Waterman, S. (2015, June), Integration of Simulation Tools in Manufacturing Processes Course  Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.24340

\bibitem{asee_peer_24340}
  Waterman, S. (2015, June), \emph{Integration of Simulation Tools in Manufacturing Processes Course}
  Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Seattle, Washington.
  10.18260/p.24340

Shawn Waterman.  "Integration of Simulation Tools in Manufacturing Processes Course".  2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 2015, June.  ASEE Conferences, 2015.  https://strategy.asee.org/24340 Internet.  28 May, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_24340}
  Shawn Waterman.
  "Integration of Simulation Tools in Manufacturing Processes Course".
  \emph{2015 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition, Seattle, Washington, 2015, June}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2015.
  https://strategy.asee.org/24340 Internet.  28 May, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_24340
author = "Shawn Waterman"
title = "Integration of Simulation Tools in Manufacturing Processes Course"
booktitle = "2015 ASEE Annual Conference \& Exposition"
year = "2015"
month = "June"
address = "Seattle, Washington"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://strategy.asee.org/24340}
number = {10.18260/p.24340}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Group Dynamics and Project Management           Shawn waterman Co Authors Dr. Currier , Dr. Longshore                             Group Dynamics and Project ManagementGroup Dynamics is the evaluation and integration of group set, and how it performs as a whole.In many groups many groups there are different personalities and traits. Some contrast andsome may align with the groups thinking and communications, particularly in the auto industry.Project management’s job is to solve this puzzle, so that all the members are in clearcommination and working with maximum efficiency. Unfortunately this cannot always beachieved. So how do we solve the problem of a group with complex group dynamic workingtogether to achieve the same long term goal?       As project Managers we first need to identify all the elements of a person’s personalitytrait set. It is important to remember group members and people do not belong to one set ofcharacteristics, there are many that make them up. We also need to identify thesepersonalities’ strengths and weakness. By being able to correctly identify strengths andweaknesses with in a personality, the project manager can more easily make a decision onwhich that individual would work with that would complement their strengths. Conversely, aproject manager would also like to know the individuals weakness in order to improve upon it,and also be able to avoid those weaknesses to improve the group as a whole. As a projectmanager we realize that communication is vital to our survival as a group and accomplishingtasks. Communication is the biggest and most overt barrier seen when it comes to groupdynamics and the different subsets with in them. Like mentioned above a project managerneeds to mold the best communication forms to his/her teams strengths. Most communicationbreakdown comes from misinterpretation of the message. Although a message may be clear tothe sender, its intended receiver may have a difficult time interpreting the message andmeaning. Different types of personalities have different ways of communication. Although thegroup may already have a norm/standard way of communicating, this particular way ofcommunication may be confusing and hard to get ideas across or information for somepersonality types. The most import challenge for a Project manager is clear and concisecommunication with in the group network. The last and most import component to having asuccessful group with various personalities is making sure that team understands everyindividuals strength and weakness.       The project Manager MUST make sure that the team also understands his/hers plan aswell. A project manager may have an established plan and understating of how the plan is to beexecuted, but if his/her team does not understand the who, what, where, when , and how ofthe plan, the plan is in a dormant stage, and will permanently stay there until it is understoodin its entirety. The last and final step that will be explored is getting 360 feedbacks. All of yourgroup members will evaluate you as a leader and determine your strengths and weaknesses. Itis equally important to evaluate yourself in this process. As a project manager, you need toevaluate yourself for two particular reasons. One being to asses if how you will be able to workwith others and how they will be able to work with you, second being the most important, Thatyou have 360 feedback from your group members to showcase your ability to be objective toeverybody and every situation that may arise, including yourself. Doing this step the earliestwill strengthen your position as a project Manager, and also demonstrate your ability to leadfrom the front and by example.                                      Personalities and Their Traits       There are 1000’s of personalities and traits that have been documented. It can be hardto caterigize a individual and their specific traits. As mentioned before the individuals workingwith in your group can have multiple traits to their personalities. The easiest way to evaluate apersonality is to say they are either extravert or introvert types. Extravert personalities are outgoing, and contrasted to that are introvert personalities who keep to themselves and areusually quit (comparatively) individuals. There are two different trains of though when it comesto seeing who may work well with other if they are introverts and if they are extraverts. Onetrain of though is that introverts would work well with other introverts. This reasoning comesfrom, that they have the same personality traits and would be able to understand each otherbetter. The other train of thought would be that the introverts could work alongsideextraverts. Although this may seem like a clashing of personality traits, the idea is that bothpersonalities would complement each other. The extravert tends to speak out about his mindand communicates mostly through verbal interaction throughout the day, and the introvertuses other means of communication, such as email, text, any secondary form ofcommunication. With both communicating different ways, thus insures that their ideas arecommunicated and understood.       Working together can be challenge with many different personality types and the traitsthat are associated with them. Individuals who have similar traits and personality types aremost likely drawn to each other, with subconscious recognition that they are doing so.However, this does not mean that they are drawn away from the opposite of their personalitytypes, the individual just identifies with those for like him/herself around them.       