The Fifty-fifty Rule and the Eight Key Principles of Motivating Others - Case Study Example

Field Work Report Introduction This was a field trip to Mount Cotton Scout Camp. The trip was aimed at getting a practical experience of the varioustheories that were taught by the lecturer. The day began by assembling at the meeting point. The class was divided into 4 groups and each group choose two group leaders; one for Saturday and the other for Sunday. The lecturer was the project owner. Once at the field, safety issues were emphasized by the project owner before any formal activity started. After the safety talk, introductions were made and the group leaders welcomed their members to their sites. Everything was made clear to each member. The protocols to be followed in case of a problem were laid down. Information was given on the areas that could be accessed and those which could not be accessed. Everyone was informed of the consequences that would follow if they broke the rules and guidelines given. At the end of the exercise, everyone was expected to have learnt something. Group Activities There were four groups and each group was expected to do some activities and complete them. The order of activities was outlined in the project manual. The project manual contained the instructions to be followed, purpose of each activity and the time to finish the activity. With each activity, tools that were to be used were provided. Success of any activity was to be achieved by strict adherence to the instructions given. The activities done during the trip were: pontoon/raft ride, the elixir of life, self supporting bridge, object retrieval, a puzzling situation, the bolt problem, force field tunnel, amazons, Smithsonian bridge and pole apparatus. Scope of the Field Report During the field trip, several things came into light and they are; team work, communication, co-operation, leadership and culture. Each item will be analyzed in this report and theories will be linked to each item. Teamwork and Group Thinking For any group to succeed there must be teamwork. “A team is a group of people working together to achieve a common purpose for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (Scholtes, Joiner and Streibel 2003, p.2). A team is therefore made up of the leader and team members. The leader gives direction to be followed by the team members. Our group consisted of five members and our team leader was Negin. The main purpose of any team is to achieve or accomplish the goals set. Our main purpose as a group was to achieve something at the end and we actually did. For example, the group made sure that we made a strong self support bridge. One important thing in teamwork is the maintenance of trust among team members. When trust lacks in a team, performance becomes poor because all the energy and mental concentration are diverted. Communication becomes impossible and the whole group losses focus. A team built on trust is able to work together towards achieving its goals or objectives (Larson and LaFasto 1998, p.88). Since our team was composed of people of diverse backgrounds some of whom we barely really associated with previously, developing trust for one another was at first a great problem. However, this barrier was gradually broken as we got to associate more closely and with the intervention of Negin. As a team we made decisions and strategies, allocated duties and united in their accomplishments. All the activities we did as group were based on mutual understanding and trust. The group leader was focused and was clear in making sure that we understood the team’s goals. She constantly ensured that we remained focused with what we were doing and gave directions on what we were supposed to do as suggested by West (2004, p.65). Groupthink showed its face in our operations. Most of the suggestions and decisions made by one or two members of the team were widely accepted as the team’s position. For example, when we were to build a structure to be used for crossing over the chasm, one group member suggested that the group members specialize in performing specific tasks. This was widely accepted without opposition and some of us were assigned the task of issuing equipment while others actually did the positioning and fastening. Working as a team proved more fruitful than working as individuals. More was achieved through team work within a very short time. We were able to understand each other; and we were able to know the strengths and weaknesses of each individual. This gave us a good chance to strengthen the weakest link in the team. A weak link in the team is detrimental to its success (Maxwell 2009, p.91). In other words, a weak link does not unite the group. It slows down the efforts of all the members and makes their work difficult. Identifying such a link helps the group to re-strategize their plans. How a group thinks is very important if it has to realize or achieve its goal. Groupthink leads usually to more efficiency when people work as a team. Collective individual thinking increases the accuracy of judgments or decisions made in a group. According to Shaffer (p.363), there are some cases where an individual holds to the same incorrect answer, it is probable the group is likely to follow the same. Diversity in our abilities was well manifested during our activities. At least each member knew something that we did not know and this helped our group thinking, for example, one member of our group had some experience in navy and this was very helpful when we had to deal with ropes. Communication In order to pass information from one person to another, there is need to communicate. Communication may be verbal or non-verbal. According to Britton (2001 p.2), communication is a social relation in which one person communicates with another. Without communication none of the group’s activities could have been accomplished. The group consisted of people from different cultural diversities. We had therefore to appreciate inter-cultural communication in its true sense in as we worked together. Group leaders and the members are all important in group communication. Even the peripheral members are important because they sometimes have a strong relationship with other groups (Rosengren 2000, p.95). When constructing the self supporting bridge, we had to talk to one another as we passed instructions and asked for equipment to beat time. Communication was to some level