COM 320 – ASSIGNMENT 3 SELF-REFLECTION PAPER (20%)

Course: COM 320 Small Group Communication

Term: Fall 2021

Instructor: Drs. Nurcan Kose and Arda Jebejian

Assignment Title: Self-reflection Paper

Type: Individual

Description: There are many different types of skills that are relevant to career development.
Effective teamwork skills are very important. What do you think makes a good team
member? Do you have the teamwork skills it takes to be a good team member? The purpose
of this assignment is to dig deeper and reflect on what you learned by answering the most
relevant questions about the collaborative assignments and project you completed.
Tasks:
1. Read the questions carefully.
2. Analyze each question and identify the key words and topics related with each
question.
3. Refer to your textbook and chapter slides to draw connections between the subjects
learned and this assignment. Make sure your responses are paraphrased and written in
your own words.
4. Identify, describe, and evaluate specific experiences from your collaborative
assignments.
5. Use this document to answer and upload your file in Word.
6. Submit your work on Turnitin on the date announced on Moodle.

Name ID Section

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QUESTION 1 (25%): Take this Teamwork Skills Self Inventory, rating your
strengths and areas you would like to improve upon. Check the box that matches how
you rate each skill.
Skill Strong Average Needs
improvement
Willing to Listen – you listen to and respect
✓
various points of view
Self-Motivated – you are responsible and
✓
dedicated to completing the task at hand
Honest – you are fair and willing to share
✓
openly with others
Reliable and Trustworthy – you can be
✓
counted on
Effective Communicator – you clearly express
✓
your thoughts and ideas
Organized – you are prepared and ready to
✓
participate and contribute
Cooperative – you enjoy working with other
✓
team members to reach a common goal
Flexible – you embrace change and aren’t
✓
afraid to try new things
Problem Solver – you can identify the issue
✓
and find a solution
What did you learn about yourself by ticking the relevant boxes? What are ways you
can strengthen the skills in the ‘needs improvement’ column?
Write your answer here – a paragraph of 100 to 150 words.

Over the course of this self-reflection, I have understood that while I have a strong work-
ethic and I can be a reliable source for my team members in group tasks & projects alike, I
need to considerably work on my team-communication and team-work skills, particularly
those involving communication, cooperativeness and flexibility.

I have understood that I need to be more listening & appreciative of others’ ideas, be more
willing to accommodate others suggestions & adapt to them, and most importantly I have
to communicate better, both in terms of my ideas as well as in negotiations of tasks. In this
context, I believe for the ‘needs improvement’ column, I can actively start to move away
from a linear model of communication which is highly transactional in nature, towards a
more interactive model, employing the 7Cs of communication to effectively communicate
my thoughts without seeming too aggressive & stubborn while also encouraging active
participation within the team and promoting diversity of thought.

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QUESTION 2 (25%): Here is a list of suggested scenarios:

Scenario 1: The leader of the team wants to do everything himself or herself. They have a
very big ego and are difficult to work with.
Scenario 2: Two of your team members do not get along. There are many hard feelings
between the two, and they refuse to communicate with one another.
Scenario 3: One team member is very sensitive and emotional. This member gets upset
when he/she doesn’t feel listened to and is extremely offended if all of his or her ideas do
not get used. To further complicate matters, most of this team member’s ideas are not
practical.

Choose ONE scenario and fill in the Problem-Solving Organizer below.

1. Identify the problem. What issue(s) are you trying to solve. Why? Be specific.
50-75 words

Working with Scenario I, I believe the core issue at hand is the issue of micro-managing in
which the leader simply doesn’t trust their team-members and prefers to trust their own
work both in terms of quality & reliability. This approach would translate to the leader
being dismissive of their members’ ideas and hence seemingly egoistic and unworkable-
with.
In that context, it is necessary to solve the core issue of trust & transparency so that the
leader’s work-ethic can be complemented with an effective leadership style that not only
fosters participation but also enhances quality of the same.
2. See the problem from other perspectives than your own, such as the person(s)
involved (the leader’s perspective in Scenario 1, or the two team members’
perspectives in Scenario 2, or the sensitive member’s perspective in Scenario
3). Why is this step in the analysis important? 50-75 words

Looking at this issue from the leader’s perspective we can understand that it may be
emerging from a past personal experience in which they would have had a bad interaction
with their team or their reliance on their members wouldn’t have bode well with them.
Maybe due to time-crunch and deadline issues, the leader would have realized that it
simply isn’t fruitful to engage in discussion with the rest of the members and translates to a
straightforward wastage of time.

This is a particularly important step in the analysis process because it helps us get a grip on
the broader picture as well as the nuanced issues at play here, so as to avoid having a
narrow-minded approach to the issue.

3. Make a list of two potential options without evaluating them. 50-75 words

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 Option Description
s
1. Complain about the leader to the next higher authority to have the
leader replaced with some other personnel for better functioning of the
team.

2. Set-up a modus operandi for team interactions and approach towards

projects outlining negotiation plans, member contributions and process
for finalization of ideas.

