Everest Simulation Experience - Case Study Example

Everest Simulation Name: Course: Institution: Tutor: A Report on Everest Simulation Experience Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to explain how I used my leadership and personality skills to contribute to realization of my team’s common gaols. The report is particularly based on three important aspects: attitudes, perception and personality; power and conflicts and communication. In running the simulation, the greatest challenge related to how we could align different individual goals and objectives so as to maximise desired outcomes. Consequently, the simulation proved to be a steady trade-off between group objectives and personal goals. An important lesson I learnt from the simulation is that it is important to know and understand each other’s personality and ways of thinking. My ability to read other people’s minds helped me discern when group members diverted to their personal goals and when they followed group goals. This skill proved very useful in the simulation and helped us get to higher levels. Another important lesson that I learnt is that teamwork is crucial for the success of any group endeavour. It is important to understand each other and to have the desire to help each other for the common good of the team. Table of Contents Everest Simulation 1 Name: 1 Course: 1 Institution: 1 Tutor: 1 1 Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Analysis of Experiences and Results of the Everest Simulation 5 i.Simulation Arrangements 5 ii.Reflection on Attitudes, Perception and Personality 6 iii.Reflection on Power, Conflicts and Communication 8 Conclusion 11 Introduction Everest simulation as a tool for simulating real life situations that require critical decision making, focused leadership and sacrificing of self-interests for the common good of the whole. The simulation challenges teams with real life situations which provide powerful learning experiences. This technique can be used organizations to build and maintain high performance teams capable of withstanding uncertainties and turbulent business cycles. As such, this simulation is a critical requirement in any organization. The primary objective of this utility is to help individuals come together as a team and develop common and viable solutions for various problems and challenges facing their organizations. This reflection also assists in reflecting and improving various skills gained during stimulation including attitude, perception and personality. There arise various types of conflicts, powers struggles and communication breakdowns during the simulation. These enables we to learn and even gain knowledge and skills concerning the same experiences skills hence improved capabilities under all working environments. This will play a significant role in ensuring that i gain knowledge on power controls, attitudes control and perception among others. Communication skills will also be improved significantly from the experience gained from stimulation. Analysis of Experiences and Results of the Everest Simulation i. Simulation Arrangements The Everest was very useful and an enjoyable experience. It was enjoyable in the sense that climbing the Everest was an amusing and entertaining experience that required everybody to pay attention to every move they take, act genuinely and have a good time in doing it. It was useful because we had to learn to deal with people we did not know much about initially. Since we were new to each other, we had to develop good interpersonal skills as well as problem solving and decision making skills in order to progress as a team and individually (Leoni et al, 2001). In our simulation, we were a team of six members and each one of us had a different role to play: Thanh (team leader); Allan (physician); Jiajia (photographer); Jordan (marathoner); Constantino and I as the observer. As we set off from Camp 1, we made sure that everyone was in good health. We were all physically strong except Jordan whose average health was relatively weak. When we got to Camp 2, Jordan’s health had deteriorated so badly, that we had to make a critical decision on how to save her life. Allan, the group physician offered Jordan a Gamow bag to use as we moved on to Camp 3. By the time we reached camp 3, most of us were succumbing to the harsh conditions of the mountain climate. Jordan’s health did not improve and, therefore, she had to give up one point, otherwise she could have died. As we set out for camp 4, Allan’s health was deteriorating fast. We realised that we had to suddenly end our journey at Camp 4 because Constantino and Jordan were having severe attitude sicknesses, having used all their oxygen. Therefore, they had to be returned to the base camp and this marked the end of our journey. Before we began climbing the mountain (simulation), everyone had their individual goals and this compelled us to discuss group goals and objectives of the simulation. We realised that some of the individual goals were so incompatible that some members had to give up their goals for the sake of group unity and pursuance of common objectives. For instance, Jiajia had to give up an extra point because she could not stay in the mountain for two days in order to get to her preferred point. The ultimate goal of our group was to get to the highest point as possible. In fact, we aimed at reaching Camp Five, which is the last place and, therefore, our major challenge was to keep everybody alive up to this point. ii. Reflection on Attitudes, Perception and Personality The challenges that we faced when climbing the Everest have a lot of relevance and are directly related to the personality problems