Project Management Group Assignment: Identifying The Challenges

Question

Task : Identifying the challenges of with group assignments in the context of project management students in Sydney.

Assignment 1A requires you to choose an initial research topic using a supplied research topic generation tool. Next, you will conduct a literature search to identify a scholarly paper relevant to your chosen topic. You will provide a detailed overview of the identified scholarly article using your own words. The review should include all components as taught in the unit (refer to weekly sources). You will provide an explanation of how the paper was identified and to what extent you think it is a credible paper. You will also identify and briefly summarise two relevant sources relevant to the identified paper as explained in the specifications below. You must include a screenshot of Turnitin similarity report showing the similarity percentage. Then, you will provide your personal reflection of your learning experience in this phase. The reflection should record your experiences, feelings and reactions during the learning experience in the last four weeks. This may include your commentary on Turnitin similarity percentage, evaluation of the adopted approaches, techniques or tutorial activities that have been helpful or unhelpful. You must also reflect on the consultation process you have had with your lecturer/tutor, peers and Moodle sources. Refer to Moodle site for the specifications and detailed requirements to complete this part.

Answer

Introduction
Group assignments have been important in study circles across the world. Keeping in mind the difference between students in knowledge and understanding delivering results becomes a challenge in group assignments (Altmann et al. 2018). This project management group assignment will look to analyze critically two important articles about this topic for a better understanding of the ways through which the conflicts within the group can be managed.

Scholarly Article Review
Differences are to be expected when people work together. The operations of a team, in the beginning, begin through the introduction with the current assignment. After a while members start to understand that accomplishing mutually to achieve a common goal is a hard job. It is a widespread problem in the "dissatisfaction" stage of project handling when the team recognises the discrepancy between the expectations which management has from them and the reality of getting it done (Student Services, 2019).

The article referred in this project management group assignment talks about the fact that a more significant number of people causes difficulty in scheduling, a delegation of authority, opinions to consider etc. Smaller groups are always cost-effective and convenient to handle. The reliance of group members with each other is an important parameter on all stages and managing the escalating collaboration costs than tasks helps the students to indulge in sub-group activity within an already existing group, though they may not accomplish similar purposes (University, 2019). Group members' heterogeneity increases expenses, particularly when there are communication problems to fight with, social differentiation to control, and experiences that are required to be integrated. Nevertheless, since the heterogeneity of perception is a primary interest in group dynamics, it cannot always be avoided.

The concept of “Free riding” occurs when some members leave maximum or whole job to a few people. This problem if not properly sorted – reduces the motivation levels of most group members leading it to a conflict situation. Another issue is “Social loafing” illustrates the propensity of the group members to minimise their efforts as they believe that they can or should due to the diminished understanding of liability (Click, 2018). The practice lowers productivity in the group. Conflict within groups affects the spirit and is a reason for members to switch. This can be complex and can be the reason of free riding.

Identification of the Paper and Its Credibility
The importance of understanding group conflicts as discussed in this project management australia is that it prepares a student beforehand about the ways confrontations can be avoided. Not only have that group conflicts made a massive impact on the delivery and execution of a project. Traditionally it can be said that conflict management has the potential in intensifying the relation amongst the employees and a bunch of problems undoubtedly disappear. People must be motivated in their organisation and experience most days as exciting and challenging. Before any idea is put into action, it needs to be considered with each one, and no one should be neglected. In this mode, each student seems essential for the project and tries hard to meet the demands of his fellow team members and in a way offering to the company in his soundest conceivable form.

The credibility of the paper referred in this project management group assignment that is being selected is exceptionally high because with diverse workgroups in place students of project management in Australia. Not only has this but issues relating to group work affected individuals in their personal lives. Division of work, responsibility, location, arrangement and several areas become points of contention which is a significant issue to be solved in modern times. Souring relationship within a group should be withdrawn at homes as it destroys the environment and develops negativism (Grolnick et al. 2018). People tend to disregard others due to internal conflicts. The continuous passage of blame game over minor issues rattles the whole concept of team-work and makes it a problematic area to tackle efficiently. The importance of selecting this article has been about the fact that the interests of an individual and a group are always different. The ways a person manages this proves the extent to which he/she can be adjustable.

Two Relevant Sources and Its Explanation
The two most important sources as discussed in this project management australia which have been mentioned in the articles are the strategies that can help in solving the crisis discussed above. It includes allocating time which is necessary for the group assignments and it saves professor's time in few areas (as an example: giving gradation to the projects), which can be compensated through in other areas (e.g., time required for identification of appropriate project topics, dealing with clients, create student groups before the semester and monitor student groups). These will solve the problems of group conflicts to a large extent, and relationship improvement is worth it. Another important thing which has been discussed includes assessing teamwork skills and group dynamics which is a trickier job than determining a team's work (i.e., product).

