= Includes Two A+ Assignments & Three Discussion Questions & Answers!

SOC/110 Week 1

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This week you have explored some of the differences between groups and teams. For this assignment, you will reflect on a team you have been a part of in the past.
Review the Learning Activities from this week that discuss what makes a team.
Complete the What Is a Team? worksheet. Make sure to use APA format and cite sources.
Submit your assignment.
Reflect on a team you have been a part of.
Write a 75- to 100-word response to each of the following 3 prompts:

1. Briefly describe the team in which you worked. Why do you consider it a team rather than a group? What was your experience like? Specifically, how did you experience collaboration, conflict, or other team dynamics while a part of the team?
2. Consider some different types of teams? Which type is your team? Why do you think that type best describes your team? How was your team formed?
3. Do you feel like your team was effective? Why or why not?

SOC/110 Week 1 Discussion Questions

Discussion Question: What Is a Team?
At some point, all of us will be called upon to work in a team. This week, we will explore what differentiates teams from groups, what defines an effective team, and what skills are needed to effectively work in a team.
For this week’s discussion, consider a situation in which you had to work with others.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• Briefly share a situation in which you had to work with others.
• What were the most important factors that influence how well your team worked together?
• Do you consider the team in your example effective? Why or why not? How did the location of your team members influence its effectiveness?
• What concepts from this week’s learning activities do feel apply to the team you were in?

Discussion Question: Understanding Group Dynamics

Includes 5 seperate answers to this discussion question!

Watch "Understanding Group Dynamics," located on this week's Electronic Reserve Readings page.
Discuss with your classmates.

Discussion Question: All-Star Team

Includes 5 seperate answers to this discussion question!

Discuss the following with your classmates:

• How would you decide what skills and experiences are needed to complete projects with quality and efficiency?
• Choose and describe a problem or project in your workplace, home life, or school that calls for a team solution.
• If you could build this team with famous people of the past and present, who would you select? Explain your rationale.
• Match the skills and experiences needed with each selection. You may select people from politics, sports, entertainment, or other areas.

  = Includes A+ Assignments & All Discussion Question Answers!

SOC/110 Week 2

Signature Assignment: Building a Team Proposal

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In the first week of this course, you learned about teamwork and effective teams. Now it is time to put it all together and design your own team.
Imagine you have been asked to create a team to meet a specific need within your company.
Write a 350- to 525-word proposal for creating a team to present to your manager in which you:

• Describe what type of team you will create.
• Describe the team’s goals and how many team members will be needed.
• List the roles and responsibilities associated with the team and its members.
• Explain how you will incorporate diverse team members.
• Summarize how the diverse perspectives and experiences of the selected team members will bring value to the team.
• Make sure to use APA format and cite sources.

 Submit your assignment.

SOC/110 Week 2 Discussion Questions

Discussion Question: How Do You Form a Team?

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Last week, we explored how teams differ from groups and what makes a team effective. This week, we will discuss how teams are formed and what factors influence how teams evolve. We will also explore various roles within a team and investigate strategies you can use to strengthen team cohesion and improve team performance.
For this week’s discussion, consider the learning activities you’ve completed and your own experience within a team. Include examples, if possible.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• What are some typical challenges that occur as a team develops?
• Which of these situations have you encountered when working with a team?
• How did you and other team members react in these situations? Based on what you learned this week, were those reactions appropriate? How would you respond if your supervisor asked you what it means to “strengthen a team”?

Discussion Question: Survivors

Imagine you wake up on the beach of a small, rocky island along with your friends, uninjured. Your plane, partially submerged offshore, is mechanically and electrically incapacitated. The pilot and co-pilot are nowhere to be found. The island is about a mile from a larger landmass visible across the water. In contrast to your present surroundings, you see that the larger landmass contains vegetation.

Identify and discuss communication strategies to facilitate formulating a plan to deal with your situation. Include how you and your friends might function as a team to ensure that you all survive.

Discussion Question: Building A Team Of Talent

Watch and discuss "Building a Team of Talent" on this week's Electronic Reserve Readings page.

• What strengths do you bring to a team at work?
• How do you see your strengths fitting in and supporting the needs of a team?

= Includes everything listed for Week 3! A+ Work!

SOC/110 Week 3

Signature Assignment: Leadership and Conflict Management Presentation

Review the Conflict Resolution Scenario to learn more about the conflict on your team and explore options for resolving these conflicts prior to completing this assignment.
 In Week 2 you proposed how you would build your own team. Now, your newly formed team is starting to work on its first real project that needs to have strong collaboration and a quick turnaround. However, your team has encountered the following challenges:

• One team member doesn’t agree with the goal and keeps questioning the processes.
• Two team members are having a personal conflict, and this is preventing them from collaborating on the project.
• One team member is not engaged.