that are encountered daily in the workplace. In the workplace, managers, leaders and junior staff have to deal with different sorts of issues (Michael, 2004). Entrepreneurs have to deal with a plethora of problems when starting their business. Some of these problems include lack of enough capital for start up or expansion of the business. In large organizations, managers are faced with lots of problems such as ineffective of business strategies, reduced employee morale and motivation, competition from rival firms and uncertainties in the market environment. These challenges and problems present undesired situations which must be dealt with effectively and in the right time in order to ensure smooth growth and success of the business. In his book, Chad (2009) has asserted that personality and communication problems experienced in organizations and the workplace present opportunities for organizations and their managers to address their weaknesses, threats, opportunities and strengths. When an organization is aware of its internal weaknesses and external threats, it can implement strategies for encountering the adverse effects of those weaknesses and threats. Similarly, when an organization has adequate knowledge of its key strengths and available opportunities in the market environment, the organization can develop a mechanism for reaping the benefits presented by those strengths and opportunities. In our simulation, we knew were going to a high altitude and very cold place. Accordingly, we took appropriate precautionary measures in advance which included carrying oxygen canisters, wearing warm clothing and first aid equipment. This made the experience of our team a great one. Our simulation was well designed and thoughtful and this underscores the importance of adequate preparation and planning in business. We could connect with each other freely to achieve the team goals and despite the harsh conditions at the mountain we managed to climb to the fourth stage. Although no one reached the summit, reaching Camp Four was such a massive achievement considering that some team members started developing complications as early as the first stage. Through the simulation, I realised that it is important to know and understand each other’s personality traits and ways of thinking. When one has the ability to read other people’s minds, it is easy to know when they are working according to the group goals and when they are concerned with their own individual goals (Byham, Smith & Paese, 2000). This skill proved to be very much useful during the simulation. In addition to taking part in the group simulation as a group member, everybody was also a solution to particular problems. Although we had a leader, we all had to decide and agree on the course of action that we had to take. While it is true that each one of us could occasionally come up with different opinion, it was imperative to make negotiations and reach a common ground. Without this, we could not have made it to the higher grounds as we did. In their book, Katzenbach and Smith, (2003) have explained that effective teamwork requires close collaboration and understanding of each other’s feelings and emotions. In climbing the Everest, this was the only way to go. iii. Reflection on Power, Conflicts and Communication As I have already noted, we had individual goals and scores that we wished to achieve and hence we were working in a very competitive atmosphere. As such, conflicts, powers struggles and communication breakdowns were bound to arise as we ran the simulation. At times, individual goals were major obstacles to the goals of other team members. A keen sense of decision making was the most important attribute that had practical utility in our group. Occasionally, we could be forced to make decision in a very short duration, like when some group members ran out of oxygen. In this case, effective and rapid decision making was fundamental to life saving. Otherwise, some members could have perished on the mountain (Carl, 2002). The greatest problem we encountered in running the simulation is that we had to make many trade-offs because members had numerous opposing interests and views. For instance, when we were at Camp 2, Jordan wanted to return to the base camp. Some members supported her but others objected. This was in fact the greatest challenge. Our team leader reminded us that if we allowed one member to drop out of the group at a time, no one could get to the top. The logic here was that our unity as a team was the strength of the group (Rucci, 2002). Although we had varying capabilities for withstanding the mountain’s extreme weather, each one of us had a special role to play. For instance, we could not move forward without the focussed guidance of our team leader. Nor could we make it to the extreme heights without the physician. In a way, the Everest methodology simulated lost of real life situations because everybody had to work with other people in order to achieve individual or group goals. In the workplace for instance, organizational objectives can only be achieved when individual employees and functional departments work together as a unit to overcome conflicts and undesired power distances. Without this collaboration, it can be quite difficult for any of the organization’s strategic goals to be achieved (Lawrence and Marcia, 2002). Through the simulation, I also learnt that working with a team and working as a team are different concepts. This distinction is, in fact, the biggest lesson that I learnt from the simulation. Basically, a team may refer to a group of people pursuing a common goal, although each member may have different roles to play. Here, the