Small Group Communication
Small Group and Team Communication
SOC/110
7/7/2010
Small Group and Team Communication
The barrier to creativity and communication in regards to the Going Green Initiative at Riordan Manufacturing is perceptual barriers, which is causing the employees to overlook the real problems that are there. Perceptual barrier blind the team to hidden issues, it includes difficulty in location or isolating the issue or focusing so much on one issue that the teams only see the initial high cost of going green and not the long term saving and benefits it will have for the environment and community. Because the team is going off their previous experience they prejudge the going green program before it is even off the ground without giving the program …show more content…
a chance to succeed.
I will stimulate my team creative thinking by using creative abrasion to overcome the limitation that the barriers put on the team. This will take place when I get the entire department involved and familiar with the going green initiative together to brain storm and generate new ideas on problem solving approaches to make the Going Green initiative a success. This process will bring diverse perspectives together to develop a creative solution. Also I will ask question that will help stimulate different approaches to solving our problems, such as, “What is similar to this, but cost less?” Why?” Or we can ask where else could this be built? These questions will offer the team the opportunity to look at thing in a different prospective and way to view the issue. Having the different perspective from multiple departments will give us collaborative solution that all departments will be on the same page and help us reach our goal of being a Green company while saving the company money in the long haul.
Some project that I will use to help stimulate team creativity will include idea needlers which help pose different questions on how to make the project succeed. I will also have an open door policy which will encourage the team to have a supportive climate during the problem solving process. This will eliminate the issue wondering is what they say will be used against them and encourage the team to be honest with their opinions. I will also persuade the team to share all their ideas in order to get diverse ideas that will be put together and discussed in an open forum.
Some techniques that I will use to get all parties involved and buy into The Green Initiative is the Risk Procedure technique.
This technique includes both the buzz groups and the nominal group technique. I will present a solution in detail on a dry erase board and encourage the team to think of any risk or issues that may come up if we proceed with the project. All the concerns are then wrote down on a flip chart, all concerns are welcome as that will help us role play the scenarios out in the meeting in order to find the best solution to any potential issue that may come up. Some concerns that– Jodi Gray, Director Financial Planner/Budget Specialist (Albany) has is the cost of the Green program and the effect it will have on bonuses. This a valid concern as we want to get the done well while keeping cost down. But like anything you must spend money in order to make money; however we will look into finding the most cost effective way of doing the reconstruction of the new recycling machines that will be in place at the plant. Another concern that Ed Ledford, Team Superintendent (Albany) has is that we will not be using any of the scarp plastics in the medical supplies that we make as it has been found that it makes the medical supplies inferior and possible defective, which could put people lives in danger. This concern will be reviewed using PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique). We will make sure that suits in the corp. office are aware of the concerns about the scarp plastic being used in medical
supplies.
The Green Imitative over has received a positive welcome from most of the other team leaders on the floor. Once we bring Logistics Coordinator, Edwina Hernandez up to speed on the project, I am sure she will help with logistics of the new machine and with her expertise we will have a smooth transition to the new Green program. I am looking forward with working with my new team and I know we will be able to collaborate and get the project done on time and under budget with all the smart team leads that we have putting their heads together.
Reference
Harris, T. E., & Sherblom, J. C. (2008). Small Group and Team Communication (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
www.ridoranmanufactoring.com. (2004). Retrieved from http://ridoranmanufactoring.com
SOC/110
7/7/2010
Small Group and Team Communication
The barrier to creativity and communication in regards to the Going Green Initiative at Riordan Manufacturing is perceptual barriers, which is causing the employees to overlook the real problems that are there. Perceptual barrier blind the team to hidden issues, it includes difficulty in location or isolating the issue or focusing so much on one issue that the teams only see the initial high cost of going green and not the long term saving and benefits it will have for the environment and community. Because the team is going off their previous experience they prejudge the going green program before it is even off the ground without giving the program …show more content…
a chance to succeed.
I will stimulate my team creative thinking by using creative abrasion to overcome the limitation that the barriers put on the team. This will take place when I get the entire department involved and familiar with the going green initiative together to brain storm and generate new ideas on problem solving approaches to make the Going Green initiative a success. This process will bring diverse perspectives together to develop a creative solution. Also I will ask question that will help stimulate different approaches to solving our problems, such as, “What is similar to this, but cost less?” Why?” Or we can ask where else could this be built? These questions will offer the team the opportunity to look at thing in a different prospective and way to view the issue. Having the different perspective from multiple departments will give us collaborative solution that all departments will be on the same page and help us reach our goal of being a Green company while saving the company money in the long haul.
Some project that I will use to help stimulate team creativity will include idea needlers which help pose different questions on how to make the project succeed. I will also have an open door policy which will encourage the team to have a supportive climate during the problem solving process. This will eliminate the issue wondering is what they say will be used against them and encourage the team to be honest with their opinions. I will also persuade the team to share all their ideas in order to get diverse ideas that will be put together and discussed in an open forum.
Some techniques that I will use to get all parties involved and buy into The Green Initiative is the Risk Procedure technique.
This technique includes both the buzz groups and the nominal group technique. I will present a solution in detail on a dry erase board and encourage the team to think of any risk or issues that may come up if we proceed with the project. All the concerns are then wrote down on a flip chart, all concerns are welcome as that will help us role play the scenarios out in the meeting in order to find the best solution to any potential issue that may come up. Some concerns that– Jodi Gray, Director Financial Planner/Budget Specialist (Albany) has is the cost of the Green program and the effect it will have on bonuses. This a valid concern as we want to get the done well while keeping cost down. But like anything you must spend money in order to make money; however we will look into finding the most cost effective way of doing the reconstruction of the new recycling machines that will be in place at the plant. Another concern that Ed Ledford, Team Superintendent (Albany) has is that we will not be using any of the scarp plastics in the medical supplies that we make as it has been found that it makes the medical supplies inferior and possible defective, which could put people lives in danger. This concern will be reviewed using PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique). We will make sure that suits in the corp. office are aware of the concerns about the scarp plastic being used in medical
supplies.
The Green Imitative over has received a positive welcome from most of the other team leaders on the floor. Once we bring Logistics Coordinator, Edwina Hernandez up to speed on the project, I am sure she will help with logistics of the new machine and with her expertise we will have a smooth transition to the new Green program. I am looking forward with working with my new team and I know we will be able to collaborate and get the project done on time and under budget with all the smart team leads that we have putting their heads together.
Reference
Harris, T. E., & Sherblom, J. C. (2008). Small Group and Team Communication (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
www.ridoranmanufactoring.com. (2004). Retrieved from http://ridoranmanufactoring.com