Sia Report Management

1. GROUPS AND TEAMS

1.1 What type of team does your group belong to? Why?  

We consider ourselves as a self-management work team as we are self-motivated. We take ownership in our work and co-operate with one another to decide upon agreeable ideas and solutions. Although we appointed a group leader, we were able to manage our own individual work as we could operate without having our leader to constantly check on us. In addition, all of us reflected responsibility by making time for this project despite our busy schedules.

1.2 Explain the stages of group development in relation to your group during CA1, CA2 and CA3: FORMING, STORMING, NORMING, PERFORMING, ADJOURNING. Give specific examples about your group to illustrate the various stages of group development.

In CA1, we started with the forming stage. It was our first time being grouped together. We decided to implement certain ground rules such as punctuality, responsibility and respect to ensure that we are highly productive. Despite being uncertain of one another’s working style, we managed to identify our communication methods such as using hand gestures when emphasizing certain things in our explanation through the PBL in week 3. This enabled us to understand one another better and feel more inclusive. As we progressed on as a group, we started opening up our thoughts to one another.

However, conflicts arose in the storming stage. Our different ideas began to clash, causing unnecessary misunderstandings and unhappiness.The conflicts could have worsened if we had not discussed about it. Hence, during one of our meetings, we cleared the misunderstandings by ensuring that everyone had a say.

In CA3, our team moved into the norming stage. We made use of our strengths to complement with the weaknesses of others. We started developing a closer relationship and we were making good progress towards our objective. After solving our interpersonal conflicts, we felt relieved. It was during this stage of development that our group began to experience a strong sense of group belonging. This motivated us to give our best effort for all assignments.

Through CA3, we realized that we were also in our performing stage. We were able to work well in both group work and independently. Our roles and authorities adjusted dynamically to the changing needs of our group. We started to understand better the nature of each individual’s contribution and also, the needs of other members, which allowed us to help one another in different ways.

We have not experienced the adjourning stage yet. However, we have planned ahead and would like to end the project on a positive note even after we go our separate ways.

1.3 Identify and describe some conflicts faced by your group. What types of conflict were they? Explain.

We had a low-to-moderate level of conflict, which maximized efficiency. This stimulated discussions which helped our team be more innovative, viable and self-critical.

Starting off with process conflict, each of us had different ideas and opinions. Thus, we could not decide on how to get our work done. This caused some minor arguments. For example, during our first tutorial, we had to complete a tutorial question. However, Ming Xia and Geraldine were unaware of each other’s working patterns therefore they were unable to communicate effectively.

We also experienced the human relations view of conflict. Arguments are inevitable but not necessarily detrimental. For instance, we had minor arguments but it motivated us to work together. Initially, Jia Zhen and Xin Yi had very different ideas and it caused interpersonal conflicts between them. Nonetheless, it allowed them to grow closer as they understood each other better. Both of them compromised and established an agreeable solution. The conflicts allowed us to collate ideas and improve on it.

1.4 How did your group solve the conflicts? What conflict management techniques were used to resolve the conflicts? Explain.

The first technique we used was collaboration. It helped to prevent the conflicts we had from worsening. For example, during the PBL activities, we allowed everyone to decide on an item. By doing so, we successfully prevented the balloon from bursting.

Secondly, we did it via compromising. Each of us had to sacrifice some of our ideas to ensure that it was fair for everyone. This ensured that ideas were not solely contributed by one member. For instance, through the process conflict, Geraldine and Ming Xia shared their ideas and agreed on a solution that was unbiased and they came up with the most effective idea for our team.

1.5 Is your group an effective team?

We are an effective team as we achieved the goals that we established. Every one of us possessed unique and relevant skills which was a major contribution to our project.

1.6 What are the characteristics your group possess?

Our group possesses mutual trust. We believed in one another’s capabilities and trusted every member to be responsible in completing their own tasks.

Unified commitment was crucial. We required a high level of commitment. All of us set aside time to complete our project. We ensured that everyone could attend most group meetings so that our discussions would be productive.

We have good communication within our group. We ensured that every idea proposed was conveyed clearly as everyone listened. This helped to minimise miscommunication, allowing us to complete our tasks efficiently. Also, with better communication, we were able to provide constructive feedbacks to improve on ourselves.

We are also flexible with one another’s opinions. None of us were forceful and all of us listened to the ideas of the speaker. This ensured that every member contributed to the final decisions. We were able to reconcile our differences and form positive relationships amongst the team. We learned to be more considerate of one another’s feelings which in turn gained mutual respect in the team. This is an important value we inculcated as a group, also a beneficial life skill we can bring with us when we join the workforce in the future.

1.7 Give specific examples about your group to explain the characteristics possessed by your group members which you feel is effective/ineffective.

There are certain characteristics our group possessed which were both effective and ineffective.

The first characteristic was mutual trust. For example, when we had to complete three different mind maps within two short hours we had to trust our group members to complete them on time. Before handing in our work, we reviewed the mind maps together and were contented with what we had produced. In this case, mutual trust was effective as we managed to complete our tasks with minimal disagreements. This enabled us to feel a great sense of accomplishment and satisfaction after completing.