idea of different parts joining together to form a whole is analogous to individual personalities, weakness, strengths and emotions that each member brings to the team. In our team, the leader blended easily with the roles of other team members. He was very much influential and effective because he assumed his position with a strategic vision and took an aggressive approach in guiding the group to the summit (Byham, Smith & Paese, 2000). The team leader clearly explained the overall group strategy, gave concrete instructions and coordinated the roles of various group members. In addition, the team leader did a good job of listening to the demands and opinions of every member and it was rare for him to decide on behalf of the group. Essentially, being a leader is such a big responsibility. This is because the leader must guide team members in making critical decisions and at times, the leader’s expectations supersede those of other members (Kimberly and Hooijberg, 2005). As we climbed the mountain, I made it my responsibility to develop good communication and listening skills. As a result, I become very conscious about the importance of reporting relationships and functional roles in team work. I got the feeling that that although the leader should do much of the talking in a group, leading is more of a directive process and therefore, a leader should encourage others to speak. This consideration resonates well with Gregory and Picken (2003) view who notes that a leader should not maximise on his or her contribution but should motivate other people to put in their contributions and best inputs. This can however be a very big challenge because a leader has to establish as a higher authority in the team so that he can win the respect and confidence of other members (Wing, Schutte & Byrne, 2006). Throughout the simulation, our leader maintained a steady focus on the team’s common goals. Despite opposition from some team members, most of the goals were achieved within the set parameters of the simulation. As regards organizational management, the Everest simulation gives lots of lesson for today’s business managers. The most important thing that managers need to have is a strategy for sustaining their businesses in order to achieve set objectives. According to Bailie and Ekermans (2006), strategy is the combination of planning, foresight and decision making which prepares an enterprise to achieve long term goals and manage the consequences of its contemporary decisions. A lesson we all learnt is that one needs to carefully identify long term and short term objectives and align them to the organization’s strategic vision. This requires the development of a strategic plan. As an example, if the CEO wants to establish a strong competitive position for his company but cares less about profits in the short term, a possible strategy would be to keep prices low. In order to arrive at specific objectives, managers must analyse external and internal environments. External market analysis is usually done at a higher cost because of the unpredictable nature of the market environment and because a lot of information needs to be gathered and analysed. Moreover, external data might not be readily available and it may take a lot of time to collect. On the other hand, data about internal environment can be obtained at a fraction of the cost because it is readily available (Michael, 2004). Consensuses, negotiations and compromises are important trade-offs that are required when running the simulation. As we set out to climb the mountain, we all had different personal objectives but it was necessary for us to harmonise those objective for the common good of the group. This proved beneficial to everybody because no single person could have made it to the top without the support and encouragement of others. In generally, our team’s experience was good because it enabled us to know and understand each other better and connect with each other in order to achieve the goals of the team. Conclusion Everest simulation is an interesting experience which teaches many lessons about real life problems and how they can be resolved. The simulation taught us about the importance of team work, good interpersonal skills and the importance of focussed leadership. The difficulties encountered in climbing the Everest compelled us to develop a common objective to guide us as a team, alongside our personal objectives. In the workplace, having common objectives is important and essential for organizational growth and success. Our simulation was thoughtfully designed and although we found ourselves in different health condition, we knew hat decision we had to take in order to continue with the journey. Regarding the dilemma of personal versus goals, it was easy to reach compromise because everybody in the team was determined to reach the highest point as possible. References Bailie, K. and Ekermans, G 2006, An exploration of the utility of a self-report emotional intelligence measure, E-Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 2, p. 3-11. Byham, W. C., Smith, A & Paese, M 2000, Grow your own leaders: Acceleration pools: a new method of succession management. Pittsburgh, PA: DDI Press. Carl, E 2002, Teamwork: what must go right, what can go wrong, Ottawa, AGE. Chad, B 2009, Teamwork: The Heart and Soul in Sports, New York, Gospel Light Gregory, D. and Picken, J 2003, “Changing Roles: Leadership in the 21st Century,” Organizational Dynamics, Winter. Katzenbach, J and Smith, D 2003, The wisdom of teams: Creating the high performance workplace organization., Boston, Mass, Harvard Business School Press. 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