On 11 Feb 2010, our project group had our first official meeting. We chose the discussion room at the central library for this meeting as a video is needed to be taken for reference and reflection.

The setting for this video is rather awkward. We use a digital camera which has a limited width scope and it resulted in us squeezing at the centre in order to remain in sight of the camera. There was no immediate eye contact with the rest of my members. We were quite self conscious of ourselves in front of the camera and hence during our discussion it was quite unnatural initially. Thereafter we were used to it and our habits start to appear.

I realised that prior to a meeting, we need to be well-prepared. In the meeting, there were many periods when there was an awkward silence. A diffcult problem surfaced and we were unable to solve at that current state due to our limited knowledge. A lot of time was wasted and sometimes there was no outcome to the problem. We had to push the discussion of the issue to another meeting.

As the meeting was held in the morning, I was feeling rather tired and there were times when i yawned. I think this is rather unprofessional during a meeting as it affects the morale of the rest of the team members.

After setting aside the difficult issues, we divided the work equally to complete the remaining part of the project. My project group mates had done the outline of the program which makes the progress faster. We had a discussion on the number of classes to use and we came to a common consensus.

In overall, it was quite a good meeting as we had completed the list of stuff we need to do in our agenda.

8 Comments:

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By  Krithika, at February 20, 2010 at 2:06 AM  

Hey Alden!

Your description about how we had to squeeze in to remain in the camera's view, about how we had no proper eye-contact, our self-conscious behavior and the awkward silence were all accurate. I suppose all of us went through the same things.

It is true that in a meeting, participants have to be well prepared. Otherwise we might just end up blinking at everyone else which may be okay now but certainly not in a professional meeting.

It's nice that you managed to finish the tasks according to your agenda. That's pretty much difficult - sticking to a plan. I think time management skills are very important in this aspect without which the meeting would turn boring and unproductive.

Krithika

By  Krithika, at February 20, 2010 at 2:08 AM  

Hi Alden,

Like what Krithika said, I believed we all encountered the same awkward situation during the initial part of the meeting.

Honestly, i think that we can't really control when we yawn but maybe we can try to cover our mouth or reduce the opening of our mouth to make our yawning less obvious.

Lastly, it's certainly great that your team adhered to your agenda as it certainly takes team effort and effective communication to pull it off!

By  Roger Ng, at February 21, 2010 at 11:29 AM  

Hey Alden!

I think almost all the groups went through similar problems. Its not common to be filmed during meetings so we would be so self conscious for a while before actually getting used to the camera.

Like what I had mentioned in my post, it is important to be prepared before the actual meeting as it would helps carry out the meeting better and get more things done without wasting too much time.

Your post was very accurate on what your group managed to achieve and also the difficulties you all had to go through.

I am sure the next meeting would be better than this one. Good luck!

By  preeti, at February 21, 2010 at 7:53 PM  

Hey Alden,

I agreed with the rest that we are not used to being filmed. However, I feel that it is a very rewarding experience as we are able to "see" our habits that we usually do not notice.

Also, I agree with you that being prepared for meetings are important. My group had many instances when we were at a loss because we did not have enough knowledge.

Finally, it is good to that your group finished the tasks on your agenda. This is a good start to the upcoming meetings that we would have for the rest of the project.

By  AkiraP, at February 21, 2010 at 10:51 PM  

Dear Alden

What makes a good meeting?

Using the criteria, evaluate yourself.

Regards
Happy

By  HappyGoh, at February 24, 2010 at 12:38 PM  

I realized that I have forgotten to comment about my role as a team member in this group meeting.

As a leader of the team, it is my responsibility to take note of the social dynamics of the team, as to how my group members interact and I have to be the person who motivates the rest to work. Thankfully, my group members Manjula and Geck Keat get along with me fine and I find distribution of work to be easy and work is done on time.
During the meeting, some stuff I forgot to do as a leader was to encourage participation from the rest and what happened was I did the talking most of the time. As some might not be so outspoken, they might feel neglected or 'out of place' in the meeting. I have always assumed that in a meeting everyone will be proactive but in fact, people would not hence this is something i should take note of as a leader.

By  al, at March 6, 2010 at 9:51 PM  

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By  Anonymous, at May 12, 2021 at 1:50 PM  

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In 1985, Donna Dubinsky of Apple Corporation had a promising career: her goals and objectives have always been achieved. She had the support of her boss, Roy Weaver, since the day she arrived Apple Computers; and Weaver has expanded her responsibilities to run part of the company's distribution network.

