UNIVERSIDAD METROPOLITANA

DEPARTAMENTO DE LINGÜÍSTICA

INGLÉS EMPRESARIAL 2324-2

PROF. LUIS V. ISEA V.

UNIT 1: TEAMWORK

Erick Navarro C.I 31.423.640

William Bruno C.I. 29.666.725

María Mejías C.I. 27.661.204

EXERCISE 1. NEW WAYS OF TEAM BUILDING. YOU ARE GOING TO READ AN
ARTICLE ENTITLED RECIPES FOR TEAM BUILDING. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:
(REMEMBER, ONE ANSWER PER STUDENT) (5 POINTS EACH QUESTION).

1) WOULD YOU LIKE TO ATTEND A COOKERY COURSE AS PART OF A

TEAM-BUILDING EXERCISE? WHY / WHY NOT?
- Yes, I would like to attend. I think the activity is great to get to know each other and
their capabilities to communicate and handle relationships in the work environment.
Also, I think it's very fun to cook with others, everyone has their traditions and ways
of cooking, and that makes it interesting. (Erick Navarro)
- I would definitely like to attend a cooking course as part of a team building exercise.
First of all, I think it is a good way to learn about leadership and where it can be
better than in the kitchen, where everyone has a very important role, no matter how
small, every contribution is essential to offer the best service. Also, it could be a
perfect opportunity to learn how to cook in the best way possible, so we are talking
about learning two things at the same time, that would be an enriching learning
experience. (María Gabriela Mejías)
- Of course, I would like to participate in a cooking course. I mostly consider it as an
opportunity to get to know my team better and to observe the individual and group
competencies of the rest of the members. Also, it would help in the coexistence with
the rest of the team and the integration of all the members. At the same time, I would
learn new possible techniques and I could discover the preferences of my
colleagues, which would improve the coexistence. (William Bruno).

2) WHAT WOULD YOU FIND DIFFICULT ABOUT WORKING IN A TEAM?

- If the teammates aren’t willing to work or communicate, that makes teamwork really
difficult because I believe that everyone has to do their part without any pressure
coming from their teammates. Besides that, I find it easy to work in a team, even
amusing. (Erick Navarro)
- One thing I find difficult about working in a team is reaching a consensus on different
perspectives and turning them all into one. When it comes to teamwork, all ideas are
valid and as a team, we have to take them all into account. Another aspect of
teamwork that I find difficult, although necessary, is working with people you don't
know or don't have the confidence to talk to naturally. (María Gabriela Mejías)
- From my point of view, one of the things I find most difficult when working in a team is
the lack of communication. When one team member does not communicate properly,
it slows down the rest of the team. Many of the biggest problems that teams have is
 not reaching an agreement, which boils down to communication problems. It has
happened to me many times that people in my team present certain inconveniences,
but they never express it and that causes a delay in the work and misunderstandings.
All this can be avoided with effective communication. (William Bruno).

3) WHICH SORT OF PEOPLE MAKE THE WORST TEAM MEMBERS?

- I consider that a person who does not want to work and does not have an interest in
the activity can be the worst team member. Communication is key in a team because
it is the perfect tool to overcome differences between team members. A person who
does not have interest in the task, will not communicate properly or may not
communicate at all. Also, you cannot force someone to work, they have to be willing
to do it by their own means. (Erick Navarro)
- I think the worst people as team members are those who are not open to sharing
ideas or collaborating with me as a team. I know people who do not allow ideas other
than their own. Also, some people do not make any effort and leave all the burden of
responsibility on you. In both cases, it is difficult to work and obtain good results.
(María Gabriela Mejías)
- I consider that the worst people to work for are those who have no interest in the
activities to be performed. This type of person with little or no interest in performing
their duties, involves the team to overload themselves to accomplish all the tasks that
must be done. It must be considered that this can cause greater stress, burnout, and
other psychological implications to the rest of the team due to the need for the rest of
the team to fulfill all the tasks in the time established by the boss, teacher, or other
supervisor. (William Bruno).

- 4) IF YOU COULD GO ON OR DESIGN ANY TEAM-BUILDING COURSE, WHAT

WOULD IT BE?

