Group Effectiveness Essay Example for Free

Group Effectiveness Essay Due to the constantly changing business world companies are seeking to inspire their workers to be creative and work together, thus the emergence of group work (Bray Brawley, 2002). The purpose of this essay is to show how Ancona’s model can be used to analyse a group’s effectiveness thus presenting an understanding of factors, which facilitate and hinder effectiveness. In this essay I argue how my team was highly effective due to â€Å"fit† of personality, utilizing diversity of skills and knowledge and show how effectiveness could have been improved by allocation of roles, specifically that of a clear leader. Furthermore, I acknowledge that I function more effectively in a well structured and compatible team. Individual and team surveying as well as scholarly articles will be utilized to provide further insight into group effectiveness. Effectiveness defined as â€Å"a measure of the degree to which objectives are achieved and targeted problems solved† (Moore, 1996: 348), can be evaluated by, but not limited to group performance, member satisfaction, team learning and outsider satisfaction (Ancona et al. , 2004) (Appendix 1). In the context of my group, effectiveness involved; high interaction, learning and overall efficiency of task. Sources of group feedback, external marking criteria and a team effectiveness survey were enlisted to help quantify group effectiveness in these areas (Appendix 2-5). A mark of 14/15 was a primary indication of the group’s performance, indicating the task had been completed with great process, content and presentation (Appendix 2), Furthermore, post assessment group discussion and surveys concluded members were individually pleased and had learnt from the experience. A mutual rating of strongly agree on of team learning, satisfaction as a member of the group and superior quality of work as well as a strongly disagree with respect to inability to integrate our viewpoints, indicate that members individually believed that the collective context and processes of the group were effective. Ancona’s model states that effectiveness is a direct result of great skill of context and process of group (Ancona et al. , 2004). This theory will be examined through the analysis of the factors which facilitated and hindered my groups effectiveness. Ehrhart (2004) furthering Ancona’s model, focuses on the design of a group, specifically compatibility of members with organization to increases proficiency of task. From the outset the task was handled with values of high performance, learning and engagement, all of which are congruent with that of the the organization (The University of Queensland) (University of Queensland, 2010). In line with Ehrhart’s theory this compatibility allowed efficiency evident in a comprehensive completion of task. Building once again on this notion of context is Monahan and Muchinsky’s person-group â€Å"fit† theory (1987). It specifies that efficiency is created when members’ goals, values and personality traits are similar. This was evident in my group’s members initial attraction to join based on similar personality traits; maturity of age and extraversion. Hence this â€Å"fit† assisted us to work as cohesive and instil trust in one another. In contrast Monahan (Monahan and Muchinsky’s: 1987) complementary model suggests that, if managed correctly diversity of members skills, experience and personality type (introverted vs extraverted) can improve performance as members add unique attributes that are necessary for success. Monahan specified that heterogeneous teams allowed for both strong and passive personalities improving team decision-making and learning whereas homogeneously extraverted groups lead to power struggles, thus decreasing effectiveness. Noticeably my group correlated with Monahan’s theory believing that diversity of backgrounds, skills and experience (a mother, HR manager, ex-navy engineer and third year student) assisted in achievement of goals. Furthermore as my group was unanimously extraverted there was difficulty in making decisions, creativity as well as conflict was an issue. An example of this was the group’s inability to create workshop activities that excited and engaged participation from introverted class mates. This proved Monahan’s theory of necessity for diversity to foster effectiveness. Most important for effectiveness in my group was the establishment of affective group norms. Tagger and Ellis (2007) express that team norms can influence individual team member’s problem solving behaviours and organize the teams thinking. The article specifically acknowledges that the absence of norms can detract from team effectiveness. My group’s norms, as set by group memorandum (Appendix 3) proved Tagger and Ellis’ theory creating an effective operating climate by structuring the task, setting objectives, expectations, rewards, retributions and deadlines. Initially setting norms of specific meeting times, email as a constant communication channel and recording minutes from each meeting ensured that members were continually aware as to what was expected and what would be accepted. Hence an effective structure for the group was formed. While these elements of group context, compatibility, â€Å"fit†, diversity and group norms, were effective they were not maximized due to the problems in group processing, specifically those of role assignment and leadership. Team processes; decision making, communication, team leadership and conflict management, are all extremely important to group effectiveness (Ancona et al. 2004). Whilst in the majority each of these elements were dealt