Final Paper BIS 343 1

FinalPaperBIS343

ChristianLarin

April26,2016
Final Paper BIS 343

SECTION1:

Criteria:

1.
GroupCohesion(Assignment15)Theabilitytoworkasagroupandnotas
individualtowardsacommongoal.

Thompson(2014)describesGroupcohesivenessastheemotional
attractionamonggroupmembers(p.115).DuringoneofthefirstassignmentsI
discussedhowmyworkatStarbucksincludedbeingpartofteamwithinmy
district.DuringtheselfassessmentIwasabletohighlightsomeofthemany
waysthatworkingforthesamecompanyhashelpmeevolvemyskillsetaround
teambuilding.InUnit1,chapter2,thetextbookdiscusseshowtostrengthen
teamcohesion.Cohesiveteamsarelessinclinedtoloaf(Thompson,2014p.36).
Duringthegroupexercisethegroupcohesionwascrucialtothesuccessofthe
group.Iwouldratemyselfwiththehighestmark.Itookontheroleofteam
leader.Iwasnotexpectingtotakeonthatrole.DuringourteamZoommeetings
Iwouldmakesuretoengagethewholeteamandaskfortheirinput.Thisallowed
everyonesvoicetobeheard.WhenIreadtheparagraphsthateveryonewrote,it
wasclearthatweallhadthesamelearningsfromoutinterview.Thishelpsprove
howourcohesivemyteamwas.

2.
EmbracingDiversity(
Unit2Assignment22Discussion)Theactiveprocessof
gatheringideasandteammembersthatarenotthesameasyouoryourthought
process.

Inunit2,chapter4,thetextstalksaboutdiversity.Thompsonstatesthatdiverse
teamsaremorelikelytogeneratecreativesolutionsandsolveproblemsmore
accuratelythanhomogeneousteams(Thompson,2014p.90).Duringthe
assignment22theteamsthatweremadewerenotdiverseatall.Thediversityin
ateamdoeshelplookatmultipleviewpoints.Thediversityonourgroupteam
wasoffthecharts.Icannotbelievehowdiverseourteamwas.Weweresplit
rightdownthemiddlewiththreemalesandthreefemales.Thereweremultiple
cultureandsexualorientationaswell.Thisgaveourteamanadvantagetohave
multipleviewpointsasThompsonstatedinchapter4andthatiswhyIwouldgive
myselfhighmarksaswell.

3.
AssumingPositiveIntent(Assignment23)Thecapacityofgivingthebenefitof
thedoubttoyourteam/groupmembersthatyoudontreallythatmuchabout.

Thompsonbelievesthatimplicittrusthelpswithteamdevelopment.Sometimes,
weputourtrustinothersevenintheabsenceofanyrationalreasonorobvious
similarity(Thompson,2014p.120).Duringmygroupprojectthereweretimes
thatsomeofthememberswouldwaituntilthelastmomenttodotheirpostings.I
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madesureassumepositiveintentandnotjustassumethattheywerelazy.There
weretimesthatShereseloggedinlateforoneofourzoommeetings.Onceshe
goton,shelookedlikeshewassotiredbutshepushedthroughandgotuson
trackafewtimesthatwewentoffonatangent.SinceIassumedpositiveintent
foreachoftheteammembersitgavemethechancetogoinitandnotjudge.
Thisalsoallowedmetoleadthemandmakesurethatweallcrossedthefinish
linetogether.

4.
Resultsoriented(Assignment23)Thefocusingoftheendresultofwhatthe
groupwasassembledfor.

Inoneofthepromptswhenwediscussedthepsychologicalcontract,theprompt
askwhattraitstoyouwanttosetasagroundruleinyourgroup.Theneedto
makesureyouareresultsorientediscrucialsoyoucanmakesureyoucomplete
thetaskathand.Iftheteamisnotresultsoriented,thenitisjustagroupitcan
fallvictimtosocialloafing.Thompson(2014)statesthatagroupmotivationloss
isknownassocialloafing(p.31).Thefactthatourwholeteamwasexcitedto
getagoodgradehelpedkeepeveryoneinvolved.Ialsohadthepleasureofbeing
theteamleadersoIkeptusmovingforwardandmakingsurethatIkeptwiththe
samebattlecry,wewillcrossthisfinishlinetogether.

