During the last management class, everyone was split into groups to complete a group project. The egg planning project basically required our groups to work together within the allotted to make sure we provide enough protection for an egg not to break from a long drop. The drop would be around 8-10 feet and it was quite a challenge to protect it.
The project itself was split into two sections, the planning process and the building process. The planning process involved just the planning parts. we were told that we would have about 2 feet of masking tape and 9 straws. With these materials we needed to build some form of protection for the egg. We were given 20 minutes of planning.
The second process was the building process, after 20 minutes of planning, we were given our materials and had 10 minutes to build what we had planned. It is unfortunate that our egg did not survive the drop, but we still put a lot of hard work into our project.
When comparing the 5 steps in the planning process, our team completed most of them.
Step 1: Define your goals and objectives:
Our group understood the goals we needed to achieve. We understood the objective as well and we spent a lot of the 20 minutes trying to figure out how to achieve them.
Step 2: Evaluate your resources compared to objectives:
Again, just like in step 1, we spent most of the 20 minutes figuring out how to make sure that egg was well protected.
Step 3: Develop premises and several alternative strategies:
If anything, our group's strength (or weakness) was in this step. We could not agree with any one plan to focus on during the planning process. Instead, we spent much of that time disagreeing about each others design. We drew up nearly 5 different types of ways to use the straws and masking tape, and spent most of the planning process arguing about which plan we would use. So you can say we had multiple alternate strategies.
Step 4: Analyze alternatives and make a tactical plan:
As i said before, we had plenty of alternate plans for our eggs. The issue was definitely in our tactical plan. We did agree on one design when we got our materials, however, when we got our straws and our tape. We really had no idea how to implement these materials into the design, this was probably because we spent so much time figuring out a design, that we never broke down how to create it. This caused disarray as we all tried to figure out how to make the straws and tape into our design, and then we also realized that the design might not protect the egg the way we want it.
Step 5: Implement the plan and evaluate results:
We did not implement the plan, not at all. In the ten minutes of building time we had, we were unsure of how the straws and tape would eventually turn into our design. Therefore, we needed to adapt quickly, we made large changes, but they were good changes that were helpful. In the ten minutes, we were able to make some form of bottom layer to the egg. It is unfortunate that our tape did not hold for the second layer we were trying to attach, and when we went to the front. We only had one defensive layer instead of two.
Overall, i would not say our planning process was a waste. Even though we were not completely prepared when we got our materials, we knew largely of the things we were not going to do with the egg. Though we might have wanted to keep it simpler in the planning process, and give more time in dividing jobs and figuring out how to make the design fit together, we did not have the time because no one was sure of which design to choose. However, i would say we did a fantastic job of adapting to the situation even if we were disagreeing for the most part.
What did i learn from this project? most likely that a group of 5 sometimes need to compromise with the design and not let little flaws create disarray. With 20 minutes of planning, no egg preparation will be 100% guaranteed. Therefore, sometimes we must have some faith that someone's idea is the most ideal plan and move forward with it, otherwise we'll be stuck figuring out which design to go with for the whole time.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
cultural diversity
There are times when differences in culture can create misunderstandings in communications. This has been a growing problem that can impede globalization. However, the more one experiences a culture the more in tune they are to the cultural differences.
One of my own personal experiences with cultural diversity was when i spent 6 months in Taiwan visiting family. I was raised in america, and it was my first time visiting Taiwan. I spent a lot of time meeting and being introduced to cousins i never knew i had.
It was during this time where one of my younger cousins had a birthday. So i spent some time thoughtfully picking a present for him. I ended up buying one of the latest video games and wrapping it up. I was pretty excited to see how he would react. The second i came in i offered the present to him, and he thanked me, however, we were going out to see the city so we put the present aside and went out. I didn't even notice that he didn't open the present until the day was already over. I will admit i was a little disappointed not to see how he would react.
The next day i so happened to be visiting him again, so i asked about the present. he seemed surprised but acknowledged that the present was not yet opened. so i cheerfully said, lets open it now then! This made him very uncomfortable and his mother asked me if that was what you would do in America. Now at this point in time i was becoming confused. This was quite some time ago and this was the first time out of the country. I had little understanding of cultural differences, and always accepted what i was familiar with. To me, opening up a present in front of the presenter was just common sense. How else would we see their faces when they open it? well, in Taiwan, presents are accepted unopened, and opened later. This is to prevent any strange behavior if the present is good or bad. The best way for cultural differences to be resolved is to explain them. When my cousins mom explained the way the culture was in receiving gifts, and i explained how we do things, we came to understand that the act of not opening my gift was not personal and the act of opening the gift in front of me would be uncomfortable with them. She offered to open the present and follow my customs, but after understanding what i was asking, i thought it best to follow their customs instead.
Its not every time that cultural differences can be explained before they create problems. for instance without understanding it i may have thought it rude that my present wasn't opened, while my cousin may have been embarrassed to have to acknowledge the gift i gave to him in front of me. I like to think that an open mind and communications can help achieve resolutions. However, if i find it rude or if i was narrow minded, i may not accept that other customs are equally as good as my own.
One of my own personal experiences with cultural diversity was when i spent 6 months in Taiwan visiting family. I was raised in america, and it was my first time visiting Taiwan. I spent a lot of time meeting and being introduced to cousins i never knew i had.
It was during this time where one of my younger cousins had a birthday. So i spent some time thoughtfully picking a present for him. I ended up buying one of the latest video games and wrapping it up. I was pretty excited to see how he would react. The second i came in i offered the present to him, and he thanked me, however, we were going out to see the city so we put the present aside and went out. I didn't even notice that he didn't open the present until the day was already over. I will admit i was a little disappointed not to see how he would react.
The next day i so happened to be visiting him again, so i asked about the present. he seemed surprised but acknowledged that the present was not yet opened. so i cheerfully said, lets open it now then! This made him very uncomfortable and his mother asked me if that was what you would do in America. Now at this point in time i was becoming confused. This was quite some time ago and this was the first time out of the country. I had little understanding of cultural differences, and always accepted what i was familiar with. To me, opening up a present in front of the presenter was just common sense. How else would we see their faces when they open it? well, in Taiwan, presents are accepted unopened, and opened later. This is to prevent any strange behavior if the present is good or bad. The best way for cultural differences to be resolved is to explain them. When my cousins mom explained the way the culture was in receiving gifts, and i explained how we do things, we came to understand that the act of not opening my gift was not personal and the act of opening the gift in front of me would be uncomfortable with them. She offered to open the present and follow my customs, but after understanding what i was asking, i thought it best to follow their customs instead.
Its not every time that cultural differences can be explained before they create problems. for instance without understanding it i may have thought it rude that my present wasn't opened, while my cousin may have been embarrassed to have to acknowledge the gift i gave to him in front of me. I like to think that an open mind and communications can help achieve resolutions. However, if i find it rude or if i was narrow minded, i may not accept that other customs are equally as good as my own.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)