57 Lenzing in Austria
Morgan Maginnis; Caleb Young; Hadeel Alshthri; Gabriel Brandstaetter; Alejandro Lbarrola; and Norah Abdullah
Team 23 Poster
Team Reflection
As we found out by our research and writing our story we got to know Lenzing better. We have discovered Lenzing’s sustainable features and how well their impact is on society but the real question that we should state is, why hasn’t anyone in the group heard about such an innovative business? Unfortunately, society is not totally concerned about how important such Innovations and Developments are for the whole world. Companies like Lenzing are working on a better way to improve the production and our life conditions, moreover as we looked into the website of Lenzing AG, we saw quite a few E.S.G accreditations, as they are ranked as a “AAA” Company in Climate, Forest and Water. Furthermore we saw that Lenzing also takes a big focus on CSR and peoples personal Development. In that sense we came to the Conclusion that Lenzing must be a perfect Company. However we questioned ourselves: Where is the Catch? Is the Net Zero Goal possible for everyone? How are we able, as future Business Leaders, to spread the Competitive Advantage of Sustainability? During our Interview with the Vice Head of Sustainability Krishna Manda, he asked us at the end of the Interview, what we would like to do in the future. Some of us responded: “Finance”. After that Mr Manda has given us an Input to think about how we as future Business leaders can redirect the world of finance to an environmentally friendly path. As this is what the world is lacking at the moment. This statement made us reflect upon our future working sector and might even have influenced it.
For us as a Team working on a Project like this was something completely new. Most of us haven’t had such a close experience with Sustainability in their lives ever before as well as a project outside our own borders. Everyone of us has had some concerns about how everything will work out, with the different time Zones and the different cultures. However we have made the efforts to adapt to the diversity of each Team member and the result has proven us wrong. Flexibility and open-mindedness was a key aspect concerning our understanding in order to succeed. Since some of us are studying Performance Management, Collaborating with students from different countries virtually taught us the importance of consistent communication and role distribution, using Zoom weekly and WhatsApp daily allowed our team to stay connected across time zones, maintain momentum, and quickly address any issues or questions. This experience highlighted the value of setting clear objectives and regularly checking in to ensure everyone is contributing effectively, which are key practices in performance management that support accountability and team unity in a global, flexible work environment.
During our classes we learned about the importance of good Cross Cultural work as well as we learned how to understand each other’s ideas and thoughts about the project and it really helped us grow together as a team. During our class we learned about some theories for Cross Cultural work, for example Hofstede’s theory about cultural dimensions. Looking upon 2 of these Dimensions: 1) Individualism, it was significant to see that everyone put individual work into the project and helped to achieve the Goal. 2) The Uncertainty avoidance: we saw for example how the Canadians were much calmer about the Unknown Parts of the Project in comparison of the other Teammates.
Directly in the first Week we saw how each member started to have his own responsibility, (Morgan doing the Weekly Minutes, Gabriel organising the Interview, etc..), also we started to set up a fixed time in the Week at which we could meet. This Time (Monday 4 p.m. CET) was then fixed for the following Weeks. During these Meetings we started a to do list, as well as what our Goals and deliveries are for this Week.Then we started to distribute the different individual tasks and everyone got to work. The further communication was then conducted via a WhatsApp group, updates on our work status, problems and opinions.
What certainly worked for us as a group was communication, since the first week we were very active in the group chat trying to improve our deliveries and trying to coordinate the necessary steps for achieving our project goals. Each team member understood their role and executed it in the best way possible. However, talking about what didn’t work, we can proudly state that the professional and responsible work everyone has brought to the table had a positive impact on our workflow, as we didn’t have any major indifferences during our project and until now we are in good contact with each other, moreover we look back to a successful experience.
Individual Reflection
Morgan
Coming into this experience I did have some concerns, as I had never been a part of an international virtual team. Once I met our team everyone took amazing initiative and worked extremely hard throughout the process. Each team member put an effort into connecting and creating relationships with everyone in the team, this ultimately helped us to work more effectively and work to the best of our ability. Some challenges that our team experienced was finding a good time to meet, for example some of us had to meet later at night, or during our work hours, and everyone in the team was respectful and positive of these decisions. The last concern that we had was the time change for some location that we had forgotten about, this led to some confusion during one of our last meetings. My participation throughout this project had been ensuring that the “Minutes” had been submitted and to work on the Aim2Flourish story, even though each member had their own responsibility if I had any question or needed any assistance the team was there to help. Overall being a part of this team was an amazing experience and all team members took accountability, built trust, and respected the team.
