Second Meeting’s Tidings

Hello, everyone! We had our second meeting on February 6th, 2019. We have started producing our draft documents and collaborating on areas that need revision. We have officially decided to create instruction for Google Forms. I’m learning that our Ireland counterparts are extremely flexible with decisions and responsibilities, similarly to our own U.S. mindset. Our team meetings (still taking place on Slack), are loosely structured yet still cover all areas necessary to complete this project successfully. However, after looking back in Hofstede’s Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind, I’ve noticed that Ireland and the United States are along a similar quadrant on the Power Distance versus Uncertainty Avoidance matrix; our French team members fall on the opposing diagonal quadrant. So, while we collaborate with our Irish students, we have similarities in that we are taking more creative steps to complete research, layout design, and rule orientation. We engage in more conversational meetings, taking time to exchange humor and banter in this otherwise commonplace situation. Yet, our French students are very straightforward, to-the-point, and have specific expectations for deadlines or draft uploading. Even though our Uncertainty Avoidance levels vary, we are still well underway in research and preparation for our instructional document. I am confident that we will communicate accurately and that my team members will help me while I design graphics for our Google Forms first draft. I think I’ve been so used to the individualist mindset of the United States that it’s new to see a team that makes decisions based on general agreement. It’s refreshing and I am looking forward to week two. Bye for now!