ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO END

Hi Colleagues, I must say time surely flies. We are at the end of another course and this one has been very intense. Communication is so embedded in relationships. Although we do not have face to face to contact I believe I konw so much about each of my classmates. I just want to take this time to thank all of you for contributing so much to communications journey. Without your insightful comments and your valid contributions I would not have made it. All the best to every one and we are almost at the end of the master's journey. Judy

ADJOURNING

This week we are asked to speak about the adjourning process with regards to team work. The adjourning is the fifth stage in the five stages of team building and signifies the end of the project (Abudi, 2010). To me the adjourning stage can either be very hard or easy for the team the team. It all depends on what the relationship was like among the team members. When I was a teenager I use to attend church camps. We were placed in dorms and competing houses for the duration. During the camp week we build relationships among persons in the houses and the dorms. We hand to bond to win competitions and excel in different areas of the camp life. It was very difficult for us to say good bye at the end of the week but we exchanged numbers and addresses and did our best to stay in touch with each other. Even though I might not be attached to my fellow colleagues in the Master’s program I know I am going to miss the discussions and blogs. Although I have no physical attachment I believe I have connected in some way to my classmates. There is so much I have learned from all the persons in my class and I know I will go through the adjourning process when this program is completed. Reference Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html

Dealing With Conflict-What Would You Do?

Conflict happens every day in our lives. Whether it be at school, in the workplace or at home we are going to experience some amount of conflict. I believe my job and my life are surrounded with conflict because of the nature of my job and the some decisions that I have made in life. My father who is terminally ill with cancer is not able to take care of himself any more but unfortunately my mother and the nurse aid does not seem to see eye to eye on how to take care of him. My mother believes she knows what she is doing and unfortunately she is not right at all times. I often find myself standing in the middle of the conflicting arguments and acting as a mediator. I find this very stressful at times because I have to leave what I am doing and journey to St. Elizabeth to ensure that the nurse does not leave the job because this would definitely make the situation worse for me. My teenage daughter and her father sometimes end up having conflicts because I find that they just do not take the time out to listen to each other. Again, I find myself playing mediator. I have learned to deal with conflicting situations throughout my life. Often I wait until the dust has settled and then approach the persons involved in the conflicts. Some of the strategies that I have used is to listen carefully to the persons involved, speak kind words and softly, smile, hug, distract the person with some physical activity such as exercise. I tend to do this with my daughter. When I am exercising I ask her to join me and then I seize the moment to talk to her about the conflicts. I also distract my husband by showing interest in his work, talking to him on a one on one basis. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the different situations but I speak to myself and ask myself questions such as “Judy if you were in this situation how would you be wanted to treated? I try not to undermine the parties involved but to initiate respect at all levels. I have also had conflicts especially in the work place because the job involves some amount of team work and sometimes persons just do not do their share of the work which impacts on our targets. I have had to take blame for persons for their lack of participation and just for a quiet life I sometimes have to apologize for things that I am not guilty of. I strongly believe that violence does not solve any problem. I believe in the scripture that is takes from the Bible in the book of Proverbs chapter 15 vs 1: “Soft answer turneth away wrath but grievous words stir up anger.”