The group I am considering is a group I was part of in high school. Specifically, I am considering the executive board of Key Club, which consisted of 5 members (I was the vice-president.
Inputs
Personnel - Although our group was small and therefore less diverse, it was composed of highly qualified people. The faculty adviser had been the adviser to Key Club for 20 years. The other members of the board (by senior year) had been involved in Key Club for four years and knew the organization well. The board members hailed from different backgrounds and had different interests lending a variety of skills to the group.
Tasks – The type of tasks that we were usually involved in consisted of generative and problem-solving tasks. We had to brainstorm, problem-solve, and make decisions.
Technologies – The main types of tools and technology that were used were to facilitate communication within the group when not in the same physical location (IM, cell-phone).
Processes
Roles – We all had specifically defined roles in the group, however often tasks required role boundaries to be expanded. For example, our treasurer also chaired the weekly Bingo Night, and contributed to events that other board members or Key Club members chaired.
Coordination Problems – There were both conformity pressures and synchronization problems. Since the faculty adviser had been doing this for so long, often the group members did not express their true beliefs if they were in direct conflict with what the adviser believed. Synchronization problems popped up when part of the group didn’t finish their part on time, or did the initial leg work for others to build up on.
Outputs
Production – All 4 years I was on the board of Key Club, we won the most awards at our district convention and often won awards at international convention as well.
Member Needs – We did have board members resign or get replaced due to failing to complete work on time, personal problems or conflict with the rest of the board.
Group Maintenance – The board I was involved in (senior year) came together again to arrange for the 50th anniversary of our Key Club my sophomore year in college.
Proximity/Distance Effects
When the entire board was together, there was a high amount of competition as to who chaired what event. However, when group members were missing or away, that competition lessened and people were able to compromise or delegate better.
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I though this was an interesting post mostly because I was also a member of Key Club in high school. I was a member of the e-board until senior year.
ReplyDeleteBut anyway, I found the conformity pressures in your group very interesting. I wondering if there was anyway around that. Maybe IMing or calling other members that you felt more comfortable with about the opposing idea, and then presenting it together in a meeting might have helped. Especially since you said that this happened often.
And congratulations on all the awards your club won. ^_^ You guys must have worked very hard!
It’s always hard to disagree with someone who has more experience (your advisor). If he’s been doing it for 20 years then whatever he/she’s been doing is obviously working, but I wonder if some change might have been beneficial. I’m not saying I would have done differently, but from an outside perspective, it seems that it would be best to introduce new ideas regardless of current precedents, even just to consider them.
ReplyDeleteAlso thought it was interesting that you didn’t list email in your collaboration technologies. Phone and IM both seem to lack a bit of persistence. I suppose IM logs can be saved, but email seems like an important tool for keeping track of events and such.
But if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right? Seems like you did a great job!