Collaboration in Organizations

10/02/2014 5:04 PM

By Brandon Wallace ‘17

Students from business and engineering backgrounds came together on Baker Quad to learn collaboration skills through a series of team-building exercises as part of Dr. Brian Nagy’s Collaboration in Organizations course.

Seven engineering students and six business students participated in the exercises, which promoted cooperation and teamwork in groups that students may not have previously worked with.

“Many projects in industry require individuals from different disciplines to work together on complex programs,” Nagy said.

Holly Alguire ‘15, a management and leadership major from Port Byron, Illinois, said the experience challenged teams’ organizational structures.

“The tough part was finding out the roles that each student would play,” Alguire said. “Some members are natural leaders and can organize certain projects, while others can dig deep into the activities and create action plans.”

Nagy described the class’s activities as “rope” activities, meaning activities designed to instill a sense unity in those participating. Some of the events included were “Snake,” “Calculator,” and “Cup Pyramid.”

“Snake” taught the value of nonverbal communication by having students direct other blindfolded students without talking. “Calculator” taught the value of minimizing time and resources by having students work together to find 20 different numbers to enter into a calculator within a given amount of time. In “Cup Pyramid,” students learned how to determine the ideal size of a team. They had to build a pyramid of solo cups, carry the pyramid to several stations and enlarge the pyramid at each stop.

“The main values learned from the activities are reliance on team members, a sense of cohesiveness and trust and the idea that some tasks are much easier in a team setting,” Nagy said.

“I loved that we were able to get to know our groups in this setting,” Alguire said. “This class will help me in the business world by giving me the skills I need to collaborate and learn with non-business majors. We all think differently, and the activities, as well as this class in general, will help me tackle upcoming projects with different perspectives.”