Module 2 Discussions Board questions
Module 2 Discussions Board questions
Recall that the Discussion for each module has two parts—one for each week. To get proper credit, be sure you post an initial posting for each week, as well as respond to the postings of at least two other students each week. Remember that if someone posts a response to one of your posts, you should engage with that person as appropriate—as if you were having a real-time conversation.
Review the background materials on Conflict Management. You will need the concepts and principles from these readings to support your responses to the Discussion questions. You may also support you comments with references from outside sources. Be sure to cite sources used.
What was the worst experience you ever had with conflict? What was so bad about it? What are some of the things that caused the conflict? Look at another student’s post and comment on how you, as an outsider, see the causes of their conflict. What are some suggestions you would have to mitigate or resolve their situation? When someone has responded to your post, be sure to go back and comment whether you think that their suggestions would have worked to resolve the conflict. Why or why not?
Week 2: Conflict Management
Active listening is a technique that is frequently used in conflict situations to increase the effectiveness of communication. View the following video and short article that teach active listening skills.
Active listening: Hear what people are really saying. (2016). Mind Tools. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm
Now try to practice active listening with a friend, spouse, co-worker—or even a stranger on the bus! (You can use a cheat sheet if you can’t remember all the steps.) Tell us about your experience. What were the circumstances of the conversation? Was it easy or hard? What gave you difficulty in putting the technique into practice? What was the other person’s reaction? Do you think the experiment was successful?
(Besides the source listed above, bring in and cite at least one other source of information for your initial post.)
Remember, after you submit your answer to the Discussion this week, you also need to respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.
(In total for this module’s two-part Discussion Forum you should have contributed to at least two Discussion Question posts and four response posts to your classmates.)
You must participate in both Week 1 and Week 2 Discussions to get credit for this module’s Discussion Forum.
Posting early each week will allow for more opportunities for leading the discussions, making substantial contributions, and engaging in meaningful and mutual discussions with others.
Module 2 – Background
Managing Groups and Teams
Note: All Background and Module Home materials are required unless designated as optional or general reference.
Required Reading
Introduction
The Force Field Analysis model is one that has been widely used to address a wide variety of challenges in communicating with others, leading teams and managing conflicts. Its goal is to move opposing groups or individuals toward more effective cooperation. As its name suggests, this model analyzes the factors (or forces) that influence situations in which people are having trouble working together. By increasing the driving forces for more effective communication and cooperation and weakening the restraining forces against open communications and cooperation, one can create a working situation that is more collaborative and productive.
For a brief summary of the Force Field Analysis model, see:
Force Field Analysis: Analyzing the Pressures For and Against Change. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06.htm
Communication
We begin this module by building a foundation of knowledge about interpersonal communication. After all, communication is needed for effective group activities and group work. In gaining this foundation, we will refer to Wikipedia for a “quick and dirty” overview of the topic. (Caution: Wikipedia is an unacceptable source for academic papers because it is a publicly edited site with information that can be incomplete, biased, or incorrect. However, to get a quick introduction to a topic, it can be a good place to start.)
Models of communication. (2016) Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Models_of_communication
Never discount the value of trust in strengthening communication and improving work relationships with others. One way to build trust is to maximize what we know about ourselves and wish to share with others. Conversely, we want to minimize aspects of ourselves we are not aware of but are readily apparent to others (our “blind spots”). This is accomplished through a combination of self-disclosure and feedback.
The Johari Window is an excellent model for improving communication effectiveness and therefore trust. Created in the 1950s by two guys named Joe and Harry (no kidding!), this model is still widely used in organizations to improve communication between coworkers, bosses, subordinates, and teams. Read the following:
The Johari Window: Using Self-Discovery and Communication to Build Trust, (2016). Mindtools. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/JohariWindow.htm
Communication Skills You Can’t Do Without
Have you ever wondered why the Trident University teaching model has so much darn writing? Have you gotten frustrated with professors who admonish you for typos and syntax errors? Want to know why communication skills are critical to MBAs as well as other professionals? Read this article.
