Question:

The Presentations will be held in the lecture period between weeks 16 & 17 (1 of these weeks depending on your group) The group will need to arrange a time with the project sponsor when they can attend, and agree this time with the Tutor before confirming with the project sponsor. Note, if several groups are carrying out projects for the same sponsor, group times may be allocated by the Tutor for these groups.

The Individual Portfolio is to be submitted by the 29^th January 2018

The module assessment will consist of two parts

6.1 Assignment 1:.Group Presentation (25%)

Each group will be expected to make a 20 minute presentation at the conclusion of the project, demonstrating their ability to critically evaluate and practically engage with client brief, applying relevant concepts and issues relating to the project.

As a minimum, the presentation is expected to include the following:

• A      brief outline of the origins/development/aims of the community      project.

• A      brief outline of the project brief

• A      brief examination of the main stages and timeline of the project

• A      summary of the key challenges involved in completing the community      project.
• A      summary of the groups’ creative response to the brief

• Identification      of any significant ethical or environmental aspects involved in      participating in the project

• Conclusion      / Recommendations

6.2 Assignment 2: Individual Report/Portfolio (75%)

The portfolio must be in report format as follows:

• Front / Title Page
• Abstract (a summary of the whole report, about 200 words)
• Contents Page
• Introduction (Include in this a brief reference to each members job title, and role in the project)
• Main Body (see below for structure; DO NOT use ‘Main Body’ as a heading in the report)
• Conclusions
• Recommendations (numbered and clearly worded)
• Bibliography (listing your main sources)
• Appendices (if any)

The portfolio must be up to 2400 words in length and the actual number of words must be marked clearly on the front cover page.   Only the ‘main body’ of the report constitutes the word count.  The cover page, table of contents, abstract, bibliography and appendices are excluded from the word count.  Marks will be deducted for any portfolio which is over or below this range.  It is to be double spaced in Arial 12 point and justified on the left and right hand sides.  The portfolio is to be in A4 format, word processed and with the DMU assignment cover sheet attached.   Headings and sub-headings should be numbered.

You are required to produce a report in which there is a balance of

description, analysis and evaluation.  You are advised to avoid long

sequences of descriptive text.

The text must be referenced correctly in the accepted Harvard format

(see Appendix 2, Citation Guide).

For more detailed guidance on report format see Section 8.00 References.

Individual Portfolio Content

(i)            Critically reflect on the project (25%)

You are to consider how effective were the outcomes of the project overall, the approach adopted by the group, and tools and theories used.

What were the major strengths of the work in your opinion, and what were the weaknesses?

(i)        Each Student and the Community Project (25%)

You are required to:

• Critically      describe your own role within the Project team

• Critically      evaluate your own contribution to the Project

• Critically      assess the working relationships with other individuals involved within      the project

• Critically      explain and reflect on how you were able to apply some of the learning,      knowledge and skills gained at university to aspects of managing and      completing the project.

(ii)        The Reflective Decision-Making Process (25%)

You are required to select some important decisions that took place during the project. It is preferable that you select a decision in which you were involved in some way in the actual decision-making process and/or its outcome.  Other individuals involved, should not be identified by name

With respect to the decisions which are chosen for consideration, the student should:

• Critically describe the decision-making process (include procedures and the interpersonal dynamics)
• Critically analyse the stages in the process and identify the strengths and weaknesses in the process
• Critically comment on the effectiveness (or otherwise) of the outcome

Within the sections (i), (ii), (iii) above, you are required to illustrate your understanding of the culture/management/leadership style and communications both within the project team and with the local community involved in the project.  In order to do this you must include references to academic material (books, journals, newspapers) which deal with these subjects in conceptual and practical ways.

Initial reading is provided in the references list.  However, you

are also encouraged to refer to any material in this subject area which you

have read in connection with your programme of study at DMU.

7.0       Assessment Criteria

The assessment of the portfolio requires there to be evidence of:

• The requirements for content as set out in      paragraph 6.02 have been met

• Originality      in the work submitted, with a particular emphasis on your experiences and      perspective

• Adequate      reading and literature search

• Evidence      of Action Research and Reflection – you are encouraged to reflect on your      learning from the project experience, and to consider the limitations of      that experience, in order to plan your future actions as a result of that      learning

• Critical      and analytical approach – you are encouraged to critically evaluate your      personal performance, the observed managerial practice from the project,      and relevant management theory.