5.
ActiveParticipation(Assignment23)Consistentlyengagingintheprocessand
resultsofthegroup.

Duringourteamcharterourgroupwasveryvocalaboutmakingsurethatevery
memberactivelyparticipate.Werealizenowthatwewereallworriedthatthere
wasgoingtobenoaccountability.Accountabilityreferstothextenttowhich
peopleandteamsfeelresponsiblefortheiractionsanddecisions(Thompson,
2014p.143).AstheteamleaderIsetdeadlinesandatemplatefortheworkthat
wasdueeachweek.Thisallowedeachmembertoactivelyparticipate.Theyhad
thetemplatefortheworktheyneededtodo.Ithinkthehardestpartwasfor
tryingtoorganizethedeadlinessincesomeofthedeadlinesgotmovedwhenthe
syllabuswasadjusted.

6.
SelfSacrificeTheabilitytoputtheneedsofthegroupaboveyourown
individualneeds.

Noteveryonewillbethestaroftheteam.Noteveryonewillbeabletohitthe
shotthatwinsthegame.Whatisneededisawillingnesstodowhatisrightfor
theteam.Inchaptereleven,Thompsondiscussesleadership.Thompson(2014)
statesthattransformationalleadersmotivatetheirteamstoworktowardsgoals
thatgobeyondimmediateselfinterest(p.286).Thefactthateveryoneonmy
groupprojectwaswillingtostepinandvolunteertodotasksshowedthat
everyonewasexcitedhelpthegroupreachtheendgoal.Irememberthefewdays
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beforewewerefinishingourpaper.Wehadazoommeeting.Duringthis
meetingIstatedthatwehadtopostourteamassessmentbymidnight.SinceI
hadthedayoffIhadbeenabletowriteandpostmine.Itookoverpiecing
togethereveryparagraphthatthegrouphadwrittenandpastedthemalltogether
tomakeapaper.ThistookafewhoursofworkbutIwantedmyteamtonotlose
pointsbynotdoingtheteamassessment.Theyweregratefulandtheyshowedit
bymakingsuretologinandeachmakeeditswithin24hourssowecouldhavea
betterdocumenttodiscussatthefollowingzoommeeting.

7.
TechnologicallySavvyThecapacitytonavigatearoundtechnologicalneedsof
beingonavirtualteam.

Sinceourgroupwasavirtualteam.Thompson(2014)statesvirtualteamsas
beingataskforcedgroupthatmeetswithoutallmembersbeingpresentoreven
workingatthesametime(p.344).Thismeansthattheworkgrouphastohave
someveryspecificneedsaroundtechnology.Theneedingtolearnhowto
facilitatevirtualmeetingsissuchagreatskillset.Itwashardtolearnanddo
thematthesametime.ItdidhelpthatIhadtodoitsinceIwastheteamleader.I
madesuretoputLadonnaateasesinceshehadstatedfromthestartthatshehated
technology.IwasveryproudthatshemadethefirstGoogledocthatweusedasa
group.BytheendofthegroupprojectIamnowmorecomfortablewithvirtual
meetingsandsharingclouddocuments.Itwasmyleadershipandthehelpfrom
thegroupthatleadtousallbeingsuccessful.Thekeyistonotletthetechnology
drivetheentirevirtualteam(Thompson,2014p.347).Ijustusedtechnologyas
anothertool.

8.
RecognitionGivingofpraisetoshowyourgroupyouvaluethemandtheir
work.

Thepowerofpositiverecognitionoftenisseverelyunderestimated(Thompson,
2014p.50).Asweworkedinourgroupswemadesuretoconsistentlysaythank
youtoeachother.Thiscreatedamorecohesiveteamwhereeveryonehelped
eachotherandfeltappreciated.Ialsothinkthatasstatedearlieraroundthe
criteriaofselfsacrifice,itwasnicetohavesomeonesaythankyouwhenyou
didgooutofyourway.ThewholegroupexceptonememberwasaStarbucks
partner.Thismeansthattheculturethatwehaveinourcompanybledovertoour
group.Inourstoreitisanormtoalwayssaythankyoutotheemployeeleaving
fortheday.ThiscarriedoverandIalwaysthankedmygroupteamasweended
ourzoommeetings.

9.
HealthyconflictTheabilitytohaveopposingviewsandnavigatetocommon
groundrespectfully.
Final Paper BIS 343

Tobepartofanyteamyouneedtomakesureyouhavehealthyconflict.Weare
notalwaysgoingtoagreewitheachother.Thatisok.Thefactthatwedont
agreeisgreat.Ithinkthishelpspreventgroupthink.Thompson(2014)states
groupthinkiswhenallmembersputeveryoneagreeingaboveallotherpriorities
(p.171).Byallowingaspacetohaverespectfuldisagreementsweallow
ourselvestofocusonproducingthebestamountofwork.Duringourgroup
projectwehadtowritetheinterviewpaper.Rudyhadwrittenthefirstdraftofhis
paragraphsaswritingdownthequestionsandthensummarizingwhathelearned.
WhenIinitiallyreadit,Iwashappywithit.However,Ithenhadthethoughtof
howthiswouldtranslateontoagrouppaper.Itwouldneverbecohesiveenough
foranyonetobeabletoread.Ibroughtthisupduringourzoommeeting.We
hadaveryrespectfulandhealthydiscussion.Bytheendofit,wechangedour
directionandmovedforwardasateam.

