8-2 CRITICAL INCIDENT ANALYSIS

For this post I am to think of the last group or team I was apart of where the experience was dissatisfying or discouraging. The most recent experience like that I can remember was during the relocation of many of our departments due to renovations to our current buildings. A group was put together of the affected departments to discuss possible complications with the sharing of space.  It was put in place to ensure communication was kept up regarding the use of equipment and the need for service and repair to that equipment was communicated effectively. I don't think the group members were that motivated, as many were against the renovations to begin with, and the group was not cohesive as the two main affected groups already have a hard time sharing anything. Social loafing was definitely a problem as many of the processes we put into place for communicating were not being followed and other people were trying to pick up the slack left by a few members. I think the managers of all the departments should have held their employees more accountable, for example one employee had agreed to e-mail the fleet shop at the end of each day if there were any repairs needed to the equipment in their location, I am still waiting for the first e-mail two month later.  Athough the problem has been brought up, nothing has been done.

Critical incident analysis

Why do I view the situation like that? I view the situation as discouraging because the lack of communication has led to some frustrating times, operators are mad that their equipment is not repaired, but their repairs were not reported. The lack of communication causes more down time and less production.
What assumptions have I made about the client or problem or situation? The assumptions I have made about the situation are that no one really cares and if they are not going to follow through with their promises it doesn't apparently matter as there are not going to be any consequences. The other assumption I have made is that most people think the plan as a whole will fail, they think the renovations will be behind schedule and over budget or possibly run out of money and not get finished properly.
How else could I interpret the situation? The other way I could look at the situation is that the other departments are just as frustrated as me, they have had to uproot their work areas and are now crammed in other buildings, with other departments, and are just trying to make the best of it.

What other action could I have taken that might have been more helpful? Instead of reporting the issues to my manager, after the few failed attempts we had to get the message across to the other departments, I could have personally sent out some reminders to those involved of the domino affect that missing one piece can have. Sometimes a personal message, not going through the chains of reporting and being misconstrued can be a more positive way to get information from point A to point B. If I had identied more clearly directly to the person that with out the proper and timely information, I am unable to do my job effectively and in return that effects their operations and productivity.  Then we could, with support of our managers worked together to think of another solution as the arranged plan was not working.
What will I do if I am faced with a similar situation in the future? I think what I will do in the future if I am faced with a similar situation is hold other group members accountable. I would try to make them understand that their effort directly affects the rest of the group, and if someone is not performing their task, it needs to be addressed before it becomes the norm. Also that we can work together to think of new solutions that work best for the people at the ground level who actually perform the tasks, getting their input, instead of deciding for them what will work. Positive communication, accountability and working together will help our next project succeed.