Answer:

Introduction

In this project, there were five members who were involved in the operational process and in carrying out the project in a better way. The director general, marketing staff, general manager, human resource manager and technical staff were the main employees who were involved in this project. The director general was the social media content creator of the company. On the other hand, the general manager was assigned with the task of media planning and the marketing staffs were asked to create an advertisement that is created in order to fulfill the needs of the targeted audience. The technical staff was assigned with the task of equipment construction and the human resource committee was assigned with the job of social media and print media. Moreover, the human resource committee also carried out all other modes of advertisement. This paper will highlight how the group has carried out the project and what are the approaches that are adopted by the members in the group. It will also discuss the contribution of each individual in the development of the project and the working relationships with the other individuals in the project. There were several challenges that were faced by the team and thus the team members overcomed them by co-operating with each other and managed to faced the difficulties (Droutman et al.2015).

Discussion

Reflection on the project

I have analyzed and found that the scope of my project is to teach swimming lessons and different techniques and postures of swimming. I was assigned with the role to check that the persons who are engaged in the swimming classes regularly attends the classes. Moreover, they must also be given demo on using the conference room, child room and staff break room as and when need arises. I was also assigned with the responsibility of warm water lap swimming that is to be taught to the children of different age group. Although this survey is considered to be expensive, but I had to carry it in a much responsible way and thus this will enhance my skills and help me in developing my career. This project was carried out in order to help people who have limit to different types of financial access in different swimming pools. I think it will raise awareness among the local community and thus help people to understand the benefits of swimming. I was assigned with the role to motivate the local community people and thus this will has helped them to enjoy swimming.

During summer season, I also trained the new members who joined the swimming classes. I took special care of the children who were under the age of ten and taught them swimming in a sporting way so that they would love to attend the classes. The adults who has joined the classes for health benefits or for therapies of different diseases were given extra classes and separate timings than the other people and thus they were taken special care of. I also took help from my colleagues to help people from other professional organization. Special care was also taken to prevent different types of water related diseases and to ensure that people who attend the swimming classes are safe and secured.   According to me, I think different accidents can be prevented if the tools and techniques are properly designed and it is convenient for the common people as well as the trainers and management community of swimming class. In certain cases, I had to take care of important planning tools and techniques that are generally used in training classes (Dusseux et al.2015).

The major strength of the group work is that the members were co-operative and they supported and helped each other. In times of difficulty or problem in any particular area, the other team members helped and came up with different solutions to solve out the matter in a much better way. Moreover, there was a special help assistance centre for the members of the swimming class as well as the tutors. This section took care of the required help that was important to be given to the members or to provide them special tips so that they can cope with the challenges accordingly. The management committee as well as the members who are engaged in the swimming classes tried to work in co-ordination and thus they were able to carry out the project in a successful way (Block et al.2016).

Description of my own role and contribution in the project

I have co-ordinated with the other members of team and they have helped me in overcoming the problems. In developing this project, I had to undertake important decisions and it was important to take these decisions with careful steps. This is because if any of these steps are not followed properly, the entire project will not be carried in a  better way. I had to interact with the targeted customer group because it was vital for me to know their aims and intentions that are considered important in carrying out the project. According to me, I think the project can be carried out in a much better way if requisite feedback was collected from the members who are engaged in the swimming classes. The regular customers who frequently attend the swimming classes must be provided special assistance and it is important to analyze their opinions and feedbacks and implement them accordingly with the passage of time (Barr et al.2014).

I also had to co-ordinate with the management as well as the local community members and this will help me in carrying out the project. It is also my responsibility to take care of the limitations of the local community members and  other people who do not have adequate time to attend the swimming classes. This people must be given advice on time management and this will improve my time management skills and opinions. Moreover, I need to explain to the common mass that swimming is a good exercise and the future benefits of swimming so that more and more people will be motivated in joining the swimming classes. My role in carrying out the project was dynamic. I had to manage the people as well as develop the project at the same time. In certain cases, I had to conduct sessions and surveys with the local people to understand their motives and intentions.

Contribution within the team and relationship with the team members

My individual contribution in my project team was immense. As I was assigned with multiple job role, I had to keep a check that each and every person who was engaged or assigned with the task carried out their job in a responsible way. Moreover, I was also assigned with the job role that there was proper co-ordination between the individuals who are engaged in the swimming club as well as the team members who are involved in carrying out the project. I also tried to create a bid idea for the further development of the project. It was also my duty to use the creative elements of the projects in a much better way and thus this will increase innovation and creativity among the team members (Conrado et al.2016).

I had a cordial relationship with my teammates. In most cases, as they were new in this field of project, they had to face and overcome different problems and they always approached me to find out a solution to their particular problem. I can communicate in a better way and this will help me to accomplish in a better way. This will also help me to improve my strength and thus it will give me a verbal boost to tackle my project in a much better way. I will also demonstrate to my team members what type of job I am accountable to and this will help me to be responsible and reliable. I think this will help me to serve as a role model for my team and contribute my best for the development of my team. If I keep on working together I the group, I can trust other members in the group and it will also gain my confidence and skills. This will help me to recognize the importance of my work and the strength and weakness of each member in the team. In certain cases, I will also try give a glimpse of my personal life and this will help me to be approachable by the other team members who are working with me in this project. I will also try to build the relationship outside the team and this bonding will help me to work collectively in the group (Yang  and Gabrielsson 2017).

