HRMD665week2
Shirley Ainoo
The following were my observations after watching the barn-raising scene from the movie Witness.
Working for a common good - The Amish community were committed to the common good that reached beyond private interests, transcended sectarian commitments, and offered human solidarity.
Carefully planned, defined purpose, and assigned roles - The clearly defined purpose and assigned roles allowed the team to focus its energies on specific aspect of the project and helped to limit crossover into other aspects controlled by a different agenda. This kept the project running smoothly with each team member working on a specific task that contributed to the larger project goal.
The team understood what it needed to accomplish and had the resources/tools needed to be successful. According to research, failing to provide adequate tools to complete a project can bog down on an organization's team progress as members must gather information and determine which strategies work the best through a trial-and-error process (Anderson & Bell, 2014).
Empowered team members – There was more involvement from empowered team members that lead to a more efficient team productivity because members were contributing to the project work at full capacity.
Good Leadership – There were effective communicators who commanded the attention of their audience and made sure their messages got across.
Great team success!
(Costello, 2011)
Reference:
Anderson, T. D., & Bell III, T. J. (2014). Incorporating project management tools and techniques to manage student team projects and the influence of leadership styles. ACET Journal of Computer Education & Research, 1-14
Costello, R. (2011, October 6). Amish barn raising (as depicted in the film “Witness”) [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXCeV5RbHghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXCeV5RbHg
Keith Molinary
The Amish are extremely hard workers and know how to work as a team. In the video, one of the first things you notice is the fact that the whole community comes together to accomplish the mission with one goal in mind. Each member of the team has their specific roles and communicates effectively. Both the men, women and children had a part to play to raise the barn and because they knew exactly what they were supposed to do, there was no confusion or arguments that could delay the process. The video also depicted what it was like to have a new person join the group. At first the team did not see the newcomer as actually being part of the team because they did not know how he would contribute or because his identity was not established (LearningPoint, 2011). The new person to the barn raising was accepted once he acquired “the knowledge, behavior, and attitudes needed to participate fully as a member of that team” which gave a good example of socialization (What-when-how). The barn raising was successful for the reasons mentioned above, but also because the group trusted one another to do their part.
LearningPoint. (2011). Team member identity: Building the foundation for a strong team. Retrieved from http://learningpointinc.com/team-member-identity-building-the-foundation-for-a-strong-team/
what-when-how. (n.d.). Managing relationships in virtual team socialization (information science). Retrieved from http://what-when-how.com/information-science-and-technology/managing-relationships-in-virtual-team-socialization-information-science/
After watching this video, it was clear that the community came together to build a barn. Each member within the community relied on each other to accomplish the shared goal of building a barn. This is an example of cohesion existing within this team. A cohesive group member will act as one unit and are attached to each other (Saylor, n.d.). An example of unity from this team occurred when the men had to raise the top of the barn at the same time. According to LearningPoint (2011), team member identity is an important component is role clarification and expectations, which all contributes to the team’s success. Roles were clearly defined within the team and every member appeared to know what was expected of them. Men had the role of doing the hard work and women made the lunches as well as quilts for the men. The children took on similar roles as well. The young girls provided the workers with drinks and the young boys were able to use the tools to help the men with the building process (Costello, 2011). Based on this video, each member seemed to trust one another based on how they all worked well together. Studies have shown trust has had a significant effect on the performance of a team (Peters & Karren, 2009). One of the group members let an outside member join their team and no on one the team questioned the actions of this member. The team members welcomed the new member once they joined the group and seemed to trust the judgement of the team member.
References:
Aceepting member- outsidCostello, R. (2011, October 6). amish barn raising (as depicted in the film “Witness”) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCXCeV5RbHg
LearningPoint. (2011). Team member identity: Building the foundation for a strong team. Retrieved from http://learningpointinc.com/team-member-identity-building-the-foundation-for-a-strong-team/
Peters, L., & Karren, R.J. (2009). An examination of the roles of trust and functional diversity on virtual team performance ratings. Group & Organization Management, 34(4), 479-504. doi:10.1177/1059601107312170
Saylor. (n.d.). Chapter 9. Managing groups and teams. Retrieved from http://saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/BUS208-6.2.pdf