A.

Concrete Experience
Think back on a time when a social / group / team experience did not work out as well
as you thought it would (or hoped it would).
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1. Objectively describe the experience (who, what, when, where, how)

Unfortunately not every project we undertake will be successful and there can be
a multitude of factors that lead to failure. In my life I have experienced many
failures, like us all and the only thing we can do is forgive and learn from them.
One example would be when I was on the orchesis dance team in high school.
Each year in the spring we had a huge show consisting of 14 dances that we
choreographed ourselves. My junior year we were all getting ready for our first
dress rehearsal because our show was in just a few days. There was a lot of argu-
ing and fighting between all of us girls, lack of preparation and motivation. We
ran the show on stage in front of our dance manager and it was a complete disas-
ter. Costumes were not completed, staging was so off, girls were forgetting steps,
the music was not cut right, hair and makeup was non existent and the team was
unfocused. Overall the rehearsal was a total fail and we all got in serious trouble.
It was embarrassing and our manager refused to let us perform the show if it
would look like this. We had a little over 2 months to prepare but our team has
no unity and there was so much negativity that is was detrimental to our perfor-
mance. The seniors that year were devastated because it was their senior year
and seemed like a huge deal at the time. That was one of the most stressful weeks
of my dance career. As a result we stayed at the school and on the stage until 1 am
for 3 nights in a row trying to get the show together.

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2. Subjectively describe your feelings, perceptions, and thoughts that occurred dur-
ing (not after) the experience. What did others seem to be feeling?
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The main feeling that I remember was embarrassment. I danced on stage and
danced competitively my entire life, I performed so many shows and knew exactly how
they were run. I knew I was better than this and that our team was better than this. I
felt weakness that I didnt step up as a leader and say hey team lets work on these is-
sues, lets put on the best show we possibly can. I felt frustration and stressed out be-
cause there was so much work to do in so little time that should have been done already.
Back then I was much more shy and less confident, I felt weak because I didn't have the
courage to speak up. The other members were angry, discouraged and let down. They
felt embarrassed because our manager made sure to put us down.
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B. Reflective Observation
1. Looking back at the experience, what were the perspectives of the key actors (in-
cluding you?)
We had a large team of over 30 girls and guys. We had a president and vice president
and leaders to represent each class. The way I saw the experience was that attitudes and
team building is a huge part for any team to be successful. I thought the only reason we
failed was because there was too much drama, too much tension and too much talking
behind peoples backs. The only way to succeed is to go with, not against one another.
We were all against each other and separated in small alliances which was very imma-
ture and damaging to our performance. I think the other leaders of the group saw the
situation of us being lazy and unfocussed. I think they saw us a team as being so unpre-
pared because we weren't trying. I think the effort was there just in all of the wrong
places.

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2. Why did the people involved (including you) behave as they did?

I behaved the way I did because I was shy. I was painfully shy my whole life and
didn't grow out of it until after I graduated high school. I knew what was wrong, I
knew what bothered me, I knew why our team was failing but I was too shy to
speak up and take action. We are all accountable for our actions including the
ones not taken. I think other leaders in the group behaved inappropriately and
violently because they were weak. I think people do not like to take accountability
for themselves and girls tried to place blame and make petty excuses. Looking
back on the situation we all behaved wrongly because we were young and didn't
know what we truly valued. We were all inexperienced at leadership roles and
team projects. We were inexperienced with working and didnt know that you
must look at the bigger picture and not each little mean. I think our dance man-
ager behaved the way she did because she understood that we were immature,
jealous and attention seeking young girls who couldn't understand the true mean-
ing of team work until we experienced it ourselves, failed ourselves and succeed-
ed ourselves. Most lessons we can be told until we are blue in the face, but we will
not understand it until we experience it ourselves. Leadership, working in teams
and social processes are complex and forever changing.
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C. Abstract Conceptualization
1. Relate concepts/theories from the assigned readings and, if helpful, from other read-
ings youve done for other classes, to the experience. Please apply at least two con-
cepts (and/or theories) and cite them properly.
How can we manage our human resources so than we can maximize individual contri-
butions? (Osland, Kolb & Rubin pg. 5) This question from the text really stood out to
me. I find myself realizing that this is one of the most crucial questions to ask yourself
when in a leadership position. Especially when it comes to organizations, one of the key
components to success is utilizing each individual as an asset. In order to build a strong
team you have to look for members who will actively contribute and not be passive and
indecisive. One class I took described this as not wanting to have robots to be part of
your team. You dont want members who sit silently and take no initiative. Initiative is
huge and some people will not take initiative unless they are constantly directed. The
perspective of both employers and employees matter, we have to pay attention to this at
all times.
From chapter 3 I liked the section on why dumb things happen to smart companies. I
believe that poor customer relations is huge and I have seen this happen and experi-
enced it as a customer. I think communication at the point of sale is huge and I have
learned this first hand by working at Starbucks. Many customers have no idea what
they are buying and it is our job to explain and sell product. In my personal opinion the
majority of people have very poor communication skills and social skills. This is some-
thing that can be practiced and worked on but if you cannot clearly communicate ideas
and what you are selling you will fail. You never want a customer to look at you like you
are stupid. It takes skill to learn how to be honest and convincing and it took me a cou-
ple years of first hand experience to truly understand this concepts.
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D. Active Experimentation
1. What did you learn about psychological contracts from this experience?

