MHRM 6100.Week 6

According to Chaneski there are four stages that teams go through; the forming, storming, norming, and performing stages (Chaneski, 2009). As teams are formed there is an introduction and a period of simply getting acquainted and becoming familiar. Once the team has progressed beyond this point they may or may not reach the point of storming, where team members begin to disagree and some conflicts may or may not arise. Even though the storming stage is not a particularly comfortable stage it is often times necessary for teams to learn and grown how to deal with, resolve, and manage conflict. The norming stage allows for an even flow in the team environment where team members share information and begin to have friendly debates and sometimes disagreements. The last stage that teams go through is the performing stage which Chaneski explains as the final stage in which teams function and operate in a highly effective manner (Chaneski, 2009). At this stage, team members have learned to depend on the skill and experience of their teammates (Chaneski, 2009).

I believe that at this point my team has experienced tremendous growth and development. I will be brave and say that we have reached the ‘performing’ stage as outlined by Chaneski (Chaneski, 2009). Group members have begun sharing their real world experiences along with their educational experiences to make for lively and informative discussions. I have learned a great deal of information from all of my team members by sharing information, responding to discussions, and creating a continuous and ongoing dialogue. Chaneski goes on to say that teams at this stage area making decisions as a collective and cohesive unit and all team members understand that at this point they are equally responsible for the success or failure of the team (Chaneski, 2009).

I am looking forward to continued growth and commitment from all of my team members. Until next time, Happy Blogging!! -Evette

MHRM 6100.Week 5

Working in a virtual environment is sometimes challenging because it lacks face to face interactions. However, the convenience factor is irreplaceable in my opinion so I continue to sacrifice the people factor for what I consider to be the greater good. In dealing with my classmates up to this point I prefer communicating via online written discussion boards. I find it interesting to see and read what my peers have to say about each assigned topic. Although we are all reading the same material we all take something different away from the experience based on our own individual circumstances.

If given the opportunity I think I would enjoy communicating with my classmates and peers via Skype, because it would all us to have a virtual real-time interaction with one another. Being able to see body language, facial expressions, and all around reactions to some of the discussions and debates that we engage in would be interesting. Often times the way that we word things in a written discussion has the ability to remove the sting, but in real-time situations the sting is unavoidable. It is situations such as these that would lead us to the ‘storming’ stage as described by Chaneski.

What appeals to me about Chaneski’s description of the ‘norming’ stage is his use of the term ‘buy-in’ (Chaneski, 2009). Chaneski goes a step further in saying, although disagreement is allowed (and even encouraged at times), it is controlled in a way that will lead to better team decisions rather than frustrating standoffs (Chaneski, 2009). In my opinion, this week my virtual team members and I did have some slight disagreements. We all displayed a difference of opinion in our assigned discussion which was to be expected considering the topic was compensation.

Even with these slight disagreements it the discussion never got out of control and we were all able to discuss and share our reasoning, thoughts, and perspectives, in a friendly and professional manner. With that I have to say Kudos to our team for another job well done!

Happy Blogging… Evette