Patrick Valvano, Casey Dark,

Mara Ghadimi, Deborrah Hatt,

Denise Lopez, JeNee Naranjo,
Kai Ross
Group G decided to record a live skit via Collaborate for its final project which illustrated

the five primary conflict management styles. The skit’s scenario was that the protagonist had

called a webcam conference with his best friends to ask their advice on how to deal with a

situation at work where a co-worker was taking credit for his work. Each of his friends’

responses illustrated one of the five conflict styles. Each group member was responsible for the

initial crafting and scripting their individual parts in a way that accurately portrayed the conflict

style they had chosen to portray, which were then subject to group discussion and input. The skit

was informed by further research which not only addressed the primary dynamics of the five

conflict styles but focused on and took into account many of the traits of our group, including

age-differences and the necessity of accomplishing all communication for this project via

computer assisted technology.

As group leader, I was especially impressed with all the hard work and dedication each

group member gave to every stage of this project. Trying to accomplish group work in an online

class situation presents a formidable challenge and is highly inconvenient, especially when you

take into account each person’s individual scheduling needs, and admittedly I had doubts about

how feasible this project was going to be. I can say without hesitation that only the willingness of

my co-group members to go above and beyond in their efforts to make this work made it

possible, and I am beyond grateful for their patience and sheer determination to make this project

a success. I could not speak more highly of each of them as people and as collaborators, I was

truly lucky to have each of them as a part of this group, and they absolutely deserve all the credit

that can be given for this project’s success.

I don’t think that I’m alone in these sentiments, as group member Deborrah Hatt states:

“I really enjoyed this group project. We all contributed equally, were open-minded,

respectful, and motivated. After some research, we practiced our scripts a couple of times,

tweaking them to go smoothly and to contain the information that we were trying to convey, and

then we recorded it. I have learned so much from participating in this group project, including

that you can make a video as a collaborative project in Blackboard Web Conferencing. This is

my first semester doing group projects, and I am impressed with all of my group members and

leaders.

I took the conflict type of “Reactive” because I have been reactive more than I would like

to admit. I have been working on my communication skills to improve them, and researching the

topic of conflict has helped me to really understand the concepts we worked on. This group

project also helped me in my communication skills by demonstrating an environment of team

work and dedication. I would love to work on another project with any of my group members in

the future – they were awesome.”

Group member Casey Dark added:

The final group project for interpersonal communication felt cumbersome and stressful at

times. The main reason for this was technology. Because all our work was done via web

conferencing there were times when connections were lost both literally and metaphorically. I

recall a particular meeting where the conference was lagging which made it so that all of the

group members were talking at the same time. This in conjunction with the noise of reading

message pop-ups on the screen made it difficult to focus. But our group pulled through with
much appreciation to Patrick our group leader. His patience, organization and dedication to the

project as well as his efforts to network us all together made for a successful final project.

Through this process, I learned that technology can create barriers to communication

while also improving communication as well. It was helpful to see myself on the screen which

allowed me to focus on my non-verbal communication. I focused on improving my kinesics

such as facial expression, eye contact and gestures due to being able to see myself talk. The

ability to go back and view the recordings also helped with my verbal communication as I used

directive statements as a function of collaborating with my group. I learned that I don’t always

have to be in charge of everything. I am the director of the company I work for and thought that

it would be challenging to take a back seat rather than assuming yet another leadership role. I

found it refreshing to follow for a change. There is not much I would change for future

participants of this project. I feel that the project created an excellent opportunity for students to

practice the communication skills learned in the class.”

Here are Mara Ghadimi’s reflections on the project:

“Our project topic was Conflict Styles and in order to tackle the project we took a

collaborative approach and I feel we were successful. While Patrick took on the role of leader,

he was not the only one making decisions, many group members contributed their ideas and

agreements were reached before any decision was finalized. We had very little conflict in our

group because we all shared similar goals (get a good grade and get it done early) and there were

no obvious personality clashes among group members. Special thanks go to Patrick Valvano for

taking the lead and reminding everyone of meetings and assignments.”

Kai Ross Expressed similar sentiments:

 “Overall, I felt like our group collaborated in a way that was free of conflict. Other than a

few unavoidable scheduling issues, everyone seemed to work together well and seemed to be

focused on the goal of getting the project completed to the best of our abilities. Throughout this

process, I learned more about the different methods of handling conflict, and that certain

methods are better than others depending on the conflict. The way that our group worked

together also taught me that it is possible to work in a team-setting without encountering any

conflict whatsoever.”

Group member Denise Lopez added:

“I found that this group project worked out well. Everyone was good about coming into

the web conferences at the right time. I don't specifically like group work but this one wasn't half

bad. We were open to each other's ideas and didn't have a hard time getting an idea together. Our

group leader was really great as well! He really took the initiative to make sure everyone was on

the web conference's. It was pretty easy but took a while to get a day where everyone was free.

Overall all it was a good experience.”

Group member JeNee Naranjo summed it all up, saying:

“This group project was definitely the most enjoyable one I have ever been a part of. The

members of my group were truly kindhearted people and really care about working together as a

team. Patrick was an exceptional team leader and I appreciate all he did for our groups to keep us

on track.

Having to communicate by only email or discussion boards for this project presented

quite a challenge. There would sometimes be a lag in communication but it provided a sense of
accountability for me to get my portion of things done before we would all meet up on

Collaborate. I quickly learned how to work on my expressions on screen as sometimes I would

be frustrated by outside distractions in my location. I truly believe this project is a good

challenge for all students to experience problem solving and the realities that go along with that.

I really am hoping to work with my group again in the future, they’re the best.”

In closing, while this project certainly pushed everyone involved outside of their comfort

zones and demanded 110% of all of us, it also taught us much about interpersonal

communication, especially seeing as how we were forced to engage with each other and

communicate effectively in order to make this project the success that it is. This was a group

project in the truest sense, where everyone bore equal responsibility for themselves, each other

and its outcome. As such, each group member also deserves equal credit for this project’s

success!
 References

McDaniel, A. K., McKinney, B. C., & Kimsey, W. D. (2017). The Effect of Narcissism on

Conflict Management Message Style Preference: A Look at Millennials. American

Communication Journal, 19(1), 1-10.

Meluch, A. L., & Walter, H. L. (2012). Conflict Management Styles and Argumentativeness:

Examining the Differences between Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated

Communication. Ohio Communication Journal, 5031-47.

Qin, Z., Andreychik, M., Sapp, D. A., & Arendt, C. (2014). The Dynamic Interplay of

Interaction Goals, Emotion, and Conflict Styles: Testing a Model of Intrapersonal and

Interpersonal Effects on Conflict Styles. International Journal Of Communication

(19328036), 8534-557.

Link to our video:

https://learn.unm.edu/courses/1/59387.201780/groups/_76419_1//_3939957_1/Group%20G%20Skit%
20Final%20Project.mp4