Psychological constructs refers to the relationship that the employer and employ-
ee shares. I have never heard this term until this class and I am surprised be-
cause I think that it should be discussed in the work place. We all have expecta-
tions, some realistic some unrealistic, some high and some low. From my experi-
ence mentioned earlier I learned that psychological contracts must be communi-
cated. Nothing will work if you dont speak up and nothing will work if a leader
doesnt be clear with what they expect and need from you. I the work place I
learned that psychological contracts can change and that they guidelines and
rules are not always clear. Being a subordinate and leader are equally challeng-
ing.

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2. What did you learn about yourself?

One thing I would like to address is that since Ive started my journey at ASU as
an online student I learned more about myself than I thought possible. I realize
that my mind is expanding and thinking about issues and ideas I never under-
stood or consider before. I love my major as Organizational Leadership and I
think it is the most useful thing I will ever study. The one thing I learned about
myself is who I want to be as a leader. I know I like to be a leader I know I like to
be in charge but I didnt know the type of leader I wanted to be. This class and all
of my other classes have taught me so much about leadership and what it truly
means. I never considered really how social processes worked in organizations
and in the work place. I have a very creative mind and a very strong personality.
I learned that I can use these things to my advantage to be a leader who motivates
and inspires others to think larger than themselves. I learned who I want to be-
come and what I will strive for.

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3. What action steps will you take to be more effective in the future?

I will take many steps to be more effective int he future and these classes have
showed me how detailed and structured the process is. From this course so far
there are 3 things that really stick out to me on what I can do to be more effective.
The importance of interdependence is huge to me because this is one of my big-
gest challenged to accept and understand. I am so independent and like to do
everything on my own and I believe I can do everything better. This is not always
the best mindset to have because working with teams can be very frustrating for
me because most people do not work like me. Team members cannot achieve
their goals single handedly and we have to work together to accomplish anything.
The second concept is clearly defining goals. I think a huge problem in organiza-
tions and in team work is that sometimes the goals we work on are ambiguous.
Every member needs to clearly understand the precise goal and do a lot of pre-
planning before anything even begins. We cannot just focus on the how or the
why. An equal emphasis should be put on both and clearly setting goals is actual-
ly a lot harder than it seems. The third step I want to address is paying attention
to the interpersonal skills of each person. The text book stated that we are all
people first, and then team members. Being objective, knowing how to construc-
tively criticize and giving out recognition are somethings to consider when getting
to know the interpersonal skills of each team member. I always looked at team
work as being determined by top management and I didnt realize that who the
team members are is more important that the actual leader. I want to push these
concepts in my leadership skills and demonstrate to my team why I value these
things and how they can lead us to success.



A. What was your Learning Style Type? Were you generally balanced or was
there a general dominant style? Given that this course focuses on the nature of
teams in the contemporary workplace, comment on your strengths and weak-
nesses with respect to working effectively in an organizational team environment
(see Exhibit 3.4, etc., in chapter 3). Tell a story or two from your life that illus-
trates some connections between your learning style type and some of your past
or current behaviors when working with others in an organizational or social con-
text.
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My most dominant learning style type is auditory and then kinesthetic. I have
never been a visual learner and I learn best from listening and hearing things. I also
learn very quickly by physically perfuming tasks and doing it by myself. I think some of
my biggest strengths in the workplace include getting along with people who have very
different backgrounds, keeping a positive attitude and gaining trust by co workers. One
thing I have always been good at is understanding that everyone is different and has
very different perspectives. I keep an open mind and have learned to accept peoples dif-
ferences and find out how to work with who they are. I always keep a positive attitude at
work and think it is extremely important to keep up a good vibe. People should enjoy
being at work and enjoy socializing. I demonstrate everyday how hard work can get
done and how we can have fun while doing it. When I walk into my store and can tell
that everyone is grumpy and in a bad mood I make jokes and try to make each person
laugh. My co workers tell me all the time that their mood improves when they work
with me. This also has helped me gain trust which I think is huge in the work place. A
challenge for me has been when I have transferred stores and been the new supervisor
at the store. All too often people would immediately judge me and not want to take or-
ders from me. As being a young and attractive girl in a leadership role, employees as-
sume I am going to be dramatic, stupid and petty. I show people very quickly that I am
understanding, hard working and fair. It is almost satisfying to me when I see co work-
ers who instantly judged me, look up to me. So many of my co workers told me that be-
fore they ever worked with me they hated me and thought I was going to be the worst
shift to work for. People judge very harshly by looks and gaining trust is one of the big-
gest strengths I have. Some of my weakness include coaching up to my manager, be-
cause sometimes it makes me uncomfortable to give her directions and my expectations
because she is so set in her ways and get very mad very easily. Another weakness would
be coaching in the moment, because often times I do everything myself the right way,
and do not explain it until afterwards.

