Module 05 essay topic and analysis

¶ … practice is the idea that one can improve one's decision-making through reflection. Donald Schon argued that professional learning can be aided by reflective practice, wherein the manager critically reflects on decisions, decision-making process, and other elements of his or her work. This reflection provides an opportunity for learning that Schon felt has been underutilized, especially in business (Smith, 2001). Over time, his work on reflective practice evolved into a set of problem-solving techniques like frame reflection, used to solve seemingly intractable policy problems (Smith, 2001).

Reflective practice can also be adapted to team settings. Just as individuals can benefit from the learning that stems from reflection, so too can teams and groups. Organizational learning is a theme in organizational behavior literature, lending credence to the idea that structured reflection can be valuable for aggregate groups of people, not just for individuals. Dew (1995) notes that having an opportunity for reflection is one of the conditions for democratic leadership behavior. The leader must have an opportunity to reflect on what structure the organization currently has, whether that structure is appropriate for the organization going forward. The reflection should also include an examination of what type or form a more democratic leadership should take.

Reflective practice can therefore be applied to teamwork as well. Teams are built and strengthened in a number of ways. Sports have been utilized to increase the camaraderie among team members, and to provide insight into how the members of the team can work together, with total buy-in, to promote success (Dew & Johnson, 1997). Reflective practice can be both individual and team-based in nature. A team-building exercise provides a venue for the different members of the team to get together and reflect on what has gone well with the team and what might need improving. There should be opportunity for the team to discuss, if it plays games, the team in the framework of the game. This allows the team to reflect on its internal dynamics without actually talking about the project at hand, but rather about a neutral subject. The reflection should discuss both the positive and negative aspects.

Teamwork is not necessarily something that comes naturally to everybody, so it is important when working on a team that people establish their roles, the internal dynamics, and that everybody can see how their contribution allows the team to succeed. This is just like in sports. The reason that sports are so effective in team-building exercises is because they illustrate the importance of leaders, and the way that everybody makes a contribution to winning. People who grew up playing on teams understand, intuitively, these dynamics. The team has a coach, who is in charge but not doing the actual work, just the thinking and concept work. The coach has to be smart, and have the respect of the team in order to be effective. The team itself is going to be comprised of individuals who play different roles, and that is the same in an organizational setting as well. A team needs to have stars who make the biggest contributions, but also other players who have their own roles, and without whom the team would not be nearly as effective. If there are people within the organization who do not understand their roles, this can create friction, so the sports metaphor is quite apt -- everybody needs to be working towards a common objective and put the interests of the team first in order for the team to have success overall.