Individual Reflection Paper After your group has completed your team charter, each person in your group will then write a 2-3 page reflection paper (not counting cover and reference pages) discussing:

Team Charter  

HRMD 665 Managing Global and Virtual Teams  

Briana Huie, Onyinyechi Obioha, Jennifer Marquis, Ashlan Franklin, Gwennitta Banks 

University of Maryland Global Campus 

Page BreakMission and Vision 

A mission and vision are key for any team organization and successful completion of team projects. Which would be the case for our team. The mission of our team is to first, come up with a comprehensive team charter that will help the team members to share responsibilities and communicate effectively through the completion of the team project. Even though the team project will come later this term, there is a need to start organizing ourselves early enough so that we lay down appropriate virtual communication channels and coordination channels that will help us complete the team charter and, consequently, the team project. 

The team aims at coming up with a team charter that will enable the sharing of responsibilities. But even before sharing responsibilities, the team aims at creating a communication plan to enable the exchange of information and ideas as well as views from one member to another. Furthermore, the team also aims at creating a work division plan that will help members to share responsibilities and work roles. This will help to ensure that the team tasks are shared among team members equally. On the same note, the aims at setting standards for quality and counterchecking the work of every member to ensure that the team score is not compromised because of member laxity. Of great importance in the creation of the team charter is conflict management. Conflicts occur in teams, whether virtual or face to face. Therefore, these team aims at creating appropriate conflict management procedures and guidelines that will be used to solve any issues in case they arrive or any misunderstandings between team members. 

To ensure that this team is successful in the tasks that we are going to engage in, the team members must always stay focused on the mission and vision of the team and remind each other of the mission and vision to avoid deviations to irrelevant areas during the team project. Effective communication should be key given that this is a virtual team. The communication used by members should be accessible by all members as well as convenient for all. Since email is considered easy for members, the team should communicate via emails and Facebook messenger or even WhatsApp messenger to share information and exchange ideas about various elements of the team project. Current meeting software and platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams or Google Meeting will also be used in cases where the team will require a direct discussion of the team project. 

There will be a team leader to guide the team through the various steps of completing the team project. The communication will be moderated by the leader and all team member submissions will be coordinated and moderated by the leader with the involvement of all team members. This will help to ensure efficient teamwork and completion of the team project. 

Communications Plan 

In order to work in a successful group, members must communicate among one another in an efficient and effective workspace. Communication is “a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs or behavior (Webster dictionary n.d.)”. When executing group work, communication is one of the most significant components. Communication involves discussing the group's goals, assigning roles and responsibilities and engaging in dialogue about applied knowledge, skills and abilities through research. Our groups centralized communication efforts will be through the discussion portal setup through the University’s website.  

The communication style will be setup like an open forum. Being so all group members have various schedules and outside obligations we   will all hold one another accountable to check in daily. Daily check in’s allow for timelines, due dates, reminders, questions and all concerns to be addressed among all group members. This open space will allow for all members voices to be heard, trust to be built but also a piece of independence to work on the role assigned. 

To expand communication efforts, weekly Zoom meetings will be established. This time will be used for updates, next steps and any further elaboration needed for the assignment. At the end of each week, each group member will be able to see all the work combined and the progress made with everyone’s contributions. The Zoom meeting will also allow for an editing to take place in order to prepare for the final stages of each assignment. Meetings will be brief but informational. Allowing multiple forms of communications will reduce stress, confusion and increase the groups work culture. Establishing a strong communication culture will motivate group members to complete work in a timely manner, provide quality work and work together in a positive respectful manner. 

Work Division Plan 

The division of work involves assigning tasks which are often completed by a group of people. The jobs/tasks are broken down into several different tasks making up the whole. A job/tasks could include several processes that must be accomplished for the job to be completed. Once the jobs are broken down, they must be assigned to individuals or groups of individuals for completion. The assignment should be based on individual skills, experience, and knowledge to make it easy for those involved to complete the task. Each person should be made knowledgeable of his task to enhance efficiency and completion. A work division plan is one such tool that assists in dividing and assigning tasks in a group or team. The following work division plan is intended to divide tasks and assign roles to encourage successful completion of the group project. 

Work Division Plan Steps 

This involves defining the approach/step that will be used to divide work among team members, roles and work expectations. First and foremost, the tasks will be broken down to make them easier for accomplishment. Roles will be clarified and then assigned accordingly. Implementation will take place followed by evaluation.  

The following are the steps involved in the work division plan: 

1. Breakdown of Tasks 

The tasks are broken down to make it easier and quick to learn and complete the task. Breaking down of tasks is an objective way of enhancing individual participation in a group and developing skills among group members. The essential actions for completion of the group project are scheduling of tasks, coordination of smaller tasks, research, control, assessment and management of the tasks. These tasks will be alternated across team members. This will allow team members to take part in different tasks making them better integrated in the team (Visalberghi, 2012).  However, the chosen team leader will remain the leader to project completion.   

