Reflection on the first group meeting

It was my second experience of a group meeting that was being video tapped. The first one being with my blogging group mates, a result of sheer miscommunication!

Our CG1102 assignment is based on the development of a software system. We are divided into groups of three. My team mates are Long and Jeisern. It is my first hand at such highly technical software development project. Both nervous and excited at the commencement of the journey after Lab 3 assignment was announced,  we decided to have a meeting as soon as possible. 10th February 6.00pm was chosen as the meeting date and time respectively and PGP meeting room was decided as the venue.

We chose Jeisern as the leader of our group and decided the Agenda before meeting up. The meeting went well. Before discussing our ideas regarding the assignment, Jeisern made sure that all of us have understood the question. Then he explained his idea and both long and I contributed our ideas to come up with the API and the UI design.

The assignment required us to divide the task as attempting the problem alone would make one fail other modules! This was clearly mentioned in the four pages long question! This idea strengthened our team spirit as we realized that one cannot do without the other. Long seemed confident in the designing of the User Interface while Jeisern was comfortable with the API. I was given the task of writing the report. The notion of team spirit and observing how enthusiastic all my team mates were made me more responsible towards the task I was given.

I was also asked to take the minutes of the meeting so I made sure I would write all the essential details to later e-mail them whatever was discussed.

Last but not the least was the discussion on the oral presentation. We talked about how to go about it. However, Long suggested that we should first complete our individual tasks and compile the final report. Jeisern was going home for Chinese new year so we decided to conduct a second meeting after all of us have attempted the given task and when he comes back. We decided on a deadline for the submission of our work to each other.

Long's friend Le Vi Thanh helped us video tape the entire meeting. The meeting was a good experience and I learned a lot about how a team works. The division of task and observing the commitment of my team mates reduced the pressure on me and made me more confident about the project.

Resolving interpersonal conflict

It is surprising to know that in my life so far I have not seen two individuals who think alike in every situation they face. No two persons have the same thinking process and so clashes are bound to happen. I can support the above by the numerous conflicts I have had with my best friend and how every time we resolve it without much hassle. This is because we understand each other, despite our different opinions.

If a compromise is not reached, conflict is inevitable. This reminds me of what my friend's parents went through last year. After 15 years of their marriage, they got divorced. There was no immediate reason for the decision. They always complained about each other's habits and landed up in heated arguments on a regular basis. The problem here was mistrust. They did not trust each other which lead to regular conflicts between them. They often talked about it but the problem could not be solved.

Often conflicts can arise while working in teams. I was a member of the student council in my school and was involved in organizing several activities. During the preparations for various school events there would always be clashes. I remember how once our school counselor told off the entire council for not reaching a decision before the deadline due to interpersonal conflicts among the team members. This made us realize that we were actually conflicting over petty issues and wasting our time. Furthermore, it taught us a lesson that while working in a team one should respect each person's perspective and that is how such conflicts can be resolved.

Conflicts can have both positive and negative implications. The result of the conflict depends on the conflicting individuals and the circumstances that follow. It is only through understanding, communication and compromise can one resolve interpersonal conflicts.