10 May 2013

10 May 2013

What a stressful day!!

I really don’t where to start simply because I am very tired as I am typing right now due to the hectic day I had. Today was truly a test of character in me. Sam and I have been appointed by the group to be the editors of the group and the way we do it is that work gets delegated to each member in advance and then we will have our own “proposed deadline” at least two days before the actual hand-in deadline.  This is done so that we can have time to edit everything and then submit on time. We usually have meeting to try to discuss who is doing what and give any relevant information if required to ensure that everyone understand what is expected of them and that we are all on the same page.

As usual, for the market research assignment, we try to do the same except that people were not paying attention in order to understand what they are supposed to be done.  This assignment was due today, so it means that the each group member was supposed to submit their part to either Sam or I by Wednesday. However not everyone submitted their work, which meant that we could not finish to compile the report and as the results we found ourselves this morning with only half of the report been done.  This was very stress for me as I don’t like working under unnecessary pressure, as it meant that Sam and I have to bunk lectures (which I hate doing). So everything was very stressful.

The way we delegate work is based on what each member is comfortable with, as we learned in our workshops that we should focus on each other’s strength not weakness. So you can imagine how difficult it was for me having to right some parts that I am not very good at. It was very stressful indeed, having to sit in front of the computer the whole day and having limited resources in term time and energy, it was not fun at all.

So this is what this stressful experience has taught me.

Clearly define the role and responsibility of each group member

 

We failed to clearly define the roles and responsibilities for each member especially with regards to assignments. Therefore when things go wrong like today, there was no set measure of holding those who did not submit their part accountable. And this created a lot of stress for me and unhealthy working environment which could have led to group conflicts. Therefore this issue needs to be addresses on our next meeting to avoid a situation like this from happening again.  We need to set out new SMART role and responsibility that will clearly define each group member’s role and responsibility, expectation from them, deadline to deliver such and consequence that will results in failing to deliver them.

Communication

I have also learned that we had a poor communication and we also do not listen to each especially during the group meetings. As the result there was a lot of misunderstanding. Clear and effective communication is very vital especially when working in a group as it this reduced tension and eliminated unnecessary stress of not knowing what would be happening. Even though we have a WhatsApp group, Vula tab, group G-mail account, we still fail to communicate effectively. So this is other issue that has to be bought to the table during our meeting on Monday.

Anyway that is it for today. On a lighter note, well done to our group, especially Shea, Murray and Dean, for such a good presentation in ES today. Well done guys, you made us proud. Winning!!!