week 8-14 Question #3

I really enjoyed learning about the three characteristics of a leader in Chapter 13. I think this is a very important concept to learn since we are always choosing leaders for different things on a daily basis. If we can train our selves to recognize the three characteristics we will be better at choosing more successful leaders in the future. The three characteristics are Vision, Credibility, and Communication Competence. Vision, as our book states, a leader must do more then simply conduct meetings and control agendas, they must have the ability to hold onto an overall vision while moving a group through the process necessary to achieve that vision. Keeping the goal in sight, while keeping the group on tack toward accomplishing it is a difficult task that the leader much be able to do. Credibility, effective leadership depends on the group’s willingness to follow, which is based on the group’s perception of the leader’s abilities and credibility. This shows that vision with out credibility may prevent the most insightful and creative leader from being effective. Finally Communication Competence, a leader must be able to translate their knowledge, skills, and situationally appropriate behavior to group members in ways they can understand and trust. All three of these characteristics are very important to look at when choosing a leader and help us to recognize leaders in people also. I really enjoyed this concept.

week 8-14 Question #2

I have learned a lot of things regarding how groups conduct themselves and the skills needed for different members are parts of the group. I really enjoyed participating in the discussions each week and reading other members posts. I also liked that I could get feed back from other group members on my own posts. I enjoyed learning about the different types of small group presentations formats along with the styles of conflicts management. I didn’t like that we had to wait 12 hours between each post. Because of this I missed some by just a few minutes since I didn’t let exactly 12hours but 11.50 hours or something. When I start writing I don’t stop and its easy for me to write all three posts at once and often times I can’t get to the computer to post my pre written postings in the allotted time. That was the biggest and most frustrating thing to be with the class, since I wasn’t sure why we had to wait in the first place. But other then that I enjoyed this class and don’t have any ideas for improvement.

May 8-14 Question #1

I enjoyed going to the meetings for my group observation project. I went to an engineering club’s meeting and learned a lot about engineers in general. I did feel a little like I was intruding on their space some times, but other then that I thought this was a great project to help us learn about other types of groups and organization we would have other wise never known. I learned that most groups follow the parliamentary procedures when conducting a meeting. I also learned that it is almost impossible for a group to conduct itself without establishing a leader. I think the best thing about the project was going to groups that you wouldn’t usually be a part of. I don’t think their needs to be any modifications since this project was a great way for us to go out into the community and apply the skills we have been discussing in this class and see how they are used in the community around us.

chapter 12~ Question #2

An example I’ve experienced using collaborative conflict has to do with my sorority, once again. We have an annual budget and we are all responsible for paying for our monthly dues so that the house and each member are able to run and be involved as much as possible. Deciding on the final budget takes a lot of time, energy, and commitment on all ends of our house, from our national head quarters to our advisors to us as individual members. Girls who live in the house pay different then those out and also use different amenities more then those living out, but we all have a key. It takes us many weeks and many meetings to decide where all our money is going to go and how we are going to dispense it into our certain positions, like social chair or philanthropy (who are in charge of our fundraiser and all our events we do on and outside of campus) we also have alumnae brunches and lots of reimbursements do individual girls who buy new microwaves or curtains for the house. We must also consider the current economic changes and how that will also affect our budget and spending. After several weeks of voting and fixing and sending to headquaters and fixing again we are able to finalize our vote for the annual budget, but only after a lot of hard work on all ends. Also some girls may not feel we need $600 dollars for two dances when we can pinch pennies and put that towards more fundraisers for arthritis research. So in the end we are all satisfied with the results since we were all able to vote and put in input.

In comparison with collaborative conflict resolution, my sorority often has times where competitive conflict resolution comes into play. For example if a girl wants to run for a position in the house, she is asked to fill out a pref sheet which outlines what she will do in the position and her goals for the year, so we can see if she may or may not be suitable for the job based on individual feelings towards what she wants to do with the position. Then we get down to voting and (let’s just say three girls are going up against one another for the spot) those 3 ladies will be asked to leave the room and the chapter then opens discussion on each individual lady with 3 pros and 3 cons (but always ending on a pro) sometimes no one gets any cons and sometimes no one gets any pros, but this way we are all able to find out a little more and make a better decision. But for the 3 girls running they don’t have any say and either win or lose the position. Everyone votes including the 3 ladies, but there isn’t much room for a girl to state her case if there was a really bad con, like constantly missing class.

I was definitely and still am more satisfied with collaborative, yes it takes more time and energy, but I feel there aren’t as many conflicts that can be caused by using this methods as their could be with competitive. Also all parties end up satisfied (most the time) unlike competitive.

chapter 11~ Question #1

Forum is when a full audience participate in a discussion by making short speeches, one at a time in an orderly fashion with one person as moderator. Another way to go about a forum is to have individuals line up in front of a microphone and have the moderator cut them off at the set time limits. A Panel consists of 4-8 people who are in front of an audience. The moderators job in this type of public presentation is to start the meeting, introduce speakers, keep time, and summarize positions. A Colloquium is made up of a slightly smaller group, 3-6 individuals who are picked for their different views. The audience helps to identify, develop, and work through the problem with their participation. In this type of discussion the moderator is to help encourage the audience to participate by welcoming questions and comments and making sure the discussion stays on the correct path. Finally Symposium, a series of 2-6 short speeches discussing the issues behind the problem. Speakers are experts and present prepared and practiced presentations going over complex technical information with the audience. The audience doesn’t interrupt and the speakers are usually well practiced professionals on the subject.

I would prefer the Colloquium method of public presentation, because it is more structured and organize then a forum and panel and you get to hear different views from different types of people on the matter. This allows the audience to see more sides and angles to the problem and possible solutions and so their final decision can be better thought out.

chapter 10~ Question #3

I really liked the concept of openness discussed in this chapter. It is very true that most people are their own worst enemy when it comes to creativity. When a groups discuss and uses this concept then their creativity can grow so much more. People have emotional and safety concerns and are often worried about being shut down or possibly laughed at. When working in a group if all members acknowledge each others ideas or concepts they come up with as if it could be a real possibly solution and not just shut them down or say something along the line of that’s wrong or lame or so on then group members won’t feel uncomfortable throwing out ideas and the brand storming process can sore to even high heights and become more successful then when they were only listening to ideas inside the box. This will also work in the classroom. Teachers often say there is no wrong answer yet students still giggle sometimes or smirk when a wrong answer is thrown out. But I’ve noticed in classes where all answers really are analyzed, out discussions can get so much deeper and we learn much more as a class.

chapter 10~ Question #2

Requirement for conformity, expectation of practicality, expected arenas proofs, reliance on statistical proofs, dependence on generalizations are some creative barriers organizations and individuals must over come. These can all keep groups from being creative because they all restrict creativity by trying to keep you in one train of thought rather then thinking out side the box. I often experience many of these when working in groups and it isn’t always the group’s fault or even one individuals. Society and taught us to think in a certain way and to and we get into habits or routines and get stuck in them which doesn’t leave any room to grow our creativity. I like how the book talked about bringing people together with different skills, ideas, and values in organizations rather then having a group or work environment with similar people who have similar skills and values. By mixing it up a bit with a variety of people who have a variety of skills, groups can come up with new ideas more easily and break traditional frames of thinking.