We have analyzed the MegaFoods case study in the week 3 workshop activity, our group has consisted of five persons. The task we were presented with required us to collect information about each of the two market segments using SWOT analysis. Based on the given background, we can know that ready-made food was an increasing trend from 31% to 33% (only 2 percent); biscuits and snacks was an increasing trend from 14% to 17% (only 3 percent), but beverage: decrease from 55% to 50% (only 5%). Due to our group leader was very responsible and have more experiences, we saved much time and more effectiveness.

This is the Responding part: 

At the commencement of this activity, our leader was very active and more friendly, he wanted every member to join it and share individual point. Due to the extension of last semester, I have not worked together in a group for half a year, so I need some time to fit in a new environment. But the leader found that I and another one seemed quite shy and quiet. He took the initiative to communicate with us and asked for our opinions. This allowed the task to go from difficult at first to efficient teamwork, as everyone shared their ideas and Shared the information and ideas they found.

This is the Relating part: 

At first, we started a discussion to find the main problems and reasons why the sales of beverage decrease. and then, allocated the task to each person to expand our research and presentation content. The leader shared a google ppt to every member and make sure individual ideas or research can post online. If have any problems or feel confused during the workshop, we turned on the zoom video to communicate and solved it together. In the end, the leader collated the research and highlight the important point, which completed our presentation.

This is the Reasoning part:

My personality and workstyle are depending on my team members. If our members are very shy and quiet, I will be playing a particular role to break ice and active atmosphere, because I don’t like the embarrassed working atmosphere. If our members are very active and good at expressing, I will be listening to everyone’s opinion and collate information to make notes. For this group cooperation, our team leader played a cohesive role and paid close attention to the dynamics of team members in real time.  My team leader noticed the phenomenon and asked me what I thought when I was too quiet.

In the end of the lecture, the professor picked three groups to present their overview. Every group’s presentation was very good, their points are different and novel. Look at our responses and ppt content, we just focus on some research information, there have not point of individual view and some divergent thinking. So, the next workshop, we have to put some concentration on the discussion and our view expression.

This is the Responding part:
First, I decided to have a discussion before assigning tasks to understand everyone's ideas and find the main points of each part together. However, only two members actively joined the discussion during the discussion, and the other two members were very quiet. This caused the interaction of our group to be not very active, and it also put me in an awkward situation. But as the team leader, I must break the deadlock to make my work more efficient and save time. Therefore, in the discussion of determining the company structure, I gave the quiet members the first priority. And take the initiative to ask quiet members and encourage them to express their thoughts more.

This is the Relating part:
In the process of workshop cooperation, I recalled my previous experience of university group cooperation in my role is different every time. Because I do not like the awkward working atmosphere, my personality and work style depend on my team members. If my members are shy and quiet, I will play the role of a leader to organize the members. But my members are very active and expressive. I will listen to everyone's opinions, organize information, and take notes. Since the team members are quiet and active this time, I should play a cohesive role and adjust the working atmosphere appropriately.

Because of time constraints and the declining enthusiasm of the team members, I quickly ended the discussion. My leadership style is biased towards democracy, so I allow each member to search and summarize the information they are interested in and set a time of 40 minutes. Due to the online meeting mode, I created Google PPT and set up a page for everyone, in order to share all the information of the group members. This democratic leadership style has many advantages that can generate trust, promote teamwork, and employee cooperation.

This is the Reconstructing part:  Although there were some problems during the discussion, the democratic leadership style allowed the team members to adapt to each other more quickly, and we completed the task on time. However, as a leader, you should have more organizational skills and the ability to control every aspect. This is still the defect of my leadership ability. As a leader, I should plan ahead so that everyone has enough time to research, and then create an open environment to share information.

First, Kim gives the team members 10 minutes to read the case, and then divides the task into three parts: organizational structure, problem analysis and suggestions. And directly start assigning tasks and searching for information based on the outline. Due to the lack of discussion links, in the first half of the meeting, the team has been in quiet work. After the team members finished searching for information and returned to the meeting room, Kim collected all the information from everyone, and then reassigned the task to start making PPT. Due to the lack of a discussion process, the whole meeting was very quiet, and everyone did it with their own ideas. Until the instructor asked to end the meeting, Kim integrated the parts that everyone was responsible for.

During this collaboration, I recalled an awkward group experience of OLET course. Because everyone was too unfamiliar, the whole meeting became awkward after a simple self-introduction, and there was no one to adjust the atmosphere until the end of the meeting. If Kim is a member of the team, he will be a responsible person who can complete the work on time. But as a leader, he lacks coordination and organization skills. Because I am a person who will obey the leader's assignment, but I enjoy the atmosphere of everyone working together.

