© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 6 Working in Teams Technical Communication, 9/e John M. Lannon PowerPoint prepared by Jimidene Murphy

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Managing a Collaborative Project  Appoint a group manager  Define a clear and definite goal  Decide on the type of document required  Decide how the group will be organized  Divide the task  Establish specific completion dates for each phase  Decide on a meeting schedule and format (continued on next slide)

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Managing a Collaborative Project  Establish a procedure for responding to the work of other members  Develop a file-naming system for drafts  Establish procedures for dealing with problems  Select a group decision-making style  Appoint an “observer” for each meeting  Decide how to evaluate each member's contribution  Prepare a project management plan  Submit progress reports regularly

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Sources of Conflict Interpersonal differences Gender differences  Women generally react differently than men in certain given situations  Some women feel they cannot breach the gender “code” Cultural differences

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Guidelines for Active Listening  Don’t dictate  Be receptive  Keep an open mind  Be courteous  Show interest  Hear the speaker out  Focus on the message  Ask for clarification  Be agreeable  Observe the 90/10 rule

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Thinking Creatively Explain each of the following ways of “thinking outside the box.”  Brainstorming  Brainwriting  Mind-mapping  Storyboarding (For a good discussion, see p in your textbook.)

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 Types of Electronic Collaboration  Basic  Electronic document sharing  Teleconferencing  Videoconferencing  Digital whiteboards

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Ethical Abuses  Intimidating one’s peers  Claiming credit for others’ work  Hoarding information Activity: Go to and see what it takes to be nominated for the top 100 corporate citizens.

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 9 Any Questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at