1. What are the pros and cons of each of these two options? 50-75 words

Option Pros Cons

s
1. Possibility of immediate The higher authority may reject the
resolution of the issue request for change and dismiss it,
which might make it all the more
difficult in future team
interactions.
2. Systematic & Structured Too much time & effort required
Approach to problem resolution, for this, causing members to get
which will give any member of distracted from actual work.
the team to raise opportunity to
raise their voice when there is a
deviation from guidelines.

4. What is the best solution? What is the potential for the best outcome? What
are the possible consequences of your solution? 50-75 words

I believe the second option will be the best possible approach to this issue, where-in we can
have a standardized operational procedure set for the team’s interactions through a
democratic process.

Possible consequences of this action will bear well for the team’s future, where-in it could
boost team’s members’ participation and contribution within the team, while also having
the potential to boost their productivity and eliminating the current issue of autocratic &
egoistic leadership.

5. Think about how you will implement your solution. Come up with a short list
of steps to follow. Make sure steps are logical. 50-75 words

Step Description
s
1. Discuss the issue with the leader and propose the idea of having a SOP
for team operations to enhance efficiency.
2. Incorporate the teams’ ideas about how to make the decision-making
process more democratic and involving them to ensure everyone feels

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 heard and valued.
3. Formulate measures in place that can be resorted to in case of deviations
from these procedures, in case the leader resorts their own older ways.

QUESTION 3 (25%):
a. How did what you learned from your group project (Agenda, Minutes, and
Virtual Video) impact your decisions, behaviors, or relationships?
b. What challenges did your team overcome (for example, constraints of time,
resources, communication, organization, leadership, unexpected events or
setbacks)?
c. How did your group overcome them? 
d. What did you learn about yourself by participating in the group project?
e. Why is this important?
Write your answer here– a paragraph of 100 to 150 words.

Incorporation of tools like Agenda & Minutes have made it very time-efficient for our
group project operations, where-in agenda ensures that there isn’t a lot of deviation from
the planned timelines and discussions and minutes ensure that no task is ignored or
forgotten about. Similarly, Virtual Meetings have made it increasingly convenient to
connect with group members without having to spend time on non-value tasks like
commute and deciding availability.
However, in terms of unexpected events, we faced a similar issue as mentioned in Scenario
I, where-in our leader was very set in their ways and not accommodative of other members’
contributions or ideas.
To remedy this, we had a separate group meeting where-in the group members discussed
and pointed out the issue, making the leader realize their folly, and devising ways on how
to not commit the same.
Since I was the leader for the project, I understood the kinds of mistakes I was making and
more importantly how unconsciously I was making them. This project helped me realize
them and also practice ways to not commit them.
Hence, it was immensely important from a long-run perspective, where-in I can now avoid
making the same mistakes in future projects and am also more cognizant of the impact that
my behaviour has on the individual members of the team as well as the team-performance
at large.

QUESTION 4 (25%):
a. How did your skills improve from your work on the collaborative assignments
(Personality and Teamwork Analysis, Digital Magazine, and Case Study)?

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 b. How do you see yourself applying any of the "lessons learned" from your
group assignments in new contexts, such as an internship or leadership
position? 
c. What communication challenges did you face?
d. How did you overcome them? 
Write your answer here– a paragraph of 100 to 150 words.

Over time by working on such collaborative assignments I have enhanced my teamwork

skills and have seen myself transform from an introverted & shy individual towards a
more extroverted and outgoing person who us more willing to share their ideas and
thoughts with others.

In a leadership position, I see myself adopting a more democratic style over my

conventional autocratic style of leadership to ensure that all my team members feel valued
and none of them feel undervalued and/or left out. This will help me in deriving the
maximum benefit from my team members and ensuring everyone’s maximum potential is
realized.

In terms of my communication challenges, I have realized that I am rather blunt and

abrupt in my communications and hence may be perceived as rude and borderline
misdemeanor. I face the challenge of often pushing my own ideas and not giving adequate
thought to my members’ ideas & thoughts.

I have overcome these challenges by putting conscious effort in listening to my members’

ideas and setting time aside to ensure that I devote enough time to make them feel heard. I
have also tried to better word my messages to ensure that they are respectful and not just
statutory.

ASSIGNMENT 3: GRADING RUBRIC – SELF-REFLECTION PAPER (20%) – INDIVIDUAL

Very
CRITERIA Poor Average Good Excellent
good
Question 1:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
Question 2: 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated.
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new

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contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
Question 3:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
Question 4:
Content: Relevant, thoughtful approach to
subject, honest self-analysis and self-evaluation.
Theory integration: Knowledge of theoretical
background, theory is appropriately integrated. 0-4 5-12 13-17 18-21 22-25
Communication: Identifies lessons learned,
describes how these lessons will apply to new
contexts, such as the workplace.
Mechanics: Free of all grammar, spelling and
punctuation errors.
NOTES

TOTAL POINTS ___________%

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