1. Role Clarification 

Role clarity is significantly important for effective collaboration in group work. The roles have to be properly defined to avoid conflicts and reducing the effectiveness of the team. Lack of clarity about each group member’s role can create confusion and result to resistance to take some tasks. To get a high-performing team, roles of each member will be appropriately clarified. Role clarification will be based on individual’s strengths, abilities and skills. It will help define each person’s responsibilities, ensure appropriate implementation of individual role, optimize individual performance, and thereby result to successful completion of group work (Brault et al, 2014). Each team member will have his role described at length for efficiency and accountability. The roles will be communicated using appropriate language to ensure that each member fully understands what he is expected to do. Team members are expected to recognize and respect the responsibilities and competencies of others.  

1. Assigning Tasks 

The team members will voluntarily take tasks based on their capabilities, skills, knowledge and experience. Each team member will choose a task and state reasons he believes he best suits the task. This will include his experience, knowledge and skills. However, the team leader will be voted for. Team members will propose two individuals for the leadership position and each team member will cast a vote for the two individuals. The votes will be counted, and winner take the position. He will maintain the position to completion of the project. Each team member will take his role and perform it accordingly.  

1. Project leader 

He is responsible for overseeing clarity of purpose of the team, clarity of plan and clarity of responsibilities of team members. First, clarity of purpose involves a clear understanding of the motive of the group. He should ensure that everyone in the team understands the reason the group was formed. Clarity on the motive of the group will make team members stay focused on important initiatives and motivated to accomplish group goals (Hao & Yazdanifard, 2015). It is important for motivation as the group will be focused on a common goal. He has to maintain the clarity in every team meeting to ensure that everyone is knows the destination of the team.  

Clarity of plan involves defining what needs to be done to achieve the groups’ goals. This will include individual steps to be taken to execute the project. The team leader will write down/document every single task needed to be taken to execute the project. Lastly, clarity of responsibility is essential to make it clear what exactly each person is required to do. Each task will have exactly an owner. The leader will not only create clarity but be vigilant on finding ways the team lacks clarity and working to fix it. 

1. Coordinator 

The project coordinator will help coordinate the work schedule and budget as well as risk of the project. He will create the project schedule including due dates, milestones and costs of materials required among other resources. He must ensure that the project is running smoothly. He must ensure that it is well-organized, and the required resources are provided. He will act as the bridge connecting the project manager to other team members. He should effectively communicate and deliver messages clearly to his target audience. He should help with documentation of the different phases of the project and make summary reports.  

1. Researchers  

They will engage in gathering external information and resources for the consulting project. They will frame questions to ask people to get their perspectives and values (Nyumba et al, 2018). They will engage in secondary data collection where they will identify books and articles for the research and gather information from the sources. They will report their findings in written form to the project coordinator. They should be flexible and innovative as well as open to new ideas.  

A RACI chart can be used to summarize the roles of each team member.  

1. Evaluation of plan 

It is a valuable tool that will help assess whether the project is running smoothly. It will be well-documented including the role of all participants and the resources required. It will guide through each step in the plan making it easier to determine whether things are headed in the right direction. It will help assess attainment of objectives and the need to make modifications to achieve set goals. It will enhance transparency and accountability.  

Conflict Management Plan (Jennifer Marquis-Caruso) 

            Conflict is defined as opposing one another and is disagreements between people or members of an organization. Organizational conflict is defined as behavior that is intended disrupt the achievement of someone else’s goals. (Thakore, 2013) There are also several different types of conflict that can take place either between or within teams, such as: interpersonal conflict, intrapersonal conflict, intergroup conflict, intragroup conflict, and interorganizational conflict. (Thakore, 2013) There are also many reasons conflict takes place. Some conflicts can be attributed to diversity in the group such as different backgrounds, values, needs, expectations, perceptions, and personalities. Conflicts can also arise due to disagreements on tasks and a variance in team members skills and abilities.  

            The aforementioned types of conflict fall under two categories of conflicts: substantive and emotional. Substantive conflicts include issues that arise over things such as goals, tasks, and allocation of sources. Emotional conflicts include issues that arise over things such as jealousy, insecurity, annoyance, envy, or personality conflicts. (Lumen, n.d.) 

