1000 Word Blog- Jared Tranfaglia

Collaboration is an important concept in being able to form together to achieve an overall common goal. It is seen in just about every company, product and service seen today and can be utilized through online and offline platforms. My personal experience through collaboration has ranged through out a variety of online and offline experiences over the years and has helped contribute to the overall success that I have had within those experiences. An example of a time that I have used offline collaboration is when I was working as a store manager at a local store. I would receive a list of daily tasks that we had to complete before the end of the shift and in order to complete these tasks I would have to collaborate with my fellow employees to coordinate how we were going to get the tasks done. In order to complete these tasks we would need to set parameters on how we were going to focus our strengths to face the task at hand which included, setting timelines to complete each task, distribution of work load and quality control within the store. By setting up guidelines and deadlines to complete each task, we were able to work together successfully.

Collaboration was key to completing these tasks and if we were not able to effectively work together then we would not have performed to standard of what was expected of us. Delegation is what allows groups to work together and if an individual or group is not able to delegate responsibilities within the group, then this group will not succeed. I have been placed in groups in which one individual does not pull their own weight and this often times is what eliminates any form of group cohesion that may be currently present. When one individual does not pull their own weight, it can affect the overall success of the group, as they now have to pull together the remaining slack. An important understanding of Tuckman’s Five Stages of Group Development is crucial when first forming the group together. These stages include Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning, which discuss the initial interactions as the group is beginning to form together all the way up to the final moments of the group as they achieve their overall goal.

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For those of you that may not be aware of Tuckman’s Five Stages of Group Development, it is an explanation of the necessary and key components to the overall success of a particular group. This process begins with Forming, which is the beginning formation of the group, where the group members look to the leader for guidance and acceptance within the group. The following stage is Storming, in which group members begin to have conflicting opinions and input on how the tasks are going to be completed, rules and guidance on completing the tasks at hand. Upon the arrival of the Norming stage, group members begin to form cohesion as they no longer are in conflict with one another and are willing to work with each other to complete the task. The Performing stage is soon to follow as the individuals within the group begin to perform independently and their roles begin to adjust to meet the needs of the group. Adjourning is the final stage, which consists of individuals within the group parting ways as they have now successfully completed the task at hand.

An experience that I have had with online collaboration is a recent project that I did within another class that is fully online. Our assigned task was to read multiple articles in regards to the advancement in learning technology and the impact that it has had on our society. Once we completed the readings, we were then tasked to create a group discussion to explain in detail what educational value we received from the assigned readings and the impact that technology has had on the educational system. The issues that we ran into were communication, as we struggled to contact one another to ensure that we were on the same page in regards to the assignment. By not establishing an effective form of communication, it immediately set us behind on completing the project. We were able to fix our communication issues by establishing lines of communication between group messages, texts and emails in order to ensure that everyone was receiving the same information as a group. The second issue that we ran into was some of the members of the group were not completing their work in an adequate amount of time to complete the project. We were able to resolve this issue by ensuring that each individual within the group was tasked with the same amount of work and given a time to complete each assignment by. The majority of our issues that we ran into, occurred during the storming stage of Tuckman's Five Stages of Group Development, but by the time we arrived to the Norming Stage we were able to set aside our differences to complete the project. By the conclusion of the project we were able to communicate effectively and complete each task in order to submit our project. This link goes into more detail on what goes into group dynamics so that you can understand the effects of how groups operate and the tension that they overcome.

Online collaboration from my personal experiences can often times be difficult depending on the members of the group. Establishing a line of communication is an important step in creating a successful group dynamic, as it is creating the foundation for the beginning stages of the group project. Success is based on the level of effort that is put forth between members of the group, which is why I believe that the success of online collaboration is group dependent. I personally have had differing experiences solely based on the members within the group and the level of effort that they are willing to put forth. Ferrazi states, “In other words, there’s a world of difference between merely working together and truly collaborating with one another”. This link goes into more detail on collaboration. The link I provided goes into detail on different types of collaboration and how they can be interpreted while relating to my discussion in regards to the issues that I had through online collaboration.

Overall my experience with collaboration has been positive through out the variety of tasks I have had to complete, although online collaboration has been more difficult to complete depending on the groups that I have been faced with. I believe that having a firm grasp of communication within a group is what sets up the foundation for success and is an important attribute in the overall group cohesion. Setting immediate tasks and establishing a method of completing each task with the help of effective communication is what sets a successful group apart from the rest. Collaboration can be an exceptional tool if utilized correctly and can allow for the opinions of many individuals to form together to complete an overall objective. Without collaboration we would not see many of the great ideas present in society today.

This link shows the effects that online collaboration can truly have and the limitless potential it displays.

Citations:

FORSYTH, D. R. (2006). GROUP DYNAMICS. S.l.: WADSWORTH.

Mandiberg, M. (2012). The social media reader. New York: New York University Press.

Collaboration, Decoded

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1000 Word Blog- Jared Tranfaglia

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