Operations Analysis Collaberation

Direction:

Collaboration is a critical part of business today, to the point where we even covered the topic to an extent in this week’s DB. Let’s continue the effort, but this time with a greater self-focus.

For this exercise, the second part will require you to work with a friend, co-worker, perhaps another student, anyone whom you have some type of relationship with, and preferably someone from an organization you’re involved with. Read on!

Complete the tests below, and then reflect on what your scores have shown you. How collaborative an individual are you, and where might there be room to improve? What has this exercise taught you?

Length and format:

The four (4) work sheets from below must be included with this assignment, and a paper no less than 400 words in length. This week, you have a test. No! Not like that!

These tests provide a Collaboration metric for yourself, your partner(s) as noted above, and potentially your organization. They form a natural corollary to the exploration of collaboration published elsewhere on this blog as: “How to maintain your autonomy in a collaborative partnership.”

Implicit in these tests is both a way of seeing collaboration and also a structure within which collaboration can take place. It will be quickly obvious that collaboration is not easy and that collaborations of high importance to each individual also call for the highest levels of candor and understanding.

These tests will help you answer the questions: How well do you collaborate? and: Are you able to bring out the best from yourself and draw it out from your partner(s)?

Of the two tests that follow, the first – The Personal Assessment – is predominantly for yourself, so you can appraise your personal skills at effective collaboration.

The second test – The Joint Assessment – is in four parts and enables you to score both yourself and your collaborator. It applies equally to groups as to individuals.

Reviewing both assessment tests will give you some useful feedback, and it will also add to your fund of knowledge of what is needed to ensure successful collaborations.

PLEASE NOTE: You can download the assessment forms in PDF format by right-clicking on: Dynamic Living Assessment Tests and selecting “Save target (or “link”) as”.

The Personal Assessment

This is a straightforward self-test, simply designed to highlight your strengths and weaknesses.

Once you’ve done it for yourself, you might score your partner from your perspective.

If you want to have some real fun as the nights grow longer, you might then ask him or her to do the same for you and you could discuss the results instead of watching TV one night. Of course, if you don’t think you could raise the subject with him or her, it will tell you something about the state of collaboration in your relationship.

The Joint Assessment

Each of the four assessments that follows can be completed by you (or your workgroup) for both you (Me) and your partner (Them).

Every question needs to be considered from a joint perspective because one person, or one side of the collaboration, cannot ‘do it’ for the whole partnership.

The four assessments cover aspects of collaboration involved in: Trust Building, Organizing and Operational Skills, Decision-making and Creative-Planning Skills, and Conflict Management. We begin with an essential part of collaboration that has to precede any negotiation:

Trust Building

How do we let the other see that we’re reliable and consistent? It’s not enough simply to say we are. We have to show it through actions such as these. When we perform them unthinkingly, routinely, we make a strong statement as to the goodwill and earnest of our intent.

Organizing and operating skills

These are the mechanics of collaboration. We may have the best will in the world, but without some basic techniques we’re going to be creating misunderstanding and maybe setting quite the wrong impression.

Decision-Making & Creative Problem Solving

This is the fun part of collaboration, when the hard work of creating a safe and trustable working environment pays dividends.

Conflict Management

No couple or group of people can discuss any matter without coming into conflict. Oftentimes the conflict is minor, sometimes not. It’s at these times that collaboration is tested to the full. This is the time when full candor is called for, expressed in a way which, at the very least, doesn’t drive the other away.

This assessment reviews ways to respond when conflict occurs:

Students: Be sure to read the criteria (last page), by which your assignment will be evaluated, before you write, and again after you write.

Grading Criteria for This Week’s Assignment