            Conflict management or resolution is understanding methods of handling problems that arise. In a team, it is important to understand how individuals handle conflicts and problems because it will also help to understand how they will do the same when on a team. This will help to formulate the teams or assist the teams with conflict resolution or conflict management techniques. It is better in the long run to try and mentor and coach individuals and teams than to adjust teams to avoid issues. Issues can be good; it helps individuals to understand their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to handling difficult situations. (UMUC, 2020) 

            There are many things that can be done in the beginning stages of integrating team members. This is also where Tuckman’s stages of group development can be initiated. The beginning stage is forming. This is where the team is established and team members learn about each other, whether through talking to one another or observing their actions and reactions. This is a critical stage because teammates strengths and weaknesses are on display, as well as their different or similar personalities. This stage is going to be crucial for the team lead (if there is one) to hone in on what may become issues in the future. (Wageningen, 2020) 

            There are several steps that should be taken to resolve conflict in the workplace and among teams. These steps are: set ground rules, describe conflict and include desired changes, restate what team members have said so far, summarize issues/conflicts, brainstorm solutions, rule out unworkable issues, summarize solution options, assign further analysis of each option to individual participants, ensure teammates agree on next steps, close the meeting by commending one another on their abilities to work out their differences. (Lytle, 2015) 

Team charters assist with laying the foundation for a team’s project. Ensuring team roles and responsibilities are identified in the beginning is essential to successful project completion. Each team member brings unique experiences and perspectives to the team which assists with contributing to the overall goal. 

            Team roles and responsibilities need to be identified in the beginning to determine how the work will be distributed. This helps with project organization and ensures timelines. According to Pandey and Karve (2017), communication is a key characteristic of teamwork and a team working well together. This is important because the group must be able to communicate to determine the roles and responsibilities. The team will have to determine how to distribute the work which requires effort and communication. If each person responds timely and does their share it creates a more cohesive team environment. According to Park, Mathieu, and Grosser (2020), facilitating the organization of team interactions has been a challenge for work teams and important to their success. This further supports the importance of communication throughout the team. Effective communication across the team allows for success. 

            Identifying roles and responsibilities also ensures structure across the team. Oftentimes, that is where confusion happens when people are not sure of their role and what the expectations are. It is an essential piece of a successful team and something that needs to be agreed upon by all team members. People work together better when they know what their role is. It also allows for less time wasted trying to determine how the group will operate. A team cannot function effectively without defined roles and responsibilities. Without identifying roles and responsibilities, there would be duplication of work. Also, defining roles and responsibilities allows for the team members to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This is another benefit to working in a team because there are multiple ideas and perspectives. Each person is different and has different strengths and weaknesses which is crucial to a cohesive group. 

            Defining team roles and responsibilities within a team is important for collaboration and success. Each person needs to understand their role and purpose in order to achieve their goal. 

References 

“Communication.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication. 

Brault, A., Kilpatrick, K., D'Amour, D., Chouinard, V., & Dubois, C. (2014). Role Clarification Processes for Better Integration of Nurse Practitioners into Primary Healthcare Teams: A Multiple-Case Study. Nursing Research and Practice, doi.org/10.1155/2014/170514. 

Hao, M., & Yazdanifard, R. (2015). How Effective Leadership Can Facilitate Change in Organizations through Improvement and Innovation. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 15(9). 

Hassan, S. (2013). The Importance of Role Clarification in Workgroups: Effects on Perceived Role Clarity, Work Satisfaction, and Turnover Rates. Public Administration Review, doi.org/10.1111/puar.12100. 

Lumen. (n.d.). Conflict Within Teams. Lumen: Principles of Management. Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-principlesofmanagement/chapter/reading-conflict-within-teams/ 

Lytle, T. (2015). How to Resolve Workplace Conflicts. Society for Human Resource Management. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/070815-conflict-management.aspx 

Nyumba, T. O., Wilson, K., Derrick, C. J., Mukherjee, N. (2018). The use of focus group discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in conservation. British Ecological Society, doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12860. 

Pandey, A., & Karve, S. (2017). Understanding the Relationship of Team Roles and Communication in Team Tasks. International Journal of Business Insights & Transformation, 11(1), 22–29. 

Park, S., Mathieu, J. E., & Grosser, T. J. (2020). A Network Conceptualization of Team Conflict. Academy of Management Review, 45(2), 352–375. https://doi-org.ezproxy.umgc.edu/10.5465/amr.2016.0472 

Thakore, D. (2013). Conflict and Conflict Management. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-JBM). e-ISSN: 2278-487X.Volume 8, Issue 6 (Mar. - Apr. 2013), PP 07-16. www.iosrjournals.org 

UMUC. (2020). High Performing Teams Analysis Assignment: Week 3. University of Maryland Global Campus. Retrieved from https://learn.umgc.edu/d2l/lms/dropbox/user/folder_submit_files.d2l?db=952640&grpid=0&isprv=0&bp=0&ou=482729 

Visalberghi, A. (2012). Education and Division of Labour: Middle- and Long-Term Prospectives in European Technical and Vocational Education. Springer Science & Business Media. 

Wageningen. (2020). Tuckman (forming, norming, storming, performing). Wageningen. Retrieved from http://www.mspguide.org/tool/tuckman-forming-norming-storming-performing