Exercises
Reread the interview with Susan at the beginning of this chapter. Which of the five key strategies listed in the section “Creating a Constructive Infrastructure for Your Team” do you think would have been most helpful to this team? Why?
Have you ever been on a team — in school or in some other setting — whose members either avoided conflict to the group’s detriment or engaged in destructive conflict? What strategies recommended in this chapter might have improved the team’s functioning?
The videos in this textbook are directly based on the interactions of actual student teams. Before you complete any of the video exercises, take a moment to watch the introductory video, which describes how the videos were produced and created.
View Team Video 4: David, Veronica, and Adam. Answer the following questions about this video:
What model of collaboration does this team seem to be using? (See Chapter 1, “Planning Your Collaboration.”)
Review Table 5.2, “Characteristics of Constructive versus Destructive Conflict.” Which characteristics of constructive or destructive conflict does this team seem to be demonstrating? Provide specific examples.
What specific behavioral changes did David make between Part I and Part II of the video that improved team collaboration? List as many specific changes in David’s speech, body language, attitude, and verbal interactions as possible.
What if David’s behavior had not changed so dramatically? Which one or two of the five strategies for creating a constructive infrastructure do you think would be most helpful for this team in Part I of the video?
Once you have completed question 3, read Appendix F, “Responses and Outcomes for Team Video 4.” Considering the outcomes of this project and reactions to the team, what do you think are the major lessons to be learned from this team? Refer to specific concepts from the chapter.
View Team Video 5: Jayme, Megan, and Joe. Answer the following questions about this video:
Once you have submitted your responses to question 5, turn to Appendix G, “Responses and Outcomes for Team Video 5,” and read what professional managers said about this team. Now that you have more information, how would your response to question 4c change?