Collaboration is two or more people working with each other to accomplish a task, commonly used in the workplace. Collaboration is used when outside resources and information is needed for a project, or other activities. There are basic reasons why people tend to collaborate; these are: subject of the project, product that collaborators create, process used in the project, and benefits of collaboration. The subject is an important part of many projects sometimes requiring outside knowledge.
When you collaborate for a project incorporating other points of view and information, this will often add better and more usable data to the process of your project. Some projects require collaboration because there is information outside of your specialty that is needed to make your project better. Some benefits of collaborating, both personally and professionally are: collaboration increases your knowledge of a certain subject beyond your own bounds, adds more enjoyment to the project that you are working on, provides extra support in needed areas with more manpower.
There are certain aspects of collaboration that are a disadvantage. As listed in the book there are ten main problem areas in collaboration; "time, discomfort, credit, control, conflict, criticism, ethics, style, responsibility, and technology. There many different types of collaboration, both personal and professional, however these are some that are particularly useful in a professional workplace: coauthoring, consulting with colleagues, contributing to team projects.
This chapter explains different types of conflicts that may need to be dealt with while collaborating. These conflicts are, as listed by the book: affective conflicts which are basically disagreements between collaborators, procedural conflicts which are problems with the whole collaboration, and substantive conflicts which are problems with the internal project that collaborators are working with.
Culture is also an aspect of collaboration that is very important because different cultures have different ways of understading information, so compromise is very important so misjudgements or problems occur.
This chapter focused on many contributing factors on being an effective collaborator, giving points and suggestions to avoid problems when working on projects. These points are valid in both a personal proffesional environment and may come in handy.
This chapter focused on many contributing factors on being an effective collaborator, giving points and suggestions to avoid problems when working on projects. These points are valid in both a personal proffesional environment and may come in handy.
11 comments:
Collaboration is something I have used multiple times with multiple different outcomes and experiences. The most common thing I have came across in collaboration is in the conflict department. Typically I have been the one left with all the left over work, piled on top of everything I previously had to do. Dealing with credit and responsibility were the main issues there.
On the other side however, I haven't enjoyed my experiences when dealing with multiple instigators in a group. We run across problems of credit, control, style. It is a lot to deal with sometimes, but I would rather deal with a little conflict than have to do everything by myself.
I have appreciated the benefits of collaboration however because I would never have been able to report all the information to be comprehensive. Using other peoples expertise is a huge help.
Collaboration is a good thing to discuss in terms of this class because when discussing communication there will be circumstances that call for people to have a joint task in getting something accomplished. Depending on the circumstances working in groups can be a joy while on a project. That is if it is done with clear communication, equal distribution of responsibilities, and so forth. There are other times where others will become complacent with contributing nothing which is why the communication is so important. Overall I believe collaboration is more beneficial than not, because you stimulate ideas from anothers view instead of your own, you gain experience in a work environment with teamwork, and also it lightens the work load on everyone.
Collaboration is a very important factor in the construction industry. Right now, I am majoring in Construction Management and I already know the importance of collaboration and working as a team. Working with sub-contractors and partners is a very important aspect of getting a job done. The only problems I have seen in group work is when someone slacks off and does not do their part. Collaboration is great because you get more opinions and manpower towards the common goal.
Collaboration is a big topic in this class especially that this class is online, and working with the professor and others through e-mail, phone, or whatever it may be on assignments or presentations. There are always going to be conflicts and confusion when doing assignments and other things online, but it allows for more experience in dealing with these conflicts.
Collaboration is something we all use in daily life. Pretty much any job you get will involve interaction with people to complete goals or tasks. Knowing how to communicate professionally will ensure that a collaboration is successful. I am currently in my last semester of Manufacturing Engineering, without people skills (collaboration) it would be a hard profession to manage.
Collaboration is the main topic of this chapter. It deals with the reasons of collaboration and problems from colllaboration. The reasons for collaboration are subject of the project, process used in the project, benefits of collaboration, and product created by the collaborators. Some of the problems that come from collaboration are time, discomfort of people, manager control, credit problems, conflict between people, ethics, responsibility, and technology. This chapter helps a person learn how to be a good collaborator and how to help solve problems that come from collaboration.
I have found that when working a presentation or a project I have a easier time working with collaboration. When I am in a group we can often help each other find new ideas and motivate others in the group. On the other hand we sometimes have conflicting ideas which slows the group progress. Often there is a particular person that may cause the group to become dysfunctional. You can also learn things from others with participating in collaboration.
I find it difficult to talk about/deal with/address complications within technical communications. I found this chapter helpful to think about how to work through what sometimes does not work. There are bound to be collaborative conflicts when working together as a group. It is hard to think about solving them when you just have a job to accomplish.
I felt the suggestions and definitions given in this chapter were very accurate. I have worked in many group projects and found there to be many personalities creating affective conflicts. Being aware of them can be most helpful.
In my experience any time there is group work to be done we would try to meet in a relaxed atmosphere and use the first meeting as a informal get to know your group and find out what they like and don't like about the upcoming project. That way a person is not working on a part of the project they may not be interested in and someone else would be.
Collaboration, when done well, can benefit not only the collaborators but also the users of that text/product. The project benefits from the knowledge, experience and skills of both people. When collaborating with new people,it is important to set up preliminary goals and a plan of action to go by...then all involved will know what is going on. The chapter discusses ten main problem areas, these are great topics to address during that initial stage. Attention before starting on the project will prevent problems down the road.
I think that collaboration is a wonderful tool that can work in the best interests of everyone involved. Imagine teamwork like communism, it's greater good for the collective whole. Everyone and the finished product can all benifit from collaboration. Cooperating with people effectively can prevent misunderstandings. I believe when it's done correctly collaboration should be like a wheel and I do not mean be pointless, I mean that it should move forward productively and have equal distribution of work on all sides. Bringing together different people helps incorporate diversity and manage problems in the development rather than revision stage. I think that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages of conflict as well, but that's why it is necessary to learn how to communicate and cooperate effectively and often in the developmental stage and not remain oblivious until those problems are eventually realized after the production process later on down the road.
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