discussion summary
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Indiana University Of Pennsylvania *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
320
Subject
Industrial Engineering
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by DrHeat5313
1
DISCUSSION SUMMARY- WORKING WITH TEAMS
Robert Morris University
MBAD-6015-L2: Leading With Agility
Dr. Hongguo Wei and Dr. Eliada Griffin-EL
November 6, 2023
Discussion Summary- Working with Teams
2
This week's discussion puts an emphasis on working with teams. After watching the ted
talk, going over the reading, and participating in discussion with my classmates, there is a
common theme of main points to remember.
Discussion
Marshmallow challenge
After watching the ted talk, the main concept was the marshmallow challenge. I found
that this video revealed deep lessons about the nature of collaboration and teamwork.
Groups of
four come together to complete a task as they would in their everyday job but they must
collaborate quickly and think very carefully about each step. They have a set amount of time to
build a marshmallow tower, and the groups who “beat the average” are not who you would think.
The kindergarten group was consistent in being above average along with the
engineers/architects. This is true because of how they got straight to the process of prototypes
instead of coming up with one single plan and sticking to it. Whereas business students did not
beat the average because they are trained to think like a CEO with one plan, disregarding issues
that may arise and just continuing to push through until completed. Pertaining to the challenge,
they did not win because they waited until the very end to put the marshmallow on top which
resulted in collapse of the tower because of the weight added that could not stand by itself and
time had run out. They began planning/organizing but most of their time was spent assembling
the sticks. The “ta-da” quickly turns into “uh oh” because of the way the marshmallow causes the
tower to buckle and fall over with no time remaining.
I noticed that a good bit of students have never personally done the marshmallow
challenge but do think it is a very good team building exercise. The reason behind this whole
challenge is to "help identify hidden assumptions, provide shared experiences, common
language, and prototyping and facilitation" (Wujec, 2010).
High stakes have a strong impact on
3
the outcome and it is important to have a skillset that can collaborate with others given a small
period of time.
Leading teams curriculum
As I was reading the contents of this week's topic I noticed that there is a correlation with
the readings and with the ted talk. One of the three interrelated criteria when assessing the
overall effectiveness of teams is " the team adapts and learns through effective teamwork"
(Bernstein, 2016). He says to "Learn to detect and correct errors before serious damage is done
or even trigger a restart. This means that you are resetting the team's trajectory, throwing away
past resentments or misunderstandings, and effectively starting over” (Bernstein, 2016). This
means that if you can see an error while in the building process of the marshmallow tower, it is
easier to ditch that plan and come up with others during the process. This is how the kids,
engineers, and architects built the tower because they left the marshmallow on top the whole
time and knew what worked and what did not to keep it standing. Whereas the business students
did not do that and waited until the last second to put it on top which resulted in a falling tower
because of the added weight. Both authors are saying that effectively starting over and by trial
and error creates a better outcome, which is why the younger kids and engineers/architects beat
the average.
Conclusion
Overall, this week's lesson goes to show the importance of working together in teams and
how the outcome depends on how you choose to go about the process as one. Sometimes, having
a single plan and sticking with it does not always work. Making changes as they come about is
the best way to get the outcome you want.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
4
References
Bernstein, E. S. (2016).
Leading Teams
Wujec, T. (2010).
Build a Tower, Build a Team.