Reflective writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Reflective writing - Essay Example In this paper, I have reflected upon my experience of participating in two group exercises with given situations and time frames; the cave rescue activity, and the recruitment exercise activity. I have also discussed how the activities helped me develop as a group member. Background of the report I was involved in two group exercises; in the first exercise that was a cave rescue exercise, there were six group members in total whereas in the second exercise, which was a recruitment exercise activity, there were seven group members. For both exercises, we were given certain characters and certain situations and the exercises were supposed to be executed in a limited time frame. The group members were given a chance to take notes after the completion of each exercise, using which, they would write the reflective accounts later. Theories John Burton’s Human Needs Model John Burton argues that denial of the fundamental needs of security, equal participation, identity, and recogniti on of an individual in a group makes the protracted conflict inevitable. Resolution of such conflicts necessitates the identification of the needs that are not being addressed and restructuring of the roles of the group members in such a way that needs of all are met (Dixit, 2004). Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory Tuckman proposed a model that recognizes the fact that groups are not functional or fully-formed when they form. The groups propagate through a set of defined stages namely forming, storming, norming, and performing, and gradually become task-focused. The following graph illustrates Tuckman’s teamwork theory by showing the link between task focus and group relationships. In any group activity, the optimal productivity is reached after development of the relationships among the group members. â€Å"The 4 Phases of Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory† (The Happy Manager, 2012a). STAR Team Model The STAR team model suggests that in order to optimize the groupâ€⠄¢s productivity, the group leader should place equal emphasis on the development of the group members’ strengths and the development of good relationships among them. The STAR team model provides content and substance to the situation, conditions, and stages of teamwork as shown in the figure below: STAR Team Model (The Happy Manager, 2012b). Analysis One thing that I learnt from the exercises was that there were more conflicts happening in the start than near the end of the exercises. The fundamental reason behind this was that the group members had started to understand one another’s personalities and behaviors and their adaptability had increased. â€Å"Research in human team performance suggests that experienced teams develop a shared understanding or shared mental model utilized to coordinate behaviors by anticipating and predicting each others needs and adapting to task demands† (Sycara and Sukthankar, 2006, p. 2). All models discussed in this paper inclu ding John Burton’s Human Needs Model, Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory, and the STAR Team Model commonly emphasize on the development of relationships among the group members as a pre-requisite of achieving optimal productivity in the group exercises, though the development of group members’ skills as well as their relationships requires time. â€Å"Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success† (Henry Ford cited in Zuck, 1997, p. 375). Teamwork helps people understand one another in the best way. By the team we were done with both the exercises, we had not only finished our tasks but had also known one another much better than we did before. A very useful learning that I gained in this exercise was how to resolve conflicts. I have learnt that it is primarily one’s preferences that determine the extent to which one would be able to execute