Blog Entry 3: Reflection on Team-based Research Project Proposal

Looking back in retrospect over the past couple of months, it’s hard to believe that the team based research project proposal will be completed and concluded by the end of this week. Working in a team with Nazyra and Nabilah has been both a memorable and enlightening experience. In fact, it’s even a little strange to think that before working together with my group members, they were two completely unfamiliar individuals. Nevertheless, it just goes to show how easily a task can be achieved when you are able to work well together as a team.

I thought that as a group we worked cooperatively and effectively. Each team member was easy to get along with and there were no conflicts or struggles that we couldn't overcome collectively. Initially we took a while to get started on our project and as a result, when it came to choosing a topic, problem and effective solution, we found we were hard pressed. We ended up deciding on the issue of overcrowding in MRT systems which proved to be a fairly complex issue as we soon realised that it required extensive research and data. However, everyone was committed to doing their part and regardless of our rocky start, everyone still was able to fulfil their responsibilities by the given deadline. Even when we didn't have delegated tasks (such as emailing a Professor to set up an interview) each member took the initiative to make sure something was done.

The biggest challenge we faced was trying to set up an interview with a Professor, where we had to keep emailing back and forth to reach a mutual time due our conflicting schedules. In the end, our only option was having only two of us present at the interview. This may have worked out better if we had chosen our topic earlier and started the correspondence earlier. However, from this learning experience of a team based project, it can be seen that good communication and time organisation as well as having initiative and taking responsibility are all integral components of effective team work.

In the context of the workplace, all these elements can be realistically translated to team projects. Even if there are conflicts or negative issues, the combination of these effective team attributes can be applied to assist with easing and also resolving problems caused by ‘bad’ team behaviour. Examples of bad behaviour include domineering, inflexible, irresponsible individuals and also those who may have another agenda.  None of these traits were present in my team at all and we were able to succeed because we communicated effectively, compromised, committed and were held accountable to each other.

Taught well & effectively avoided!