Joel Barranco Blog#1

 

Introduction to Communication
Joel Barranco
Blog Post 1

 

Working in groups can bring a variety of challenges and I always get queasy when group projects are mentioned but after learning from my peers and working with a great team, I feel prepared for what comes next. Working with my team was very easy, we communicated what needed to be done and our group leader delegated tasks as needed. There was not much in the way of problems since the project was short and brief, but it was a good start to getting to know how everyone works. All the presentations were very insightful, and I especially enjoyed learning about different group dynamics and leadership styles. Group 2 started with the presentations, and it was interesting to learn about the different family dynamics. I was reflecting on that while on a walk and I thought back to my childhood and how my family operated and how my friends spoke about their families. I think my family and I have a Laissez Faire communication pattern, and I wonder how much that affects how I operate in a group environment. I consider myself a quiet person and while I don’t like to say a lot I do try to make strong contributions with my work. Something group 2 spoke about was some of the group struggles where a lack of communication and undefined goals can be disastrous for a project and I believe having a clear and defined goal is the most important part of group work. After Group 2’s presentation I’m trying to keep an eye out for how I and others behave in a group setting. Whether it’s work, school, or my own friend group I try to see the good things we do or the pitfalls we may fall into. Seeing the stages of how a group forms was especially informative. The different stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning were interesting to see explained. It’s funny to look back at movies like The Mighty Ducks or The Avengers and see all the stages unfold and see how closely they follow this formula. Seeing the different types of conflicts get explained was super helpful and looking back I think most issues I’ve ran into in group environments was issue-related group conflict. It’s probably the most common and understandably so, we all have different visions for how to work out a solution and I believe this is one of the hardest parts of being in a team. An issue our group ran into was someone who dropped the class and didn’t notify us until the night before the presentations were going to happen, but it was handled extremely well, and I am thankful for the level-headedness of the whole team.

            Group 1 had a strong presentation about Intercultural Communication and the difficulties it can bring but also the strengths that come from so many different perspectives. A team can be comprised of many different people with vastly different backgrounds and experiences. I believe it’s important to have a group of people with a diverse set of experiences to broaden the scope of ideas people can bring to the table. Especially in a country like the United States where someone’s race, gender, and socioeconomic status affect the types of experiences they have in this country, it can bring a valuable insight to reaching ethical solutions to many different issues. Something interesting that was brought up was the contributions and considerations to make for disabled people. I have never gotten to work with someone with noticeable disabilities, but I believe I am better equipped to make those considerations should I ever have the opportunity. Last semester I had an intro to ethics class which was extremely important to me developmentally. There was a seminar presentation every week on readings we were assigned, and it was always so interesting to see everyone’s different interpretations on readings and how their cultures and backgrounds influenced those interpretations. This presentation also had some very informative heat maps that showed every country’s cultural difference whether it was masculinity vs femininity or uncertainty avoidance which was interesting to see. This presentation was the first time I learned about Power Distance Cultures; I personally am a big fan of a low power distance.

            I really enjoyed our topic on leadership and problem solving. After learning about the different leadership styles, I think I prefer the Laissez-Faire Leadership Style where responsibility is delegated to every member, and they can work with minimal interference. Obviously, some issues can’t be handled this way, but I find it works best for these kinds of group projects. There are a ton of roles we learned about, from maintenance roles to procedural roles and it’s good to highlight these different types and I find myself trying to pinpoint roles different people fill whether it’s people at work or friends of mine. Everyone’s contributions taught me something new and showed me the importance of committing to a goal and how to keep everyone on the right track. I liked the structure of the power point showing bullet points of information and the speaker explaining the easily digestible information so when I look at it again their words echo in my head. Systematic Problem Solving was the section Sofia, and I were responsible for and we handled the slide with a Laissez-Faire approach that worked effectively for us. Something I really liked about the text was that it was extremely easy to digest. The pages were brief but very good at informing the reader. The six steps of systematic problem solving were an enjoyable topic to write about and I wanted to say more but felt pressed for time. I hope to instill these thoughts and practices into myself for future work. As much as I dislike presenting it was good to get it out of the way in the first week to get the nerves out. I consider myself a pretty reserved and shy person and I look forward to coming out of that shell when presenting and hopefully become a better communicator by the end of the semester.