The Importance of Group Work in Engineering By James Crowley, Keith Ryan, Kevin Mulkearn and Séamus Harnett

Content In this presentation I am going to talk about: Why would you work in a group? The stages of group development The skills necessary within a group Being clear about the task Leadership

Why a group? A group is made up of people of differing abilities working towards a common goal. A group enables many viewpoints on the task. It divides the workload between the members. It facilitates people with differing skillsets coming together.

Feedback from the group allows you to develop your skills and improve on them. A group can make previously impossible problems for one person achievable.

The Stages of Group Development There is a process that every group must go through from its establishment. I am going to take you through this process with reference to the trip to the UL Activity Centre.

Beginning of the group: When the group came together for the first time, each individual was quite reserved. The group did not communicate much on the first task. It was more like an individual effort to complete the task.

Forming of the group: By the second task the group began to interact more. We started to share out thoughts and ideas to achieve the right results.

Successes of the group: Due to this newly established trust in the group, we started to perform like a team. With everyone contributing we began to solve each problem as it came, and we learned from our faults.

Overall Did The Group Gel? Initially there was no communication in the group, but as we progressed through the tasks, the bond grew stronger and stronger. The team gelled very well in the end and a brilliant success rate was achieved.

Synchronisation: The minefield task is a good example of how we achieved synchronisation. Everybody had to cooperate with each other to get to the other side of the minefield. Everyone had equal responsibility and the task was completed purely due to team effort.

Group Skills Individual responsibility and accountability Constructive Feedback Problem solving Management and organization Knowledge of roles

Focus and Clarification For a team to work well together, there must be complete focus on the task at hand. Everybody must be clear on what the group has to achieve. Any decisions made must keep the final goal in mind. All the above…. Task = Easier!

Leadership Good leaders are made, not born. With desire and willpower, it is possible to become an effective leader. Leaders do not have to be perfect.

Leadership Process To be an effective leader you must: Challenge the process Inspire a shared vision Enable others to act Model the way Encourage the heart

In Conclusion In order to work as a successful group, everyone must come together as a unit. Different people will take responsibility for various tasks, ensuring the whole task is completed. The greater the pool of experience and skills you have, the better the outcome of the project.

Thanks for Listening!!