hampered by people’s different accents and cultural norms that were foreign to some of us. In effect, inter-group communication is enhanced. Good intra-group communication was replicated in inter-group communication when activities involving efforts of all the groups were done. One key thing during the field trip was the use of non-verbal communication. Cultures have different ways of expressing their satisfaction or dissatisfaction through non-verbal means. Gestures and the length of eye contact are some of the things that can bring misunderstandings across cultures (Esposito 2007, p.86). During the exercise, we got to learn that understanding how other cultures communicate was very vital. Co-operation A group that is united becomes very difficult to break. For such a group, co-operation is very important. Cooperation means working together to achieve a certain goal or task. An individual needs another to complete a certain task such as building a foot bridge. One of the activities that we did as a group was to build a bridge. Each one of us needed the other to build a strong bridge within the shortest time possible. When someone needed a piece of equipment, he/she would ask call the name of the equipment and the free members of the team would cooperate in looking for it and providing it without wasting time. According to Tuomela (2000, p.6), it was important to take into account of other people when acting as this was vital in creating dependence that is needed by cooperation. Without the cooperation from each member, the bridge could have not been built or else a weak bridge could have been built. In a group, cooperation is not all about competition but engaging actively in activities that will help the group to be successful and effective. Some members of the group were quick to do many of the activities on their own; this defeated the purpose of working as a group. This was evident during the elixir of life activity. However, the team leader was quick to correct these mistakes. In a group an individual is urged to put his or her concerns aside and act on behalf of the group (Tyler and Blader 2000, p.3). In other words, no matter what makes unique or different be it religion or culture, we had to put them aside for the common good of the group. Everyone worked for the achievement of the group’s goals. There are two types of cooperative behavior; mandatory cooperative behavior and discretional cooperative behavior. In mandatory cooperative behavior, individuals act in response to what is dictated in the group norms or rules. Rules or norms guide the behavior of the group. The source of the behavior is external that is group rules. In discretional cooperative behavior, individuals engage in behavior that is not dictated by the group norms or rules. The source of the behavior is internal that is the behavior is from within the group, for example, if you find something misplaced, it is common for most people to find the owner or put it where it can be seen (Tyler and Blader 2000, p.4). Some members of the group showed this type of cooperation, they placed certain items where they were supposed to be. In firm groups cooperation is strongly increased. In other words, cooperation is stronger in groups that are well established. In the absence of communication, cooperation in a group is very fragile. Communication is important especially when one has to give instructions on what to be done next. If that lacks tension and animosity is most likely to occur. This will disintegrate the group and in effect, the group’s goals will not be achieved. Maintaining cooperation is not an easy task even in stable groups (Kappeler and Schaik 2006, p.300). Leadership A strong leadership is very vital if a group wants to achieve its goal or succeed. Leadership is a process that involves influencing a group of individuals towards achieving a common goal. When influence lacks, leadership does not exist according to Northouse and Northouse (2009, p.3). The group’s goals are only achievable when the leader is able to influence others towards achieving that goal. This was very evident during the field trip. Our group leader was a lady from Iran called Negin.The group leader could influence the rest to do what was required. Another key thing was the behavior of the group leader; every activity that was scheduled to our group, the group leader actively participated in them. The group leader did not give instructions alone but she gave instructions and followed them. The group leader’s active participation in the group’s activities gave the group members a different perception of the group leader. It is vital for a leader to get a good perception from the followers. “People’s preconceptions of leader’s traits, abilities and behaviors are referred to as implicit leadership theories (ILTs) and often include qualities such as dominance, determination, intelligence, honesty and humor” (Marturano and Gosling 2007, p.92). The group leader showed these characteristics and she was able to get a good perception from the rest of the team members. The group was able to achieve most of the goals that were set. According to Adair (2007), a good leader motivates his/her followers. Negin actively cheered the team and gave instructions that were geared toward the group’s success. Whenever someone made a mistake like was in the case of loss of contact with pontoons while crossing the river, she did not seek to blame individuals but rather encouraged us to work as a team and do our best. By doing this, the group remained united and we pulled together our energies in motivation to achieve our goals. It is most likely that what the leader does is replicated in the whole group. For example, when the leader is anxious, reluctant or dependent the same thing is replicated in the group (Clark 2003, p.143). Such a behavior was evident when the group was doing its activities. What the leader did, in most cases the members of the group did the same. I came to understand that whatever a leader does has a lot of influence on how his or her followers will do or their behaviors. If a leader fails to influence the group, it is most probable that the group will fall apart. From the activities that we saw our team leader do and the way she handled the group, it could be said that she is a participative or democratic leader. This is so because she listened to everyone’s views, participated in group activities, and