Reflection on some of the learning, knowledge and skills gained that will help me in managing and   completing the project.

I have learned how to complete the project on time with the limited resources and skills that were given for the development of the project. According to me, I think teamwork is considered as one of the best method to learn how to communicate and work with people from different backgrounds and areas. This knowledge will help me to develop my career as well as it will develop my individual skills and knowledge. I have also learned how to interact with different people in the group and this will my team to achieve its goals, mission and vision. I have also learned the different functional roles that is important in the group and thus this will help me to achieve the goals of the team. In certain cases, I have found myself to take disruptive roles and this will help me in improving team effectiveness. It is also vital to share the goals of the team and work towards them. Moreover, I must also know how to respect the team members and divide the task accordingly among the team members. Therefore, it is my responsibility to understand that there will be no overlapping and planning must be done in such  a way that these points get clear and the project will be interesting.

Reflective Decision Making Process

I will try to work effectively in solving problems in my team. My team comprises of several members, there are five important positions in the team including me, and our role is to examine the issues from different angles. It is also our responsibility to check that the implications of these decisions must be taken from different perspectives. I must try to recognize the problem in the team and these decision needs to be followed in a proper way. Moreover, I will also try to define the problems in the team and this will help to map out different issues. In this step, I will try to learn how and when the members will be aware of the problem and it will also help us to explore the different ways of viewing the problem. I will also try to gather more and more information and thus this will help me to verify the different problems and thus improve understanding of the core problems and features. When these problem will get solved, I will try to gather the information that is specific to the particular problem..

The strength of my decision making process in the team is synergy i.e. referred to as the utilization of different minds in the development of multitude of ideas and the sharing of information among the team members. Each member holds unique and specific ideas and if every member contributes in the development of the project, it will be considered as a unique and outstanding work. On the other hand, there are different weaknesses in the decision-making process of my team. There are different constraints in the decision making process and each and every member will not agree to one particular idea and therefore it will end up in chaos (Yang and Gabrielsson 2017).

Therefore, it can be said that responsibility is one of the important aspect in the decision making process and there are several steps that needs to be collaborated together in these process. It is also important to develop important strategies that will help in the development if the project and this will also remove misunderstanding and miscommunication among the team members.

Recommendation

It is my responsibility to develop alternative solutions and thus this will help my team in effective problem solving and explore several opportunities that are pertinent to the particular problem. Moreover, finding out the best alternative to the problem will help in the development of my team and address the different problems that are available at hand. The members of the team must have active listening skills and pay attention to the team leaders and therefore anticipate the conversation of the team. It is also vital to support the ideas of each member in the team and this will also help my team members to be supportive and remain focused in the particular work

Conclusion

Therefore, it can be said that teamwork increases efficiency among the team members and thus help to work towards the common goal in the team. From the perspective of the management, it is important to encourage teamwork in the work place. One of the most important benefit of working in the team is to gather inspiration and ideas and this will help in working in the team. Communication is also considered as an important aspect of success in the team work and thus it is vital to offer assistance in order to complete the project successfully.

References

Barr, P.J., Thompson, R., Walsh, T., Grande, S.W., Ozanne, E.M. and Elwyn, G., 2014. The psychometric properties of CollaboRATE: a fast and frugal patient-reported measure of the shared decision-making process. Journal of medical Internet research, 16(1).

Block, L.G., Keller, P.A., Vallen, B., Williamson, S., Birau, M.M., Grinstein, A., Haws, K.L., LaBarge, M.C., Lamberton, C., Moore, E.S. and Moscato, E.M., 2016. The squander sequence: understanding food waste at each stage of the consumer decision-making process. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 35(2), pp.292-304.

Conrado, S.P., Neville, K., Woodworth, S. and O’Riordan, S., 2016. Managing social media uncertainty to support the decision making process during emergencies. Journal of Decision Systems, 25(sup1), pp.171-181.

Droutman, V., Bechara, A. and Read, S.J., 2015. Roles of the different sub-regions of the insular cortex in various phases of the decision-making process. Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience, 9, p.309.

Dusseux, E., Albano, L., Fafin, C., Hourmant, M., Guérin, O., Couchoud, C. and Moranne, O., 2015. A simple clinical tool to inform the decision-making process to refer elderly incident dialysis patients for kidney transplant evaluation. Kidney international, 88(1), pp.121-129.

Yang, M. and Gabrielsson, P., 2017. Entrepreneurial marketing of international high-tech business-to-business new ventures: A decision-making process perspective. Industrial Marketing Management, 64, pp.147-160.