Communicating a Team Contract

I will do the video.  Thanks.

Introduction

In your previous communication challenge, you resolved a situation that became negative and was getting in the way of a team functioning. 

In this challenge, you’ve been given a task by your leader, and you need to bring your team along, not only to get past the previous negative communication but to buy into what’s needed to move forward.

To do that, you will think about what positive qualities support strong communication and effective teamwork. You’ll need to decide what you want to advocate for. And then you’ll need the communication skills to bring others along on your plan. You will do that via video.

Overview

Innovation and change within organizations often require establishing not only a vision but specific agreements that a team can work within to be successful. You will get practice establishing just such a contract and communicating it in this assessment. You will use video as your means of communicating.

Preparation

• Complete the interactive media piece Communicating a Team Contract.
• This assessment requires you to use Kaltura, a Capella-supported recording tool. You will also need to have access to a webcam and microphone for recording your video. For more information, see Using Kaltura.

Scenario

Based on the communications that you have received from your team depicted in Assessment 2, it is clear that your team is struggling with effective team interaction and decision-making. Your examination of the communication surrounding your team members’ feelings about the upcoming meeting have left you concerned. You have resolved to reset the team members’ attitudes so they clearly understand your approach to future communication strategies.

After analyzing the situation, your plan is to briefly introduce items for your team to consider before the meeting via a posted 4–5 minute video. Your goals for this video are to:

• Explain three critical communication issues and challenges faced by the team, including communication issues to date.
• Describe an action or policy that you will introduce to improve communications and assure people are working with a unified purpose.
• Define your expectations, or contract, for ethical discourse in team communications.
• Provide a rationale that addresses the importance of the expectations or contract.

Instructions

Record and submit a 4–5 minute video message using Kaltura that will be posted for all team members in which you address each aspect of the scenario. Be sure to cite all sources using APA reference style.

Planning

Consider the following as rough guideposts for setting aside the time you need to do your work. You will want to adjust these as you learn more about your own pace and working style.

• Research and reading: 4 hours.
• Interactive activities: 30 minutes.
• Drafting script: 6 hours.
• Revising: 2 hours.
• Practicing with the technology: 1 hour.
• Recording: 5 minutes.

Presentation Guidelines

Be sure your video meets the following requirements:

• Length: Approximately 4–5 minutes.
• Quality: Audio and visual quality should approximate that of a properly functioning video conference.
• Visuals (if used): Create visuals that are easily read and interpreted. Use colors, fonts, formatting, and other design principles that make the information clear and generally add to the aesthetic of the presentation.
• Presentation: Although this is not performance art, you will be judged on the communication skills that you have studied in this course including your consideration of audience and content.
• Content: Address all items defined in the scenario.
• APA style and formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting standards. See the Campus page Evidence and APA. Also refer to the Business Academic Professional Document Guidelines [PDF], which provides basic formatting and APA guidelines you should follow to create attractive and usable documents not just within your business program but in the workplace as well.
• Cited resources: Use a minimum of two scholarly sources. All literature cited should be current, with publication dates within the past five years.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 3: Analyze the interrelationships of communication within organizational systems.
  • Explain critical communication issues and challenges faced by the team.
  • Describe an action or policy that would improve communications and assure people are working with a unified purpose.
• Competency 4: Analyze the application of ethical principles in organizational communication.
  • Define appropriate expectations for ethical discourse in team communications.
  • Provide a rationale that addresses the importance of expectations for discourse.
• Competency 5: Communicate effectively and professionally.
  • Organize content for ideas to flow logically with smooth transitions.
  • Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references.