This is the Reasoning part:

Since the process of the meeting has been very quiet, everyone has always been in a state of working alone rather than teamwork. The first main reason: Kim lacks some characteristics of a leader, such as organizational skills, communication skills, etc. Because communication is a bridge to promote a team to complete work, not only can improve work efficiency, but also can promptly discover problems in cooperation. The second reason: lack of group members, because everyone has different personalities, there are active and quiet members in the group. Due to the lack of an active member today, leaders also lack the ability to adjust the atmosphere.

In the next group cooperation, the leader should pay more attention to the link of communication and discussion. Although this cooperation is a quiet process, Kim is still a very responsible leader, but lacks leadership skills.

 

In this week's workshop, Jack became the leader of our group. We will analyse the medical centre case based on ethical theory and redesign an ethical organization as a manager. Jack analysed and summarized the entire case at the beginning of the meeting, which helped us clarify our thinking and improve efficiency. Our team model is more inclined to the coach model, the leader plans every step and then the team members execute the plan. Thanks to the leader’s efficiency, this week’s work efficiency improved, and the task was completed ahead of schedule.

 

 First of all, Jack has listed the outline mode we want to complete at the beginning of the meeting. In order to understand the team members' thoughts on the case analysis, I decided to have a brief discussion before assigning tasks. After the discussion is over, let everyone choose the tasks they are interested in to collect information. As everyone’s relationship is getting closer, the atmosphere of discussion and the mode of work have become more and more harmonious.

Moreover, Jack’s leadership ability also promoted the work of the entire team.

 In the process of cooperation in the workshop, I recalled the experience of internship. Because it is a new employee, I got the help of old employees. When encountering difficulties and doubts, enthusiastic seniors will help me analyse and understand. Because of this teamwork, the leader is more like a mentor, and the team members only need to follow the leader's model and framework. But the downside is that group members will have a psychology of dependence, and there is no imagination and advantage in the process of cooperation, which is limited to the leader's framework.

 As Jack’s working mode is clear and concise, we did not spend a lot of time discussing and studying cases, and completed the task ahead of time. And Jack’s leadership style is coaching, which greatly improves our work efficiency and reduces disagreements and disputes. Jack also shared a PPT for everyone to make the content of the speech together, so that everyone can view their content and opinions. Since the cooperation model was very efficient this time, we completed the task ahead of schedule and ended the meeting.

This is the Reconstructing part:
There were no disagreements or problems in this group cooperation. As a responsible leader, Jack has the ability to assign tasks and also has a logical structure. And has many leadership qualities. The only shortcoming is that the team members should be given some space to show their ability. Leverage the work style strengths of team members.

In this week's workshop, Lea became the leader of our group. We conduct long-term analysis and planning of DUB's business strategy, and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Since Lea is a very thoughtful and expressive person, her leadership style is biased towards a combination of strategic leadership and bureaucratic leadership. Therefore, our working mode is biased towards the mode of obeying tasks and orders. Since this leadership style and work model is an efficient model, we completed the task ahead of schedule.

 

Lea started the discussion before the meeting, but the leader was always expressing his opinions during the discussion, and it was difficult for the group members to enter the discussion. Since bureaucratic leaders follow the rules, this leadership style may listen to and consider the opinions of employees. It’s not liked an authoritarian leadership style, but if employees’ opinions conflict with company policies or past practices, leaders often reject it. When the group members are too quiet, the leader will break the deadlock and encourage everyone to express their opinions, but they will still follow their own opinions. After the discussion was over, everyone began to assign tasks, and keep in touch at any time during the search for information.

 In the process of working  in the workshop, I recalled the work experience of internship. Because it is an internship in a small business, company managers are in charge of the company's main affairs. Because managers do not like to delegate power to employees, employees cannot express their true ideas in the company. In this cooperation, everyone is in a state of obeying orders and only expressing their opinions occasionally. Lea is a person with organizational ability and strategy, but as a leader, he should give the team members the space to exert their personal abilities.

 Although there is a time limit, the system's division of labour and clear instructions from the leader have raised the overall work efficiency to a level. However, the participation of team members has decreased, and the enthusiasm of the team members has decreased. There is no interaction between the leader and the group members, and the leader lacks the ability to listen. Because effective communication of the most important of all work skills can better promote team relationships.

This is the Reconstructing part: 
Although we complete the work efficiently, Lea’s leadership style should be more supportive. This style of team members is good at promoting team interaction, and if one of their colleagues has a problem, they can tell you. They thrive in cooperation rather than competition and are happy to celebrate success with other members of the team.