Poor Writing Skills Top M.B.A. Recruiter Gripes (2009) Vault.com Inc. http://www.vault.com/blog/job-search/poor-writing-skills-top-mba-recruiter-gripes
Groups and Teams
The structure of modern organizations is continually changing and work is being done in teams more than ever. But teams are more than just a collection of individuals working on a single project. Team workers need a set of skills that exceeds those of individual workers to allow them to collaborate effectively. Often, employers do not train employees in these skills so it is a rare thing when teams live up to their potential. This is particularly true of teams in the United States, where the culture highly values individual effort and accomplishment.
In this part of the module, we will increase our ability to manage teams by learning about what constitutes a team, how to handle conflict, and how to build a high-performing team. Of course, we can only scratch the surface, and if you would like to delve deeper into this topic, you would be well served to take MGT508, a course about managing teams.
To get an overview of this topic, view this PowerPoint presentation on Group Dynamics and Conflict.
The Tuckman model of group development is one of the most widely used tools to understand the dynamics of team formation and development.
The following reading offers a concise explanation of this model and as a bonus, relates group development processes to the Johari Window (above) and the Situational Leadership model to be presented in Module 3:
Chapman, A. (2016). Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing team-development model. Retrieved from http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
Most of us think about trust in teams as growing over time and with experience being with another team member. However, swift trust stems from an initial assumption of trust which is confirmed, or disconfirmed, over time. In this sense it is conditional and must be verified by the actions of team members. Read this blog about the factors that contribute to swift trust and how leaders can create it:
Swift trust—why some teams don’t storm (2011). In Management Pocketbooks. Retrieved from https://managementpocketbooks.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/swift-trustwhy-some-teams-dont-storm/
Here is an interesting example of organizational theory being used to solve practical business problems. This report is designed to help its analysts avoid group decision-making biases such as groupthink, polarization or “risky shift,” overconfidence, or composition bias. The practical application of theory demonstrated in this source may be helpful to you in preparing your case.
Mottola, G. & Utkus, S. (2009). Group decision-making: Implications for investment committees. Vanguard Investment Counseling and Research. Retrieved from http://agb.org/sites/agb.org/files/u16/Vanguard%206.pdf
Conflict Management
When working with groups, conflict is inevitable. Although conflict is often viewed as negative, this is not always true. As we learned in the earlier PowerPoint presentation, well-managed conflict can increase team performance and result in better output. One trick is to learn the differences between healthy and destructive types of conflict. Read the following for more information:
Issues Teams Face: Managing Conflict (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/54195_Chapter_7.pdf
Now that you can recognize the difference between good and bad conflict, take a few minutes to read about some techniques that can help you manage conflict between people at work (or even at home!) and keep situations from spiraling out of control:
Segal, J & Smith, M. (n.d.) Conflict resolution skills: Building the skills that can turn conflicts into opportunities. Helpguide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/conflict-resolution-skills.htm
Optional Reading
Communication
The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is the premier international knowledge network for professionals engaged in strategic business communication management. Examine their website which includes news, events, workshops, a book store, and a research foundation. Find out how you can become an Accredited Business Communicator:
International Association of Business Communicators. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.iabc.com/
Groups and Teams
This site, assembled by Dr. Carter McNamara, provides library links to numerous topics in the field, a basic overview to group formation and stages of group development, and also information on team building.
Group dynamics: Basic nature of groups and how they develop. (n.d.) In Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://www.managementhelp.org/grp_skll/theory/theory.htm
Conflict Management
Also assembled by Dr. McNamara, the following site includes library links, and various perspectives on conflict (i.e. dealing with conflict, conflict in organizations, etc.):
How to manage group conflict (n.d.) In Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/groups/group-conflict.htm
Click the link below for an extensive collection of conflict-related material. There are many interesting links to articles both academic and practical. You should spend some time browsing this site. Pay special attention to links dealing with conflict styles, conflict resolution, negotiation, integrative and/or distributive bargaining.