with effectively, as indicated by the teams overall mark of 14/15 (Appendix 2), issues did arise which threatened the cohesion of the group. Belbin’s team roles survey revealed group members to be spread across most roles (Appendix 4). As such members were not allocated specific roles, rather slotting into any role necessary. Simultaneously there was no clearly defined leader, instead the leadership position shifted continuously (Appendix 5). Whilst in the short term this was effective, long term it could create task ambiguity. As Bandura (1997) stated, â€Å"if one does not know what demand is to be fulfilled one cannot accurately judge whether one has the requisite abilities to perform the task†¦ Discrepancies between efficiency belief and performance will arise when either the tasks or the circumstances under which they are performed are ambiguous (p. 64). † Thus, using Bandura’s reasoning, task efficieny was decreased as a result of task ambiguity due to the lack of defined roles, specifically that of a clear leader. Furthermore survey results (see appendix) highlight that communication was an issue. In today’s fastpaced world virtual communication use is crutial, however with it comes disadvantages; namely lack of nonverbal communication and misunderstandings (Hortwitz et al. ). Hortwitz et al. highlights therefore the importance of a leader to observe and track these virtual interactions. Without a clear leader, decisions can be poor, conflict can arise and overall effectiveness decreased. This was evident in our group as we did not have a clear leader, thus virtual communicaton was poorly structured leading to duplication of work, confusions with decision-making and planning difficulties. Thus, it is evident by these compounding elements of process that clearly defined roles and communication are essential for group effectiveness. These factors combined with a clearly defined leader and an effective group context lay the foundation for group effectiveness. While grading well, effectiveness of the group could have been improved. Group context was beneficial, mixing both homogeneous personalities with heterogeneous skills and backgrounds created a fun and creative atmosphere (Appendix 5). However this does not necessarily facilitate outsider satisfaction. This was the case with our group workshop whereby class interaction was difficult to initiate. As all group members were like-minded, we did not think our product would not work on less like-minded participants. If there was diversity, introverted and extraverted, members could have collaborated more effectively, made better quality decisions thus produce a more engaging performance. Furthermore we didn’t utilize external devises to our advantage. By simple actions of talking with past students, our lecturer or testing our workshop on other class members we could have improved our mark and learnt more about our task, thus been more effective. Most importantly, the group’s effectiveness was severely decreased by task ambiguity created by the lack of clear leadership. While this was not a major issue it was agreed that if the task involved a monetary reward, conflict would have arisen, further decreasing effectiveness. This group experience has taught me alot about myself and how I work in teams. I have learnt more about the theory of how a group’s context and operations affect effectiveness but more importantly how these elements can be manipulated to increase effectiveness. Primarily I noticed the benefits of group norms in setting a code of behaviour as well as guiding me personally. I found that within the group environment these norms helped me to understand more clearly the extent to which my group members regarded the assignment and work accordingly. Furthermore as norms were set early there was a higher cohesiveness within the group that allowed me to learn and to participate to my full potential. I have the weakness of being overly controlling with group work. With group norms setting out guidelines and expectations I was able to be less dominating, instead concentrating on the task at hand. More importantly, this experience has highlighted the importance of a group leader. I have the potential to be doubtful and over analytical about my work, hence a specific leader is essential for me to get on track with a task as without one I tend to withdraw due to anxiety. A clear leader is therefore essential for my performance as they can guide and react to circumstances or perceived threats. Furthermore the use of homogeneity of personality, hetrogenity of skill and formed group norms is diminished if there’s no clear governing body to overlook, present feedback and aid communication. Thus in group situations I will concentrate on personality testings to ensure selected members have compatible personalities as well as concentrating on leadership development and cementing progressive norms, setting the way for successful processes and thus an effective group. Therefore, as evidenced by the application of Ancona’s model of effectiveness for the above study, it can be seen that it is a useful tool in providing detailed insight into group effectiveness. Throughout this essay the analysis of group context and processes were particularly helpful in providing an understanding of key factors that affect effectiveness. Highlighted were the need for group context to include compatibility, ‘fit’, diversity and norms as well as processes with a clearly defined leader and effective communication. Hence with this insight it can be expected that a group that adopts these concepts into their group dynamic is likely to be considered an effective group.

