A reflection on my experience of group work for the February IT282 assignment.
Planning
Creating an analysis of Women’s Best’s online business environment required planning from the outset. Planning is necessary to outline which group member would perform a specific task. It is important to decide team member roles, otherwise commitment to the planning process cannot be discussed (Randolph, 1988). I decided to analyse Women’s Best’s online marketplace (focusing on customers, competition and partners) and their business models.
Organisation
The teamwork was functionally organised with the hierarchical structure allowing members to work together. This is demonstrated in each member being in charge of their own section. The trust and accountability required in each group member is important for enabling success. As a self organising team, equality and fairness for members is imperative for successful problem solving and decision making (The Open University, 2016). Consequently, we decided that leadership would be shared, which was effective as members were in charge of themselves which minimised the risk of tension.
Process
In retrospect, this group work could have been improved if we had divided the timing of audio for each person. Since the time limit was 15 minutes, and the group consisted of 4 members, each person should have spoken for a few seconds over 3 minutes. Instead, the lack of preparation for the technical audio process resulted in some group members needing more time (which they could not have) to deliver their findings for their section. As a result, important information may have been neglected from the presentation.
Involvement + Collaboration
All group members were involved in discussions that took place regarding which company to analyse. Once a decision was made on Women’s Best, we decided upon a deadline for when our individual sections should be completed. This was to allow for collaboration between the group before the submission deadline. The group involvement was to ensure that the knowledge learnt and analysed was shared between all members, resulting in a well informed summary.
Skills
In aspiring to be an effective group member, I obtained important teamwork and communication skills which are necessary to cultivate a group climate that is healthy (University of Waterloo, 2017). I have learnt soft skills such as time management by working to several deadlines, as well as developing critical thinking skills when making difficult decisions about what pieces of information from my analysis were most relevant to include in the audio (considering the time restraint). Additionally, I have expanded my hard skills with proficient use in Microsoft Office, specifically learning how to add audio to PowerPoint. Additionally, I have acquired marketing research and social media marketing skills when carrying out competitor benchmarking.
The skills I have acquired from this group work assignment will hopefully enhance my employability opportunities.
References
- University of Waterloo (2017). Teamwork Skills: Being an Effective Group Member | Centre for Teaching Excellence. [online] Centre for Teaching Excellence. Available at: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/tips-students/being-part-team/teamwork-skills-being-effective-group-member.
- Randolph WA & Posner BZ (1988) ‘What every manager needs to know about project management’, Sloan Management Review, Vol 29, No 4, p65-73.
- The Open University (2016). Groups and teamwork: View as single page. [online] Available at: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=3302&printable=1 [Accessed 30 Jan. 2021].