Communication in the Project

I think that communication is the best way to get ideas across while communicating with other group members.You can't get the point across, pitch ideas, or schedule tasks and meetings with the group, without communicating in some form. It is difficult to understand and know what people are thinking and creating when no form of communication is taking place. The forms of communication can be by telephone, e-mail, teleconference, meetings, or chatting online. In our group, we have positively enhanced the project in the right way by communicating by way of e-mail, in-class meetings, or outside class. I have positively communicated by attending all in-class meetings and answering e-mail, when applicable. I have positively helped the group by talking to them about the project whenever a question comes up. Communicating is the best way to get a point across, and doing so results in higher productivity, in which we are steps away.

Communication is an essential part of any project, especially for group projects. There are many ways that communiaction can both help and hurt group progress. While participating in th group, my communiaction skills helped a lot more than they hurt. First of all, in each discussion, communication involving milestones and team assignments is essential. We must discuss who will do what, and each of us gives our input on the subject. Another important aspect of communication is deciding who will take the milestones home to type them up. We had to discuss options for our project, and communicate to each other which would be best for all of us. Basically everything we do in this group requires a lot of communication, and without the necessary skills to get your points across, you will be left out of decision making, and essesntially obsolete.

Communication Skills

My communication skills have impacted our group and the project in a very positive way. During the week I primarily use email to contact group members to let them know if I found more information on our topic or to let them know what we should have done probably for the week for the next class period. When in class or at group meetings, we all use oral communication to discuss new ideas on information to search for or use. We also discuss recently ideas and organization for the video component of the project. All of the group members, including myself find that these ways of communication benefit our group in a most positive way because it keeps us organized and reassured that our project will be a success and what everyone needs to be doing to keep this project running smoothly.

communication skills

Having good communication skills is very important for successful group work. My group uses oral and written communication. I personally use oral communication to talk with group members to assign tasks, work on the milestones, work on our project, and any other information I feel that needs to be expressed. I do most of my oral communication with my group at school.
I also use written communication. I email my group websites and information I have found that relates to our project. We also use email to communicate with each other any problems or issues that arise. Written communication is good to use when we need to get in contact with group members outside of school. Without communication we would not be able to complete our project. It has played a positive role in helping our group make our the project the best it can be.

Motivation for the Project

Motivation is what I believe a big step in forwarding the project to the next stage. Besides getting up and actually doing the project, I believe motivation is what drives you to the brink of doing the project and actually feel good about. When you feel good about the completion of the project, you are or have been motivated in a positive way. In relation to our project, our group has still been motivated because of the idea of completing the project was our thought. We motivated ourselves to find ideas to do our project. We initially thought of teaching English at a library, but we ended up with an even better idea of going to save energy in a household or business. We believe we motivated ourselves by looking at the project positively and to never give up. I think that saving energy for a consumer or business will help out in the pocketbooks. We all think that it is positive and great for society on finding ways and techniques to save energy in society. Nonetheless, we continued to motivate ourselves by creating new ideas and enhancing the project as we complete milestones.

Motivation

Motivation plays a big key role in a very positive way so far in our group for our project. One way motivation was used in our group was finding the right topic. As soon as we all agreed on "saving energy" as our topic, we were so excited to start our research and plan ideas for the final film. This excitement was caused by our positive motivation to work together and create a great project that can help the world in little ways. Our energy was put into doing our assignments with great thought and care because of motivation. We know that today there is still the craze of  "going green". Energy plays a huge part of that movement and our group members for this project are all for the popular change. We are motivated to make a difference, get a good grade, and have fun while saving energy. Plus, we cannot wait to show our final result in our video!

Motivation

Motivation has played an extremely positive role in our project and has impacted our group experience. Some ways that I have used motivation to make this positive impact include setting goals, self-efficacy, and self-concordance.
Setting goals is a great way to motive because it gets everyone thinking about what they want the final project to be. Some goals my group has set include having deadlines for finding information, writing a script, and filming the video. By making these deadlines it motivates myself, as well as, my group members to complete the assigned tasks on time.
Self-efficacy is an individuals belief that he or she is capable of performing a task. I have personally used this to motivate myself . As stated previously, my group has implemented goals for our project. By believing in myself, I know that I am capable of successfully completing my portion of the project, both my individual and group tasks. By having this confidence, it motivates me to produce the best information I can for my project.
Self-concordance is the degree to which a person's reasons for pursuing a goal is consistent with the person's interests and core values. This idea has helped motivate myself because I have personal interest in our topic. Ways to save energy in your everyday life is something I can do and teach to my friends and family. Because of the personal interest, it makes it easier for me to pursue the goals I have set, as well as, my group members for this project. Doing something that interests me personally motivates me even more to complete my goals and this project with great success, because I want to show people that I am dedicated in changing the world for the better. By having this positive attitude I think it will have a greater impact on those who watch our video to do the same, which is a great motivator to do the best we can do on our project.

