House of Cards Developed by Jill Hickman - Essay Example

? Teambuilding The aim of the paper is to describe a team-building exercise for conflict resolution that one would present in an organizational atmosphere, and how it would be conducted. To achieve this objective, the teambuilding exercise chosen was the ‘House of Cards’ developed by Jill Hickman. The discourse would contain an introductory paragraph prior to delving into the team-building exercise chosen for conflict resolution. Finally, a concluding portion would summarize and highlight details that were discussed in the paper. Teambuilding Groups have been identified to form a crucial and instrumental part contributory to the success of an organization. However, since groups are composed of a collection of people with diverse interests and goals, organizations need to devise strategies that would enable groups to move towards a common goal through frequent interface among them. The term teambuilding actually evolved as “a technique on human resources departments to promote relations between the executives of a corporation” (Crossover Worlds, n.d.). Its applicability eventually necessitated to be extended to other departments with the aim of improving productivity in work groups and in the resolution of conflicts. In this regard, the aim of the paper is to describe a team-building exercise for conflict resolution that one would present in an organizational atmosphere; and expound on how it would be conducted. To achieve this objective, the teambuilding exercise chosen was the ‘House of Cards’ developed by Jill Hickman. The House of Cards Aside from the traditional group methods and techniques designed to encourage cohesiveness and teambuilding, new and innovative techniques are constantly being developed through group dynamics which provided exercises, games, stories, role playing, the use of pictures and other resources, to achieve a defined goal. For purposes of conflict resolution, one of the most effective teambuilding techniques uses the game theory (Team Technology, 1995). As emphasized, “managed well, conflict can lead to better decisions, more creative ideas and higher quality output from the team. Managed badly, it can stop teamwork and hinder individuals from achieving their personal goals” (Team Technology, 1995, par. 1). The game chosen to assist a team in improving conflict resolution is the House of Cards activity developed by Jill Hickman (Team Building Bonanza, 2011). The concise details of how the activity is to be conducted are hereby quoted below: “Description: Each team works together to build a 'house of cards' within 15 minutes, using only the resources available in the room and/or provided by the facilitator. A competitive event, each team races against the other teams to be 'first' to finish successfully. All team projects are judged by the facilitator (whose ruling is final and cannot be contested). Project criteria include: Efficient use of resources Esthetic appeal Height Structural integrity Presentation Supplies (resources), one set per team: 32 Index cards 1 stack of Post-it notes (square) 1 Box Paper clips Tape Colored markers Instructions: Provide each team with their supplies. Each team has 15 minutes to build a house with the resources available within the room. Identify criteria for judging successful projects. As teams finish, chart their finish times on a flipchart. Once all teams have finished, have teams walk around with the judge (facilitator) to view the work of other teams. (No sabotage!!) At their own tables, have teams discuss the factors contributing/limiting to their success. Have them chart these factors on a flipchart. Each team must elect a spokesperson to present their findings to the rest of the class. Facilitator must award a rating for each project (use a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, for each criterion). Highest possible score: 25 Discussion questions: How was team leadership determined – appointed or assumed? What unique contributions did each member offer? How did those contributions affect the successful outcome of the project? How did the competitive nature of the event affect the quality of the project?” (Hickman, 2011) Analysis of the Team-Building Activity As team-building activity is designed to developed conflict resolution skills of the members in an approach that is fun and collaborative. The facilitator must establish the clear and explicit objectives of the game, per se; as well as the teambuilding activity by focusing on the skills that are aimed to be honed. If the groups lack identification of leaders and the collaboration of members through delineation of tasks, or through improved communication, the game should emphasize these skills to be improved. Apart from a determination of who among the groups would win in the process, the activity aims to address and appropriately answer the discussion questions and be able to report it to the whole team-building program. The facilitator must integrate the results by highlighting the traits that led to the winning team’s achievement of the tasks at the most effective and efficient way. The House of Cards is an effective team building activity that aims to improve conflict resolution skills because given a set of resources, group members must determine how to build a house (the objective or goal) given a set of resources within a limited time frame. As in any other organizational endeavor, the House of Cards exemplify the accomplishment of organizational goals using the defined resources at hand, at a specified time schedule. The team that accomplishes the goal using the resources and maximizes the results should share their team’s secret and reveal the potentials for success. As emphasized by the discourse presented in Crossover Worlds (n.d.), the main value of team-building exercises lie in their ability to manifest “working with people within an organization, encouraging all those characteristics that influence leadership, teamwork, good communication, trust, and other aspects of human relationships” (par. 7). Conclusion The paper has successfully achieved its aim of describing a team-building exercise for conflict resolution that could be presented in an organizational atmosphere through using the House of Cards developed by Hickman. The activity is an effective teambuilding exercise aimed to hone conflict resolution skills of group members by focusing on the goal, using clearly identified resources and devising innovative strategies that would achieve the goal efficiently and effectively within the given time frame. Through a discussion of the strategies, the winning team would share the highlights of the exercise so that other groups would learn from the experience. References Crossover Worlds. (n.d.). What is Team Building? Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://www.crossoverworlds.com/en/team-building/useful-information/definition/team-building.html Hickman, J. (2011). House of Cards. Retrieved October 13, 2011, from Team Building Bonanza: http://www.team-building-bonanza.com/free-team-building-exercises.html Team Technology. (1995). Conflict Resolution. Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/conflictresolution.html Read More