World of Board Games free essay sample

Since a game like Forbidden Island was designed to encourage collaboration between the players, the class was divided into several small-sized self-management teams that would be responsible to learn how to play Forbidden Island together under minimal supervision. In addition to the challenging task of capturing the four treasures while keeping the island from sinking, the class was also tasked with reflecting on the course material as it applies to our individual experience as a member of the team of adventurers while playing Forbidden Island. According to organizational behavior theory, working together as a self-managed team typically allows team members to perform challenging and complex tasks that require a high level of interdependence among members. Furthermore, self-managed teams that demonstrate high group cohesiveness and collective efficacy are more likely to successfully achieve goals and accomplishments. In fact, subject matter experts agree that the tasks that are usually assigned to self-managed teams enhance intrinsic motivation by encouraging the team members to utilize a variety of skills in order to complete the entire assigned task. With a common end goal in sight, I simply assumed that, in spite of our diversity and differences, our team would have shared the belief that it should have successfully completed the assigned task in order to effectively reflect on our individual and group participation in the Forbidden Island experience. However, the experience of playing this game created a group dynamic that ultimately challenged my personal assumption that team members tend to share similar attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours that equally motivate performance driven goal attainment. At the start of the Forbidden Island exercise, our group eagerly opened the brightly coloured tin box that contained many valuable lessons that were yet to be learned. With just a few pages of game rules and instructions, and the contents of the tin box spread out across the table, we quickly found ourselves lost among things like, Treasure Cards, Flood Cards, and Adventure Cards. Using the given resources, we were essentially forced to socialize by learning the process and adopting the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours required to function as a team of adventurers on the island. At first glance and without any previous experience, playing Forbidden Island appeared to be a rather challenging and complex task; however, being instructed to play at least three iterations of the game afforded our team the opportunity to overcome the stages of socialization with each iteration corresponding to a unique stage. For example, playing a game like Forbidden Island requires the acquisition of certain skills and attitude. Although there is no formal training offered for this game, much of the first iteration, or anticipatory socialization stage, was spent thoroughly reviewing the game’s rules and regulations in an effort to learn the necessary skills and attitudes prior to playing. Although the first iteration was played in a rather chaotic state, the second iteration, or the encounter stage, was played more definitively. At this stage, the members of our team were beginning to demonstrate conformity to the norms of Forbidden Island and to their respective role behaviours. The team was progressively becoming better acquainted with the process of beginning and ending a turn, which also included how and when to â€Å"shore up† a flooded Island tile or what to do when a â€Å"Waters Rise! † card is drawn. As the team played the third iteration, we had finally reached the role management stage of socialization. Each member was able to correctly identify with their adventurer role and special power; however instead of improving and managing their roles in Forbidden Island, several team members decided to not only redefine their roles, but to also redefine the rules and regulations of the game. While in the classroom, the task at hand was to simply learn how to play Forbidden Island, observe the game and team members, and gather information to reflect upon. In its descriptive set of game rules and role descriptions, Forbidden Island establishes specific and definitive norms that team members should adhere to and expect of one another in order to successfully play the game from beginning to end – win or lose. I recognized early on in the game that complying with the rules, or norms, would require a degree of social conformity for compliance on each team member’s behalf. In spite of team members’ individual beliefs, values, and attitudes, reaching the end goal and being able to comprehensively reflect on the Forbidden Island experience was enough of a motivation for me to conform and comply with the norms defined by the game. Regretfully, the others members in the team did not agree that social conformity for compliance would be a step towards successful completion of the game. Needless to say, I was shocked to learn that the other team members had been influenced by groupthink to continue playing Forbidden Island according to their own revised version of the game’s rules. According to goal setting theory, goals are most motivational when they are specific and challenging and when organization members are committed to them† (p. 162). Based on the definition of this theory, the sudden change in the other team members’ attitude, behavior and performance seemed inexplicable at the time. In fact, I found myself quite perplexed, and worried, by the indifference and disinterest of the other team members with respect to following the rules and playing the game. With already juxtaposed goal orientations, it would be difficult to establish a common goal once we had already started playing. Following the learning goal orientation, I was prepared to learn and develop the skills and competencies required to master the game as best as possible. While on the other hand, the other team members were focused on performance-prove goal orientation as they only played the game to win and consequently receive favourable judgment about the outcome of their performances. Research has found that when individuals have not acquired the skill or knowledge to perform tasks, such individuals will also exhibit a decrease in performance goals. It is possible that this finding may be attributed to the other team members’ lack of motivation to perform accordingly, however we had all started on a level playing field and had been given an equal opportunity to acquire the necessary skills or knowledge to participate in this activity. Although it was necessary to develop some new skills to adhere to the norms of Forbidden Island, the team members’ pre-existing skills were not integrated in this experience. We had initially been so overwhelmed and distracted by the game itself that we had neglected the importance of other skills such as, communication, leadership, collaboration, decision-making, and conflict resolution. Perhaps, given the chance to recreate this experience, I would assume a more prominent leadership role within the group. By assuming more of a leadership role, I would give myself a better chance to contribute more effectively to the overall success of the team. Although the group dynamic was disjointed at times, all of the team members were determined to continue playing the game, whether it was by the official rules or not. This behavior can be viewed as disjointed, however I think that it is also indicative of the team members’ overall motivation to continue playing the game in pursuit of their own end goals. Being in a position to emphasize the importance of establishing common end goals may increase the members’ motivation to contribute their skills and knowledge towards their team performance instead of their individual performance. For example, communicating my thoughts on the team’s proximal goal, successfully playing Forbidden Island, and the team’s distal goal, the individual reflections, may create an environment for discussing our thoughts on the task’s end goals and rules of the game. By opening the lines of communication between the team members, the team may be able to collectively reach a mutual understanding or compromise on the common end goal and how to achieve it. Forbidden Island was an experience that truly challenged my personal assumption that team members tend to share similar attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours that equally motivate performance driven goal attainment. In fact, Forbidden Island demonstrated that team members may or may not tend to share similar attitudes, knowledge, or behaviours that may or may not equally motivate performance driven goal attainment. The underlying lessons relating to group dynamic and motivation that are embedded in Forbidden Island are ones that can be applied in all arenas of life, including personal and professional. After working in the corporate world for several years and since beginning the Schulich School of Business MBA program, I have truly realized the pertinence of teamwork. Collaborating in a team dynamic offers a plethora of benefits, especially due to the increasing diversity offered by team members. Although I can appreciate the added value of diverse personalities, cultures, norms, and experiences within a working group, I also appreciate that it is this diversity that often drives people’s motivation for performance and goal attainment. In spite of my appreciation for diversity within the team dynamic, I sometimes feel as though it is this diversity that may threaten my own motivation, performance, and goal attainment. As experienced in the Forbidden Island simulation, the team members in my group and I shared different attitudes and demonstrated different behaviours ultimately affecting, and possibly modifying, how the game was intended to be played. At the time of the simulation, my motivation was strictly driven by obtaining the necessary information to complete the reflection paper and the motivation of the other team members was unknown to me. Regardless of the scenario, real-life or a board game simulation, I have learned that the unknown will inevitably question the attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours that motivate my personal performance especially within a group setting.