Group Relations, Management, and Organization - Assignment Example

Group Relations, Management, and Organization Unlike other parts of the world, American society is heavily individualistic. We live in a country in which individualism is cherished as the highest virtue and where one’s individual sense of self is nurtured and cultivated at an early age. We inhabit a dog-eat-dog world in which everyone fends for him or herself and in which everyone is a competitor and everyone is alone. Unlike many Asian societies in which communitarianism reigns supreme, in which deference to authority is expected and in which socialism is the norm, American society is based upon the notion of individual freedom and liberty. Working together on a group project however, one learns that the success of the project is not due to the abilities of one man or one woman and that everyone must work together in tandem in order to ensure the smooth and successful operation of the project. This is new for many of us and we must resist our individualistic urges and sacrifice or self-centered individualism for the betterment of the group. While working on a group project, communitarianism reigns supreme and we must work together in harmony. Seeking to address the ways in which group work can be successful, this brief research paper will explore in holistic fashion the ways in which groups work best together. Accordingly, we turn to our ever important research question which asks, “Despite all the hype and myths about the nature of groups and teams, is it simply a question of ensuring the right mix of skills and that all the members of the group co-operate with each other. Or is this an over-simplification?” The preceding question will guide our analysis as we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of group dynamics and how groups work best together. Our assessment will aim to answer the research question above and provide a thorough analysis about our experiences with group work. Working together on a group assignment is not always easy and it takes negotiation and a willingness to compromise in order to be successful. As Americans we guard our individualism and sometimes do not work well with others. What we understood very early on is that organizational is key to any group assignment and that while it is important to ensure that the right mix of skills are present within the group it is also imperative that we are organized and plan appropriately in order to ensure that the work progress is smooth, streamlined and on target. We do not know if there is a philosophy of sorts for group projects but we found early on that creating organization out of chaos helped us work towards our goal and ensured the success of what we were aiming to accomplish. First and foremost, a successful group must begin with a plan for the project and this may be the result of consensus-building or through the personal initiative of one member who has chosen to take the lead and help organize the group into a collective whole. Although we all have ideas and some of us are better at articulating them than others, it is important that early one a plan is devised and implemented across the group in order to ensure that our trajectory is positive and we are working towards a common goal. In this instance, the group may select one individual to act as a ringleader of sorts or perhaps this group “leader” will appear on his or her own; what is important in this instance is that there is someone who acts to lead the group, set deadlines and timelines and ensure compliance with the timeframe for completion. From the perspective of organizational behavior it is imperative that there be someone to manage the group and direct the individual members toward a common purpose (French 1999). We began the organizational component of our project with a meeting. Meetings are almost essential when it comes to group work and while it is important that there is a proper mix of talents and skills when working it is also very important that people get together in a forum like setting in order to discuss the project parameters, set timelines and ensure that everyone is moving ahead with his or her portion of the assignment. We found that working together was greatly facilitated by the existence of these meetings which we were scheduled around the same time every week and ensured that everyone was on the same page when it came to the assignment. By providing a forum for everyone to meet, the meetings also gave us an opportunity to raise questions, discuss issues which may not have been clear and gain a much better understanding of the major aspects of the final project. Instead of simply focusing on our individual components of the final project, these meetings allowed us to see the whole project in a more holistic manner and gave us the tools to successfully move forward with the final product. These meetings also allowed us to have a routine with which we could organize our schedules and gave us a fixed time frame for our deliverables (French 1999). Face-to-face meetings were an essential component of our group work together but they were not the only things which ensured the successful completion of our group project. Our research question asks about the composition of the group and the important ways in which people interact with one another in a group setting. Accordingly, co-operation is essential and it is very, very important that an initial meeting take place to determine who, within the group, has which skills, and how those skills can be best utilized to the benefit of the group as a whole. The right mix of skills is essential but it is also supremely important that everyone can get together to ensure the smooth operation of the project. Once it had been established what skills each person brought to the table, the organizational process kicked into high gear with a strict demarcation of tasks, deliverables and deadlines. Once a separation of tasks had been undertaken we summarized our objectives and allowed each member to independently write down his or her three main objectives for the project. Following this, in a face-to-face setting, we allowed all group members to compare his or her goals and together everyone agreed upon the collective goals for the group. Once we had established the group’s organizational process as well as the achievement of specified objectives as part of the group process, we divided the larger group into smaller sub-groups, each with its own goals, objectives and responsibilities. In this capacity, it was very important that we ensured that the right mix of skills was divided up between the sub-groups. Thus, someone who has a strength is organization will be responsible for maintaining the project plan and trajectory, while someone with strong analytical skills will do the same from the analytical side. Researchers were created and their tasks were to conduct the ever essential library and field research. By systematizing the process and by organizing the group into various subsets to manage the work-flow, we greatly improved upon our projected timelines and were able to ensure that the deliverables through each stage of the project were handed in on time, if not earlier than projected (French 1999). After all of the information and been compiled and assembled in a coherent manner, we sat down and rehearsed the presentation of our findings. This is an important yet often overlooked aspect of group work: rehearsal. Prior to presentation, especially if different group members were working on different components of the project, it is imperative that everyone meet one last time to go over the intricacies of the presentation and ensure that we are all on the “same page”. From this perspective then, the rehearsal was an essential and easily forgotten aspect of the group project process. Concluding Remarks Turning to our major research, “is it simply a question of ensuring the right mix of skills and that all the members of the group co-operate with each other or is this an over-simplification?”, one must note that there are many truths to this question. While it is very important that the right skills are present and that group members work together and cooperate, there are also many other components which must be present for a group to work as a holistic entity. Thus, from this perspective it is imperative a group leader emerge in order to direct the group and work towards the completion of a final product. Following this, it is essential that meetings be held and that planning does occur. One could say that organization is equally important, if not more so, than ensuring that each group member brings the requisite set of skills to the table. From this perspective, organization, planning and structure are very important to the successful implementation of a group project and without these important factors, the success of the group project may be in doubt. BIBLIOGRAPHY French, Robert. Group relations, management, and organization. London: Oxford University Press, 1999. Read More