Group Projects Importance on My Future Career - Coursework Example

Individual Reflective Report Student’s Name Course Tutor’s Name Date Reflective Report: Introduction According to Dewey (1933, p. 118), reflective thought is the process that involves an “active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusions to which it ends”. According to Dewey, reflection can be based on a solution; a perplexity, challenge or difficulty; an idea; or an imaginative action. In this essay, I will reflect on a group project which I participated in as part of my learning. The reflection will involve recalling and/or detailing events and experiences; connecting the experiences with my feelings; and evaluating the experience based on existing knowledge and the group’s objectives. Participation in a group project is not only rewarding, but also full of learning experiences. In the group project that I participated in, I got to understand the importance of clearly stating the objectives of the project, planning, assessing risks, and most of all, having a fall-back plan should any of the identified risks occur. Among the advantages of working within a group is that my colleagues and I got an opportunity to work as a team, albeit for a specific period. From the team project, the importance of task allocation and cooperation among members was underscored. As the project planning phase took off, the importance of effective communication also emerged; group members had to accommodate each other’s opinions. In short, there was compromise and negotiations took place during the project, and this led to an effectively functioning group since the objectives were discussed and agreed upon by all (or a majority) of group members. Individual contributions My individual contributions to the project involved choosing the game that participants would have played (i.e. FIFA 2013 video game); conducting research on how well to conduct a group project; contacting the would-be beneficiary charity organisation, and arranging equipment. Most of the foregoing contributions were however done by several members of the group and as such, I just played a role (just like all other members of the group) in them. As will be indicated later in the individual grade I will award myself, members of a group often suffer a common fate as has been indicated by Forsyth (2006). The sharing of fate happens because for the sake of cooperation in the group, members agree to conduct things in a specified way. Additionally, group members are joined by the unity of purpose, and a failure to achieve such a purpose is applicable across the group. During the projects, there are factors that helped the delivery of the project, and others which hindered its delivery. Since we never held the project FIFA 13 tournament that we had been planning as an event to raise money for charity in favour of the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, it can be said that the factors that hindered project delivery won the day. Before delving into the reasons that led to the groups’ failure to realise the objective of raising money for charity, it is important to indicate the factors that helped the project progress up to a day prior to the planned FIFA 13 tournament. The first thing that helped the planning of the project most was the fact that group members agreed on the objectives and even wrote them. By writing the objectives, there was clarity among group members about what needed to be done; contradictory assumptions were removed; group members were able to discuss and indicate the practical and technical details of the project; and every group member was given a copy of the objectives, and the group member encouraged everyone to read the details therein and think about them some more. Through the aforementioned process, the group leader gave each member a chance to point out any contentious areas they thought needed improvement in order to avoid new ideas or second thoughts mid-way through the project. According to Blair (1997) engaging group members at the objective-making phase in the project is a defensive strategy that affords the group protection against change of ideas once the project has already started. The Prince 2 documents (discussed in detail below) also helped in the effective planning of the project since they helped group members decide on the framework to follow, the tasks to accomplish, and the manner in which to link such tasks. Appropriateness of the Prince 2 documents The appropriateness of the Prince 2 documents cannot be understated because, through project control, group members were able to come up with a timeline and a timescale, which made planning and timing easier. On its part, the product breakdown structure provided a simple and descriptive layout that made it easier for group members to identify and accomplish tasks within specified schedules. Since every group member had a clear understanding of the project, the work breakdown was especially essential since it described the project as easier separate activities. This made it easier to organise and manage the project. The importance of the work breakdown structure is underscored by Blair (1997, n.pag.), who indicates that “each level of the project can be understood as the amalgamation of a few simply described smaller units” since the human brain “can only take in and process so much information at one time”. In other words, the work breakdown structure makes it easier for individual group members to think about the project in pieces instead of trying to understand the