Everyone in group work has their weaknesses and their strengths. Your Ability to assesthese as a project manager are vital to the group’s improvement. Extraverts are shown to havehigh organizational skills and are open minded, will try new experiences, attempt to finish workearly, and have an open forum of communication. Their weakness tends to be late formeetings, listening, lack proper interpretation of a message if it is not face to face. Extravertsstrengths include, can get tasks completed by themselves with little outside help, structuredway of completing tasks, highly intelligent, listen, and written communication skills. Theirweaknesses include social communication; create their OWN deadlines, single mind structureof completion of task. All of these strengths and weaknesses are not absolute for thesepersonality traits, but they do represent a population of the individuals with thesepersonalities.       By identifying these personalities there are many combinations that can be effectivewith in your team. Not every single member has an exact personality and traits you cancategories. As a project manager you may want asses your teammates/coworkers and identifywho would work best with whom for improvement of the group and its overall mission.                         Effective Communication With In Your GroupCommunication is vital to the success of a group and its projects. Different personality types ofpeople use different forms of communication in order to get their message across to thereceiver. Project managers need to be aware of how each individual with in the team utilizescommunications, and what some of the barriers may be.                              Barriers to Effective Communication       Barriers of communications with in a group vary. The types of barriers include sendingof the message, receiving the message, message overload, emotion with receiving, emotionwith sending, forms of communication not understood. These are just a few , but the mostcommon seen in the work place. Sending message barriers consist of sending a message withwrong information, confusing information that the receiver try’s to understand. Receiving themessage barrier consist of the message misinterpretation. The receiver of the informationmisinterprets information. The most common mistakes in large and small groups when they arereceiving a message that is not verbal, is the interpretation of emotion. Enough timesmessages are missing interpreted because the receiver is displaying some emotion whenreading the message. For example if the receiver receives an email, but before the email wasread, he was involved in some type of conversation that made him, mad, sad, etc. Now theEmail (message) is being interpreted with emotion that is false. Thus the message is lost andmisinterpreted. This same can happen when sending a message. The sender can relayinformation in a different emotional state, to where the reviver cannot interpret the messageproperly. The other form of communication barrier is message overload. Message overloadconsist of the receiver trying to t interpret too much information at once. This causes confusionwith in the message and cannot be interpreted properly. Understanding these communicationbarriers and how they apply to different personalities can help with breaking down the wall tocommunication barriers. Not only do you need to understand it as a project manager but alsoyour group.       Communication is a key part to a projects success and many projects fail due to lack ofgood communication. As a project manager you need to understand that all members of thegroup will communicate in different forms. It is among our many duties to learn what strengthsour group members have in communication, and utilize their communication strengths towardsthe group.                                         360 Feedback360 Feed Back is a tool that a lot of companies use today such as, Boeing, Proctor and Gamble,and General Motors. This feedback is feedback from every aspect of management, coworkers,and other aligned groups workers who evaluate your strengths and your weaknesses. Morethan often they write down your strengths and give them a score; they also do the same foryour weeknesses. When you are being evaluated, the evaluation is not done directly by uppermanagement , but by every person in the realm of your work line. This method of feedback isusually used as an indicator of how this individual is progressing throughout the company and ifhe/she would attain a raise, promotion, or extra responsibilities within the company.       Project Manager do not have the ability to promote or advance individuals with in ourteam, most of the time, but the 360 feedback tool is useful to help better your team, and giveyour group a realistic look at the teams overall performance. Instead of looking at eachindividual area of improvement, project managers should look at the team’s performance as awhole, but giving a 360 feedback review to all individuals in your team will be the measure youscore your teams strengths and weaknesses upon. The project manager needs to be evaluatedas well. This provides the project manager with accurate feedback about his/her ways ofleading and the any gaps in communication that he/she is having.                                         Long term GoalWith multiple deadlines, tasks, and other responsibilities with in the group , The group may bevery focused on only their task and their task alone. Each part and individual within the grouphas its key areas of focus, and communicates with those who share similar work with in theirrole in the team. Each team member needs to be reminded about the long term goal and theroad overall project goal. It is understandable that many individuals have “tunnel vision” with intheir work, but it is important that the project manager have the group meet regularly to showthe overall progression taking place and how every group member’s specific piece of workaffects the overall goal. Short term focus is a strategic tool to use when deadlines are close andthe specific roles need detailed attention, but when short term focus is not being employed bymembers of the group , they must shift their attentions to others work and long term goals thatwould like to be achieved.                                           Work CitedAnita Dodge. (2011, september). Intravert and Extravert.        http://www.fastcompany.com/3016031/leadership-now/are-you-an-introvert-or-an-extrovert-        and-what-it-means-for-your-careerClark, S., Whittall, A. (2003, August 17). Performance management develops productivity. Winnipeg Sun.Retrieved from http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/documentShaking things up. (2003, October 8). Editor, Retrieved fromhttp://www.trainingmag.com/training/index.jspPrelude Consulting (2014) http://www.preludecharacteranalysis.com/extravert-vs-introvert
AU  - Shawn Waterman
CY  - Seattle, Washington
DA  - 2015/06/14
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Integration of Simulation Tools in Manufacturing Processes Course
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/24340
DO  - 10.18260/p.24340
ER  -