COM 320 – ASSIGNMENT 3 SELF-REFLECTION PAPER (20%)

Course: COM 320 Small Group Communication

Term: Fall 2021

Instructor: Drs. Nurcan Kose and Arda Jebejian

Assignment Title: Self-reflection Paper

Type: Individual

Description: There are many different types of skills that are relevant to career development.
Effective teamwork skills are very important. What do you think makes a good team member?
Do you have the teamwork skills it takes to be a good team member? The purpose of this
assignment is to dig deeper and reflect on what you learned by answering the most relevant
questions about the collaborative assignments and project you completed.
Tasks:
1. Read the questions carefully.
2. Analyze each question and identify the key words and topics related with each question.
3. Refer to your textbook and chapter slides to draw connections between the subjects
learned and this assignment. Make sure your responses are paraphrased and written in
your own words.
4. Identify, describe, and evaluate specific experiences from your collaborative
assignments.
5. Use this document to answer and upload your file in Word.
6. Submit your work on Turnitin on the date announced on Moodle.

Name ID Section

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QUESTION 1 (25%): Take this Teamwork Skills Self Inventory, rating your
strengths and areas you would like to improve upon. Check the box that matches how
you rate each skill.
Skill Strong Average Needs
improvement
Willing to Listen – you listen to and respect
✓
various points of view
Self-Motivated – you are responsible and
✓
dedicated to completing the task at hand
Honest – you are fair and willing to share
✓
openly with others
Reliable and Trustworthy – you can be
✓
counted on
Effective Communicator – you clearly express
✓
your thoughts and ideas
Organized – you are prepared and ready to
✓
participate and contribute
Cooperative – you enjoy working with other
✓
team members to reach a common goal
Flexible – you embrace change and aren’t
✓
afraid to try new things
Problem Solver – you can identify the issue
✓
and find a solution
What did you learn about yourself by ticking the relevant boxes? What are ways you
can strengthen the skills in the ‘needs improvement’ column?
Write your answer here – a paragraph of 100 to 150 words.

While undertaking in the aforementioned self-reflection, I understand that I am a very rigid

individual which is henceforth impacting my participation in and contribution to team-
based group projects. I have understood that I am unwilling to adapt upon or change my
ideas and this has consequently resulted in me being very fixated in my ways. I am rather
reserved in the context of group projects and hence am unwilling to share my progress or
task plans with other members for the group.

To strengthen myself on these fronts, I believe I should take a more mindful approach to
these projects, where the first step will eb acknowledging that there is always room for
improvement in my ideas and since my group members have an equal stake in the rewards
from the project and hence must have an equal stake in the effort as well. Dedicating &

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necessarily apportioning a block of time towards debating and discussing the ideas before
starting to work on them can help directly tackle this issue at hand.

QUESTION 2 (25%): Here is a list of suggested scenarios:

Scenario 1: The leader of the team wants to do everything himself or herself. They have a
very big ego and are difficult to work with.
Scenario 2: Two of your team members do not get along. There are many hard feelings
between the two, and they refuse to communicate with one another.
Scenario 3: One team member is very sensitive and emotional. This member gets upset
when he/she doesn’t feel listened to and is extremely offended if all of his or her ideas do
not get used. To further complicate matters, most of this team member’s ideas are not
practical.

Choose ONE scenario and fill in the Problem-Solving Organizer below.

1. Identify the problem. What issue(s) are you trying to solve. Why? Be specific.
50-75 words

If we are to look at Scenario 2, we understand that there is a core issue of incompatibility

between the two members, most likely being shaped by a past incident where their paths
would have crossed, and it would have ended badly. While the ideal solution would be to
resolve the issue of the initial interaction, I believe that would be beyond the scope of this
team project and we would not have enough time for the same. Hence, we need to solve the
issue of separating the personal from the professional in this case, so as to ensure that both
members are able to interact well with each other to achieve the desired results within the
team.
2. See the problem from other perspectives than your own, such as the person(s)
involved (the leader’s perspective in Scenario 1, or the two team members’
perspectives in Scenario 2, or the sensitive member’s perspective in Scenario
3). Why is this step in the analysis important? 50-75 words

Looking at the problem from the two crossed students’ perspective, we can understand that
both of them may find it emotionally & mentally draining to work with each other given
their past experience with each other. The utter lack of trust between the two of them
makes it impossible for them to cooperate and work together.

This step is important for our analysis because it prevents us from failing into a biased
world view and viewing this problem & issue from our side only, and possibly coming up
with an effective solution.

