The Indispensability of Business Simulation Exercise - Essay Example

 Reflexive essay on business simulation Introduction Simulations offer an experience of a real set up and therefore test on properties that are expected among individuals. Our business simulation project adopted the perspective in which we were supposed to work as a team towards completing the involved task. I, in this paper offer a reflection of my experience with the business simulation exercise. My achievements in the simulation and the role of my team in my success I did the whole project at individual level and completed all aspects for my submission. The work involved research for background information, from published literature, on the simulation and its implementation. I also tried to reach members of the group during the project period but response was negative. The poor response may be attributed to poor communication skills, low level of commitment as well as possible lack of adequate knowledge in the scope of the assignment. Evaluation of my team’s collectiveness The team has not worked well as it was expected to. There has been lack of cohesion, lack of a collective attitude and members have rarely communicated to share on individuals’ progress and challenges that have faced them in the simulation process. We have also lacked identifiable qualities of good teams that perform collectively. The group’s inability to merge its potentials eliminated positive effects of diversity, effects that promote collaborative work towards successful outputs. This means that our individual output levels have been less than the level of quality that we could have achieved had we incorporated ourselves into a single group and explored our knowledge for completing the simulation (Belbin 2012, n.p). The lack of teamwork also undermined interdependence for encouragements and motivation (A & amp; C Black 2009, 14- 15). The team’s weak collectiveness also identifies communication challenges as a barrier to cohesion. This is because the team members have never communicated with each other. Only one member has been effective in communication. Lack of interest in each other’s contribution, poor attitudes, and cultural differences are possible causes of the realized poor communication into a less collective team (Means 2009, p. 12). The team’s strengths and weaknesses The team did not illustrate significant signs of strength because even its existence was not felt in facilitating its objective. It however communicated diversified weaknesses that range from leadership, managerial and communication inefficiencies. Poor communication was a major factor because members, except one person, did not make efforts to consult with other team members on the simulation’s scope. Poor communication also led to the team’s inability to meet for its discursive processes (Means 2009, p. 12). Poor leadership and managerial potentials are another set of weakness that was demonstrated by poor coordination and this undermined a collective work. No single member was able to influence other team members for a collaborative process or direct members to ensure cooperation in the simulation process (Grobler 2005, p. 301; Cooper and Burke 2011, p. 51-53). Things that could have improved the team’s performance Existence of a team leader or manager is one of the things that could have improved the team’s performance through influencing and controlling members’ activities. Improved communication skills for effective interpersonal communication could have also improved the team’s cohesion and performance. Another aspect that could have improved the team’s performance is development of each member’s interest in the involved activity and continuous encouragement for sustaining attained level of commitment. The group could have also used technology to facilitate communication. Availability of communication technologies such as Skype and MSN that facilitate instant and affordable communication could have linked the team members during the simulation (Hatzipanagos and Warburton 2009, p. 213). Possible change strategy for the group (Kotter’s change process) The group’s weakness that identifies lack cohesion and poor leadership and communication approaches could be transformed by implementing Kotter’s change process that involves a series of initiatives. Developing an urgent need for team leadership and proper communication approaches would be the first step for developing change in the team. Incorporating members in the proposed transformation would then follow before development of a vision for the change. The proposed changes in the team would then be communicated to the team members followed by ensuring their ability to fit into the proposed frameworks. The change, in leadership and communication strategies, would then be implemented with options for further improvements (Sabri, Gupta and Beitler 2006, p. 176). My developed knowledge from the simulation with respect to leading or managing change in groups The scope of my group’s operations towards completing the simulation exercise has developed my insights in concepts of leading and managing teams towards a successful initiative. Exploration of my group’s failure to organize itself and work together in completing the simulation has identified weaknesses in leadership and managerial potentials, whose existence and manifestation in the group could have improved our organization and performance. I identified lack of members ability to “motivate, direct, and create enthusiasm” within the team towards a collective initiative (Randhawa 2007, p. 17). These are leadership qualities that empower groups and teams in organizational set ups and their presence and implementation in our group could have created a cohesive environment for a cooperative group. The motivational property would for example empower members to access one another and to further research in the activity’s scope for effective individual contributions. A directive role would be very essential to organizing the group’s activities such as deadlines for personal research and deadlines for communicating findings from the preliminary research initiatives. The potential and role of offering directions would also establish members’ responsibility in communication. Like the concept of motivation, developing enthusiasm among group members would ensure personal inputs into the team’s project (Randhawa 2007, p. 17; Pranit 2009, p. 256). Our group’s poor organization also enlightened me of the analytical property of leaders that allow them to understand people and processes and solve complexities that hinder objectives. With an analytical leader in our group, factors towards the poor coordination would have been identified in good time and would have been resolved to ensure that our group worked together to complete the simulation. The group also lacked a conceptual leader or the ability to express such a potential towards organizing the members (Sims 2007, p. 351). Failure to organize the group into a cohesive structure also developed my insight into managerial skills that the group lacked, and that could have changed the scope of our simulation project. The team lacked managerial skills such as skills for “planning, organizing, leading, communicating, motivating, and scheduling” (Grobler 2005, p. 301; Cooper and Burke 2011, p. 51-53). Social entrepreneurship that could have mobilized resources among the group members is another ability whose