BA 530: Interpersonal and Group Skills

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BA 530 Interpersonal and Group Skills

• Introductions, Logistics, Team Formation

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Course Overview

• Interpersonal and Group Skills
• Mondays
• Human interactions of a business enterprise
• Pioneering Innovation
• Wednesdays
• Strategies and models for the business of
  innovation

3

• In a survey of area businesses.
• Communication was cited as the most sought after
  competency
• desired of MBA students
• The ability to work effectively up, down and
  across the
• organization
• Strong oral, written and presentation skills
• The foundation for other key competencies of
• Work in teams
• Diplomacy
• Relationships
• Leadership

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Perhaps the loudest complaint was about how
ill-prepared (MBA) alums felt when faced with
politics and challenges of managing in the
middle. the tricky mix of sociology,
personality, and Corporate culture that exists
in every workplace can make a mockery of
B-school theory. --Whats an MBA Really
Worth?, Business Week, September 22, 2003 96
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Interpersonal and Group Skills Objectives

• Understand and take action to effectively guide
  team development including managing meetings,
  conflict, agreements, roles, development stages,
  group dynamics, etc.
• Competence and comfort in delivering and using
  real-time feedback to improve individual and
  group functioning
• Understand and act on the implications for
  working in multi-cultural settings including
  intercultural communications, teams, work
  setting, stereotyping and cultural
  characteristics
• Understand self in relationship to working in
  group settings and take positive actions based on
  that understanding work styles, conflict,
  change, assumptions, communication patterns)
• Gain skill in delivering compelling presentations
  and written material

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Student Expectations

• Executives
• Decisions
• Course work Presentations, Writing, Discussions
• Case Studies
• Participation
• Learning Community
• Innovation with assignments
• Identified strengths

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Grade Assignments
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Written Work Grading Considerations

• Logical consistency and flow throughout paper
• Main ideas and concepts are integrated and
  inter-connections are clearly explained
• Thorough and complete analysis within page limit
• Insights that describe underlying patterns and
  root causes
• Clear rationale and substantiation for
  conclusions and/or recommendations
• External information sources are included for the
  value and insight they add to the analysis
• All questions and criteria specified in the
  assignment are clearly covered.
• Examples

• An A grade will be given to those
• students who, in addition to the above,
• demonstrate that their insights into
• interpersonal and group skills led to
• action, which led to future learning.

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• If we are to be successful in life, we must
  learn
• how to manage ourselves how to develop
  ourselves,
• where to place ourselves to make the biggest
• contribution and how and when to change the work
• we do. To manage ourselves we must ask some
• probing questions about ourselves
• What are my strengths?
• How do I perform?
• What are my values?
• --Peter F. Drucker, Managing Oneself,
  Harvard
• Business Review, March-April 1999 65-74

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Team Considerations

• Mission/Vision/Values
• Goals
• S.W.O.T (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities
  and Threats) Analysis
• Roles
• Action Planning
• Group Agreements
• Evaluation/Feedback

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Group Agreements/Operating Guidelines

• How will we
• Work together / Treat each other? (general
  values)
• Communicate and keep each other informed?
  (Including scheduling meetings, etc.)
• Deal with differences, conflicts, pinches?
• Make, modify and evaluate decisions together?
• Follow-through on commitments and deal with
  accountability issues?
• Support each other in learning?
• Structure our group and meetings? (designated,
  rotating or shared "leadership" or
  "facilitating")

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Meeting Skills 101

• Clarify Roles
• Define Outcomes
• Neutral Facilitation
• Stay on Track
• Next Steps

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Meeting Skills 101

• Clarify Roles
• Define Outcomes
• Neutral Facilitation
• Stay on Track
• Next Steps

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Meeting Skills 101

• Clarify Roles
• Define Outcomes
• Neutral Facilitation
• Stay on Track
• Next Steps

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Meeting Skills 101

• Clarify Roles
• Define Outcomes
• Neutral Facilitation
• Stay on Track
• Next Steps

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Meeting Skills 101

• Clarify Roles
• Define Outcomes
• Neutral Facilitation
• Stay on Track
• Next Steps

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Meeting Skills 101

• Clarify Roles
• Define Outcomes
• Neutral Facilitation
• Stay on Track
• Next Steps