Dopplar Radar :: essays research papers

Doppler Radar The Social realm of Doppler radar relates to many different things we do in everyday life, anytime you are going outdoors anywhere in the world you can find out what it is going to be like before you even step outside. This is made possible with the use of Doppler Radar. In this section I am going to discuss the social realm of Doppler radar in the local, regional, national and global areas. First we must know what is Doppler radar? Doppler radar is a device that measures the Doppler shift in a radar beam reflected from an object’s motion towards or away from the radar aerial. (from WeatherOnline.com) In our local area we use Doppler radar for many different things in the social realm. We use is for safety when bad weather is near. Doppler radar has saved many lives since it was first used to track weather in @#$%$%%^ !#$%^?... When a tornado is near we take cover and when a flood is near we do all we can to protect what we can in the time we have. Fortunately we don’t live near the coast where hurricanes occur. It also helps us in the social realm in the winter when we have snow and ice, when driving conditions are at there worse. Nobody wants to risk their lives when the roads are icy so we tend to cancel more and more of our social gatherings during the winter, and if you have a television and or radio you can find out most of the cancellations before you head out the door and risk your life on snow and ice covered roads. Anyone and everyone who has a job that requires them to be outdoors is almost always watching the weather. Many different jobs depend on the weather, for instance concrete layers can’t pour concrete when it is raining, they also have to look to see when it is going to rain next, because they have to give the concrete time to set. Concrete workers also look at what the temperature is, the temperature can effect the way that a certain concrete will set, how long it will take and if it is too hot or cold out the concrete will crack. Concrete layers are always watching the weather because much of what they do depends on the weather. Another one of these jobs that requires a constant eye on the weather is farming.

Cultivating Culturally Responsive Leaders Essay

The purpose of this study is to make school administrators aware and familiar with the challenges and obstacles ELL students encounter. With such a growing population of ELL students, teachers are having to become more and more aware of instructional strategies. Teachers are now being held accountable more than ever for their student’s performance and need to make sure every student makes learning gains. With South Florida’s increasing ELL population teachers are struggling to get these students, whose first language is not English, to speak, read, and write proficiently in English before they take the FCAT or by the end of the year to be able to show learning gains. This case study will take place at Winston Park K-8 School. Winston Park is located in a suburban, middle to lower class multiethnic community in the southwest section of Miami-Dade County. The student population is composed of eighty-six percent Hispanics, nine percent white, one percent black, and four percent other. Sixty percent of the students are eligible for free and reduced lunch, 46% are ELL, six percent are SWD, and four percent are gifted students. Average daily attendance is 98%. There is a total of 96 instructional staff members. Ninety-one percent of the instructional staff is highly qualified. Twenty-six percent of teachers have received advanced degrees. Parental involvement is high and growing. The student interviewed is an eight-year-old third grade student. Gabriela came from Cuba in March of 2012. Gabriela and her family came from Cuba in search of freedom and a better life. Gabriela came to the United States with her father and mother. Gabriela states that they lived in a poor neighborhood and struggled to get the little food that they did to put on the table. After school Gabriela would go to work with her mom at a farm to pick fruits, vegetables, and even milk cows. Gabriela has showed great growth in the one year that she has been in the Miami-Dade County Public school system. Although Gabriela has attended Winston Park from the beginning of this school year, this is the second school she’s attended in the district since arriving from Cuba. Gabriela’s mom informed that she was very unhappy at her previous school but that now Gabriela loved waking up in the morning to attend school. Even though both of her parents work they are very involved in her studies and will stop at nothing to make sure Gabriela gets a good education. Gabriela is not your average recently arrived ELL student. In