- It could be an escape room, an environment where each member of the team must
collaborate with each other to succeed. An escape room would bring out all their best
qualities, like leadership, logical and creative thinking, and problem-solving
strategies. I believe this is a good idea since it requires that each member cooperate.
It would help everyone to give their best. (Erick Navarro)
- If I had the opportunity to design any team building course, it would be a social
media and visual arts agency dedicated to business marketing. First of all, I love the
power that marketing has on a brand and the power it has to make it grow. But, to
make it possible, it is necessary and mandatory that a group of people are in charge
 of different tasks. To get a good result, it is necessary to have a marketing
department, an audiovisual production department, and a design department. (María
Gabriela Mejías).
- If I could create a course for team-building, it would be focused on learning camping
techniques. This would consist of going camping and dividing the members into small
rotating groups. In which each member would share and work together as a team.
This opportunity would consist of a series of team activities in an environment away
from the work area. The activities will be focused on building on the individual
competencies of each member so that each one is needed to accomplish each
activity. In turn, this will work on shared leadership, the opportunity to get to know
each other better, to live together, and to improve communication. (William Bruno).

EXERCISE 2. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT. YOU ARE GOING TO READ AN ARTICLE

ENTITLED INTERVENING QUICKLY IN CASES OF CONFLICT. DISCUSS THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: (REMEMBER, ONE ANSWER PER STUDENT) (OPTIONAL
TASK).

1) HAVE YOU EVER BEEN INVOLVED IN ANY OF THE EXAMPLES OF CONFLICT

LISTED IN THE ARTICLE? HOW DID / WOULD YOU FEEL?

- I consider myself a very calm person and have never been involved in problems of
this type. However, if I had to work with very complicated people, I would try to
handle it in the best possible way to keep my job. But keeping my dignity, I would not
allow myself to be discriminated against in any way because I always treat people
with respect and I expect the same back. (María Gabriela Mejías).
- I have been involved in some of these conflicts. The most recurrent have been for not
giving importance to the work being done, for the behavior and attitude of certain
team members, and discrimination. I am used to working in a team from the
professional to the organizational level because I am in an NGS, so it is common to
see this type of problem. Mainly, in either case, what I would do is ask the team
member why he/she is behaving the way he/she does, trying to be as empathetic as
possible, without judging his/her behavior. Then, I would try to look for possible
solutions to the problem, if it is in the case of discrimination I would make him/her
understand that we are all equal and important within the team, if it is because of the
task I would try to explain the importance that if he/she does not do his/her work, all
of us in the team would have negative consequences for his/her actions. But I would
always try to dialogue with the person. On the other hand, at first, I would react a little
 shocked by the attitude, then I would calm down and once I calmed down I would talk
to the person, that is what I always try to do. (William Bruno).
- I have not been involved in any of these problems, however I consider that what the
article says is very true. Since there are certains behaviors considered unethical or
inappropriate in the work environment there are also certains solutions to handle
them. I also think that most problems can be solved as long as both parties are
willing to compromise to do so with respect and politeness. (Erick Navarro)

2) WHAT BEHAVIOR AT WORK* DO /WOULD YOU FIND INAPPROPRIATE OR

UNACCEPTABLE?

1. One of the inappropriate behaviors seems to me to be foul language because I

believe that as humans we can communicate efficiently without the use of bad
language, this includes being rude to co-workers. Also, discrimination and bullying
are some of the worst things people can encounter in a work environment because in
this environment people are supposed to be mature. (María Gabriela Mejías).
2. A behavior that seems inappropriate to me is directly directed at the language you
use. For me, sexist, misogynist, derogatory comments should not be allowed in work
teams, mainly because they threaten the integrity of the person and are
inappropriate. So, a workplace where comments that jeopardize the integrity of the
person are allowed are unacceptable behaviors. (William Bruno).
3. I find especially unacceptable behaviors that do not seem as a serious problem
because they just get bigger and bigger until they become a serious problem and are
too big to handle. Also, behaviors that threatens people's integrity like misogyny,
homophobia and sexism are totally unacceptable since they go beyond the limits
each person establishes. (Erick Navarro)
3) HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH THESE PROBLEMS?

- I would certainly ask for respect and talk to my boss about the situation. If I need the
job for a long time I would try to hold out as long as I can but if the situation doesn't
change, I would look for another job where my value is appreciated. I don't consider
any job to be easy or perfect but I think we can all be better off in a place where we
are respected. (María Gabriela Mejías).
- I would deal with these problems by creating a set of rules of coexistence. Where
they are read and changed with the whole team, mainly so that each member can
participate and be aware of which behaviors are allowed and which are
unacceptable. Also, creating safe spaces for everyone, where all members can
 express any inconvenience that threatens the integrity of the members. (William
Bruno).
- I would speak to my boss and be sure he knows what is going on in order to organize
a meeting. In this way, I believe that everyone can participate and know what is going
to happen next. After that, I would hope for a set of rules that determine how to act in
these situations and also determine behavior's rules to protect the integrity of each
member. Finally, these rules could prevent similar situations in the future. (Erick
Navarro)