2011-01-0050

OB – Individual Project
Group 4 – Section B

Introduction

The core objective of the MBA programme is to produce professionals capable of fulfilling
strategic roles within organizations. Integral to this capability is an understanding of the
dynamics of human behavior in organizational settings. The discussion groups provide students
with a solid theoretical base upon which a practical framework for managing and succeeding in
the workplace can be established.2

Given below is a brief report of how the underlying challenges for the harmonization of seven
people with different personalities and backgrounds were coped with.

Member Roles

Since the group was meeting several times on a daily basis it did not take too long to create
mutual respect and understanding. On top of this, the informal meetings outside the discussion
room between the members also played a pivotal role in enhancing the appreciative, supportive
and tolerant behavior for each other.

An important factor which kept the group members aligned towards the specific goal and not
getting too engaged in highly informal activities was the presence of Sidrah in the group. Firstly,
Sidrah had the background of the social sector which enabled her to act as the social leader.
Secondly, all the male members refrained from informal and decadent behavior mainly due to
the presence of a female entity in the group. Amad and Salman acted more as the spanning
leaders since they had good connections with other students and also other individuals outside
the group. Both Amad and Salman were the ones who often brought in most of the technical
information related to the cases and readings. Ali Saleem was the envisioning leader who always
came up with creative ideas. Since there were no formal leaders (except for the first few weeks
when one person was officially designated as the group leader), Omar and Farhan emerged as the
informal organizing leaders where we were mostly managing the time, raised process issues and
successfully concluded discussions. Dawood usually cracked jokes to break tensions and re-
harmonize relationships. In effect, he also contributed to being the social leader in the group.3

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OB – Individual Project
Group 4 – Section B

Although the above mentioned roles were not specialized or consistently performed by an
individual, the patterns of behavior described above emerged over time and were the main
factors which influenced the group’s performance.

Norms

After the first few sessions, we realized that some members were too slow to be in pace with the
programme while others were not very enthusiastic to engage in group discussions and
information sharing. Hence, the first thing we decided as a group was that every individual is
responsible to complete his readings and do some case evaluation before he came to the
discussion room. In this way we would save valuable time for discussions. Also a few members
initiated information sharing which later became a norm for all the members. In addition, the
first five minutes of each discussion group session for OB were allotted for the previous class
evaluation. Again, this was only possible since every member had read the case and the
associated readings which furnished us with extra time for this purpose. This was done in order
to confirm that the whole group did not suffer in performance. Since it was compulsory for each
member to fill in the evaluation form and hand it over during the allotted time, this norm applied
equally to everyone and its continuum assisted in enhancing group effectiveness towards
successfully compiling the required data on time. The meetings held at different intervals further
contributed in stabilizing the interactions along the path to achieve our task function. Further
details of the evaluation criteria and process have been described in the progress report & the
project submitted collectively by the group.

Processes

Except for a couple of members, the rest all had good interpersonal skills. However, information
sharing was scarce in the beginning, but it eventually evolved and improved over time with
informal get-togethers during breaks and after class time. As the various qualities and skills of
each group member were brought out, we began identifying commonalities amongst us and
started spending more time in getting to know each other. This developed a sense of trust within

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OB – Individual Project
Group 4 – Section B

the group members and coordination and subsequently information sharing improved.
Eventually, the group was operating in a more generous environment.

The successful completion of the Group project required the time commitment and expertise of
more than one person. The heavy workload on all the students due to the rigorous MBA
programme demanded that the project be split into various sections and every member should
have an equivalent amount of work to do. In this way, no single member would consider his
fraction of the job unjustified. The features of the work itself dictated that it can be completed by
the combined efforts of multiple individuals working together.4

A total of 24 lectures had to be evaluated. The process devised for this task required a
comprehensive brainstorming session in which each member provided his/her valuable inputs.
The final evaluation criteria and procedure were reached through a consensus. It was made sure
that every member got a chance to speak and share his/her ideas before finalizing the project.
Lots of interaction was required among the members in order to discuss each lecture before
giving it a final grade. Every individual worked on his/her part of the project and then they were
combined together into a coherent whole. Our strategy for conducting the task components had
been carefully and correctly orchestrated since the very beginning, but we still learnt a lot more
as the progress unfolded and frequently needed to adjust the strategies on the fly. Finally, the
skills, expertise and other inputs that the different group members were differentiated to start
with, operating in the environmental context of a group resulted in the form of a successful
output. The group members’ behaviours occurring over time, as well as the small interactions,
whether in pairs or subgroups, formal or informal, were all part of the group’s process for
working together.

General Group Behaviour

Considering the group as a whole, the general behaviour was quite cooperative and supportive.
There was ample information sharing (except for the first few sessions when members were still
getting acquainted) and concern for ethics and integrity. For almost every subject, adequate
teamwork and storming sessions always strengthened core concepts and helped individual

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OB – Individual Project
Group 4 – Section B

members improve their overall academic performance. If any member was low in morale due to
excessive studies or some personal problems, the other group members always showed empathy
with him/her and helped the individual boost up his/her self-esteem and buoyancy. Due to the
cognitive and personal capabilities of the group members, strong and prolonged interactions, a
lot of social learning took place. On average, every group spent almost 05 hours per week
together, due to the scheduled and formal discussion group timings. Besides this, informal
meetings, lunches and get-togethers contributed to roughly an additional same amount of time
per week for socializing. On top of this, we were spending 18 – 20 hours per week, together in
one class for lectures. Though there was no interaction amongst us during this time but just the
social presence of a person (with whom you are comfortable) in the same room helps retain
confidence and acts as a positive influencer for communal moral behavior. Although this was not
a conscious attempt (on part of the students) to manage and implement positive behavior, it had a
significant positive effect on the group behavior as a whole and reinforced the group efficacy.5

Group Culture

In a collective society such as ours, more closely knit social bonds are observed. All the
members of a group are expected to take care of each other in exchange for strong loyalty to the
group.6 All the group members exhibited good loyalty to the group and in exchange each one
received preferential treatment and due respect from the rest. The group culture that evolved as a
result of group behaviour focused more on logic and reason. In addition it had a faster, more
active and bold pace. There was also a good focus on people (group members) in order to carry
along every person with the group pace. 7

CONCLUSION

The overall experience of being part of a highly motivated, exuberant, stable and reliable group
immensely augments your personal energy and personal style. This in turn translates into a
collective positive group effort for achieving a sustainable goal. The continual support &
feedback that you receive from your group members enhances your vision and gives you a sense
of empowerment so that you can improve your interpersonal and social skills on the way to
becoming a global leader.

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Group 4 – Section B

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