Solving The Collaboration Problem Collaboration is the working together of different people to achieve increase creative thinking and maximize intellectual effort. Example of collaborations are groups of students working on a school project, camera crew on a film set, double teams in tennis and so on For a collaboration to be successful it must have more than one person and minimum conflict between members involved.

Documents in Collaboration Projects Projects have lots of document that have to be produced in other to be assessed on standard and success Proposal: The object of the collaboration and on what project Specification: What exactly on the project needs collaboration Progress Reports: Time to time report on how far the project has advanced

Operating manuals: Step by step on how the project workings are to be duplicated if successful Feasibility Reports: Report on if the project can be accomplished possible, logical and sometimes in a specific time frame. Every single document is produced by each member of the collaborative group which in turn increases the success level of the project because each part of the document is well focused with each members expertise

Guidelines for a successful Organization of a Collaborative Team Members of groups should appoint a group manager Define a clear and definite goal (part of document) Decide how the group will collaborate example each member working on a specific part of project Establish a time frame for completion to increase focus Pick a meeting schedule to discuss progress on each part of project

Create a pattern of communication example , face to face, telephone Procedure for dealing with group problem (mostly group leader’s responsibility) Select a group decision making style example group leader makes all the decisions, voting or group input Appoint an observer from the group who keeps a list of progress Decide how each member will be evaluated example would it be by group leader, individual evaluation, self evaluation or an outside evaluation

Conflict within Collaboration Groups

On Gender Codes and Communication style Research and studies have shown that there is a gender difference between men and women. Studies have shown that women tend to generally issue requests more than commands (example Could I have this report by Friday? Versus have this report by Friday) and try not to offend. In contrast, men tend to be assertive and express uncertainty (example maybe we should, probably we should, perhaps we can). But none of these traits are gender specific meaning there are exceptions.

On Cultural Codes and Communication Style Some cultures are silent types An International business expert helps to describe cultural codes Cultures have different perception of time Cultures are different in willingness to express themselves Body language

There are ways of coping with these codes and conflicts of culture. Conflict can be used if it is resolved quickly Conflict should be expressed and addressed openly before the project begins There are just some but the bottom line is to be tolerant and respectful of others in the group. Also most important is the ability to listen to others attentively Everyone should be given a chance Take everyone’s feelings into consideration Opinions should be taken seriously

Listening is the key to learning, getting along, and building relationships. When you communicate do you “listen” or “just talk”? Effective listening requires active involvement Hearing the speaker Stages in the process of active listening Focusing on the message by tuning off distractions Decoding the message, deciding what it means Accepting the message as the speaker intended without biases Storing the message in memory for later recall

Creativity is a key asset. Creative thinking is especially effective in group settings, using the following techniques Brainstorming: This is a technique for coming up with useful material; its aim is to produce as many ideas as possible and is very effective in a group setting Brainwriting: Enables group members to record their ideas Mind-mapping: This is more structured version of brainstorming; it helps visualize relationships Storyboarding: A technique for visualizing the shape of an entire process

Reviewing and Editing Other’s Work Accuracy, appropriateness, usefulness, and legal content All documents and work should be reviewed and edited extensively. Reviewing means evaluating how successful your document is in conveying its content to an intended audience Material organization for the reader’s understanding Clarity, easy to read and engaging style Effective visuals and page design

Editing means to modify or adapt so as to make it more precise, suitable or acceptable to be read. Improvements such as these could be used: Rephrasing and reorganizing sentences Clarifying a topic sentence Choosing a better word or phase Proof reading for spellings and punctuation

Collaborative Meeting Which do you prefer? To meet face to face and discuss the group project or meet in virtual space? There are advantages to both. Face to face meetings are important when people do not know each other or they are dealing with sensitive material Virtual space can be helpful when you are dealing with someone who is shy, prevents personality clashes, and prevent intimidation within the group

QUESTIONS Who would you generally pick for a group manager between a male and female knowing what studies have shown? (Remember there are exceptions) What collaboration style do you prefer? Can you name other examples of collaborations? Would you keep information from your collaboration members if your job dependend on it? (Ethics)