presence or manifestation in the team could have facilitated better performance (Prankashan 2007, p. 1-13). Management skills such as “conceptual skills” and “human relations skills” would also be necessary for the group (Gitman and McDaniel 2008, p. 169). My developed knowledge from the simulation with respect to leading teams The simulation process and my experience with my group have informed me of the significance of a team leader and the roles that the team leader should play in order to ensure a successful team. I learnt of the roles and their significance from the void that affected our team because of lack of leadership. One of my identified significance of team leadership is the responsibility to ensure that all team members deliver towards realization of the team’s objectives. This identifies the role of selecting suitable members into a team in order to have a compatible team. Dynamism in a team’s process also identifies significance of a leader’s role in influencing team members for a flexible approach to managing dynamics of a team’s project. A good leadership is for example able to manage weaknesses and ensure that team members respond, effectively, to their obligations. A team leader also plays the role of winding up a team’s life after culmination of its objectives. This, with respect to our simulation project, would include deliberation of the team’s findings and documentation of the final report (Hepworth, Rooney and Rooney 2010, p. 497; Northhouse 2010, p. 247). My greatest challenge in the business simulation The business simulation offered two greatest challenges to me. The first challenge was in the search for relevant background information to the simulation and the challenge arose from information overload. Current technologies that are facilitated by internet and search engines offered diversified information and the task of filtering the available information in order to get relevant ones to the simulation was a challenge. The second challenge was in communication with other team members to share developed knowledge and learn from one another. There existed communication barriers and the members were not available for consultations. This forced me into self-reliance for completing the simulation. Decisions that I have made and rationale for the decisions One of the decisions that I made was to work independently and to consult with my lecturer instead of team members. I arrived at this decision because the team did not promise any ability to organize itself and complete the simulation within the stipulated deadline. The need for urgency and sufficient knowledge base for completing the work therefore motivated my decision. I also made the decision to be keen on members of a team that I will belong to in future projects. This is because the success of a team relies of characteristics of majority of its members. A team with committed members will organize itself and complete its tasks within a stipulated deadline and with an outstanding quality, unlike a team whose larger percentage consist of members who can commit to a task. Decisions that I did not agree with and rationale for my dissent The major decision that I did not agree with in the simulation process was adoption of the concept of cesism. I did not concur with the idea because I lacked sufficient knowledge in the concept. The section was not completed at group level and was just incorporated without explanations. Things that I should have done differently and rationale for my different approach I should have done a number of things differently in the business simulation project that we undertook. The most significant one is active participation in the group’s organization towards its objectives. I should have been in the forefront to organize and manage the group for an all-inclusive session of all members. In this initiative, I should have developed a framework for a rotational management approach in which each team member should have been accorded an opportunity to head the team in our virtual and physical meetings and communications. The rotational approach should have also involved structure of the group that would include temporary sub committees to look into challenges that may undermine the group’s activities (Rojas 2008, p. 22; Dubrin 2008, 231). I should have also introduced rotational leadership approach in the group (Crandall 2010, n.p.; Barry and Hansen 2008, p. 531). My preference for a rotational approach is because of its ability to explore diversified leadership and managerial potentials within the group. The approach is also likely to ensure effectiveness because of changed command before group members lose interest in a leader’s approach. I should have also promoted regular team activities such as regular meeting for monitoring members’ progress in their assigned tasks. I should have also applied charismatic leadership approach to ensure that I influence all group members to a developed interest in the group’s activity. I should have been actively involved in the group’s activities such as completing individual assignments and making efforts to communicate with every member of the team. Similarly, I should have established a vision for the team regarding the time for completing the simulation exercise and the quality level to be attained by our efforts. I should have also expressed my confidence in the group and communicated my confidence during challenging moments (Kumar 2007, 81; Kelly 2009, 11). My approach should have applied charismatic leadership approach because of its potential to influence the group members’ emotions towards a strong attachment to the simulation process. The leadership approach is also effective in motivating people through established visions that drives people’s efforts. The quality of a charismatic leader that evokes allegiance from other people also identifies my reasons for proposing for the team because the team members would feel an obligation to respond to my calls for participation in the group’s activities. Reference list A & amp; C Black 2009, Succeed as a new manager: How to inspire your team and be a great boss, A&C Black, London. Barry, D and Hansen, H 2008, The Sage handbook of new approaches in management and organization, SAGE, London. Belbin, R 2012, Management teams, Routledge, Burlington. Cooper, C and Burke, R 2011, Human resource management in small businesses: Achieving peak performance, Edward Elgar Publishing, Northampton. Crandall, M 2010, Leadership lessons from west point, John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken. Dubrin, A 2008, Essentials of management, Cengage Learning, Mason. Gitman, L and McDaniel, C 2008, The future of business: The essentials, Cengage Learning, Mason. Grobler, P 2005, Human resource management in South Africa, Cengage Learning EMEA, London. Hatzipanagos, S and Warburton, S 2009, Handbook of research on social software and developing community ontologies, Idea Group Inc (IGI), London. Hepworth, D Rooney, R and Rooney, D 2010, Direct social work practice, Cengage Learning, Mason. Kelly, P 2009, Essentials of nursing leadership and management, New York, Cengage Learning. Kumar, C 2007, The leadership in management: Understanding leadership and wisdom, APH Publishing, New Delhi. Means, T 2009, Business communication, Cengage Learning, Mason. Northhouse, P 2010, Leadership: Theory and practice, SAGE, Thousand Oaks. 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