Good Example Of Essay On The Final Learning Team Paper

Introduction

The success of teamwork endeavors depends on a variety of factors. An understanding of the team dynamics and processes helps in ensuring productive activities and interactions among the members. Our team has been productive in several aspects; however, there were issues that needed addressing. The paper explores the issues through a focus on ethics, problem-solving and decision-making.

Ethics

Group ethical standards are guidelines controlling actions and behaviors in a group; this occurs in reference to set moral expectations. During teamwork, the members are expected to adhere to the ethical standards. They behavior should depend on moral judgment, motivation, sensitivity, and character.
The team experienced varied ethical standards. The differences were handled through the effective utilization of communication. Each member received an opportunity to express him/herself; this occurred whenever there were conflicts of opinions, views, and ideas. The process made members feel their opinions mattered. All points raised by members were noted down; this gave the team a wide range of ideas and possible solutions to the problem. In the end, the team selected the best alternative from the members’ contributions; this occurred collectively.
Despite the contribution of ideas by all team members, the team still experienced some challenges. The main challenge occurred due to the method adopted in dealing with ethical problems that arose. In teamwork, ethical considerations should accommodate and give every member a chance to contribute to the process. However, some members felt left out of the entire process. They felt they did not receive enough time to air their views, whereas, others felt their ideas did not receive second thought after they were written down. The team handled the problem by helping the disgruntled members understand that only one solution could emerge. The team chose the best decision after considering all the options. According to Eyre (2015), tackling problems quickly helps the members in refocusing on the team’s goals. The team depicted how resolution can enhance team dynamics.
Ethics plays a significant role in teamwork; it makes members aware that they and their opinions matter and contribute towards the achievement of the team’s goals. Thus, the team must cultivate an environment of respect, tolerance, and accommodation of individual differences. According to Eyre (2015), this can occur through open communication. All members must take part in all forms of communication including meetings, emails, and shared documents among others. Those that cannot make it to some meetings must receive adequate updates. It reduces and eventually eliminates the occurrence of miscommunication in the team. A focus on ethics facilitates effective problem-solving and decision-making because it ensures the fair involvement of all members in the processes. Thus, the ethical nature of every decision will undergo consideration before it occurs.
Ethical considerations play a vital part in the establishment of productive interactions among members. According to Dornyei and Murphey (2004), “The initial event in group interaction, the establishment of a relationship between two or more persons, is often referred to as group formation.” It is vital for the achievement of the group’s intended objectives.

Decision-making and Problem-solving

Decision-making is a key aspect of team activities; the failure to carry out effective decision-making results in conflicts and other problems; this poses a need for the adoption of effective problem-solving strategies. During operations, the team used consensus method in making important decisions. The method facilitated the full utilization of members’ judgment, experiences, perceptions, and thinking in the selection of the best possible solutions. All members participated in the decision-making process; this is because their active participation in the group’s activities makes their views important.
Whenever an important decision was to occur, all members collaborated and cooperated in identifying and discussing the available alternatives. During the process, each member received a chance to present and defend his/her views. The other members listened and considered every individual’s views. Once all views occurred, the members carried out a consensus to choose the best view. The strategy of consensus in decision-making prevents the occurrence of opposition once a decision occurs. It is because each member had a fair chance of convincing the others.
Despite the process’ effectiveness, there were challenges. The team’s main obstacle was the issue of time. Any decision-making process in the team consumed a lot of time thus prolonging the meeting. Ensuring every member had enough time to present his/her idea prolonged the duration. The deliberation stage also consumed a lot of time; the members engaged in endless arguments over which solution was most suitable. They could not decide on one solution among the presented ones. The situation made controlling the members during the arguments a challenge.
The team dealt with the differences through the selection of a team leader. The leader prevented conflicts through the direction of the team’s discussions. It prevented the team from using much time in arguments. The members agreed to cooperate in resolving the conflicting views. The leaders encouraged the members to avoid rigidly adhering to their views and making repeated arguments. Accommodation of different views and the provision of new information on the best solution were encouraged. Choi (2007) emphasizes the importance of cooperating during team decision-making. One of the respondents said, “Pairs have to understand each other and communicate well. They have to be able to get along with each other, but they don’t have to be buddies or have the same culture.”

Conclusion

Through the experiences of the teamwork activities, we learned that there is a variety of factors influencing the success of any team. Achieving a team’s set goals depends on its understanding and ability to deal with ethical standards, decision-making, and problem-solving issues among others. Effective communication and strong personality skills factors, including gender balance and intrinsic values are critical to a successful teamwork, specifically in the levels of communication, satisfaction, compatibility, and confidence. Collective involvement in every step guarantees the achievement of goals and elimination of hindrances.

References

Choi, K. S. (2007). Team Programming Influence Factors: A field survey. Journal of Information Technology Management, 18, 3-4. ISSN: 1042-1319. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://jitm.ubalt.edu/XVIII-3-4/article1.pdf
Dorneyi, Z., & Murphey, T. (2004). Chapter 1: Becoming a Group. Group Dynamics in The Language Classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN: 0521822769
Eyre, E. (2015). Improving Group Dynamics: Helping your team work more effectively. Mind Tools. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/improving- group-dynamics.htm