ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

STUDENT DETAILS

Student name: Tran Ha Hanh Ngan Student ID number: 31211023660

UNIT AND TUTORIAL DETAILS

Unit name: Business Communication Unit number: BC6

Tutorial/Lecture: Learning Portfolio 4 Class day and time:
Lecturer or Tutor name: Mr. Michael Saram

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Title: Learning Portfolio Assignment 4

November 21st November 21st
Length: 752 words Due date: 23:59 PM Date submitted: 23:15 PM

DECLARATION

I hold a copy of this assignment if the original is lost or damaged.

I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been copied from any other student’s work
or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment.
I hereby certify that no part of this assignment or product has been submitted by me in another
(previous or current) assessment, except where appropriately referenced, and with prior permission
from the Lecturer / Tutor / Unit Coordinator for this unit.
No part of the assignment/product has been written/ produced for me by any other person except
where collaboration has been authorised by the Lecturer / Tutor /Unit Coordinator concerned.
I am aware that this work may be reproduced and submitted to plagiarism detection software programs
for the purpose of detecting possible plagiarism (which may retain a copy on its database for future
plagiarism checking).

Student’s signature: Tran Ha Hanh Ngan

Note: An examiner or lecturer / tutor has the right to not mark this assignment if the above declaration has
not been signed.
 1. What do you find most difficult about collaborative writing? What strategies did you (or your
team) develop to make collaborative writing more effective? Explain.
From my observation, the most difficult thing about collaborative writing is the equally shared
workload. When working in a team, there might be someone who is mature, enthusiastic, and
responsible for their individual task and the other’s task as well. Meanwhile, the other members may
be unwilling to invest the time and effort that a group project requires. Consequently, they don't
commit themselves to teamwork and the quality would be lower. To avoid this situation in my team,
we figured out some effective ways.

Strategies Explain

Planning the Work and the Document:
- Make an analysis of the problem, the audience, and
purposes explicit.
To be successful, members must focus on
building the team and establishing norms and
roles, before beginning to plan the document

- Articulate and agree on the organization, format, and

style of the document before anyone begins to write

- Consider creating a team contract that defines members’

roles and responsibilities.

Composing the Drafts: Composing together may reduce revision time

later since group members can examine every
- Encourage each member to choose task and maintenance
choice as it is made.
roles (leader, summariser, reviser, editor) that best use his
or her strengths.

- Have the best writer(s) draft the document after

everyone has gathered the necessary information.
Revising the Document: Revising a collaborative document requires
attention to content, organization, and style.
- Evaluate the content and discuss possible revisions as a
The following guidelines can make the revision
group.
process more effective

- Recognize that different people favor different writing

styles. If the style satisfies the demands of Standard English
and the conventions of business writing, accept it even if
you wouldn’t say it that way.

- Have the best writer do the edits to maintain a single

style.

2. Describe an interpersonal conflict you have experienced in a team. How did the conflict benefit
the interpersonal relationships in the team as you attempted to resolve it (the conflict)?
Interpersonal conflict is an unavoidable thing in a team, and I realized that I have gained some
learning points after facing up with conflicts. My best friend and I were members of the same school
club and played important roles in the leading team, so we had to discuss and work together a lot to
develop the club to meet the values and missions. Once, during our recruitment period when we had
extremely heavy workloads, I mistakenly thought that I was carrying the world on my shoulders and
he did nothing to help me. I stated to him that we were having a problem and wanted to resolve it.
We set the boundaries and sweetbox rules before the meeting started, which includes avoiding an
aggressive mind and doing sweet things instead, with the aim of creating a safe space for us to
express ourselves. Things went as we expected, he calmly listened to my complaint and explained
clearly after I had finished my words. I didn’t even know that he was stressed and overwhelmed to
balance between study and work and that he needed time to take a rest. He impressed me with his
calmness and persistence despite difficulties. We were so delighted and happy afterward, because
he can honestly share with me his feelings, and so do I. This situation showed us that our action plan
for the recruitment was not effective and that should be adjusted. Furthermore, our friendship had
been strengthened.
REFLECTION
After finishing the session and reading Chapters 20 and 21 of the Braun et. al. textbook, Chapter 7 of
the Cheesebro et. al. textbook, and the corresponding slides, I have learned a lot of skills, especially
teamwork skills. After delineating definitions about conflicts, the chapter provides resolutions to
manage the conflict effectively which helps me to figure out my problems and take action to cope
with them. When I was in high school, I usually had conflicts with my friends and teammates
because of misunderstanding and ego conflict but I tended to be an accommodator and fail to get
my own needs met. Now I believe that conflict is important if we can manage it effectively, as the
situation I have mentioned in the second question. Furthermore, I also understand the methods and
techniques used in collaborative writing which is one of the most essential skills for better
teamwork. In conclusion, the knowledge I have gained through this session is what I need the most
at present and I hope that I will successfully apply these in practical situations to avoid unexpected
problems.
REFERENCES:

Braun, K., Locker, K. O., & Kaczmarek, S. K. (2016). Business communication: Building critical skills. Mc

Graw Hill Education.

Cheesebro, T., O'Connor, L. and Rios, F., 2012. Communicating in the workplace. Brantford, Ont.: W. Ross
MacDonald School Resource Services Library.