Sunday, March 1, 2009
An Eggs-cellent Way to Plan
We lost the game in the egg-cellent activity, and I also found there were some problems in our management process. First of all, we only went through the first and second steps in management process, in which we knew what we are going to do and identify resources--the strength and weakness of straws.Actually, I didn't have a good idea about how to make our gaol accomplished but I listened to every aspect of their plans and analyzed the effectiveness of their plans. Honestly, I think our team wasnt effective because someone didnt open thier mind to listen to the alternative plans. Although we didnt assign anyone as our team leader, someone took all the responsibility and reject other people's suggestions. The result was what I had expected. I think we would have been more effective if we combined all the ideas and analyse.
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I totally understand where you are coming from. Although the problem you encountered did not occur in my group, it has happened to me and groups I have been in in the past. Nothing positive ever comes out of one person doing all the work and not listening to everyone else. Even if nobody else in the rest of the group had better ideas, you still should have been heard, and combining multiple good ideas, could lead to a great idea. My suggestion in the future would to try and not work with people who are so closed minded, but sometimes you don't have that option.
ReplyDeleteOuch, well at least now your group knows what to do for next time hopefully. Afterall there will always be those type of people who turn a deaf ear to anything that doesn't seem to go their way, but that shouldn't discourage you. As long as you keep dilgent there will always be a next time. For future reference though, try and avoid the close minded people if possible.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult for one to have to hear criticism of their ideas but in the end this is frequently the best way to brainstorm. If each person says an idea and the rest of the group reviews the idea and points out the aspects of it that don't work, this could lead to the formulation of one or more ideas that incorporate various aspects that everyone agrees DO work. It is efficient in theory but in practice there are personal feelings involved.
ReplyDeleteI wonder: How did the other groups deal with this?
Having a leader in a group is good in a way, but it's bad if they don't open up to other suggestions for better ideas. Did you guys try to be active in this project or just let him/her take control of everything? Maybe he/her didn't see any "enthusiasm" (or not enthusiastic enough) in your group. Then again, maybe he/she thought they have a best idea in their mind and it would definitely work.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI think the best way to deal with a "leader" (who probably assigned that role to him/her self) like this is to just point out all the negatives about his/her idea or plan. No plan is every perfect or right the first time it's thought of. Sometimes in business and at school working with these kinds of personality, you somehow have to present your arguement in way where the strong headed leader may think he or she thought about it. I know it's anoying as well. I would definetly put more focus next time on pointing out what's wrong with the idea the leader wants if he or she chooses not to listen to ideas from others.
I think that to do group work it would be helpful if we actually knew the people we were working with, the way we would know the people we work with. Cause the person who has no problem working with strangers obviously will talk the most and will seem like a leader. You would be more likely to be stronger in voicing suggestions if you knew the person.
ReplyDeleteDid you really lose the "egg-game"? Or did you perhaps win the planning game? Just a little mind teaser. I think everyone had a management issue. Even the teams who did not have a cracked egg at the end of the day probably were not perfect in their planning process. I mean, realistically it all comes down to the best designed "contraption", and anyone who knows physics could have given you a workable answer. However, I would bet that the teams that did win most likely planned the best, and that is the beauty of planning-it can act as a bridge over the gap, to bring you closer to solving your problems. I like how you admit that even though you did not have a plan to help achieve the goal, you did add insight to the conversation and brought up important points. Someone who does not open their mind up to others in the team is only someone who is not helpful in a team environment. Next time around you should just try to avoid that person in your team, or really forcefully say that they should give the plan a chance. I know because sometimes I can be a little unflappable in what I believe to be right and wrong, and someone has to forcefully shake me up; I have never taken offense to it because I know that sometimes I can be wrong. I'm sure that by this point in their lives, the person you are describing has realized that they have been wrong before also. Good luck next time, and try to force the group to combine the ideas and analyze better; Clearly that will help to raize your chances at doing a good job.
ReplyDeleteLuckily we didn't have anyone like that in our group. Maybe next time, you try and take control and be the leader in your group. If they do still do it the next time, then I think it is time to move.
ReplyDeleteHey Denise! That sounds pretty bad. I mean our project wasn't a success but I thought it was good that we all suggested ideas to analyse and to put together. It is good to have a leader but not in a way that he/she takes over everything, that's just not fair. Anyway, I pretty sure it would've been more effective if you guys have worked together.
ReplyDelete