Post # 4; Reflection on meeting 1

We had our first group meeting for the CG1102 project last Thursday. Communication during the meeting was excellent, and we all played our roles effectively. Overall, the meeting went very smoothly but we forgot a few fundamentals.

Firstly, it was only during the meeting that we decided who our group leader and secretary would be. Moreover, we chose it without much consideration, based only on the roles we were temporarily playing at that time. Because of this, the leader did not get a chance to set and declare the agenda of the meeting. Even though we roughly knew what we would be doing, we did not exactly know how much work we would do on the spot and how much of it we would do later.

Secondly, we had not planned the meeting in advance. We had not booked the venue, had not thought of how to set up the camera and now that I think of it, we did not have any sort of back-up in mind. We did not know where to go in case the room was occupied, we did not have a spare camera, we had kept the meeting so late that we did not have the chance of a second meeting as one team member was going overseas soon.

Despite these glitches, our team performed very well. None of us felt uneasy in front of the camera. For me, the most likeable thing about our team is that everyone clarifies whatever they are confused about instead of passively accepting it. Anni noted everything down acutely and Michael steered the meeting in the right direction.

As I reviewed our video, I noticed that I presented my answer without asking others for theirs. We should have all discussed our solutions and come up with the best one. What I did instead was that I asked others to add on to my idea. This is one area I need to take care of in future meetings.

Post #3: Resolving interpersonal conflict

I recall an incident where two of my friends Vish and Mohit had a conflict because of their different personality types.

Vish is a punctual man. He has high regard for his and others’ time. He lives an organised life, rarely misses a deadline and expects the same from others in matters involving him.

Mohit, on the other hand, is a laid back person. He starts working only close to deadlines, often misses them, is often late for meetings, and is insincere about his work and life in general.

Whenever Mohit and Vish had to meet in order to go somewhere or to hang out, Mohit would often be late and Vish does not like it. He tried explaining it to Mohit several times, but Mohit wouldn’t change his habits. Vish finally gave up and decided that he would just save his time by purposely going late whenever he has to meet Mohit.

There was this time when they had to meet for lunch. Vish went there half an hour late, but found Mohit waiting for him. As Mohit had an internship interview right after lunch that day, he got angry at the fact that Vish got late. He started scolding Vish. Vish got upset and came back at Mohit for often being late and wasting his time.

I had to meddle to solve their fight. So, I know both sides of the story. Here’s what they told me.

Mohit felt that it would have been acceptable if Vish had gotten late for some valid reason. However, he was angry because Vish had purposely come late, assuming that Mohit would be late. And this was despite the fact that Vish kept “lecturing” him on being punctual. Mohit felt that Vish was reprimanding him by doing this.

Vish felt that Mohit was being unreasonable as Mohit himself was usually late. He felt that if Mohit was not ready to change his habit of being late, the only way Vish could save his time in his busy schedule was by being late for meetings himself. He could not afford to waste his time like that.

If you were in my shoes, what would you tell them?

Post #2: Observation of team behaviour: intercultural and interpersonal communication

I belong to one of the most diverse blogging groups in the class. There are people of four different nationalities and four different races in my group. However, it is amazing to see how smooth our discussions are. Everyone understands each other and contributes constructively. I am going to examine the reason for this in the light of a theory.

The Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) suggests that people subconsciously change their speech style to the style of the listener in order to accommodate with him/her. I find CAT very relevant to our group. Everyone understands the need to come out of their comfort zone and speak in a manner which is easily understandable for others. We read the other person and react in a manner which we think would bring our point across clearer to the listener.

However, CAT fails to explain fully how communication in a team works. Whose style of speaking do we accommodate with when there are people from so many backgrounds in a group? From my observation of our group, I realise that we all try to standardise our communication by modifying our speaking pattern to one that is widely accepted and practiced in Singapore. To put it clearly, we talk in the ‘Singapore way’. This provides a common style of speaking for everyone, which is also understood by everyone.

CAT is just one of the many theories that exist on intercultural communication. There are also ‘Identity Management Theory’ and ‘Standpoint Theory’. All these theories explain how cross-cultural interaction can be effective. From my experience, each member in my group has shown good communication skills; our cultural differences have not been able to impede our discussions and we have had a productive time in our meetings.

Following are some links if you want to read up more about the theories:

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0767430344/student_view0/chapter29/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_Accommodation_Theory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercultural_communication

Post #1: Communication and teamwork: what they are to me?

Communication and teamwork, two different words but not entirely independent. The success of a team depends largely on how well its members are able to convey their ideas to each other and how well they understand each other. The importance of effective communication and teamwork is not just limited to the workplace or school; but is seen in every walk of life. I’ll tell you why it is important for me.

When I came from India to Singapore a few years ago, talking to people was one of the biggest problems I faced. I wouldn’t understand their accent, they wouldn’t understand mine. We thought very differently. It was then that I realised the importance of communication in daily life. Good communication skills are needed no matter what you are doing, playing a sport, writing an email, or even simply talking to a friend. Communication, often confused with verbal communication, is much more. It is any form of interaction with another person, not just by words, but also by our actions, or body language.

With the increasing complexity of the nature of work these days, it has become impossible for one to work alone. I would soon be an engineer and would be working with teams on projects. I therefore need to be a good team worker. I need to understand the views of my teammates, give them due respect, resolve issues in the team and keep the team together. One who cannot work with people has no place in today’s work environment.

Communication and teamwork are two of the most important attributes in a person today. It is only after you can communicate effectively that you can be a good team worker.