3. Make a list of two potential options without evaluating them. 50-75 words

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 Options Description
1. Escalate the issue to the presiding teacher or assistant and ask them to
separate both the students into two separate groups, lest all of you fail

2. Set rules in place that govern the interactions of the members within
the team and help them approach the group-work from an objective
point of view.

1. What are the pros and cons of each of these two options? 50-75 words

Options Pros Cons

1. The teacher or assistant might
simply agree and hence the issue
at hand might get resolved
immediately without any more
time being wasted on it.
2. The solution devised under this
will be a long-term solution and
can be useful for future groups as
well, regardless of the fact if
same members remain or not.
If the teacher refuses to consider
the request, the interaction
between the two members might
get further worse and they might
turn on the leader/other members
of the group who reported to the
teacher.
Might require additional time
commitment on the part of the
prevent, preventing adequate time
devotion to the actual objective of
the group project.

4. What is the best solution? What is the potential for the best outcome? What
are the possible consequences of your solution? 50-75 words

We can argue that going for the long-term generalizable solution is more desirable in this
context, where we can have the issue being resolved and a good solution being put in place
that will benefit all members of the group, long after the group has been dissolved.
Consequences of this action will involve restoration of productivity within the group and
both the members will be able to contribute to the group project and hence ensure that
everyone pulls their weight over the course of the project.

5. Think about how you will implement your solution. Come up with a short list
of steps to follow. Make sure steps are logical. 50-75 words

Steps Description
1. Have a discussion with the two group members, as a team to point out the
issue as well as the negative impact that their actions or behaviour are
having on the group as a whole.
2. Design channels of communication like WhatsApp groups and Slack
Channels where both members can engage in discussions and
negotiations publicly, hence ensuring that all the interactions between
them remain civil.

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 3. Institute grievance voicing procedures, applicable to all members of the
team, so that if and when the two members encounter a problem, it can
resolved swiftly and effectively.

QUESTION 3 (25%):
a. How did what you learned from your group project (Agenda, Minutes, and
Virtual Video) impact your decisions, behaviors, or relationships?
b. What challenges did your team overcome (for example, constraints of time,
resources, communication, organization, leadership, unexpected events or
setbacks)?
c. How did your group overcome them?
d. What did you learn about yourself by participating in the group project?
e. Why is this important?
Write your answer here– a paragraph of 100 to 150 words.

This group project taught me the use of multiple online tools. Particularly, I have started
using agendas and zoom meetings extensively, both of which have served to be extremely
productivity enhancing and time saving. They ensure meetings are crisp and to the point
and no time is wasted in travelling to meeting spots and such. It has helped us overcome on
the time and productivity front, particularly because of zoom meetings.
However, we did face a leadership crisis quite often because all the members of the group
were friends and hence no-one was willing to take the helm, impose deadlines and become
the bad guy. But we overcame this issue, 2-3 weeks after starting the project, by
democratically electing a leader who was tasked with enforcing these responsibilities.
Participating in this project I have understood that I do have a variety of ideas and quite
diverse ones at that but am not always able to communicate them properly or put them
adequately into words and hence others might not understand fully what I am trying to
convey. This has further helped me realize the importance of proper communication and
ensuring if the other members of the group have adequately understood what one is trying
to convey.

QUESTION 4 (25%):
a. How did your skills improve from your work on the collaborative assignments
(Personality and Teamwork Analysis, Digital Magazine, and Case Study)?
b. How do you see yourself applying any of the "lessons learned" from your
group assignments in new contexts, such as an internship or leadership
position?
c. What communication challenges did you face?
d. How did you overcome them?
Write your answer here– a paragraph of 100 to 150 words.

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Whilst working on the collaborative assignments of this term, I have seen a drastic
improvement in my adaptability and flexibility and willingness to accommodate &
participate in group projects. In the first assignment, I didn’t find myself participating
much in the discussions for the first assignment, but after receiving feedback from
teammates I was able to become sentient of this and participate more.

I feel the lessons learnt from these will be particularly important in case of professional
internships where diversity of though and active participation are both encouraged and
rewarded.

In terms of communication challenges, as mentioned in the earlier answer, with regards to

intending to communicate one thing and my team-mates perceiving something else
entirely. This issue was particularly amplified in the context of zoom & virtual meetings. I
overcame this challenge through engaging in constant feedback seeking exercises to ensure
that what is conveyed and what is perceived are in perfect resonance with each other.

ASSIGNMENT 3: GRADING RUBRIC – SELF-REFLECTION PAPER (20%) – INDIVIDUAL

Very
CRITERIA Poor Average Good Excellent
good
Question 1:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
Question 2:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
Question 3:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.

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Question 4:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
NOTES

TOTAL POINTS ___________%

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