10.ClearcommunicationThecapacitytoarticulatewhatyouneedandwhatneeds
tobedone.

Duringourclassandafterreadingmanyofthepostingsfromwhatthewholeclass
thoughtofthelayoutofthecourse,itseemsthatcommunicationiscrucial.
Communicationamongteammembersissubjecttobiasesthatafflicteventhe
mostrationalofhumanbeingswiththebestofintentions(Thompson,2014p.
131).InthegroupprojectIusedemail,textmessage,discussionboard,zoom
meetings,andevenourGoogledocumenttocommunicatewiththeteam.This
helpedmakesurewewereallonthesamepageandwekeptmovingforward.

SelfAssessmentSummary:

Iwouldratemyselfwiththehighestmarks.Iwouldgivemyselfa10(with10being
thebest).Iassumedtheroleasteamleaderandhelpedmakesurethatourwholeteam
crossedthefinishline.Iusedallofthecriteriathatwerementionedearlier.Theroleofthe
teamleaderwasalsotohelpensurethateveryoneintheteamfollowedthosecriteriaaswell.
Webecameateamandtrulyenjoyedourselvesonourjourney.IfIwouldchangeanything
aboutmyperformanceIwouldforcemyselftogivemorefeedback.AtStarbucksthemodel
forfeedbackiswhat,what,why.Wediscusswhattheydid,followedbywhattheyshould
havedone.Thisisconcludedwiththereasonwhytheyshoulddoitthedifferentway.This
givesveryspecificfeedbackandtakesawaysomeofthepersonalissuesthatmayarise
whentryingtogiveapersonfeedback.Thishelpsreducerelationshipconflict.Thompson
(2014)statesthiskindofconflictaspersonal,defensive,andresentful(p.197).Thesecond
thingIwoulddodifferentisbemoredirectivearoundwhodoeswhat.SinceItookthe
reignswhenwewerejuststallingout,Ididntjumpattheopportunitytobeleader.It
happenedoutofthespecificsituation.IfIweretotakeontherolefromthebeginning,I
wouldbemuchmoredirective.However,sincewewereaselfdirectedteam,Imayruninto
someindividualsnotwantingtobeleadorheldaccountablebyme.Thompson(2014)
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statesthatselfdirectingteamsdeterminetheirownobjectivesandthemethodsbywhichto
achievethem(p.10).IthinkthereasonmyteamallowedmetotakechargewasthatI
offeredthemsomedirectionandtheyfeltlostsotheywereeagertoallowmetoleadthem.

Section2:Otherteammemberassessment

RudyEnriquez:

IwouldrateRudywiththehighestmarksof5outof5.Hewasveryactiveonthe
discussionposts.Rudydidagreatjobofwritinghisinitialparagraphsbutalsorewrote
themwhenwedecidedasagroupthatwewerechangingtheformatofthepaper.Rudywas
atallofourzoommeetings.HewasgreataboutalsokeepingusontrackasIwouldbe
discussingournextsteps.Rudyalsoaskedsomeverygreatquestionsduringtheinterview
andwasalsointerviewed.SinceeveryoneinthegroupexceptforRudywasaStarbucks
partner,Iwouldaskhowsimilarthingswouldbehandledathiscompany.Sinceheisa
manageralso,itwasnicetoherealotofsimilarities.

ShereseCheePing:

IwouldalsorateSheresewiththehighestmarksof5outof5.Shewasverygoodat
gettingthefirstinitialzoommeetingssetup.Sheresealsowasgreataboutpostingtothe
discussionboard.RudyandSheresewherethetwovocalindividualsthatwouldkeepuson
therighttrackaswewouldsometimesbegintogooffonatangent.Sheresealsowasgreat
aboutchallengingmeabouthowthepapershouldbewritten.AfterIbroughtupmypoints,
shewaschangedherviewpointduetomydirectinfluence.Thompson(2014)statesdirect
influencetobewhenateammemberenticeotherteammemberstoadopttheirposition(p.
203).IamgratefulthatbothRudyandSheresechallengedmyopinionandthatwewere
abletoresolveitrespectfully.Sheresesintroparagraphwasactuallywhatweusedmostly
forourconclusion.Shelovedthewayitsummarizedalotofwhatwelearned.

