made mandatory that all the members attend the meetings. Absenteeism could only be tolerated if the member had given the leader a reason earlier of missing the meeting. The reason had however to be viable and considered to be good enough.
The conflict between the three members was resolved. Resolving personal conflicts among members necessary step in promoting cooperation among the group members (Cartwright, 2008). It was crucial for the group to progress smoothly and attain the set objectives. The one member that was feeling attacked stopped feeling that way and was ready to work with other.
How the Group Could Function More Productively
The changes made in a group should enable the members to perform better (Williams, 2014). With the roles of every member having been established, each member should be able to work on the different assignments that they had been given. The members need to be fully motivated and knowledgeable and understand the need for cooperation and hard work to the success of their project. Group members should realize that it was upon them to ensure that the project is a success and that they attain the expected grades. Despite the fact that having a leader would be beneficial, they should be able to work under minimal supervision Williams, 2014). The group meetings have to be attended fully by each members. Attendance ensures that every member contributes fully to the progress of the project; thus, reducing the chances of social loafing by some of the members.
The presence of a leader from the start would have helped the group. Having a leader makes everything easier. The meetings would have been well organized. He would have ensured that the tasks that needed to be tackled were done on time. Moreover, he would have assigned different tasks to different members to ensure that we all contributed to the progress of the project. This would have made the meetings to be well organized and the notes or discussion of previous and current meetings written down for future reference.
Members need to stay focused, motivated, and acknowledge the fact that they have competition from other groups. Members of our group realized that they had to put in more work to achieve the set of goals. First of all, we were running behind schedule. There was also the issue of competition. There was competition from the other groups. In order to match up with the others group, we have to cooperate and put extra efforts on our project. The members should start cooperating. The meetings should be well attended and the members should contribute to the discussions. According to Branson (2008), normalcy in the group is normally attained after issues affecting members are addressed. The member that was a social loafer needs to improve his performance. He has to attend all the meetings on time and participate fully. The conflict that he has with the other members needs to be resolved. We have realized that having conflicts among members will not do any good to the progress of our project. It is essential that all the members be able to get along with each other. For us to be able to match up with the other groups, we have to mend the relationship that we have with each other.
The motivation in the members will evident when they perform their duties willingly without having to be pushed. We have realized that we need to stay highly motivated and competent to be able to keep up with the competition from the other groups.
Recommendation and Conclusions
Based on the above experience, I will ensure that the groups that I work with in future address crucial aspects before the group work commences. Our group wasted a lot of time since we could not find mutual meeting times. Also, the issue of online communication undermined the effectiveness of the communication. Finding a conducive group meeting time is crucial. This will ensure that all the members are able to attend the meetings. Members will not have to create excuses, such as having received the emails late as in the case of online communication. I recommend eye to eye meetings since they enhance better communication among the members. It is also easy to tell how certain members feel towards certain decisions if you are able to see their expressions when they respond to issues. Personal meetings also ensure that the members fully participate in the meetings. Social loafing will not exist. The members being able to contribute will give them some sense of being part of the projects. Members will not feel like they have been left out, especially in cases where some members tend to over contribute.
Although members might feel that not having a leader might reduce dictation in the group, it does more harm than good. Group leaders usually take it upon themselves the responsibility of ensuring that the project progress as intended. They also ensure that the group meetings are organized and that the different tasks assigned to the members are completed on time.
Generally, the changes that were made played a big part in the progress of the project. We were able to communicate easily with each other. There was also a better understanding among the members. The progress of the project was quite good. Increased participation means that every member brought to the table the different knowledge and skills that they have (Levi 2016). It contributed to the larger pool of skills and information that was critical for a better performance and progress of our work. Our leader ensured that everything was in line with our schedule. He also ensured that all parts and tasks that needed to be covered were done so on time. As time went by, we were able to catch up with the schedule that we had set earlier. The delegation of duties to different members also ensured that there was division of labor. It made it easy for some tasks to be covered since the whole group did not have to look into and get stuck on one issue for a long time. We were able to move fast.
Reference List
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