Through the course of documenting my research project, I realized how the dynamics of a group will determine its success. Interpersonal communication was not much of a problem right from the beginning because my project group comprised of outspoken individuals, and we all found it very easy to relate ideas and suggestions to each other. Being receptive to ideas helped us explore various ways of resolving problems and thus, we rarely found ourselves stuck in dilemmas.
Each of us had different expertises which were applicable and relevant to our research project --- the feasibility of establishing a Bubble Tea stall on campus. For example, the Statistics major took charge of tabulating and analyzing the survey results while the Food Science and Technology major took charge of discussing the medical threats and benefits of Bubble Tea. I feel that this is a very good system as it allows each of us to utilise our knowledge and skills to their maximum potential. We can definitely extend this to our oral presentation, whereby each of us can present on the area of our expertise.
On top of these, I also realized the importance of being a team player. Contributing sound ideas and submitting relevant tasks on time were vital to completion of the report. All it takes is one irresponsible member to hamper the progress of the group and I am very glad to say that we did not experience such an encounter thus far. Having a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of my group mates will allow us to work together more efficiently with one another in the future.
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I see that your group has done very well in task assignment and it is remarkable that you all knew how to complement each others' strengths and weaknesses. It is heartening to know that your group faced no dilemmas, considering all of you are outspoken individuals; this is probably because you all are accommodating team players.
That aside, I am definitely looking forward to the setting up of a bubble tea stall in NUS!
First and foremost, I’ll like to comment that I think this is an interesting blog you’re maintaining here. It’s a wonderful idea to document your journey of finding!
I think it’s great that you’re working in such a cohesive team. However, a well known disadvantage associated with highly cohesive teams is the concept of groupthink. Teams where there are homogeneity of members’ social conditions and when they rarely find themselves in dilemma are highly vulnerable to groupthink.
I totally agree with you on the importance of being a team player! It is important to note, however paradoxical, sometimes being a team player would mean to include playing the devil’s advocate!
I’d like to read more about your discovery about the science of effective communication! And perhaps, follow your team’s journey of overcoming groupthink!
It is certainly a breeze if you know your partners/ groupmates before hand. This will at least aid in understanding their strengths and weaknesses and being aware of how to deal with any miscommunications along the way.
It is undeniably true that teamwork is an essential component in a project work. Everyone of us will work in teams that include people with skills similar to ours and people who have completely different skills. So you are fortunate enough to be able to combine and complement your expertise with theirs towards completing your tasks more effectively.
Lastly, it is imperative to know that teams are not spontaneously generated. It is unrealistic to believe that your team will instantly and constantly reach peak performance. It certainly needs hard work!
It is definitely heartening to see that your group is made up of self motivated individuals and are responsible for what they are being asked to do. Such good team dynamics is definitely not easy to come by, especially in the work force, where office politics and backstabbing might be the norm.
In addition, it is good to have team members with different areas of expertise as they would be able to contribute in the areas they specialize in. I feel that such situations also provide opportunities for team members to learn new skills and knowledge from each other.
Companies also recruit different expertise so that each may contribute in different areas for the completion of a single project. It is admirable that your group has successfully allocated tasks acccording to each's strengths and weaknesses. The difference in a work environment is that there would probably be less chemistry initially due to lower familiarity with the co-workers and effort is needed to build up effective interpersonal dynamics in the workplace.
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