Week 13: D1

(Regarding Chapter 11) Distinguish among a forum, panel, colloquium, and symposium as a means for making a public presentation.  Why one would you prefer?  Why? 

A forum is for a larger audience. Everyone in the audience participates by examining the topic or problem. A panel means that there is a small group of experts discussing the topic in front of an audience. Normally the audience does not get involve with the panel until after the panel is done with their discussion. The discussion consists only of Q&A. The colloquium consists of a small group of experts with varied views to discuss the issue, develop and work through it in front of the audience. The audience in this case does participate. A symposium is when there are a couple of short speeches made about the issue. The audience can discuss afterwards.

Personally I think I like panel option more than the others. I feel like it is nice to have the people who are on the panel to finish what they would like to say before the audience gets involved. I feel as if this might save a lot of time because the audience does not get involved until the end. Also I think it is better to have a question and answer session instead of a full on discussion. It seems to be simpler in a big group setting. 

Week 13:D2

Briefly outline an example of collaborative conflict resolution that you have engaged in.  Contrast that with a competitive conflict.  Which was more satisfying to you? To the other party? 

In a collaborative conflict resolution it is basically a win-win situation. This means that the members of the group are open to contribute and listen to ideas. A lot of communication is involved with this option. A personal example would be when I play volleyball with a group of friends. Everyone has a position that they are play better at, while there are some who cannot play at any position. Also some people might have multiple positions of where they can play. After a discussion, everyone was put into a position on the court where everyone thought it might benefit to the team.

On the other hand the competitive conflict resolution is a win-lose situation. In this case, people do things for their self-interest. During my senior year of high school, I had some friends who wanted to design the senior class shirt and sweatshirt. Of course we can only have one design for the shirt because we did not want to buy more than one shirt. So in order to solve this conflict the class president set up a date of when they had to turn in the best design they could so the class can vote on it. The designers had to compete with each other to bring the best design in a short amount of time.

For me I think the better approach is the collaborative resolution. This is because it is better to have everyone working together to come up with the proposition. 

Week 13:D3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed during this discussion week, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

One concept that I found interesting was accommodation in dealing with conflict. It means that one is giving up all or most of one’s opinion and position for the other person. This is a lose-win situation and it is not ideal. Sometimes being able to accommodate to others is beneficial, but there are times when it’s not. I thought that this was interesting because I believe that we accommodate to people everyday. Whether we are in a conflict or just dealing with everyday issues, we seem to accommodate to the other person’s wishes because we want that harmony within the relationship. I personally believe that it there is good reason to accommodate to the other person. For instance, if it were small things, I would normally let the other person have what they want because I do not mind. But I also see how there are times when we should not give in so easily. I can see how being able to always accommodate to one person in the group can cause conflict within the group, because others might be resentful and angry with the person. Whatever the issue is one should be careful when they want to accommodate to the other person. 

Week 12: D1

Provide an example of creativity from your own experience.  How does it fit with the chapter’s discussion of creativity? 

             Creativity is trying something new, creating a new method to solve a problem. I think creativity is relevant in my current job. I am constantly thinking of new way to solve the issue because the previous solution did not work well or it did not work at all. I was thrown into the fire when I had to be head coach for middle school boy’s volleyball. With some previous experience behind me, I had to think of new ways for these boys to grasp the concept of volleyball. They were mostly new players, and they were all relatively young. I continually had to think of new drills for them that were fun but yet helpful to develop their skills so that we would be able to win some games. One drill I recall having them do was the blind man drill, this is where someone was blindfolded and the team had to tell the player where to stand so that the blinded player can receive the ball. This was fun for them as well as it helped them build team chemistry and talk to each other on the court. This fits into the chapter’s discussion because helped the player look at this game a different way, a game in which they needed to rely on each other to talk. It also helped solve the problem of them not being able to communicate on the court. 

Week 12:D2

Name five cultural barriers to creativity.  Why do you think these would keep a group from being creative?  Have you experienced any of these personally?  Explain. 

The five cultural barriers to creativity are requirement for conformity, expectations of practicality efficiency, expectations of politeness, rules for social order and dependence on generalizations.

People like to follow the rules of a certain culture because they do not want to get left out or mock for what they are thinking or doing. A lot of the time the culture builds its own norm and one does not want to break out of the norm. It is because different cultures look at numerous things with a different light. By thinking outside of the box, it might offend the culture due to the cultures values and beliefs.

I personally do not think I have experienced any cultural barriers because my parents and family members do no really care about the things that I do. They also do not really stick to our “culture” and traditions, so my uncle, aunts, and older cousins are the one loosening the rules for my generation. For instance, in the Chinese culture we have a party to celebrate the baby’s 100^th day birthday, it is also called the red egg. Why this is celebrated I have no idea. But often times my cousin will not do this party but instead just throw a huge first birthday party for their child, breaking the rules of the culture. 

Week 12: D3

Pick one concept from the assigned reading, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

I think one concept that was interesting was maintaining openness in a creative group climate. By being open we are able to see what others are thinking and create a better idea with others’ thoughts. The book describes how group creativity depends on the climate itself. By giving off a supportive climate, members will trust and respect each other. Creativity comes from all sorts of people and ideas, so it is helpful when groups are open to the different ideas.  People are self conscious, especially in groups so it is helpful for groups to upkeep the concept of openness. I am one of those people who are self conscious in a group and do not like talking much because I am scared about what other people might think. On the other hand when I am in a group that seems to be more open to things, I tend to be able to contribute my ideas. I personally believe that when we keep openness in groups we are able to come up with the best and more original ideas.