the short time she has been here, Gabriela has learned to read, write and comprehend English just as well, if not at times better than many of her non-ELL classmates. Gabriela has made Honor Roll every nine-week grading period and was even referred to be tested for the gifted program. In this case study we will answer how do ELLs, their parents, teachers, and other stakeholder understand ELLs academic experiences in school and how can administrators work be informed by a case study that focuses on ELLs and their experiences in Florida schools. Literature Review In reviewing literature based on paired reading and fluency increase, I found several sources that supported my hypothesis that pairing low (ESOL) and high (Non-ESOL) students during reading is an effective intervention. These findings are particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Reading fluency is important for comprehension. When students read efficiently and accurately, then they can comprehend what they read more easily. In primary grades, students learn to read but in upper elementary grades students read to learn. What is fluency? According to the National Reading Panel (2000), fluency is the ability to read text aloud with speed, accuracy, and proper expression (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001; Meyer & Felton, 1991; Rasinkski, 2003). Fluent readers can recognize the majority of the words they read automatically without having to decode individual words; they are ble to dedicate their attention to the ultimate goal of reading: comprehension. Fluency is the bridge between word recognition and reading comprehension (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; Nathan & Stanovich, 1991; Rasinksi & Padak, 2004). While studies have not determined the ideal number of times necessary to achieve reading fluency, researchers say the more times the better. A typical reader needs to read a passage four times to reach maximum fluency levels (National Reading Panel, 2000). Beginning readers and struggling older readers tend to read slowly, haltingly, and with little or no expression. Often as a result, text comprehension is affected, confidence levels are low, and they do not enjoy reading. Therefore, fluency is and should be a primary goal of literacy instruction. The oral reading fluency norms for grades 1-5 are: 1st 53-111, 2nd 89-142, 3rd 107-162, 4th 123-180, and 5th 139-194 (Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2006). While conducting my research, I found different types of reading interventions that can help increase an ESOL student’s fluency: Choral Reading, Duet Reading, Audio-Recorded Books, Echo Reading, and Paired Reading (Hudson et al. , 2005; The Partnership for Reading, 2001). In choral reading, a group of students read aloud from the same selection. The teacher can read along to set the pace and model targeted skills. Students can improve their fluency skills, including appropriate pausing and expression, by reading along with a group of readers or with a strong reader as a partner (Hudson, 2005). In duet reading, a stronger reader is paired with a less-fluent reader. The stronger reader sets the pace and provides visual tracking by moving his or her finger below each word as it is read in unison. In audio-recorded books, the student reads aloud with an audio-recorded version of a book. The purpose is to encourage the weaker reader to read along with the tape. In echo reading, the adult reads a short passage and then invites the child to â€Å"Say what I say† or â€Å"Copy me,† encouraging the child to repeat what the adult has read (Robertson & Davig, 2002). In this way, the adult models fluent reading and then provides the child with an opportunity for immediate practice. In paired reading, children who are struggling with reading fluency are paired up with a more capable reader. In this strategy, the fluent reader and reader take turns reading by lines or pages (Mathes, Fuchs, Fuchs, Henley, & Sanders, 1994). In evaluating the different types of reading interventions, I found that paired reading is the most commonly used to increase fluency. According to the report of The National Reading Panel (2000), guided repeated oral reading is the most effective procedure for developing reading fluency (Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; Rasinski & Hoffman, 2003). Paired reading was originally developed as a strategy for parents and children reading at home, but it is easily adapted for classroom use in intervention lessons (Morgan & Lyon, 1979; Topping, 1989). Paired reading requires the reading partners to read aloud. Reading aloud to elementary school students can have many beneficial effects; it improves their language skills, motivates them to read on their