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B. Think about what you just learned from the reading and reflect back on a significant
social learning experience from your past (an experience that involved working with
others in some sort of organizational, group, or team manner). Think about what you
can apply to set yourself up for success in this class as you reply to these items:
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1. What are your personal goals for the course? To increase self-awareness? To
learn theories and concepts? To fulfill a requirement? To get a grade? To apply
learning in your job or life? Some or all of these or something else?

The biggest goal I have for this class is how I will apply these concepts and lessons
to my job and my leadership role when I become a store manager. Even though I
have only taken half of my major courses until I graduate I feel like I have learned
so much and have a much better of how organizations are run and what it takes to
be a successful leader. I have HUGE goals and ambitions for my life and in order
to accomplish them all I have to graduate college and apply this knowledge to my
everyday life. I wanted to run my own business since I was 15 years old and now I
know exactly what I need to work on and what I have to do to achieve this.

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 2. How will what you have learned from your previous experiences with team
projects (at work or school) help (or hinder) your effectiveness? What are your
resources / support mechanisms for this course? What experiences, in or out of
school, will help you perform well?
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Since I have become and online student at ASU and a Starbucks scholar I cannot believe
what a better student and better learner I have become. I have never been good with
technology or even liked it, taking on this challenge has taught me to become a better
problem solver. I learned that I can do anything and I can learn anything. My job has
taught me how to work with people and this course has taught me what it takes to build
a successful team. I will take these ideas and concepts and practice applying them to
real life situations which really helps me not just learn them, but learn how to use them.
I have already started using techniques in the work place to better lead a shift and I have
been feeling more confident and more successful.

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3. As you go through the course, what strategies can you use to help facilitate and
enhance your own learning process (see Exhibit 3.4, etc., in chapter 3)? Be sure
to consider all four of the different learning styles, and suggest some approaches /
strategies you could use to further enhance your level of success and/or bring bal-
ance to your experience?
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One thing that really stuck out to me from the first two modules in this course is how to
analyze and reflect on self-monitoring and self-management effectiveness. This was
something that I was very unfamiliar with before and I see now how important it is to
reflect on ourselves and take ownership and accountability. Another important concept
are the elements of the internal dynamics of a team. Tasks, people and processes; all
three work together and will not be successful if one is lacking. It is also extremely im-
portant to understand the four different learning styles because everyone we work will
will have different learning styles and usually a dominant one. To be a good leader you
have to understand different learning styles and learn how to coach people based on
that. The hardest thing to accept is that everyone learns differently and works different-
ly from me.
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4. What norms of behavior or ground rules do you set for yourself (and hope to hold
your team members accountable for) to ensure a successful experience? What
level of commitment do you carry as you enter into this experience? (Also, be
sure to share these insights with your team when the time comes!)
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I think equal distribution of work is huge, no one individual should feel like they are car-
rying the team, and no individual should feel like they don't matter or have to do any-
thing. I value fairness and it is a hard thing to balance. I think ownership is another
huge rule I follow because we need to accountable for our actions and take ownership of
what we do well and we did poorly on. We can never blame any one else. I also value
everyones opinion, I think we can learn something from everyone. I like to ask people
what they like to do, what they like and dislike about working with me and make sure
each person feels that their voice is heard. I want to be committed to being the strongest
leader that I can possibly be. Knowing when to step up, knowing when to back down,
knowing how to strategically chose members for a strong team and how to dictate and
lead without making people feel stressed or angry. This is something that I think about
and work on everyday, because there is so much to learn every single day.

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5. Youve already made a series of life decisions that led you to join this class. Now,
based on your thought processes associated with these prompts (and the nature
of this course), craft a personal contract statement that includes your decision to
participate in the course. Just a sentence or two capturing your intention of
committing to full participation (hopefully!) and/or anything youd like to state
succinctly that serves as your personal intention as you embark on this new ad-
venture in BIS 343.
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This course asked how will we make a psychological contract, this is an unspoken bond
that is held between me and the course. I plan to stay committed to this course and uti-
lize the information to my advantage because each thing I learn will make me a stinger
leader and will get me closer to each goal. I will keep up wight he work, turn in assign-
ments on time and not just scrape by. The learning experience as an online student has
make me value education so much more. One thing I really like about these courses is
how I learn so much more from just the content. Every single day I share at least one
piece of information I have learned from class with either my roommate, a friend, a co
worker or my mom. Another way that I absorb the information better is by sharing it
with someone else. This is the hardest challenge I have took on in my life this far, I will
not give up because each day, each class and each assignment in some way is making me
a stronger and smarter individual.