Bacal, R. (2016). Articles on communication and conflict management. The World of Work. Retrieved from http://work911.com/articles/indexcomcomm.htm
Interestingly, some teams skip over the “storming” phase, particularly when they need to come together quickly and produce output without having the time it normally takes to build trust. See the following to continue your learning about the phenomenon known as “swift trust”:
Meyerson, D., Weick, K. E., & Kramer, R. M. (1996). Swift trust and temporary groups. In R. M. Kramer (Ed.), Trust in organizations: frontiers of theory and research (pp. 166–196). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=A_8LbcsgrNMC&oi=fnd&pg=PA166&dq=Debra+Meyerson+swift+trust&ots=VoC6zx3jC7&sig=vmlH0YJ_gr1CeOmwNm7dkycljw4#v=onepage&q=Debra%20Meyerson%20swift%20trust&f=fal
Formatting papers and Citing Sources
If you need additional guidance on the proper formatting of papers visit:
Purdue OWL website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090212013008_560.pdf
APA Formatting: The Basics. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdAfIqRt60c&list=PL8F43A67F38DE3D5D
Required Reading
Active listening: Hear what people are actually saying. (2016). Mind Tools. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/ActiveListening.htm
APA Formatting: The Basics. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdAfIqRt60c&list=PL8F43A67F38DE3D5D
Chapman, A. (2016). Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing team-development model. Retrieved from http://www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
Dukes, A.J. (2012). Defensive v Supportive Climates in the Workplace. Retrieved from http://scom320class.blogspot.com/2012/07/defensive-v-supportive-climates-in.html
Eveland, J. D. (2016) Group Dynamics and Conflict. (PowerPoint Presentation) Trident University International.
Force Field Analysis: Analyzing the Pressures For and Against Change. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_06….
Issues teams face: Managing conflict. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/54195_Chapter_7.pdf
Models of communication. (2016) Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Models_of_communication
Mottola, G. & Utkus, S. (2009) Group decision-making: Implications for investment committees. Vanguard Investment Counseling and Research. This article can be found at http://agb.org/sites/agb.org/files/u16/Vanguard%206.pdf
Poor Writing Skills Top M.B.A. Recruiter Gripes (2009) Vault.com Inc. http://blogs.vault.com/blog/job-search/poor-writing-skills-top-mba-recruiter-gripes/
Segal, J & Smith, M. (n.d.) Conflict resolution skills: Building the skills that can turn conflicts into opportunities. Helpguide.org. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/relationships-communication/conflict-resolution-skills.htm
Swift trust: Why some teams don’t storm. (2011). In Management Pocketbooks. Retrieved from https://managementpocketbooks.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/swift-trustwhy-some-teams-dont-storm/
The Johari Window: Using Self-Discovery and Communication to Build Trust, (2016). Mindtools. Retrieved from http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/JohariWindow.htm
Optional Reading
Bacal, R. (2016). Articles on communication and conflict management. The World of Work (2015). Retrieved from http://work911.com/articles/indexcomcomm.htm
Group Dynamics: Basic Nature of Groups and How They Develop. (n.d.) In Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://www.managementhelp.org/grp_skll/theory/theory.htm
How to manage Group Conflict (n.d.) In Free Management Library. Retrieved from http://managementhelp.org/groups/group-conflict.htm
International Association of Business Communicators. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.iabc.com/
Meyerson, D., Weick, K. E., & Kramer, R. M. (1996). Swift trust and temporary groups. In R. M. Kramer (Ed.), Trust in organizations: frontiers of theory and research (pp. 166–196). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=A_8Lbc…
Purdue OWL website: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/media/pdf/20090212013008_560.pdf