LadonnaSpears:

IwouldalsogiveLadonnathehighestmarksof5outof5.Shewasveryvocal
duringthezoommeetingsandneverhesitatedtocalltheprofessor.Itwasnicethatshehad
thecouragetoreachoutwhenshedidnotunderstandsomething.Shewouldthenrelaythat
informationtoallofusandthathelpkeepusontrack.Shesetupthefirstteamcharter
Googledocthatweallusedandalsotriedtosetupazoommeeting,butthatprovedabit
harder.Ladonnadidhaveafewpoststhatwherelate,howevertherewasadeathinher
familyandshebalanceditthebestshecould.Ladonnaalsodidagreatjobwritingthe
introductiontoourpaper.Shealsohadsomegreatquestionsduringourinterviewsinceshe
usedtobeastoremanagerherself,shegotachancetogainsomeinsightastosomeofmy
bestpractices.

DanielSatterlee:
Final Paper BIS 343

Danielwasthequietsleeperinthegroup.Iwouldprobablyratehima4.5outof5.
Hewasabitquietatfirstanddidanefficientjobaroundhispostings.Hedidgetthemdone
ontime,butneverreallychallengedanyofouropinions.Danielsquestionswere
interestingandweendedupdiggingdeeperastowhyheaskedcertainquestions.Danielis
atenuredemployeebutdoesnotwanttotakeonthechallengeofbeingincharge.Daniel
wasalsoateveryzoommeetingthatwehad.Hereallydidshineattheendwhenwewere
finalizingourinterviewpaper.Aftermostofthepaperwaswrittenandedited,therewas
oneparagraphthatseemedtonotfollowwellandberedundant.Bythatpointallofuswere
startingtoloosestemfromfatigue.Hejumpedupandwegottoseehimtakeapartand
rewordagreatparagraph.Helistenedtosomeofoursuggestionsandwasopentothe
feedbackashedidtheliveeditsasweallwereonthezoommeeting.

ClaireSchultz:

Clariewasagreatgroupmember.Iwouldratehera4outof5.Shedidagreatjob
duringourinterview.Shedidhavetogetofftheteaminterviewafteronly40minutes
becauseshehadtogetbacktowork.Sheshowedhercommitmentbycallingintoourzoom
meetingduringwork.SheisasupervisorforStarbucksanddidnothaveanyluckongetting
hershiftcovered.Sheisactuallyabout50milesnorthfromwhereIliveinWashington.
Shedidshowhercommitmentbywatchingthefullinterviewafterlateron.Clairealsodid
agreatjobwiththeeditsanddoingalltheheadingsandsubheadingsontheteampaper.
Thisiswhereshereallyshinedandbecameavaluableteammember.Shealsohadanissue
withhermicrophoneonherlaptopandmadeitreallyhardtohearherduringourzoom
meetings.Thisalsoimpactedhowmuchshechallengedanyofouropinionssinceitwas
justsohardtohearher.Shewouldbescreamingintothescreamtojusttryandbeheard.

Section3:TeamAssessment

1.
Conflict(TeamDynamics:HandlingConflict)

Thereweretimeswhenwealldidnotagree.Wemetthiscriterion.The
mostevidentexamplewasduringourcollaborativepaper.Halftheteamdecided
thatthewaythepapershouldbeformattedwasthewaythatRudyhadformatted
hisparagraphs.WritingthequestionthatwasaskedfollowedbytheanswerthatI
gave.Likestatedearlier,theformatofthepaperwouldhavebeenover15pages
longanditwouldhavehadalotofrepeatedthemes.Therewasalsoafewtimes
thatwehadtoallcometogetherandagreeonatimeforourextrazoommeetings.
Wedidntallagreeonthetimesbutwejustwentwiththemajoritythateveryone
could.Theconflictwedidhaveontheteamwastaskprocessconflict.Task
processconflictisconflictsaboutlogisticalanddelegationissues,suchashowto
proceedandallocatework(Thompson,2014p.210).
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2.
ResultsOriented(TeamEffectiveness:PrinciplesofEffectiveTeamwork)

Wecompletedourpaperandturneditinontime.Wemetthiscriterion.
Throughoutthewholeprocessthefocuswastomakesureweallcrossed
thefinishline.Wekeptoureyeoneachdeadlineandkeptmoving
forwardwhilemakingsurenoonewasleftbehind.Thompson(2014)
statesthatgoalsettingisonofthefivecrucialskillsforateamtoperform
effectively(p.26).

