Running Head: Group Dynamics Reflection.

Working in groups can be both exciting and challenging at the same time. in order to

achieve success in group work it requires that all members share desires and goals; I have

worked before in groups where everyone was passionate about our goals and this translated into

high quality work. Those who are chosen as leaders in the group have the responsibility to lead

by example. This was not the case with my group for the class Group Dynamics and as such we

ended with low grades. For this reason therefore I would not wish to ever work with members I

worked with in this group again since I value my studies and hence don’t want to get low grades

again.

I have previously worked with different people and therefore learnt that in group there

will always be members who are great leaders and others who just greatly contribute to the

group’s success. There are also the careless types who do not care at all and are comfortable with

just any grade for as long as it is a pass. I therefore understand what it takes for one be a great

group leader. Our Group Dynamics team lacked the kind of person who can measure to the

standards of a group leader. Nevertheless, have a strong conviction that our group could have

been strong even with no strong leadership but it appeared like some of the members only

wanted to achieve a passing grade. Registering high scores was not there business for as long as

they could proceed to the next level and therefore they put minimal efforts towards the success of

the group.

The group I worked with this semester had many similarities with other groups on real

job sites. It is particularly very had in some instances to bring together different in a group and

have them work coherently. In my opinion this explains the high turnover rates that many

companies have to struggle with. Corporations have no time and resources to allow employees
long periods to learn one another and work as a team; changes are made almost as immediate as

it is discovered that there is not fit. On the other hand class work is an opportunity for all to learn

and there every member it required to participate and learn as much as possible as to as to

become efficient. Conflicts will always arise in groups but quick amicable solutions ensure that

the group remains on course; challenges were there in my group just like any other.

In my opinion this was a very exciting learning experience as the professor assigned us to

groups randomly and this allowed us to learn together with classmates we have not related

before. it was almost like a real world experience where you encounter new people every day

and must adjust yourself to work well with anyone. my prayer for any group is just that

leadership should be exercised well so that members are focused on meeting the common project

goals. our strategy for decision making was one strength I commend my group for; we could

easily sit down as a group and discuss the way forward on any arising issues such as meeting

deadlines. There was also good bonding which allowed the ease of discussion among members

of the group. we all needed to get a passing grade at least and therefore our differences were

placed aside when it came to group work and problems were solved in a quick manner.

In conclusion therefore any working group must assign roles to members, make group

decisions, have problem solving mechanisms, ensure members work coherently with one another

and appreciate that conflicts are inevitable in group settings. This semester we have learnt a lot

about aspect of group dynamics and applied the same throughout the semester in order to achieve

success. We learnt that listening, compromising and exercise leadership are aspects that can

contribute positively to a group project and the experiences have prepared us for future college

and career lives. I personally have learnt that I can work with any kind of groups and accomplish
my goals; it just requires determination, self confidence, motivation as well as goals and every

group activity will be successful.

References

1. Mate Nagy et al. (2010). Hierarchical Group Dynamics in Pigeon Flocks. Nature.
available at http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7290/abs/nature08891.html

2. Mark R. Beauchamp, and Mark A. Eys. (2014). Group Dynamics in Exercise and Sports
Psychology. Routledge.

3. Nike Arnold, Lara Ducats, and Claudia Kost. (2012) Collaboration or Cooperation?
Analyzing Group Dynamics and Revision Processing in Wikis.

4. Nike Arnold, et al. (2009). Assessing Online Collaboration Among Language Teachers:
A Cross-Institutional Case Study. Journal of Interactive Online Learning. retrieved from
http://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/pdf/8.2.2.pdf

5. White, P.J et al. (2012) Group Dynamics of Yellowstone Pronghorn. Journal of

Mammology.