maintained her responsibility as the head as noted by Nwlink (2010). After discussing and issuing our views, she would give direction considering what had been said and agreed on. Culture The group members were from different nationalities; the group leader was from Iran, the other group members were from Australia, India, China, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. A culture can be defined by the following four points. It is a human feature; it is not the same as the animals in the world. It is distinct because others species use the same set of rules for interaction. Culture is a group phenomenon; it is closely associated to a particular society or people and it distinguishes one society or people from another. “Culture is something we have in common with some people and not with others” (Laroche 2003, p.2). This means that every culture has one thing that is not common with the other cultures. Culture is inherited; it is transferred from one generation to another through art, stories, tales, movies, novels and education. Children learn a lot from what the adults do and this is what they inherit. According to Laroche (2003, p.2), “Culture specifies a range of attitudes and behaviors that are considered acceptable in specific situations.” This means that behaviors and specific reactions of certain cultures are based on their thoughts and feelings. I found it difficult to talk or do any task with a woman because that is not acceptable in Saudi Arabia unless she is a close relative. However, I managed to work but on a low performance rate. Understanding other cultures is quite difficult because one has to know the nature of the beliefs and things such as customs and their institutions. The other thing that makes it difficult is the intensity of changes that we must undergo in order to claim that we have the other cultures (Hanson 2004, p.47). Understanding each individual’s cultural values was tasking. There are three things one must accomplish to get an understanding of other cultures. They include the following: understanding specific cultural information about other cultures, understanding one’s culture and understanding how culturally different individuals perceive us and our cultural patterns (Ferraro 2006, p.22). Some of the members within the group were conversant with other cultures. This made interaction between the members very easy. The group members were of different cultural diversities. The groups’ members consisted of the native students and international students. During various activities, some members of the group were reluctant to do some things because of their cultural upbringing. Like some women found it a bit difficult to work near men in certain ways because their cultures dictate that one should not interact in certain ways. By the end of the day, everyone appreciated the impact of culture in group activities. Conclusion and Recommendations Throughout the field trip, many things came into limelight. Because we were a mixture of different cultures, it was important to understand and tolerant each other. We may be different but one thing can unite all of us, an example is the activities we did. Despite our differences we were able to achieve more. Those cultural diversity lessons and experiences can be summarized in one sentence “unity in diversity”. Some of the theories learnt during the lectures became practical in these sessions. It is not always enough to learn some things in class, doing them practically gives us a better idea of the concepts learned. This may not be applicable to all things learnt. At the end of the trip, I had learned so many things and I will focus on applying them when interacting with others. I have come to appreciate the importance of each and everyone. For example, group activities are not about out doing each other (competition) but the main focus should be achieving the set goals. We had a wonderful time out of class. It was a great honor to interact with the lecturer in outdoor activities and I understand this was a good idea for us the students and the lecturer to put class work into action. Such a trip is important in enhancing and strengthening an individual’s skills in relationships, leadership, communication and teamwork. Mistakes that we often do and ignore can be corrected in such forums. From the lessons learnt, such an activity is important to any person. A lot can be learnt and applied in real life because the activities that were done focused on how human beings interact and respond to different situations. References Adair J. (2007) Leadership and motivation: The fifty-fifty rule and the eight key principles of motivating others. Kogan Page Publishers. Britton, K. (2001) Communication: A philosophical study of language. London: Routledge. Clark, C. C. (2003) Group leadership skills. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Esposito, A. (2007) Fundamentals of verbal and nonverbal communication and the biometric issue. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Ferraro. (2006) Cultural anthropology: An applied perspective. Cengage Learning. Hanson, F. A. (2004) Meaning in culture. London: Routledge. Kappeler, P. M. & Schaik, C. P. (2006) Cooperation in primates and humans: Mechanisms and evolution. Springer. Laroche, L. (2003) Managing cultural diversity in technical professions. Butterworth-Heinemann. Larson, C. E. & LaFasto, F. M. J. (1998) Teamwork: What must go right, what can go wrong. SAGE. Marturano, A. & Gosling, J. (2007) Leadership: The key concepts. New York: Routledge. Maxwell, J. C. (2009) Teamwork 101: What every leader needs to know. Thomas Nelson Inc. Northouse, P. G. & Northouse, P. G. (2009) Leadership: Theory and practice. California: SAGE Publications Inc. Nwlink (2010) Leadership Styles. Viewed 24th October, 2010 http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/leadstl.html Rosengren, K. E. (2000) Communication: An introduction. London: SAGE. Scholtes, P. R., Joiner, B. L. & Streibel, B. J. (2003) The team handbook. Oriel Incorporated. Shaffer, L. F. (2007) Psychology. READ BOOKS. Tuomela, R. (2000) Cooperation: A philosophical study. Springer. Tyler, T. R. & Blader, S. L. (2000) Cooperation in groups: Procedural justice, social identity, and behavioral engagement. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. West, M. A. (2004) Effective teamwork: Practical lessons from organizational research. Wiley-Blackwell. Read More