Brian Drummy
University of Phoenix
Group SV04ICS01
SOC/110 – Teamwork, Collaboration, and Conflict Resolution
Dennis Golden
June 23, 2004
The Groups I don’t Belong To
I exist in a weird social nexus of required, but forced, sociability and my preference of solitude. I work in a social environment: in a small, quaint, little coffeehouse in San Clemente, Ca. But the show of ‘social-butterfly’ is a manifestation of my need to earn wages and easy to do because the interactions are short and with purpose. The other employee’s and I have a strained relationship because I was hired-in over them. We see each other in passing and never hold non-work related conversations. I also perform music on-stage but I play alone and it is more a ‘show’ than anything else is is. Fortunately it is one that enjoy.
I laid out several goals not too long ago, some short-term and one long-term. The short-term goals were to complete my agonizingly slow ascension towards a Degree; also, to complete and implement my business plan to open my own coffee-shop/lounge. My only long-term goal is to enjoy life while I still live and to bare no regret on my death. I am getting a little long in the tooth. I am not a spring chicken any more. There are certain things that have to be done. The focus of this group, me-myself-and-I, is to see to ALL these goals through completion.
‘I’ assumed the role of Presidency of this council. The role of Secretary was given to ‘me’. And the last thing everyone agreed on was to give the role of Treasurer to ‘myself’. We never get anywhere near an agreement. ‘I’ totally stopped talking to ‘myself’ during the last meeting. But ‘I’ took several good measures such as enrolling in University of Phoenix. But with crazy, abnormal events constantly happening to ‘me’ and the way ‘I’ always differ ‘myself’ It is difficult going but we all strive to achieve.
‘We’, the members of Me, Myself and I, LLC; meet regularly during late night insomnia sessions. ‘We’ are all insomniacs, and I’m sure the late-night arguing did nothing to help that. “We’ would, and still do, sit for hours at night, and every so now and then ‘we’ actually get something positive accomplished. ‘I’ always started with open discussion but said little after that. And then ‘I’ would not even vote on accords. Weekly we develop ‘To Do’ lists and generally get them done. The groups over-all function would improve drastically if “we’ were not so pig-headed.
First I would give all the judgement and ultimate authority to ‘me’. Then ‘I’ would be left alone to be more of a ‘free-range’ thinker. Then ‘I’ would have to fire ‘myself’ for always being drunk and disorderly, of coarse. And with this one foul swoop the team would instantaneously be less burdened by 1/3! Productivity would increase by more than half! ‘I’ never liked ‘myself’ and would be glad to do it.
‘We’ set down weekly ‘To Do’ lists every Sunday night. This list is to be in accordance with the original two short-term and the lone long-term goals. These are followed by nightly discussion on what was accomplished and the list is revised, often several times by ‘me’ alone. The list is to be completed by Friday night. With our mutual workweek ending, generally, on Thursday’s, this allows us to have one full day to get things done. Wednesdays and Mondays are primarily occupied with school with Thursday and Sunday nights being devoted to practice with music. Often one thing spills into the next and work is of late intruding into areas where it mustn’t, like school. But ‘we’ have taken measures to correct this. ‘I’ will find a new job.
As the end is no where near, hopefully; ‘we’ cannot be certain of success. But the necessary measures have been taken as ‘we’ see fit towards our final objectives. The final say in the matter is up to ‘me’. ‘I’ will get us there by firing ‘myself’ and getting employment more stable, and less prone to flooding. Studying at the University of Phoenix has helped foster other relationships, but ridiculous circumstances have seen those desolve as most do. ‘I’ will join a new team every class to help ‘me’ deal with socializing by shortening the relationships. ...I know this paper is not exactly what is called for on the work sheet. But after an honest look at ‘myself’, I found no real social interaction worth mentioning. What ‘I’ lacks in knowledge, ‘I’ makes up for in creativity…?