Proposal: Lowering Overpriced

College Supplies
Submitted by Silvia Martinez
Communication 1010-41
March 23,2015

Contents:
1. Overview
2. Project Description
3. Group Assets
4. Group Limitations
5. Reccomendations
6. Conclusion
7. References

Overview
My group considered what could be done about overpriced cost of
college supplies. We narrowed down our topic by focusing on one supply
in specific rather than all college supplies. We succeeded in coming up
with a possible solution to this problem by using a systematic Problem

Solving Methods, and by delegating roles and responsibilities between

team members. It was in this manner that we were able identify and
propose a solution to the problem.
We did realize that our group had some limitations. We realized
that any missed meetings affected both the people present in the meeting
and the person who missed the meeting in a negative manner. We also
realized that virtual communications was the least effective method of
communication in our group to convey any information missed by the
group member not present. We not only came up with a solution to
overpriced college supplies but also addressed and came up with
solutions to address our group limitations.

Project Description
Our project consisted of analyzing the overpriced cost of college
supplies and finding a possible solution to the problem. We felt that this
was an important topic to address being that the cost of college supplies

has a dramatic impact on each of our team members and classmates but
looking at a greater picture it affects all college students in the nation.
We wanted to take a realistic, real life approach to this problem to provide
a valid and efficient solution.
We began by narrowing the scope and coming up with one clear and
open ended question that focused specifically on lowering the overpriced
cost of college text books. We came to a consensus that the cost of
college text books was the most important supply that we wanted to
focus on. Since purchasing a book is not an optional college expense but
rather mandatory expense much like tuition.
We began our project by brainstorming as a group to come up with
ideas and solutions. Our team collectively provided creative ideas and
possible solutions. We also utilized Reflective thinking sequence. We
began by fine tuning and defining the problem we wanted to address.
Next we conducted research and provided different perspectives and
ideas to understand and analyze the root cause of this problem. Next, we
established the Characteristics and Qualities of a good solution. Once the
criteria had been established we were able to come up with realistic
solutions to the problem. We next made a list of ideas on what could be
done to implement our solutions. This also helped clarify which solutions
were better than others by taking a look at how practical implementing
the solutions would be.

We than took a closer look at all of our solutions and at the

implementation process of each of them to decide on which solution
would be the most effective. We held a group discussion to anticipate
everything that could go wrong with the solution and with implementing
the solutions. By looking at both the good and bad that could come from
each solution our group was able to narrow down our list to one optimal
solution.
Our team made a commitment to meeting with team members on a
regular basis and by being a contributing member of the group. Our team
had some great assets as well as some limitations which I will discuss in
greater detail.

Group Assets
Our group had many assets but two of the most important were a
shared sense of commitment and a great sense of collaboration in our group.
Both of which were extremely important assets to the overall dynamic of our
team.
A group commitment is a sense a sort of contract that bind team
members together by a shared or common goal and each member of the
group must recognize their responsibility to the team in order to fully grasp

that they are part of a team and therefore make a conscientious commitment
to the gourp and to its members. Adler and Elmhorst define Unified
commitment as : putting the groups goals above their personal interest,
this type of commitment is how team members attend group meetings,
contribute ideas that will help influence the overall success of the team as a
whole and by not focusing on the team members as individuals.
The second asset our team had was srtong team collaboration. Our
team worked together and in many different aspects to contribute to the
team discussions, ideas, prespectives and solutions. The overall feel of our
discussions was always positive and on topic. Alder and Elmhorst point out
that Another word for collaborations is teamwork. Our team worked well
and efficiently together.

Group Limitations

Our group did have a couple of limitations. The realized that virtual
communications as was not as effective as other methods of communication
and learned that Organization is key when working in teams.
Our group had excellent communication during our group meetings we
were able to accomplish a lot with each meeting and were able to

communicate excellent with one another at our meetings. It wasnt until we

had team members miss meetings that we realized how it impacted the
team member who was absent as well as the rest of the team. I realized how
time consuming it was ultimately how difficult it was to fill a team mate in via
text message or email on what he or she had missed during the group
meeting. It was very difficult to relay all important information. Having
missed one group session myself I can say that it was confusing getting bits
and pieces of the meeting from different members of the team. Overall
missing a meeting made me feel lost and confused up until the next
meeting.
The other limitation our team faced was issues with organization. It
think the root cause of any disorganization our team experiences was due to
missed meetings. When team members missed a meeting, our team got a
bit of track with who was supposed to provide what information or research
and consequently the team would get a bit off track. That team member
always being a bit behind on what the team was working on and how to
contribute since they were not up to date with what had been discussed
previously.
Although our team faced some limitations I feel confident that with
each session we were able to recognize some of these limitations and find
ways to move past them.

Recommendations
Assessing our assets and limitations as a team as well as looking back
on our group meetings and process, has made me realize that there are a
few things I would change to improve the overall group dynamic of the team.
I would suggest that when a team mate cannot attend a meeting we
try and rearrange our meeting (within reason) to accommodate that member
so long as this is not a chronic scenario. So that as many team members are
able to attend as many meetings as possible. To improve the overall
communication and organizations of the team.

Conclusion
Our team worked together to come up with a realistic and practical
solution to lowering the overpriced cost of college text books. I learned a
great deal about working in a team and how to recognize our strengths as a
team and to embrace our assets as a team.
I also learned to acknowledge limitiations and address those limitations
to improve the experience of the whole team and to improve the results of
the team.

References