Steve jobs, founder and chairman, proposed a new distribution process which would transfer many responsibilities away from Dubinsky. Dubinsky believed, however, that this process would be practically and financially unworkable. She presents her defensive and unsuccessful conflict management, culminating in her threatened resignation.

In several business reports, it was mentioned that eventually Steve jobs new distribution process indeed bring greater profits to the company. Why did Donna, such a capable lady, objected to this proposal so insistently?

According to management theory, Donna's role of social identity was challenged. She felt that Steve job's new distribution proposal is a direct challenge to her social status in the company. Her power in will be affected as many of her responsibilities will be transferred away.

Upon analysis, Donna could have felt that Steve Jobs is challenging her status identity at a personal level. This conflict has caused her to lose her professionalism. She did not think for the overall sake of the company and took it personally. When Steve Jobs proposed this restructuring process, it seems that he did not seek Donna's opinion to begin with. There were communication breakdown in many areas and eventually, she left Apple Company.

Donna Dubinsky went on to serve as the director of Palm Inc. Although Apple is still doing well despite her resignation, there's still this possibility that Apple might do even better if she remain working for the company. What do you think could be done to prevent this conflict from happening and keep this talent from leaving the company?

8 Comments:

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By  Roger Ng, at February 11, 2010 at 1:03 AM  

Hello Alden,

I would like to assure you that the similarity in the name used in my blog and your name is purely coincidental. You are definitely way more professional than that!

Back to the situation you have put across, I felt that Steve Jobs could have more sensitive and stated the rationale behind transferring responsibilities away from Donna as it is quite easy to cause a misunderstanding in this case if such an action is executed without any proper reasoning.

On the other hand, Donna should have been more professional and stated her real reasons for objecting to such a proposal instead of claiming that it was financially unfeasible. If she had been frank, perhaps she could have found out the real reason behind steve job's new proposal and everything could have been amicably settled.

Cheers!
Roger

By  Roger Ng, at February 11, 2010 at 1:13 AM  

Hey!

In the first place, I think Steve should’ve explained to Donna patiently the reasons why he chose the new proposal as this was to cause a big change in her roles. But the bigger problem is, I believe, Donna taking this act of Steve as a personal challenge instead of looking up to the company’s progress. She should’ve analysed the situation patiently and thought about the pros and cons of the new proposal. Being a professional, she could’ve definitely foreseen the positive outcomes of this plan and could’ve saved her own future as a part of Apple.

Krithika

By  Krithika, at February 11, 2010 at 9:10 AM  

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By  Krithika, at February 11, 2010 at 9:11 AM  

Hi Alden,

I feel that the situation that you have chosen is very interesting.

I agree that Steve could have been more sensitive when proposing such a change. However, I feel that if Donna had been more professional, she would be able to view the proposal more fairly. Most importantly, instead of threatening to resign, she should use concrete examples to defend her view.

Also, perhaps Donna's boss, Roy could have helped in mediating the conflict. Perhaps, Donna could be given new responsibilities in place of those that were transferred away to reduce any uneasiness in her.

Just my 2 cents,
Ying Cong

By  AkiraP, at February 12, 2010 at 12:35 AM  

Hey Alden,

I guess the most obvious solution would have been for Steve to explain the situation better to Donna. Meaning he should have also told Donna his rationale behind the changes he wanted to implement.

Also, I feel that Donna could have been a bit more reasonable when it came to accepting the new changes. She could have explained to Steve why she was opposing his views so that maybe Steve would have understood.

If Donna had stopped to think before she acted, she could avoided the decision she took. Steve could have also welcomed Donna's suggestions as shes been working in the company for a while too.

cheers
preeti

By  preeti, at February 12, 2010 at 1:31 AM  

Dear Alden

It wasn't clear when you said "upon analysis" whether it was yours or management's theory.

You should sum up and explain what you hope to gain from this story.

Regards
Happy

By  HappyGoh, at February 24, 2010 at 12:33 PM  

Dear all,
thank you for your comments. I would like to take this chance to explain certain things.

Firstly, when I mentioned 'according to management theory', this was a theoretical analysis by management experts which I've learnt from and upon learning, I agreed with their assumptions and case analysis. Hence I did not mention this was my point of view solely because I adapted this theory from them which I feel I should give them credit for.

To summarize everything,I feel anyone who reads this story should understand the importance of effective communication among each other and the need to understand how others feel. As professionals-to-be in the future, we cannot be so focused on our work to the extent that we forgo the part about sparing a thought for how others feel. Thinking for others will boost your social network and eventually, make you a much more successful person in your field.

By  al, at March 13, 2010 at 1:54 AM  

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