Experience of Working in a Group
Over the past two years as a university student I have been completing assignments, presenting work and collaborating in several different groups.
From reflecting on the learning I gained from working in a group; my most recent Digital Marketing assignment has been hard work with hurdles to come over along the way, but overall was a benefiting experience.
Group work can be defined as working as a team of individuals with different professionals working collaboratively with a shared understanding of goals, tasks and responsibilities (Martin and Rogers, 2004).
The planning involved choosing a new or emerging business, after a discussion and research between the group of 4 of us, we decided to choose Disney+, in which everyone agreed simultaneously. After this, we had to prepare slides on google docs and segment the power point presentation to choose who had to do what, with aiming to weight the responsibilities evenly.
Organisation in group work is always a challenge, as each member has different time keeping and management than others, I’m sure a lot of people agree with this, right?
However, by having to deal with the issue of difference within the group means that I had to adapt to this and use my professionalism to address my concerns to other members when I needed to. As we also had another assignment due at the same time, this meant that these skills were essential in order to complete work on time and to a high standard.
Throughout the process of working in the group, I felt as though two of us had better time keeping more than the other two as we didn’t leave it last minute; this caused a bit of stress and lead to consistent messaging with other members to ensure the work was being done.
So, how can a group develop to be better?…
The video explains the kind of process my group experienced and some bits we should have done during the process of completing our assignment. It gives a good framework to consider for future reference in a group work situation.
I felt as though I was very integrated within the group and involved hugely in the collation of the power point, taking on a leader role while constantly ensuring work was being completed so that it was handed in before the submission deadline.
Skills learned to enhance my employability opportunities:
- Team Working.
- The “Glass is half full not half empty” attitude. (Optimistic)
- Time Managing.
- Organisation.
- Professionalism in working with people you may not like or know. (Adaptability)
- Problem Solving.
- Technology Knowledge Advancement.
- Delegation.
All these skills enhance my employability opportunities and will be useful and crucial when applying for a job role.
REFERENCES:
Four Stages of Group Development. (2015). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4DBJ47ZlD4 [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].
Pinterest (2020). Discover Ideas about glasses tattoo. [image] Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/282178732886544128/ [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].
The McGill Tribune (2018). Collaborative work develops valuable skills. [image] Available at: https://www.mcgilltribune.com/opinion/collaborative-work-develops-valuable-skills-02202018/ [Accessed 28 Jan. 2020].
Twitter, (2017), Time [ONLINE]. Available at: https://twitter.com/timemange [Accessed 28 January 2020].