own, makes students familiar with books, and expands vocabulary (Saban, 1994). Research indicates that repeated paired reading leads not only to improving in reading the passage but also improvement in decoding, reading rate, expression, and comprehension of passages that the reader has not previously seen (Dowhower, 1994; Kuhn & Stahl, 2000; National Reading Panel, 2000). Rasinski and Fredericks (1991) reported on a paired reading project launched by the Akron, Ohio Public School System; the results of the project suggest that paired reading also helped improve reading performance but in addition helps improve reading motivation and child bonding. Studies on paired reading showed that students of all ages can make extraordinary reading gains. In one study of paired reading over a period of six to ten weeks, students made a gain of at least six months in reading (Limbrick, McNaughton, & Cameron, 1985). In another study, students made an average of three months’ gain for every month of paired reading. The less proficient readers were not the only ones who benefited; the student who served as the tutor also made substantial gains in their reading abilities (Topping, 1989). In summation, the characteristics of the paired reading instruction (positive one-to-one collaboration between skilled and less-skilled readers, reader engagement, practice, evidence of progress, and reader expression) support my hypothesis that pairing a low and high student during reading is an effective intervention for fluency increase. It may promote rapid turnaround in reader proficiency for less-skilled readers. Furthermore this finding is particularly significant to those educators who are seeking ways to help students with reading fluency difficulty. Method Three people participated in this study: Gabriela, an eight-year old student in third grade and an ESOL level one, her mom and the teacher, Mrs. Sanz. Everyone has given full consent and agreed to interview with us and give us information on Gabriela and their culture. Every person interviewed was cooperative and helpful throughout the interview. The teacher was a crucial part to our interview since she is the one who works directly with Gabriela on a daily basis and can best describes her strengths and weaknesses. During the interview, we asked Mrs. Sanz to please provide us with information and data about Gabriela. We explained to her teacher and mother that all of Gabriela’s information would be kept confidential and that her name would be changed for privacy purposes. Some of the data we collected was from the SAT (Stanford Achievement Test), FAIR (Florida Assessment in Instruction and Reading), and the CELLA (Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment). While the teacher pulled out useful pieces of data she gave us a synopses of how Gabriela is in class and how she is getting along with all the other students. Mrs. Sanz feels she’s a bright young girl (probably gifted) with lots of potential. She is self-directive and puts forth maximum effort. Mrs. Sanz also told us Gabriela enjoys helping the other students in class. Mrs. Sanz feels this may be due to the high level of importance her parents have instilled in her regarding school. Sandra, Brenda and Mrs. Sanz all discussed and analyzed the data and we identified all her strong areas as well as a few minor weak areas. Sandra Ramallo and Brenda Gomez conducted the study. Sandra and Brenda were both present at all interviews and had the opportunity to talk to each interviewee. Since the study was conducted by both Sandra and Brenda the work load was distributed amongst each other. Brenda worked on the introduction, method, findings, and consent forms. Sandra worked on the literature review, discussion, and the transcription of the interview.

The Greenhouse Effect On The World - 1290 Words

Introduction Most people around the world do not fully understand the meaning of the greenhouse effect, or the affects the greenhouse effect has on the world. In fact, many believe that the greenhouse effect is simply contributes to global warming, and that it has no real value to the earth. But what many are not aware of it that the greenhouse effect is the planet’s natural way of obtaining a specific temperature in which living organisms can survive. Many people are not aware of the consequences that our way of life has on the planet, and soon, with the help of global warming, we will all understand. Greenhouse gasses There are three main greenhouse gases that play a large role in keeping our planet at a stable temperature; carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Other gases produced are troposheric ozone, CFC-12, HCFC-22, and sulfur hexafluoride. 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