3.
Trust(TeamEffectiveness:PrinciplesofEffectiveTeamwork)

Thetrustontheteamwaseasiertobuildwiththeinitialstepsfromour
introductionandseeingeachothersworkspace.Thetrustwasalso
initiatedaswehadmoreandmorezoommeetings.Wearemorelikelyto
trustotherpeopleinafacetofaceencounterthanwhencommunicating
viaanothermedium,suchasphoneorfaxmachine(Thompson,2014p.
121).Westartedtogettoknoweachotherinsteadofjustbeinganameon
adiscussionboard.Aswealsostartedtohavetheduedatesthatinitiated
beingcompletedbyeachmember,thetrustbegantogrow.Webeganto
understandthatwecouldcountoneachother.

4.
Communication(TeamDynamics:FosteringCommunication&Promoting
Cooperation)

Communicationallowedourteamtostayfocusedandontrack.Sincewe
areavirtualteamweneededtousemultipleplatformsofcommunication.
Wehadmultiplezoommeetings.Wehademailanddiscussionposts.We
alsohadagrouptextmessagethreadgoing.Wesucceededonhaving
clearandconcisecommunicationwitheachother.Emailchangesthe
natureofbehaviorandteamdynamics(Thompson,2014p.338).Ifwe
onlywouldhavecommunicatedthroughpostingsandemail,wemayhave
notgainedthequickbondandcohesivenessfromhavingfacetoface
connectiontime.

5.
Cooperation(TeamDynamics:FosteringCommunication&Promoting
Cooperation)

Everyonehadtoworktogethertomaketheteamsucceed.Wehadto
relayoneachotherandeveryonehadtopinchin.Theamountofwork
thatwasneededtocompletewasnotsmall.Theonlywaythatitwas
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goingtobeabletogetallthatworkdoneisifweworkedtogether.We
becameateamandmadesurethatwecooperated.Thecooperationhelp
increasethecollaborationprocessofbothteampapersthatwedid.Team
memberswhofeelindividuallyaccountablefortheirideasaremore
productivethanteamsinwhichitisnotpossibletodiscernwho
contributedwhat(Thompson,2014p.231).Icanunderstandnowwhywe
hadtoaddanaddendum.Wedidnotclearlycommunicatewhodidwhat
toeachotheronourdiscussionposts.Wedidholdeachotheraccountable
duringthezoommeetings,butthisdoesnothelptheprofessorrateour
participation.

TeamAssessment:

Iwouldratetheteama5outof5.Wecametogetherandformedateam.Weall
haddifferentstrengthtoaddtothediversityofourteam.WemetallthecriteriathatI
statedareneededtomakeagoodteam.Ifwecontinuedmovingforwardwiththeseteam
Iwouldmakesureweaddedweeklystatusupdates.Thiswouldgoundertheumbrellaof
recognitionandfeedback.Theabilitytohaveeverymemberoftheteampracticegiving
andreceivingfeedbackwouldincreasethecohesivenessofourteam.Thiswouldallow
ustomakesurethatwecouldkeepmovingtheneedleandbemoreproductive.The
strengthwehavebyallbeingStarbuckspartnersisthatweareusedtothefeedbackand
coachingmethodthatStarbucksuses.Thisintensifiesourgroupidentitysincewereally
shareaculture.Performanceappraisersgivepoorperformerssubstantiallyhigherratings
whentheyhavetogivefacetofacefeedbackasopposedtoanonymouswrittenfeedback
(Thompson,2014p.64).Thisisaskillsetthatneedspractice.Byallowingeveryonein
thegrouptopracticegivingfeedback,theskillshouldgrowandincreasetheskillsetof
thegroup.ThesecondthingthatIwouldimplementwouldbetoalternateteamleads
witheverynewproject.Thiswouldalloweverymembertogetachancetoleadthe
team.Thisalsoisduetothefactofmyownbeliefofleadershavinganincremental
theoryview.Thompson(2014)statesthattheincrementaltheoryviewsleadershipskills
assomethingthatcanbelearnedanddeveloped(p.280).Thiswouldgiveourteama
chancetobeverywellrounded.Aswewouldprobablylosemembersofourteam,the
productionleveloftheteamwouldnotbeaffectedsinceeveryoneiscrosstrained.
Final Paper BIS 343

Reference:

TeamworkandTeamLeadership:TeamworkandTeamLeadership.(n.d.).Retrieved
April28,2016,fromhttp://libguides.gwumc.edu/c.php?g=394310

Thompson,L.L.(2014).Makingtheteam:Aguideformanagers.UpperSaddleRiver,
NJ:PrenticeHall.