Portfolio Questions

1. What do you find most difficult about collaborative writing? What strategies did you (or your team)
develop to make collaborative writing more effective? Explain.

When joining a collaborative writing, the biggest barrier that I’ve ever encountered is dealing with
opposed ideas shared by the team members during brainstorming and discussion. This often happens
since there are more minds, which means there will be diverse knowledge and perceptions. However,
everyone cannot be correct at the same time and bringing different viewpoints from all the team
members together is hard to achieve. Failing to handle it tactfully may lead in a conflict in the team.

One of the strategies that I the most important is to find the ground rules setting for collaboration,
conflict and work management. Conflicts and issues may rise during team work sessions. Being aware of
potential conflicts, we often try to navigate and discuss issues or problems as they appear before they get
worse. For example, the team leader sets due dates for each member, he/she will then perform the
supervision of individual tasks to ensure the work progress meets the timelines.

Another strategy is good management of the team working process. This will help avoiding to regard
one person on the team as more important than another and ensure fair involvement of all team
members and timely completion of individual tasks. For instance, one person will do the research, one
will do the writing and one will do the proofreading and editing. By doing so, we won’t get in each other’s
way and we can do what we are good at.

All in all, the set ground rules will ensure that all team members are involved and respected in the
decision-making process.
2. Describe an interpersonal conflict you have experienced in a team. How did the conflict benefit the
interpersonal relationships in the team as you attempted to resolve it (the conflict)?

Last week, we had a team discussion on conflict management. During the brainstorming on how to deal
with conflicts in a team, I accidentally engaged myself in an interpersonal conflict. My team members said
that solving conflicts effectively requires consideration of important elements like fairness, respectful
attitude, avoiding assumptions, and being patient …. However, I assumed conflict management in an easy
way that the team just leaved the judgement to the chair person. He or she would navigate the issue and
find a way out for the team. Since, my opinion was opposed to others, we started to argue. I confessed
that I stuck to my viewpoint and tried to prove it correct. As a result, a conflict happened right in my
team. Later on, I realized I was so isolated and that my justification for my perception was weak and
unpersuasive so I decided to step out the argument by admitting that I was wrong due to my short-
sighted perception.

After this, I understand that people should respect diverse opinions and head for the team’s goal.
Besides, tactfully dealing with conflicts can help fostering and promoting interpersonal relationships
because it makes people understand each other about individual strengths and weaknesses, and personal
characteristics. By knowing how to behave oneself, members can contribute to enhancing the solidarity
of the team. As a matter of fact, our team now becomes more solid and we also set out rules to avoid
future similar situations.
Portfolio Reflection
Provide 120 to 150 words of reflection on your learning from the Learning Portfolio 4 questions. You
may reflect on the question(s) you particularly engaged with and your experiences.

After doing the portfolio questions, I have gained an insight into the importance and benefits of
teamwork as well as interpersonal conflicts and conflict management. I think I am enhancing my personal
skills to be able to work effectively when joining a team work.

Through the first question, I learn that team members can have their critical thinking abilities improved
as a result of collaborative writing and make their performance more unique and original.

The second question helps enabling me to navigate and solve future potential problems before they get
out of hand. Collaborative writing can reduce individual workload, increase team solidarity and ensure
distinct output. Furthermore, resolving team conflicts improves team relationships and performance.

Before this session, I was not used to working with others and found it hard to speak up my ideas. Now,
I know how to work in a team and deal with conflicts, if any.

Reference List

Braun, K., Locker, K. O., & Kaczmarek, S. K. (2016). Business communication: Building critical skills (6th
ed.).
Cheesebro, T., O'Connor, L., & Rios, F. (2009). Communicating in the Workplace. 1st ed. USA:Prentice
Hall.
Knapp, L. (2020, March 13). 9 keys to creating an effective accountability group for writing support. The
Write Life. https://thewritelife.com/writing-accountability-group/