A personal thank you

I would like to personally thank everyone for contributing to my blog.  I have enjoyed working with you all in this class.  I wish you all the best.

Debra Morgan

Five Stages of working with Groups

Are high-performing groups hardest to leave? Groups with the clearest established norms? Which of the groups that you participated in was hardest to leave? Why?

High performing groups are the hardest to leave.  People enjoy working with others who share their vision and complete tasks successfully.  Also groups that establish norms impact people’s behavior.  They become accustomed to the groups and do not want to leave.  I worked with a group to develop the school float last year.  Everyone worked so well together that the group discussed future projects.  Since most of us work together as teachers, we were inspired by the collaboration of the group.  It was hard to leave because everyone was supportive, creative, and made the project very easy.  We had trust and good communication in the group, and it is hard to find that in other groups.

What sorts of closing rituals have you experienced or wish you had experienced?

 

When the group adjourned, the group held a small party to celebrate the success of the float.  A lot of hard work went into the project, so the party was a way to wind down and say goodbye.

How do you imagine that you will adjourn from the group of colleagues you have formed while working on your master's degree in this program?

 

The scholars in my class have become common names over the year.  Working with them in the discussion helps me to learn course concepts.  As a result, I will miss them when the program is over.  Therefore, I hope to meet some of them at graduate so that we can adjourn properly.

Why is adjourning an essential stage of teamwork?

Adjourning “provides the team the opportunity to say good-bye to each other, and it is likely that high performing teams will keep in touch with each other as they have become a very close knit group” (Abudi, 2010).  Adjourning is important because it gives the team the ability to finalize the project and to move on to other projects.  This is an important stage because it is not the end of the team; instead, it is the beginning of new things.  Teams do not have to stay together once the project is done; therefore, they have to adjourn properly.  This can include a celebration, a party, or a recognition ceremony.

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Handling conflict

Handling conflict

The current conflict in my organization has been between the teachers and the administrators. Due to budget cuts, teachers are required to ride the buses in the evening.  Teachers argue that this is outside of their job description; however, administrators support that the changes are required.  The teachers are riding the buses; however, they feel that they should receive more compensation for the extra duties. 

The best way to resolve this conflict is through compromise.  However, the administrators and the executive director have all the power.  In order to create an effective conflict resolution strategy, the power has to be equalized, giving teachers a say in the matter.  When power is equalized “participants may bring different amounts of power into a situation. As long as both are interested in negotiating a solution, power is essentially equalized” (Billikopf, 2009).  Therefore, teachers will be able to compromise when they are given an equal say in the situation.  Otherwise, the conflict will continue.

 Nonviolent communication can also benefit the situation.  Instead of forcing changes on teachers, administrators can do a better job of explaining why the changes are needed.

As a result, “NVC also assumes that we all share the same, basic human needs, and that each of our actions are a strategy to meet one or more of these needs” (The Center for Nonviolent Communication, n.d.).  Since teachers want to make more money for what they are doing and administrators need to meet budgets, the two parties can come to an understanding by using nonviolent communication.  Therefore, I believe that clearly explaining how these changes benefit all parties will receive a better response from the teachers.

 

References

Billikopf, G. (2009, August). Conflict management skills. Retrieved from http://cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/13.htm

The Center for Nonviolent Communication. (n.d.). The center for nonviolent communication. Retrieved from http://www.cnvc.org/