Moon Landing exercise Essay Example

Moon Landing exercise Essay Example Moon Landing exercise Paper Moon Landing exercise Paper Moon Landing Exercise What went well and what are areas of improvement? The team performance on Moon landing exercise was much better than the individual performance which was the first thing that went well as a group. The learning from this task was, for complex task there is potential for better results with team. Also the team should be a bag of mix individuals from different fields, skill sets and knowledge domain and not from similar background for complex task. As a team we had a fairly good involvement in the task. Except for Magnetic compass, mostly everyone was clear on the item on the list and its possible usage. Towards the end of the game, the team had common purpose and it resulted in lesser conflict and better communications. After reflecting on what happened during the game and what we learned in the classroom and going through the material, it seems that there are lot of areas for improvement. The moment we were asked to start ranking as a team, every individual was pushing for the ranking given by him as the teams ranking. This led to personality conflict resulting in more communication demand and time loss. As the time passed, everyone realized that we were lagging behind and our main objective is to come up with team ranking for critical items required for survival to reach the mother ship. The moment we had common purpose, discussions were more insightful, logical and knowledge oriented. During the last ten minutes of exercise the team had higher level of conscientiousness. In the latter half of the game we were clear about the significance of the task. The first learning is that instead of straight away Jumping in completing the task, the initial time should be spent on identifying the task and its significance. This will help the team to focus on common purpose of the task. During the course of task, there were personality conflicts, discussions diverting from the task at hand and lesser contribution from some members. This led to poorer performance of the team. To perform effectively, a team not only needs people with technical expertise but also with good interpersonal skills who are good listeners and an play various roles to avoid strained internal process and decreased overall performance. We had various people playing different roles. Most of us were playing roles of the controller, assessor and adviser. Due to which we were taking longer time to conclude. There were few who were maintainer and listeners, while some were not that much involved. As a good manager or leader it is to ensure that every member of the team is not only motivated but also actively participates to increase the team As the time pressure increased, certain people took over the responsibility of linker ND promoter which helped us sail through the task and conclude faster. To sum up the entire exercise, following things are critical for teams success. 1) Understanding of the task and its significance. Skill sets required to complete the task. 2) To arrive at the common purpose of the task and integrated goal. 3) Identify the people with different interpersonal skill sets and assign them with various roles and responsibility to avoid conflicts and negative atmosphere among the members. 4) Lastly a team needs timely resources, good leadership and accountability. Word count: 552