complex project all at one time. The risk register was also very important, although in retrospect, group members would have done better in identifying proactive ways of handling emergent risks. The use of Microsoft Project was appropriate for accomplishing schedules within set schedules since it displayed the project’s plan and task again timeframes. Suggestions Looking back to the careful planning that took place, and the group’s inability to realise the project objectives because of the destruction of the hall where the event was supposed to take place, I would recommend that course developers need to emphasise the need to effectively handle risks some more. Notably, I do not think that there is anything that can be added to the course material that would be more effective than what is already there. However, it would appear (at least based on my experience in the project) that a lot more emphasis on when to avoid, accept, mitigate or transfer risks would benefit future students. In the context of the project I participated in, I now think that perhaps identifying an alternative venue would have been a better risk management strategy than accepting that the event would not take place because the initial venue was no longer fit for use. By using an alternative project venue, we would have succeeded in mitigating the risk posed by the unavailability of an event venue, and by so doing, would have avoided the disappointment that came about when the invited participants were told that the event had been cancelled. Satisfaction or lack thereof The group’s achievement in planning can only be gauged by whether or not the objectives of the project were met (Kuisma 2000). To this end, it can be argued that the group’s achievements were average. In spite of the event not happening as scheduled, the group had succeeded in creating significant awareness about the project and the Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, which it intended to support. The aforementioned was achieved through poster marketing, and although the event was cancelled, it is safe to say that more students are now aware about the would-be beneficiary hospital. The Smith Family (2013) indicates that organising a good charity event involves brainstorming, identifying a relevant cause, marketing the event, defining goals, identifying a budget and sticking to it, distinguishing the event from others, and engaging the community. If the aforementioned considerations are indeed true, the group was hence right in its approach to planning and organising the charity event. Generally however, I am disappointed by the fact that the ultimate achievement of the project’s objective would have been realised if we had actually held the event and raised funds for charity. Even more perturbing is the fact that an alternative venue had been considered at the risk identification phase, but the group never actually identified an alternative venue for the event. Admittedly, this is a shortcoming that every team member was responsible for. Nevertheless, the shortcomings on our part will serve as important lessons in future, especially now that every group member has learnt that no risk is too small. Additionally, every member of the group is now more aware of the need to act on identified risks in good time, because if we had proactively identified an alternative source, we would have had the opportunity to rearrange, and perhaps communicate the change of venue to all participants in good time. In relation to the management products achieved by the team, they were reflective of a great amount of teamwork, and even though the team did not actually get to fundraise for a charitable cause, team members can in my opinion claim to have benefited from the team experience. As Stein (2004, p. 3) indicates, group work “provides circumstance for the development of students”. True to Stein’s proposition, I got the impression that all team members not only developed educationally as a result of participating in the project, but also personally and socially. On a personal level, I am a more confident person and have more appreciation for group work as a learning strategy. I also found my stay in the university more rewarding and enjoyable during the duration of the project, something that I relate with the social benefits (networking, friends, and allies) attained during the project. As Kuisma (2007) observes, grading a group project is not an easy task. However, considering that all members equally contributed to the project, even the failure to identify and manage the risks presented by the unavailability of the venue should be shared equally among all members. On an incremental scale of 1-10 therefore, I would award myself 7 marks, just as I would all other members of my group because as indicated elsewhere in this essay, group members usually share the same fate (Forsyth 2006). The three deducted points are meant to account for the failure by group members to collectively manage the risks presented, which had been identified in the risk identification and planning phase. As indicated elsewhere in this essay, group members often share the same fate. Theoretically, a group is successful if: it accomplishes tasks and meets its objectives; maintains internal cohesion; and improves effectiveness by developing and adapting to different situations (Massallay 1990). While our group was able to achieve internal cohesion and adaptive capacity in the planning phases, it was unable to accomplish the final task (objective) of holding an income generating activity that