Team Experience: Experiential Analysis
My team is working on a project called the National High 5 Day. In terms of the brief description of the exercise, we have been meeting every week to encourage students from all over the United States to join our fundraiser and donate money for cancer research. We have been emailing students to remind them of important dates they need to raise their $55. The process will also enable them to receive free T-shirts. We also send reminders and guidelines for all the students so that they can be successful in raising the money. We have also been searching for suitable candidates who can take part in a Business Development internship program.
Although each one of us has been posting job descriptions on different colleges’ boards, it has created some form of conflict because we often duplicate the same tasks. We came up with the resolution that if anyone is interested in the position, a conference call should be held followed by an interview process. The interview is significant because it allows us to know the candidates well. Each candidate is also eligible to win a $2000 worth of scholarship. We have also created a team known as USF to raise money for cancer research. Another resolution for the team is to encourage and guide the USF students so that they can raise money through social networks.
To succeed in the fundraising program, it was necessary for us to skillfully negotiate certain areas with the USF students. This was the easiest part of the negotiation. We employed an integrative negotiation approach. This process of negotiation enabled us to create a joint value for both the participants and the cancer research center. After raising the money, the research center is expected to benefit. On the same note, the participating teams stand a chance to win the scholarship program. An integrative negotiation process works well when there are shared opportunities or concerns between two or more parties. In other words, there is a mutual gain when an integrative negotiation process is used.
Negotiation between two countries will also be a vital process because the cancer research center is expected to benefit patients outside the host country. A distributive style of negotiation will be used because the research center is a competitive center for managing cancer.
The key negotiation principles that we went through included devising the fundraising idea for the cancer research center, offering the best solutions or modalities for raising the funds, undertaking an integrative negotiation with the successful interviewees, clarifying the benefits of the program to the participants, and adopting the final statement of position regarding the fundraising exercise for the cancer research center. It is also pertinent to mention that the participating USF students were informed about the benefits of the fundraising program.
In analyzing my experience, I am glad to note that our team is doing great. We have managed to navigate the program through several hurdles with a lot of success. The performance of the group is above the expectations that were set earlier. For example, the group has utilized the allotted time well against the set objectives. Second, the team has also demonstrated a lot of commitment to the program ever since it was initiated. However, we are yet to choose candidates for the internship program and the scholarship opportunity.
Finally, the most important lesson I learned from this experience is teamwork. I noted that effective teams can meet enormous objectives within a short time. I can apply this learning experience in a managerial role to achieve difficult tasks in a short duration. Teamwork can also be used as a motivating factor in the workplace.