It is the responsibility of a group leader to help mitigate the problems which have been bothering every single individual within the project team. As mentioned in the discussion topic and article the effectiveness of a group dynamics essentially is about conflict resolution skills and the ability of the group members to adjust to the situation. Usually, teachers are unwilling to dedicate class time to strengthen these skills and seem awkward dealing with the complicated individual problems that can occur in teams. In other words, managing team dynamics tend to shift the instructors out of their comfort zone.

Gaps or Problems
It was observed in this project management group assignment that there are some gaps and due to those gaps there are several problems that are occurring in group assignments. Moreover, the solution is difficult without the proactive participation of the teachers and instructors. Conflicts within the group can severely strain the relationship, and the quality of projects is bound to fall in the build-up to the prospects of an effective transmission of work that can be uploaded (Fornalik et al. 2018). The cost of motivating members in a group is also a massive challenge in large scale projects. It points to the opposing impact on pupil impulse of working in teams. So it is urgent to differentiate between the various ways through which conflict can be managed and build a plan for helping the team move forward.

Conclusion
As a conclusion inferred in this project management australia, it can be said in this project management group assignment that being able to disseminate information within the group as well as improving the accountability and level of engagement of each member is necessary. Keeping this in mind group assignments must be carried out with a democratic leadership style and providing sufficient space for alternative opinions to flourish. Project management group assignments are being prepared by our online management assignment help experts from top universities which let us to provide you a reliable assignment help Australia service.

Personal Reflection
I feel that as a student of project management, doing group assignments is not difficult as long as the members are willing to share their knowledge and accept suggestions. The issue of ego, self-interest and assertiveness tends to break down the team spirit and needs to be handled carefully. Efficient process analysis requires thoughtful reflection of learning objectives and a blend of appraisal approaches. It exposes the different areas of complexity that instructors may not anticipate. Furthermore, I think the teachers who guide these assignments need to get more involved, which I often do not see in the universities. , and this can give fruitful results in the group assignments.

On the other hand as referred in this project management group assignment, I think effective group management removes the risks associated with fragmented groups and thus also reduces the stress of the students in project management groups. I also feel that it is undesirable that group work creates tension and altercations with colleagues and other people, there is a certainty that after a point of time that the individual starts feeling guilty of himself/herself.

References
Altmann, A., Ebersberger, B., Mössenlechner, C. and Wieser, D. eds., 2018. The Disruptive Power of Online Education: Challenges, Opportunities, Responses. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Click, A.B., 2018. International graduate students in the United States: Research processes and challenges. Library & Information Science Research, 40(2), pp.153-162.

Fornalik, H., Zore, T., Fornalik, N., Foster, T., Katschke, A. and Wright, G., 2018. Can Teamwork and High-Volume Experience Overcome Challenges of Lymphadenectomy in Morbidly Obese Patients (Body Mass Index of 40 kg/m2 or Greater) with Endometrial Cancer?: A Cohort Study of Robotics and Laparotomy and Review of Literature. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer, 28(5), p.959.

Grolnick, W.S., Schonfeld, D.J., Schreiber, M., Cohen, J., Cole, V., Jaycox, L., Lochman, J., Pfefferbaum, B., Ruggiero, K., Wells, K. and Wong, M., 2018. Improving adjustment and resilience in children following a disaster: Addressing research challenges. American Psychologist, 73(3), p.215.

Maynard, M.T., Kennedy, D.M. and Resick, C.J., 2018. Teamwork in extreme environments: Lessons, challenges, and opportunities. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(6), pp.695-700.

Nardone, M.J., Johnson, N.D. and Vitulano, L.A., 2018. Executive coaching as an organizational intervention: Benefits and challenges of a team of coaches working with multiple executives in a client system. In Mind-ful consulting (pp. 117-134). Routledge.

O'Neill, T.A. and Salas, E., 2018. Creating high performance teamwork in organizations. Human Resource Management Review, 28(4), pp.325-331.

Power, N., 2018. Extreme teams: Toward a greater understanding of multiagency teamwork during major emergencies and disasters. American Psychologist, 73(4), p.478.

Student Services. (2019). Problems associated with group work. [online] Available at: https://www.uq.edu.au/student-services/learning/problems-associated-group-work [Accessed 23 Mar. 2019].

University, C. (2019). What are the challenges of group work and how can I address them? - Eberly Center - Carnegie Mellon University. [online] Cmu.edu. Available at: https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/instructionalstrategies/groupprojects/challenges.html [Accessed 23 Mar. 2019].