SPC: 1017 - Class Presentation Blog

        Working with my teammates in Group 2 was an amazing experience. All of us worked together to make the presentation a great success. It was a rocky start due to the fact that we just formed, but after storming the objective of the assignment and who gets to do what, we all performed diligently and completed the assignment without too many holdbacks or issues. The members were able to help each other, ask questions, and ask for resources through Whatsapp. In this Chapter [9], I was able to learn about the different stages of a group, them being Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning, and Transforming. I also learned the different types of conflict that can affect the group, such as Psuedo and culture conflicts. Additionally, I gained a solid understanding of the different characteristics of what creates a healthy group, and the different types of group, including their nature. Looking at Group 2, I can confidently say that we are healthy. We followed the stages of development successfully without too many issues. Additionally, I can classify the group as a virtual group given that we never met physically and everything was online.

The presentations conducted by the other 2 groups were equally as interesting. Group 1, which was focusing on Chapter 3: Intercultural Communication, emphasized the importance of maintaining civil communication with persons of different ethnicities, genders, races, ages, disabilities, sexual orientations, and religions. Additionally, going in-depth in examining what the differences between some cultures are and how to develop intercultural communication competence. For the most part, Group 2 did not face any barriers or issues that would impede communication between all of us. This could be because of 2 reasons, the first is that we are online and not seeing each other in person, and the second is that for the most part, we are all diverse in some way and respectful people. I believe that it is extremely important to teach competent communication strategies in order to support everyone in communicating effectively with different cultures. This chapter serves as a lesson for future possibilities, and the importance of accepting those who are different from you.

Group 3 and their presentation on Chapter 10: Group Leadership and Problem Solving, delved into the anatomy of a successful group leader. This chapter is intriguing as I learned about the different roles that create a healthy and successful group. Group 2 followed the five key shared leadership responsibilities triumphantly. Members were committed to the objective, the assignments were finished on time, the discussions were primarily focused on the tasks, the very little conflict was managed, and there was great input from everyone. Looking at the different roles, Group 2 did not have too much. The roles were simple, there was an editor: their task was to edit the slides and keep a consistent theme, in addition to doing their part of the presentation. Personally, I found myself to be an Expeditor; organizing the tasks of the group and ensuring the group was on track, as well as doing the assignment itself. The rest of the members would ask questions but were mainly focused on the task at hand. But even with the leadership roles we had, the group had a successful outcome. We only had two meetings during that time period, both being in class. But mainly our source of communication was Whatsapp. The problems that arose were effectively and quickly solved. During the time period we were performing, a new member joined the group, interrupting the group task list. After evaluating the issue, we remade the list to incorporate the new member. This ultimately led to an additional issue that was as well quickly resolved through another list revision.

        Communicating group solutions was something we did not do. Since we all had access to the presentation slides, it was not necessary to create a written, oral, or visual report. The progress was opened to us all to interpret. However, I think it was important to take note of these different types of formats for future occurrences. Personally, I find the written format as a great way to communicate the problem, background, process, decision, and rationale. One thing that was notable was the group dynamic, the way we cooperated with each other to attain the common goal. As stated before, everyone was committed to the group goal, everyone fulfilled their individual assignment, everyone aided in keeping the group discussion on track, and everyone managed interpersonal conflicts. There was very little encouragement in group participation, seeming to be a consequence of online-only communication. During the group presentations, keeping in mind that this was our first presentation of the semester, was extremely great. Obviously, by the end of the semester, we would become better presenters, but for now, I believe we performed perfectly.

        Overall, working with Group 2 was an amazing experience. I believe that Chapter 9 was the most important chapter, as it explains the different stages of group development, identifying the different types of groups, teaches the type of strategies to manage group conflict effectively, and defines the characteristics that make a group healthy. Chapter 3 taught about the 7 dimensions in which cultures differ, defined culture and the role of communication in it, explained the differences between dominant and co-cultures and talked about the different practice methods to improve intercultural communication competence. Chapter 10, which was presented as great as everyone else, explained how leadership functions in a group, describe the different formats in group communication, how to evaluate group effectiveness by key criteria, teach the six steps in systematically dealing with conflict, and describe how to run effective meetings. I know that from what we learned during the 2 weeks of presenting, all of us will be a little bit more prepared for future group work. Especially me. It does take practice and getting used to, but soon we can all become diligent group members or even leaders.

Kenneth Leyva