Communicating Effectively

I did not find Jane to carry a positive tone in any of the forms: email, voicemail, or face-to-face. As I viewed each of the modalities I interpreted a similar meaning. In the email I got the message of, if you can't do it, then I will do it myself. In the voicemail her tone came off as somewhat condescending, as did her tone in the face-to-face meeting; however in the face-to-face meeting there was the addition of non-verbal communication that sent the additional message that Jane was not happy, even though she showed a big-fake smile at the end. In each of the modalities I noticed right away the use of "I", "your", and "my own." There was no indication of teamwork. One difference I noticed was in the email the message seemed authoritative, while in the voicemail and face-to-face to meeting Jane seemed somewhat passive.

I think the same message could have been conveyed in a more positive manner. I understand what as a project manager it is Jane's responsibility to make her team accountable and to create a sense of urgency, but there are proper ways to approach the situation. "Merely assigning people to perform selected tasks on a project does not create a project team" (Portney, etal., p. 301). Good communication throughout a project will help to create a team atmosphere.

References

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The Art of Effective Communication [Multimedia Program]

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html

Worm Dissection

All of us have taken a high school biology class, and I am sure that all of us had to dissect a worm. When I taught 10th grade biology, my class had to dissect a worm and many other specimens as well. I have no problem dissecting or teaching students how to dissect, so that is not where this project went astray. The problem was in the communication between me and the more seasoned biology teachers.

For all other dissections throughout this course the specimens where stored in a tub filled with formaldehyde. However, I did not know that the other teachers did not use these worms; instead they used "Walt's Crawlers" i.e. night crawlers used for fishing. It seems the formaldehyde worms were not of great quality... I did not know this, but now I do.

This problem could have been resolved on my end by talking with the other biology teachers, completing the lab in advance, or even reading online that in most classes the live version is preferred. While I would not call this project a complete failure, it was not a success either. The worms were not of the greatest quality because they were old, since no one ever used them. Also, once the students caught wind that all the other classes got to dissect live worms, I heard from that end. It is not nearly as fun to dissect a stinky preserved worm as it is to dissect a fresh one.

My lack of pre-planning and communication caused the lab project to be less successful than I, and the students, would have liked.

Project Management in ISD

I look forward to working with each of you as we explore our way through the ins and outs of project management.