Caleb Young
Over the last 4 weeks, we have been tasked with a very difficult objective and could go many different ways. Being tasked with meeting 4 new individuals stationed in vastly different parts of the world can create numerous disasters. Firstly, the commitment provided by each individual showing up week after week putting their best foot forward created a positive work environment not leaving anyone out of the picture. 24/7 no matter the time zone or challenges each individual faced, someone was open to responding to the group and giving their input. Everyone felt included and was open to hearing what others had to say and navigating any challenges that came our way. We as a group of 6 were punctual and disciples did not want to underperform. We met our goals and had trust in one another to perform quality work without ever putting anyone down.
Learning more about one another whose lives are vastly different opened my eyes to cultural differences as I’ve only left the country a handful of times. This project brought to my attention the strong level of education and commitment offered around the world wanting me to explore possible learning abroad. Seeing how well a group of complete strangers come together to achieve a common goal no matter their cultural differences was impressive and inspirational. The COIL project as a whole was interesting in taking a different perspective on sustainability by using hands-on work through interviews rather than being an outsider looking in. I enjoyed the learning process of getting to know new people and learning about sustainable practices I wouldn’t normally pay attention to!
Gabriel
Going into our Class of Economy and society for a sustainable environment I didn’t really know what to expect from it. When I then got the Information about this project I would never have thought that it would be that cool. Meeting new people from all around the world and from one to the next moment being able to complete such stressful stats was amazing to see. At first I think it has been a challenge to manage the different time zones, but we got the hang of it quite quickly. After the second meeting somehow automatically everyone had their different roles and it started to work everything without any disturbance, stress, beef etc. I am therefore glad that I got the group that I was part of, as well as I was glad that I had such motivated Coworkers. Overall I think we had a good pick on the company with a really friendly Head of Sustainability who gave us no restrictions upon the Story of Lenzing. In accordance to that we have been a good Team that worked efficiently and professionally.
Norah
At the beginning of this experience, I was nervous because I did not understand the deliverables very well, and I also thought that working with students overseas would be hard,I was worried about communication barriers and time zone differences that might complicate collaboration,but as the weeks went by, I gained a better understanding of the deliverables and became more comfortable collaborating with my teammates, Hadeel and I were responsible for the poster deliverable, and we did our best in designing it,We shared ideas and asked for feedback from our teammates, which made the process enjoyable and productive,I offered help when needed and received help when I needed it as well,This mutual support fostered a positive team environment, and everyone was very respectful and mindful of each other’s contributions and perspectives, making the experience more fun and enriching for all of us.
Hadeel
When we started this project, I was unsure about working with teammates from different countries. I worried about communication and time zones, but these concerns quickly faded. The team came together, and everyone was supportive and engaged from the start. My main responsibility was working with Norah on the poster, and we collaborated well, sharing ideas and making adjustments based on team feedback. This teamwork made the project both productive and enjoyable. One thing that stood out was how respectful and mindful everyone was of each other’s contributions. It made our team environment positive and helped us overcome any initial challenges. I’m really grateful for this experience—it taught me a lot about collaboration, and working on sustainability made it even more meaningful.
Alejandro
This project has been my first experience working with people from other countries and at first, I thought it was going to be much more difficult and hard than it has been. The key to our success has been the communication that we had over the past weeks, which of course, helped to our consistency. We don’t have the same time zone but since the beginning of the project we have made efforts to have a good time trying to work together and accomplish our objectives. My teammates have been very kind since our first meeting and our mutual support has been incredible. Moreover, the theme of the project has made me more interested in sustainability and I’ve learned from the company we choose. Our weekly work has been constant and we tried our best to meet deadlines doing the best work possible. I’m very pleased with the group and I really enjoyed being a part of this project.
References
Lenzing Group. (n.d.). https://www.lenzing.com/lenzing-group
CDP A List companies 2023. (n.d.). https://www.cdp.net/en/companies/companies-scores
Country comparison tool. (n.d.). https://www.theculturefactor.com/country-comparison-tool
Aim2Flourish interview. (25 C.E., October 24).[Video].