Perceptions of the Project and Decision-making processes

When we perceive something, we usually think of seeing something in the way we see it. It fits right in the multimedia project. While we may not judge each other based on attitudes or motives, we still may judge based on expectations we have of each other. We can encourage each other positively by doing smaller roles instead of one or two having big roles. We won't have any problems in so-called shortcuts that we judge others like stereotyping or the halo effect, we still perceive others on things we see. I must perceive each group member that we have fairly moved on with the project and not judge based on laziness. I think we have perceived each other positively by not causing problems and not judging based on characteristics, which certainly reduces the problem. We perceive each other in a positive way, which makes it easier on us to function as a group.
The decision-making processes as a result of the project doesn't result in a certain type of process, but does qualify as a decision. We must decide on ways to blog about the project, but also finding ideas by decisions everyday on how to move the project forward. We have positively progressed our project by working on the milestones, blogging, and thinking about ways to do the multimedia project. We have good decision processes by successfully completing milestones with thought and the group have contributed to positively introduce the multimedia project one by one. We have made positive steps forward in the project and work together to finalize it.

Perception and Decision-Making Processes

Perception and decision-making processes have impacted our group experience and our project in a very positive way. Perception is, "the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment" (Robins, Judge, 139). We use are perception by understanding and considering the different personalities and ideas and make decisions in our group based on these perceptions. I perceived our group members to be very friendly and nonchalant about what exactly to do about the project, especially when we were picking topics. Therefore we all shouted out any idea that came in our head and tried to go with it. In the end, everyone agreed that the idea of energy saving would be the best topic for us. Our easy-going but hard working personalities allow us to all work very well together and our decision-making process becomes very positive and effective. We all share new ideas each week and we perceive whether it is a good idea or not by group discussions. Perception and decision-making processes are very positive in our group and this means we can look forward to a positive future in group work and an excellent finished project in which all group members will agree and be happy with. 

perceptions and decision-making processes

Perception and decision-making processes have had a positive impact on our project. It is very important to use decision-making when working on a group project. I have personally used perception and decision-making processes when delegating roles to group members. It is crucial that one does this to make sure the role assigned to each group member is appropriate for them. To do this better, you need to know your group members' dominate personality traits. This will help you understand how your group members interpret the assigned work, and will make sure that everyone is on the same page so there is no confusion of what needs to get done and the specific requirements it entails.

Our group also used decision-making positively when deciding our topic, what to include in our video/project, and when and how we will accomplish these goals. At first we had a difficult time finding a topic. I believe this is because we were trying to find something that was easy and we weren't focusing on our interests. Once we evaluated the situation, we used decision-making to find a topic that related to all of us. It was very important for us to use perception and decision-making when determining what to include in our video. Not only do you need to take into consideration of how your group members would like to interpret and present the topic, you also need to take into consideration of how your audience will interpret it. Lastly, we used these processes to decide when and how we will complete the project. We needed to arrange meeting times that weren't conflicting, as well as, what steps we need to take in order to accomplish the final product.

Personality

Individual personality can play an essential role in any group situation. Based on the personality assessment, I have identified a few of my key personailty traits that I feel have had a positive role or effect with the group project. The first is that I am very extroverted. This plays a positive role in that I am able to get along with my group members, and I am not afraid to discuss my opinions, as well as to listen to other's. Another trait that plays a positive role is that I am also very agreeable. This keeps the process of decision making from getting slowed down, and as opposed to arguing, I may just make suggestions. Another apsect of my personality is that my preferred conflict management style is compromising. This also keeps me from stalling the progress of the group by always trying to get my own way. Finally, I have a trustworthy score of 52, which means that others will see me as a responsible member of the group, and won't hesitate to give me responsibilities, which could lead to mixed feelings within the group.

Personality

We have taken the self-assessments and have learned a few things about myself, especially when it comes to the group project. I am agreeable, as the self-assessment. I do allow others to speak and cooperate with them to get the job or task at hand done. In another self-assessment, I can be seen as trustworthy on not slacking on the project itself. I may be a little untrusting on the basis of work ouput in this project, but I still could be trusted if any problems or tasks arise. In another self-assessment, I learned that I tend to avoid problems and conflicts. This is true, because I would like to stay out of problems, especially if they are not mine. This can go along with my tendency of shyness. I haven't really learned anything new by taking the self-assessments, but that I find some characteristics I know I have. I know I have possessive characteristics capable of helping out with the project. I want to exapnd my knowledge in a positive way. I also want to base characteristics in a positive way, because maybe I avoid conflict in the group, but I learned I am creative, highly intelligent, and trustworthy, which is important to creating, forming, doing, and finishing a group project.

My Personality

According to the Self-Assessment report, I rated highest in conscientiousness. This means that I am a responsible person who is also dependable, persistent and achievement oriented.  This has paid a positive role in our project so far and will continue to do so in the future. I am very trustworthy (which I also scored high on) and dependable. I know what it is we needed and need to get done, and do so on time. I make sure we keep on track on the schedule we make. Our goals are very important to me and I continue each week to accomplish each goal until this project is finished. This is a very positive trait to have because it holds the group together. This group we have will surely be successful with all of our positive personalities being put together.