would have benefited a charitable cause. Looking back now, I realise that my colleagues and I may have suffered from groupthink, hence our inability to appreciate the real magnitude of the risk posed by a last minute cancellation of the event venue. Group project’s importance on my future career In addition to learning the importance of proper project planning ad risk identification and planning, I also acquired further educational benefits which include: enhanced problem-solving skills; enhanced communication, listening and reasoning skills; enhanced attitudes when dealing with people; and leadership skills. I also learnt the importance of cooperation and its relevance in the professional/work environments. On the negative side however, I realised that it is hard to please or be pleased with everyone in the project. Some group members were too demanding, too talkative, or simply too uninvolved. The project leader however did a good job towards ensuring that everyone was equally responsible and involved in the project. In the end, I got the impression that even group members who were initially shy, uncooperative or argumentative, had borrowed into the group spirit that was more cooperative and tolerant. Personally, I also developed the ability to think through ideas, criticise and analyse them before presenting them to my colleagues. In other words, my involvement in the project made me more critical towards my ideas and work, and combined, all the aforementioned factors have shaped my understanding of group work; something will help me as I advance my career. Do things differently next time The Merriam Webster Dictionary (2013, n.pag.) defines groupthink as a “pattern of thought characterised by self-deception, forced manufacture of consent, and conformity to group values and ethics”. Based on the foregoing, and if I had a chance to do things differently, I would encourage members of the group to think independently and present their ideas for discussion rather than agree with everything presented to them without critiquing it first. As Massallay (1990, p. 45) observes, “The success of any group depends on the ability of its members to exchange ideas freely and to feel involved in the life and decisions of the group”. Although judging whether or not members felt involved in decision-making would be a hard thing to do, the groupthink mentality that appears to have pervaded our group seems to have jeopardised our chances of achieving the ultimate objective. This is all the more reason why I would encourage independent thinking among group members in future group work. If I had a chance to do things differently, I would further encourage group members to adopt an ongoing risk management strategy. I would specifically put emphasis on the need to have a risk response plan for each identified risks because my group’s shortcomings in the project was the result of inadequate risk response plans. Conclusion In conclusion, my participation in the project was full of learning opportunities. As a result, I now consider myself a better communicator, listener, team player, and leader. I am also able to handle differences in opinions better and this has clearly prepared me for diversity in the work environment. My role as a group member in the subject project has also enabled me to access educational benefits, which include better abilities to solve problems, handle diversity, reason, and appreciate other people’s opinions. Overall however, the biggest lesson that my involvement in the group project has afforded me is that I now understand the importance of proper project planning, and risk identification and response planning even more. From my engagements in the group project, and more so through writing this reflective essay, I have also realised that learning is a process whose theories take deeper meaning when put into practice. Without participating in a group project, readings about groups and team dynamics would probably have remained just that – theoretical readings. Now that I have had the chance to practice group work in a real-world setting, I get the impression that I have learnt lessons that will stick in my mind for a long time to come. Future participation in group work will hence be built upon the experience I have already accrued, and this may even make me a better contributor towards group strategies in future. Overall, it is safe to say that although our project did not work according to schedule, the group members benefitted immensely from the experiences of planning and organising the event. In other words, although we did not fundraise for charity, all was not lost because in addition to enhancing the group members’ learning potential, the project created a significant level of awareness about the would-be beneficiary home. References Blair, G 1997, ‘Planning a project’, viewed 7 May 2013, Dewey, J 1933, How we think, Heath, New York. Forsyth, D R 2006, Group dynamics, 2nd ed., Brookes Cole, Pacific Glove CA. Kuisma, R 2000, ‘Assessing individual contribution to a group project’, viewed 7 May 2013, . Massallay, J 1990, ‘Methods, techniques and skills of youth and community work: Community action and group work’, In Osei-Hwedie, K et al. (Eds.), Youth and community work practices, Mission Press, Lilongwe. Merriam Webster Dictionary 2013, ‘Groupthink’, viewed 7 May 2013, . Stein, S 2005, ‘Benefits of team work’, Teaching and Learning Centre, pp. 1-2, viewed May 07, 2013, . The Smith Family 2013, ‘Chapter 2: the Idea- what makes a good charity event?’, pp. 1-5, viewed May 07, 2013, . Read More