Midterm Mayhem

The class on that Monday was definitely not something I expected, nor was it wanted. To have that sort of stress and chaos on a Monday, of all days, is not only inhumane, but borderline insane as well. Although I'm glad that we were able to come to a compromise that somewhat satisfied all parties, I'm sure that the same end would have been accomplished in a much easier and stress free way. I have been involved in various different clubs and organizations and all meetings were conducted under the Robert's Rule of Order. These rules and guidelines are also used to run meetings in the U.N. They are very effective in organizing meetings with a large amount of people in attendence. It was obvious from the very beginning that this was a test of our management skills. I was considering whether or not I should introduce these rules and help Rich conduct class. I had decided not to because Robert's Rule of Order requires a great deal of cooperation and compliance, which was obviously something the class as a whole wasn't willing to contribute. It would have also taken some time to explain all of its intricacies and that would have been unwise since we had about an hour and 15 minutes to complete this task.

A lot of individuals were more concerned with themselves and their own individual gain then the actual benefit as a whole and asked for quite a few ridiculously absurd conditions. Others were adament agaisnt certain conditions, which also posed a threat to achieving a good proposal since a 100% accordance was required. It seemed that we were actually getting somewhere when more people had taken charge of the class. Voices of reason also gradually became louder and louder. I was personally withdrawn throughout this whole procedure. I'm not sure why but I found the whole situation amusing. I was having a good time just watching and observing the whole situation. There were times that I was tempted to scream out absurdities into the crowd. When I heard someone request 25 extra credit points, I wanted to play the devil's advocate and demand 50. I was also "Laughing Out Loud" when certain individuals voted agaisnt the entire proposal because of an understanding. Then when people tried to reason with them their reply was, "Ahhhh, it's okay... it's okay." I was having trouble keeping myself reserved and not adding to the insanity. I suppose I have a pension for mischief.

Egg-tastic

My team could have honestly done a much better job in the completion of the egg assignment. We weren't exactly enthused with the task at hand and didn't give it the attention it deserved until after a few minutes. In regards to the planning process, our team followed most of the steps. The objective of the assignment was clearly defined for us, "Save the egg and you'll save your grade." (I apologize for the Heroes pun and in my defense it is Monday night.") Our current status were that we had no idea what we were doing, we generated many alternate scenarios with altering strategies that all seem to somehow end with the cracking of the egg, we chose a plan and ultimately implemented it. It the broadest of ways, the steps for the planning process were clearly met, but our team chemistry and teamwork could have been much better. We left a huge gap for improvement.

First and foremost, we could have done a much better job coming with ideas in the achievement of our goal. Given that engineering and egg preservation wasn't exactly our forte' we could have done a better job brainstorming or at least cultivating a proper environment for brainstorming. Secondly, no one wanted to take the initiative and assume the position of team leader. In the beginning we were all passive and hoping to ride the coat tail of another. After a few minutes, a few leaders reluctantly stepped up to the plate. In addition, we could have done a much better job keeping focused. Half of the team, including I were spying on the other groups trying to determine what their game plan was. A few of the other members were discussing how this assignment was derived from a class in MIT and how they the accomplished their goals and the rest were observing with a quiet reserve. Lastly, we never identified each others strengths. I honestly think that half of us did not want to deal with each other. This is perfectly understandable since many people are uncomfortable working with ones they aren't familiar with. It's also retarded since our grade in this class partially depends on each other in regards to the successful completion of these assignments. Each and every one of the members of my team, especially myself, needs to develop better management skills for the success of future assignments within and especially outside of this class environment.