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Management Skills Improvement
Introduction
The given in-class activity for our group was to organize the items for survival after a simulated plane crash in an isolated land in Norway. The plane crashed at a site 20 kilometers away from the nearby city and the area seemed to be very cold as the daily temperature was as low as 5 degrees below zero, and the night time temperature was recorded as low as 15 degrees below zero. As only four of us had luckily survived uninjured, our task as a group was to get rescued from the scene by working as a team and efficiently using the items found for survival (Douglass & Bevis, 1979).
This paper presents procedural activities that we were taking in the rescue process as a group. Additionally, it reflects on the managerial functions such as planning the activity, controlling, leading, and organizing members of the group in a systematic manner in order to get rescued. We had several items that were collected and had to be used in the rescue process and, as a leader of the group, I am expected to provide a chronological statement of how the items were chosen to be used in the activity according to their importance. Moreover, teamwork and leadership capabilities were highly tested. The commitment of every group member was also assessed before noting out any shortcomings, challenges, and outcomes of the rescue process as some of the most relevant management issues.
Discussion
In the rescue process, for us to act consistently and all four group members to participate, I had to come up with a short-term plan of fewer than ten minutes in drafting the duties of each person. We also discussed how to provide first aid to the injured classmates and how to prioritize and distribute 12 items we had managed to collect for rescue. After drafting the plan, it was necessary to organize team members and start the rescuing process (Kelly, 2008).
The first task included installing batteries into the lighter with fluid to get some light around the place. Note that the light did not only help us see but also provided some warmth to the team members offered first aid. During this process, I would instrumentally play the controlling and staffing role of ensuring that the lighter was fixed within the shortest time possible.
Secondly, the team members were required to get hold of small axes for clearing the trees around the place to clean up the way. Moreover, axes were used in cutting the crashed plane wreckage that might have lead to delay in the rescue process. Proper supervision of the members of the group was necessary to avoid time wastage (Kelly, 2008).
Thirdly, after the primary rescue process, extra shirts and pants for reducing the cold severity were distributed. In addition to that, a piece of heavy-duty canvas and strong fabrics were used for the construction of a simple shelter and cold reduction, as the temperature was fifteen degrees below zero. Moreover, a can of coconut oil and large chocolate bars were to keep us from hunger and sustain our energy till the daytime. Toothpaste was used in the morning for cleanup and the team decided to start a journey to the nearest town 20 kilometers away for further medical services (Douglass & Bevis, 1979).
It the morning, I used the compass and the map to locate directions to the city. It was also essential to provide the parties with newspapers for keeping the fire and warmness during the course of the night. Thus, in conclusion, I ended up leading the group well and the members were efficient in teamwork (Kelly, 2008). However, there were several shortcomings in team-working, such as reluctance of the members to cooperate in the course of the process; hence, good persuasion skills were required for the success of the work. In addition to that, the members were tempted to distribute resources inequality and to constraint the whole team.
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Conclusion
We realize that this in-class activity given us an opportunity to apply management and leadership tools such as planning, organizing resources, controlling the group members, and other steps of the leadership process. It is important, as a leader, to plan work efficiently and to control other members in an organized manner, so they continuously work well and end up achieving a harmonious outcome of any activity. However, as for a leader, there are several challenging constraints eminent in the leadership process such as group members reluctantly complying with the duties or tasks assigned.
