2 Assignments - w9

Assessing Group Process 3

Week 7 Assignment 2

Daniel Anderson

January 13, 2019

Group process is how a group of people work together to get something done. Working in a group is a good experience when the group members cooperate. Within our Wiki group project, every team member understands their roles and contribution. As a result, every team member collaborates in the brainstorming of the project and making sure that it is completed. Since every team member is unique with a different professional background, working in a group helps in coming up with ideas that will lead to the successful completion of the project. Moreover, each team member learns from others during the whole process and hence improves their working skills. However, working in a group comes with various challenges, but it is also beneficial. This is because many people prefer to work alone instead of working in a group due to the fear of loss of productivity and feelings of some members being competitive instead of being cooperative.

One of the observable strengths of the group is communication. During the initial planning of the group, the team members agreed on the communication means which is through emails and texting. The group understands that communication is very important when working with different people. This helps to avoid misunderstanding and conflicts in the group. Moreover, communication through email and texting makes it easy to pass information when the group members are not together. The other strength observed in the group is the willingness to share ideas freely. We understand that two heads are better than one when it comes to teamwork. I am impressed with the team because there is no aspect of one or two members trying to show or make the other members feel like their ideas are better than the rest. According to Toseland and Rivas (2017), differences in ideas and opinions or views can lead to conflicts which can interfere with the working progress of the group. As a result when each and every member of the group respects the perspective of the other members, working in a becomes very easy.

The other strength of the group is timekeeping. Keeping time when working in a group can prove to be very difficult. However, I have noticed that every member of the group is time conscious. This has helped us work towards achieving our goal of completing the Wiki project. Moreover, timekeeping prevents the wastage of resources and personal time.

Unfortunately, working in a team also comes with its own weaknesses. One of the unavoidable weaknesses is conflict among the team members. The group consists of different people with different backgrounds which can result in disagreement especially when it comes to sharing ideas and perspectives (Chris, 2017). At the initial process of working in the group, one of the members felt left out with regards to the delegation of responsibilities. The member felt that his duties were less important compared to the duties of the other team members. As a result, the member failed to attend two consecutive group meeting. When one of us approached him, he explained that he did not feel like he was part of the team. However, in the next group meeting, the issue was raised, and the member understood the reason for delegating such duties. Without addressing the issue, the team member could have bailed out on the team. It was also made clear that it is important for each team member to voice their concerns instead of keeping quiet and expecting the problem to solve itself.

In order to assist the group process, the best strategy to use is to adopt communication skills. It is important to communicate clearly when working in a group. This is because through communication each member in the group can explain their own ideas which help in achieving the group goals (Centre for Teaching Excellence). Communication also allows each person to express their feelings in an opening manner without fear and compromise. Group members with good communication skills also learn how to listen carefully to others and in turn learn to appreciate their viewpoints. Communication also allows group members to ask questions so as get clarification on the ideas and emotions of others. Additionally, communication makes it easy to sense how others feel based on their non-verbal communication which includes facial expressions and body language. Communication also helps members to reflect on the activities and interactions of the group and encouraging other group members to work hard towards achieving the goals of the group. Communication helps team members work together even when they have different ideologies and viewpoints. This is because unspoken assumptions can destroy the productive grouping function. In other words, good practices of communication skills help build a healthy climate for discussions and work (Centre for Teaching Excellence).

The other strategy that can be adopted is group cohesion. Group cohesion fosters action-oriented behaviors such as self-disclosure and trust (Proudlock and Wellman, 2011), openness, support and respect. Strong group cohesion leads to positive group outcomes and better attendance. Additionally, it is important to use compliments in the group process. Compliments and praise from peers within the group have a unique authenticity and force that assures each team member to continue opening up and share more ideas (Proudlock and Wellman, 2011).

References

Chris, J. (2019). 7 Pros and Cons of Group Work - Joseph Chris Partners. Retrieved from http://www.josephchris.com/7-pros-and-cons-of-group-work

Toseland, R. W., & Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Proudlock, S., & Wellman, N. (2011). Solution-focused groups: The results look promising. Counselling Psychology Review, 26(3), 45–55.

Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member | Centre for Teaching Excellence. (2019). Retrieved from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/tips-students/being-part-team/teamwork-skills-being-effective-group-member