Jesus Pazo Reflection #1

 Group #1, even though they were the last group, showed high enthusiasm when presenting their google slides. Their topic was Intercultural Communication. For the beginning what I understood is that intercultural groups are those that share common cultures, routines, and activities. If we pay attention to this topic, we will notice that it is a very important one in this world. Millions of people emigrate to foreign countries and start a new life surrounded by strangers. Mixing with new social groups and tolerating new beliefs and cultures is a must for everybody. Of course, when facing intercultural communication it is critical to come with an open mind, so we can take other people's place and points of view. One of intercultural communication's greatest enemies can be racism. We need to remember that there exist multiple races, ethnicities, values, religions, and sexual genders and orientations. Another aspect mentioned for these intercultural communications is the Socioeconomic Status. It is sad actually, if you think about it. Some people decide to ignore and make fun of those in low economic situations and pay more attention to those that already have it all in this life. Prejudice is present for these kind of circumstances, as it is present also for a certain religion called Islam which followers are the Muslims. People that follow this religion are recognized for promoting terrorism and massive killings of people. But it is clear that not all Muslims are like this because Islam religions doesn't even promote those activities. So, this makes us think about that phrase: "don't judge a book by its cover", and it is true. Intercultural Communication is a way for creating mutual respect and empathy within civilizations. We need to remember this is a huge world and it is not perfect, but that's what makes it special. I think that when the majority of human beings around the world accept new cultures in their lives, they will create stronger relationships in the future and will become wiser individuals.

Group #2 was my group and I think we did a great job. Our topic was Communicating in Groups. We stated that groups are present everywhere from the family to schoolwork groups and workplace groups. Different groups exist to help accomplish multiple goals. For example, families communicate within their members and create a sense of love and belonging. Virtual groups decide to share thoughts via technological platforms, so they save time and money and encourage people to learn technological skills. Support groups encourage their members to tell problems and share feelings in order to receive honest opinions from the rest of the members. So, after hearing each of my group's members and their parts I realized that these groups are formed with the final goal of relying on others to perform a bigger mission. Each member of a group has to bring something to the table. It is important to take advantage of any skill and point of view that those individuals have. Teamwork has to be the main word in this kind of communication. If someone feels pressured about bringing relevant participation or not, the others need to elevate his/her self-esteem, so they can analyze their true strengths and weaknesses. Addressing issues as a whole is a main aspect for Communicating in Groups. It could happen that some individuals don't participate as much as the rest because they don't want to do the work, or they have multiple responsibilities. Finding a good time to solve common concerns is a must within group teams. Group teams certainly have the advantage that everyone has other people ready to share their points of view and thoughts. In these situations the members need to study every solution and idea. Some good questions are: Is his/her plan really a solid one? How can the group determine it?. Not all groups count with the same wishes and aspirations. Learning from groups from a young age will cause very good outcomes in the future. In work groups people learn to tolerate strangers, respect them, appreciate their work, and understand that no one is equal. In a successful group team, the most important thing is to give effort and a little bit of creativity.

 

 

Finally, Group #3 assessed a very important topic. They talked about Group Leadership and Problem Solving. In my opinion, these two topics are a critical need in today's environments such as school, workplace, and disciplinary activities. Group Leadership means to represent an inspiration for the rest of the members in a group. Group Leaders encourage the rest of the members to share ideas and provide helpful skills without hesitation. Problem Solving skills are kind of complementary to this Group Leadership. Problem Solving skills are highly needed in formal jobs. Also, people that possess these skills are widely admired as smart and practical individuals. Being a leader and solving issues are not simple tasks. On one hand, you need to represent support for those who claim to follow you and guide them right. On the other hand, you need to come with successful methods to defeat an actual problem. As a leader whose mission is to solve an issue, it is important to make the rest of the members realize what they are capable of and tell them to focus on a certain area for fighting the problem; after all, it is obvious that people develop better in areas where they can prove natural skills. Within groups nothing is perfect all the time. Perhaps someone is getting way more work than the rest, perhaps someone doesn't like someone else because of personal issues. A group leader needs to make sure that the members don't bring outside problems to the problem solving hours. Solving a problem is a process of identifying, analyzing, trying, and deciding which approach would be better to solve the problem. Group Leadership and Problem Solving is all about setting priorities. It is wise to mention a successful method of communication. Between members there has to be a way for everyone to get the ideas and processes used and promoted by the leader and the team as a whole. This can work through digital apps like zoom, texting apps like WhatsApp, and , for me the best one, a face to face meeting.