Event on Tuesday

                                                           DATE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH 

                                     TIME: 12:00PM

                          LOCATION: ROOM 736 / 737 

Career Building Workshop on Monday!

Monday August 6th 12:15 in the Gallery! Please attend and get a head start on your career!

Part Time Job Event this Wednesday

Click on the image for a larger view.

Using Effective Team Communication

Communication is one of the most critical elements to the success of any team project. Whether you have three members or thirteen, information needs to be gathered and disseminated to members accurately and timely. In our globalized, technology-focused society, organizations are adapting to the change in times and redefining how communication takes place. International organizations must find ways to connect with each other from miles away. If the headquarters is in Texas and smaller chains exist in France, how else could project coordinators, managers, developers and designers communicate across countries without technology?
Smaller, local teams can benefit from applying this principle for their own projects. Technology can create ease with communication and sharing information. Here are a few free options you can use:

1.      Skype: Skype is a simultaneous chat messenger, video software and Internet phone. You can connect online and host digital face-to-face meetings or block out the visual and hold a conversation on the computer. Site: www.skype.com

2.       Free Conference Calling: Teams can benefit from this service by taking advantage of its phone options. Creating an account is free and the host receives a number. Give the number and guest code to visitors and you can have hundreds of people call in to the meeting. This system is great for teams large and small in scale. Site: www.freeconferencecalling.com

3.       Slideshare: Slide Share is becoming the Facebook of PowerPoint presentations. Team members can create PowerPoints, upload them on to the site and allow for other members to view them and provide feedback. Site: www.slideshare.net

4.      Facebook: Already a well-known technology, teams can use the social site to create an open or closed group that focuses on the project. Facebook’s prime benefit for teams is its immediacy; you can set up your account to buzz your phone or remain synced. When your team posts, you can know almost immediately. Site: www.facebook.com

Trent Rhodes
Student Employment Advisor
trhodes@aii.edu

Grappling with Groupthink

Working in teams can be a challenging and fulfilling experience. Ultimately you want to see your project successfully complete. At times this can pose a conflict: are you willing to compromise on your ideas, give in to others’ or stand up for your contributions? Whether in a team of two or twenty-two people, there exists the potential for groupthink to manifest. Groupthink is the “tendency of the members of a group to yield to the desire for consensus or unanimity at the cost of considering alternative courses of action” (Business Dictionary, 2012). When groupthink is present, individual members do not share their best ideas; they tend to supplicate their creativity to a dominant person or idea in the group. Members shut off their reasoning, critical thinking and imagination. The team prefers to just get the project done, at any cost, rather than produce high quality. One looks to the other for confirmation, often a leadership figure in the group. Teams benefit from leadership but not at the cost of reducing members to “yes people.”

To avoid groupthink:

1.    Learn how to facilitate rather than dictate: Some teams may have several “leaders” depending upon the skills involved in the project. One may be a superior planner while another is best at creating a particular design. Tap into the talents of all project members. Be open to listening to others’ feedback and search for ways different member contributions can support the goal.

2.    Invite the silent: You may have different temperaments in the group. Some are more assertive and outspoken while others prefer to think and observe. The introverts may have rich information to share with the group from their ability to see the whole picture. Invite them to contribute when you sense they have something to share.

3.    Develop the brainstorming skill: The purpose of brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as you can without editing, reducing or judging them. Hold frequent brainstorming sessions with your project team. This can become practice for accepting initial ideas and contributions without criticism or turning someone’s thoughts away. The team will be more likely to share in an open, creative environment.

Trent Rhodes

Student Employment Advisor

11 Beach Street, First Floor

New York, NY 10013

212-625-6036

trhodes@aii.edu

Career Services Week

Tuesday, January 31st Gallery in 12:15 -1:15pm.
Digital Film and Video Production
Stefanie Alleyne, Education Coordinator of MNN (Manhattan Neighborhood Network)
http://www.mnn.org/

"MNN is responsible for administering the public access cable TV services in Manhattan. Our purpose is to ensure the ability of Manhattan residents to exercise their First Amendment rights through moving image media to create opportunities for communication, education, artistic expression and other non-commercial uses of video facilities on an open and equitable basis.

In providing services, we seek to involve the diverse racial, ethnic and geographic communities of Manhattan in the electronic communication of their varied interest, needs, concerns and identities." - from MNN.org