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Cultural Project Group Individual Analysis Paper

It was almost a mutual feeling from first day we met in class, we had group cohesiveness, mutual
respect and we were all enthusiastic and committed to work for the best grade possible. From day one,
until the end of our six weeks together we all had something special to bring to the table. What makes a
small group so effective? What do Effective members do? In this paper we will discuss the seven
characteristics that make a group and members effective and they are as followed; experience, problem
solving ability, openness, supportiveness, action oriented, positive personal style and positive overall
team perceptions. These seven characteristics were present in our group, without realizing we were able
to power through all obstacles and problems if we ever encountered any by applying these characteristic.
We also learned a lot and where able to put to use the article "How to Design an Agenda for an Effective
Meeting" by Roger Schwartz. This article was a major key to our success in a small group throughout the
summer.
First lets start with experience. The book defines experience as; effective team members have
practical experience in managing the problems and issues they face; been there, done that (Beebe,
Masterson 9). To me experience is very important to have in a small group or any group really. In our
group, we all had prior experience in being a team member and this really helped us understand and
decipher a problem and issues before it even occurred. For instance, we knew since the second meeting
that we would have some technical hitches with meeting up, because we all have jobs and unfortunately
we all lived far away from one another. Yet, all of us being technology savvy, we found an easy solution.
By setting up an online document in which we all had access to, this helped us keep in touch. We were
also in contact through text messages constantly; this helped us keep on track with our weekly
assignments and duties. Lacking the experience we would have had a hard time or it would have taken us
a while to figure it out how we would goa round this hitch, yet we solved this issue in a matter of
minutes. With the experience we were also able to solve the problem almost immediately because we

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have problem-solving abilities. Our book defines problem-solving abilities as "analyzing information and
issues while staying focused on the problem and possible solutions are characteristics of effective team
members (Beebe, Masterson 10). Combining both we were able to overcome a problem because of the
experience we have; we were able to stop, think and analyze and come about a quick productive fix.
Lacking both of this can be very detrimental to a group and can discontinue any momentum to advance
through the course.

Because we were a very diverse and creative team, we almost always had diverse ideas to share
and this helped us go around the table to share what we had in mind. This was very helpful and it brought
a feeling of belonging and a great deal of support. Everybody always felt free to share giving us a sense of
openness. The book defines support as "team members listen to others , are willing to pitch in and
accomplish the job and have an optimistic outlook about team success" (Beebe, Masterson 10), and
openness as "a basic ingredient for team success; having team members who are straightforward and
willing to appropriately discuss delicate issues" (Beebe, Masterson 10). When we first started to discuss
what subject we wanted to talk about, we all had different ideas and we all put out our ideas on the table.
Not one of us held back, we all shared what we thought without feeling judged. This was an amazing
feeling and if you were an observer looking into our group you would see how each one of us always had
a respect by listening to what each one of us had to say at all times. Once we had the ideas we picked a
subject that would satisfy all of our concepts, and once that was established we supported the final subject
and that is what we ended up presenting on. We never made any changes after concluding our decision,
because we had already agreed and supported the idea from the get go, this help us come up with "fair
like" presentation. Along with openness we as a group seek for ideas from one another. Because we
wanted our group to be engaged at all times, we would ask throughout the group what each of us thought.
The article "How to Design an Agenda for an Effective Meeting" by Roger Schwartz listed seeking input

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from other team members" as the number one tip, and we applied this to each team meeting we
had whether communicating in person or through technology.

Again being a diverse small group, we were all very anxious to get to work and it didnt take
much for us to take action on any assignment given and even including all the article forums. The book
defines action oriented as "team members who focus on "strategic doing" as week as on "strategic
thinking" (Beebe, Masterson 10). It was honestly an amazing feeling knowing we would all get all of our
work done almost immediately, because we are all action oriented and did not like leaving any of the
work till last minute. The meetings we had outside of class were so effective and productive because not
one of us procrastinated on our assigned work. When we decided we were going to do a fair like
presentation we decided on using Knick knacks and foods that described our countries. The day after
people in our group had already started sending us pictures and sharing what we bought and what were
going to use and how we were going to present. Now, I have never been in a group that has acted that
fast, even though we still had time to plan, the group decided to act immediately.

Last of the characteristics of an effective group, we all had a positive attitude toward the class, the
group project as well as positive perception of the team. The books describes this as "team members
being motivated, patient, enthusiastic, friendly and well liked" (Beebe, Masterson 10) and team
perception as "team members believe they have the skills and resources to accomplish their task" (Beebe,
Masterson 10). I believe this was also one of the keys in which why had an effective small group. We
started off on positive note and we were able to keep our cool, patience and be enthusiastic with one
another through the summer. Not one of us was a downer or had a negative view of what were doing,
because we were always all on the same page; as a matter of fact we were almost always very positive
and did not let anything stress us out. Our group climate was always mellow, cohesive and enthusiastic to

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work. We seemed to all have a great sense of humor because there was never a dry moment or an
awkward movement. I believe our final presentation as a group proved and showed the cohesiveness we
had and how we coped, even though we were all in different sections giving smaller individual
presentations we were all able to get the same point across representing different cultures. Since there
was always a positive vibe in our group, we were able to apply tip 21 from, 50 Ways to Bust through a
Creative Block by Starshine Roshell by "sparking an idea of people". We were a creative bunch and this
kept all conversations busy at all times. For example, when we first thought about what subject we would
talk about, we started talking about us in the workforce, in which then took a turn and we narrowed it
down to women in the workforce specifically. We were able to spark and spin ideas of each other and this
was very helpful on keeping our group thinking at all times.

In our small group I was mainly an opinion seeker and supporter. I felt like I had a lot of trust
with my group and I always wanted to hear what others thought about the subject as well as wanted
everyone to share exactly how they felt, and because I trusted them I would almost always agree with
what was shared. I believe this helped our group always be straightforward and more in a positive
direction at all times. With all of this said I felt a sense of belonging and openness and was extremely
comfortable with my group and I believe that this was a mutual feeling. Why where we a successful and
effective small group? We had the experience and problem solving abilities to guide us through any
issues. Along with the feeling of belonging we were always very supportive towards each other, and we
always had a positive outlook. I think overall as group, each member in our group will be very successful
because they have a lot to bring to the table. This is the main reason why were effective, because were
complete together, we were a well-balanced group and it was a pleasure to work with people that have a
passion and positive outlook on life.

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Work Cites:
Beebe A. Steven, Masterson T. John. Communication in Small Groups: Principles and
Practices
Schwartz, Robert. How to Design an Agenda for an Effective Meeting. Harvard Business
Review. Web. March 19, 2015
Roshell, Starshine, 50 Ways to Bust through a Creative Block. Lynda.com. N.p., 2015.
Web. May 03, 2015