 Create a 6- to 8-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation, reflecting on your experience completing the Conflict Resolution Scenario. Remember to add speaker notes to support your main points. Speaker notes should be a minimum of 50 to 150 words per slide. Make sure to use APA format and cite sources.
 Answer the following questions in your presentation:

• What were your choices for managing the conflict on your team?
• What strategies did you employ to encourage collaboration and build consensus within a team? Are these strategies that you typically employ when confronted with a conflict? Why or why not?
• How can you keep all employees on your team engaged? Provide examples.
• What strategies from the multimedia piece best suit your current skill set? Why?

 Review theYou may add pictures and graphics to enhance your presentation, and you are welcome to change the design layout of the presentation.
 Submit your assignment.

SOC/110 Week 3 Discussion Questions

How Do You Manage Conflict in a Team?
After focusing on what teams are and how they form in the first two weeks of the course, this week’s focus is team dynamics. Team cohesion is an important part of an effective team, and this week we will discuss ways to develop shared knowledge, values, effective communication, and consensus. We will also examine conflict management and learn some ways to navigate through the inevitability of team conflict.
For this week’s discussion, consider the learning activities you’ve completed and your own experience within a team.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• Share a time that you experienced conflict within a team.
• What strategies did you and your team members use to manage and resolve the conflict? Were these strategies successful? Why or why not?
• How could you apply the strategies presented this week to reach a more effective outcome?

Leadership Styles (with 5 Answers!)

Watch "Leadership Styles," located on this week's Electronic Reserve Readings page.
Discuss the following and respond to your peers:

• How would you characterize the leadership style of a manager or boss for whom you have worked? Why?

Leadership and Teamwork Skills (with 5 Answers!)

Watch  "Leaders as Servants," located on this week's Electronic Reserve Readings page
Discuss the following and respond to your peers:

• Do you think the servant leadership model would be an effective model of leadership in the workplace? Why or why not?

Workplace Relationships: Playing Your Part (with 5 Answers!)

Watch “Workplace Relationships: Playing Your Part," located on this week's Electronic Reserve Readings page.
Discuss the following and respond to your peers:

• How have you contributed to team projects in your school or professional life? How would you describe your role within a team?

= Includes everything listed for Week 4! A+ Work!

SOC/110 Week 4

Assignment: Managing a Team's Resources

Your team has been humming along for a little over a week now. The conflicts that appeared last week seem to have subsided. However, your supervisor has just informed you that the deadline for completing your team’s goal has been moved up by two weeks. You now have less time to complete the same amount of work. Your supervisor has asked for a short summary on your plan for achieving the goal within your shortened timeline.
 Write a 350- to 525-word summary on how you will manage the team’s resources in the face of these new timelines. Answer the following questions in your summary:

• How many people are on your team? What are their roles? What are their skill sets? How can these be rearranged to meet the new requirements?
• Are there enough human resources to complete the project two weeks earlier? If not, how can you increase the team’s capacity?
• Are there aspects of the project that can be condensed or skipped? What are the implications of skipping or condensing tasks?
• Are there costs to be considered with these changes?
• Make sure to use APA format and cite sources.

How can you leverage what you’ve learned about solving problems in teams to meet the new project requirements? How do you intend to communicate the new requirements to the team in order to gain their buy-in?
Submit your assignment.

SOC/110 Week 4 Discussion Question

Discussion Question– How Do You Manage a Team’s Resources
The ability to form a team, communicate in a team, and resolve conflicts in a team are all valuable skills for anyone in the modern workplace. However, having these skills alone does not automatically ensure team success. Having a mission focus and fostering collaboration are critical components to team effectiveness. Managing team resources will be the focus of our discussion this week.

For this week’s discussion, consider the learning activities you’ve completed and your own experience within a team.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

• What are the most valuable resources within a team?
• Who do you feel should be responsible for determining how team resources are used?
• How can changes to the availability of resources affect team dynamics?
• What are the most important project management and planning skills needed to keep a team on track toward its goals? How would you rate your level of proficiency with these skills?

SOC/110 Week 5

• Explain the importance of leadership to a team.
• Explain leadership practices you incorporated into your leadership style.
• Provide examples of how you incorporated those leadership practices within your team.
• Discuss leadership strategies the other managers can use to motivate their own teams.
• Summarize the challenges you encountered through the team’s process and what decisions you would have made differently.
• Team formation
• Conflict Resolution
• Resource Planning and allocation
• Leadership

 Review the

• for additional assistance using Microsoft® PowerPoint®.
• You may add pictures and graphics to enhance your presentation, and you are welcome to change the design layout of the presentation.

 Submit your assignment.