#2 dominant personality traits

My dominant personality traits have played a positive role in my project and have impacted my group experience. Some of my dominant personality traits include organized, cooperative, trusting, responsible, and dependable. Being organized helps me have a positive impact on my group because I know that I wont forget to submit a milestone or do something for our project. Being organized allows me to stay on top of things, so my group wont get behind. Being cooperative allows me to be open to other group members ideas. I am easy to get along with, which I think is very important when doing a group project, because you need to accept the ideas of others in order to complete the project successfully. It wouldn't be a group project, if only one person contributed their thoughts and opinions to it. Another one of my dominant traits is that I am trusting. This has impacted my group positively. You need to have trust when you are working with others. My group members need to be able to trust me to turn in milestones in on time, and that I am going to do what I say that I am going to do for our project. In addition to being trusting I am also very responsible. I am responsible because I always come to discussion prepared for that days group activity and I come with new ideas or questions relating to our project. Being responsible shows my group that I am organized and trusting. Lastly, I am dependable. I need my group to be able to depend on me, and I need to depend on them. We need to be able to depend on each other to complete assignments and do our contribution to the group project.

The project was going at a downfall early on, but we eventually found a great topic to change the world with. I may not have the biggest role in the group, but my attitudes toward others can. I find that cognition was easy to discover early on in the course. I have learned from the class that cognition is the belief I have toward a topic. I could have said things like, "We are behind in choosing a topic" or "We need to pick up the pace."Cognition is the broad aspect of an attitude where I felt that it was difficult to find a topic.

The affective component is basically expressing my thoughts and ideas into an emotional feeling. Statements like "I am frustrated on how we can't use a video camera anywhere" or "How come we can't find an idea like everyone else" could have been originally said. Now, I think we may say, "We have a great idea to change the world and excited about it." The behavioral component doesn't apply well to this group project, only by the way of saying, "I'm so frustrated, what other ideas do we have?" We couldn't behave in a way to give up on the project or the class, so I believe that is all we could have said.

Blog #1: Attitudes

My attitude, or "evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people or events" (Roberts, Judge, 75), was very positive for the most part in this project so far.  Although at times, like the beginning of our project, we had trouble finding a topic that would work. My cognition was positive because I believed strongly, in my opinion, that our group could really make a difference in the world. Even though all of our topics we seemed to choose ended up not working due to different schedules of group members and video taping issues, this opinion of changing a bit of the world was very strong from each of us.  The affective component of my attitude led to a warm feeling inside of myself because when we finally  came up with a topic that worked, we all felt the difference we will make by putting together this video about saving energy.  My behavior played an important role throughout our groups existence.  After we intended to volunteer at a nursing home or other various places, our main problem was the permission of numerous amounts of people to video tape our progress.  When I came up with the idea of teaching English to immigrants at the library, my behavior was very positive and energetic because I thought we finally had our topic and I was excited at organizing my ideas. However the director of the volunteer group at the library never called me back to sign up for the program, which forced us to pick a new topic. It was my behavior then to act on not volunteering and instead, helping out somewhere in our homes.  This led to a group based decision around the idea of "saving energy".  Finally we are on our way to making a difference.

Blog 1 - Attitudes

The three components of attitudes have played a positive role and have impacted my group experience. From a cognitive attitude, it was difficult in finding a topic for the multimedia project. As a group at first we wanted to do volunteer work, but after researching it was a lot harder than we thought it was going to be to find some place to volunteer. The problems that we kept encountering were that we are not allowed to video tape, we have to make a commitment of at least six months, or we simply couldn't get places to call us back. This impacted me positively because I was able to better get to know my group members based on the ideas they had on how to make the world a better place. From an affective attitude, I am frustrated with how the topic for this project is not very specific. How to make the world a better place is extremely broad. Many would think that volunteering is a great place to start, and it is, but when you are grouped with students who don't live in the same city, have limited hours to get together to do the volunteer work and filming of the project due to work, school, etc.; it becomes very difficult to perform the given task, especially with all the the problems our group has encountered. This has had a positive impact on me because it forced me to really think about other ways to help improve the world, not just by volunteering. From a behavioral attitude, I suggested to change our idea from volunteering to doing something that will be beneficial to everyone; not just the one specific organization that our group would be volunteering for. Because of this, our group has come up with the idea of 'saving energy'. This way we will be able to accommodate everyone's individual schedule when completing the multimedia project, and best of all we'll be making the world a better place!

Blog #1

For the project, it takes some work both to get to know your group members and to decide on what project will be the best. For getting to know your group members, the first thing that you do for cognition is think about which people will be the best for your interests. This takes affect through listening and understanding. Finally, the behavior that you display is choosing based on what you know. After deciding who will be in the group, you need to take the next step in getting to know a little bit more about them as they interact with you. Cognition is thinking about what they say, effect is getting to know them a bit more, and finally behavior is interacting on a slightly more personal level for organizational purposes.
As we decide which project will best fit the desires of the group, we must first think about all of the different options. The effect is coming up with a list of possible objectives. Finally our behavior is picking an idea and working on it. Finally, as we get deeper into the project we must decide who will be responsible for what, the effect is separating responsibilities, and the behavior is acting accordingly to the individual responsibilities.