11 Hike the Way in The United States

Team 16 Poster

Team Reflection

We have concluded that the way Hike the Way, the company we based our project on contributes and promotes SDG 12 is one of the most important parts of our story. This company encourages sustainable tourism by introducing a mobile app that reduces the amount of paper and ink used while also helping pilgrims find their way along the Camino. We feel it’s a great idea to limit the amount of paper used on this pilgrimage to avoid unnecessary trash and waste on its paths. We also think that the innovation positively affects the environment without taking away from the quality of the pilgrims’ walking experience. We believe that this innovation betters their experience by providing them with information about upcoming villages, the walking distance for each stage, and the stage difficulty.

Another important point is that the company kept in mind the environment when coming up with innovations to improve customer experience. This supports the idea that the company encourages sustainability and promotes a healthy environment. Rather than being a list of do’s and don’ts on the Camino, the company gets rid of potential ways to harm the environment by replacing them with an environmentally friendly solution.  Furthermore, the innovation is useful to all customers, since the app can be accessed at any time (it is available offline), regardless of which Camino route they decide to take and how many stages they decide to walk.

Diving deeper into the project and connecting it back to some academic concepts covered in our course is very insightful and helped to reinforce several concepts. When looking at sustainability and the triple bottom line, we can see that Hike the Way’s efforts to reduce waste tie directly into the concept of the triple bottom line, which from our learnings discusses profit, along with social and environmental responsibilities. This helped to back the learning that businesses today are becoming now so more than ever expected to balance profit along with social and environmental sustainability. To begin with, I was always under the impression that businesses sought to only seek a profit through whatever means necessary, however, learning about Hike the Way truly challenged this notion I once had. Through their nuanced approach to sustainability and community support, businesses can, and should aim to have positive impacts.

The Aim2Flourish story will greatly affect how both my group and I’s actions as we go into the future. In the future, I will be more motivated to seek out and support businesses and initiatives that place a higher emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility. This project has thoroughly backed my team’s beliefs in how being a mindful, mission-driven leader can lead to the fulfillment of both personal and professional aspects of life. Seeing myself as a business person a few years from now, I can make a clear connection between this project and my job/career, as following this project, I have a deeper and stronger understanding of why businesses should conduct themselves in a sustainable way, therefore shifting my thoughts on the way some businesses operate and the ones I would work for in the future.

Bringing all of our thoughts together, it is clear that this project has not only reinforced learning from the classroom, it has also challenged our assumptions of things we once thought to be the norm. We learned how being sustainable, in the case of Hike the Way by using a mobile app to reduce the need for paper maps on pilgrimages, is a forward focused business effort that ties into the triple bottom line, but also changed our mindsets on how a business does not only just have to seek a profit, leading to business efforts and goals that lead to positive impacts on both society and the environment. This project has done a great job at connecting our academic learnings to real-world applications of business practices, especially those in promoting a more sustainable and socially responsible future.

Throughout our project, we learned to communicate across different time zones and collaborate on a month-long project. We stayed in contact through the WhatsApp group chat we created, asked each other questions about the upcoming assignments, gave feedback, and met each deadline.

Involving in such cross-cultural experience made us gain valuable insights that reflect what we learn in our courses (Economy and Society for a Sustainable Environment, Responsible Organization Principles, and Performance Management). Here’s how each course’s teachings align with the lessons learned:

1. Economy and Society for a Sustainable Environment:
   • We emphasized how important it is to integrate sustainable practices into projects, and how to develop socially and environmentally responsible solutions by learning about other cultures’ sustainability approaches. This reinforced the course’s emphasis on how to promote sustainability in various sectors (CORE Econ Team, 2023)
2. Responsible Organization Principles:
   • We learned that in order to be responsible, leaders must have a deep understanding of ethical behavior and cultural diversity. Also, we learned that fostering an inclusive environment is very important in order to create an organization that is ethical and operates with dignity and respect for all individuals (Burga, 2022).
3. Performance Management:

• This experience reflected course lessons on matching team goals with strategies that improve individual and group performance while accounting for diversity (Aguinis, 2022).

One of the key topics we learned in our courses was globalization, and how technology has revolutionized job opportunities and created new markets throughout the world. Through the use of technology, our team was able to work together using digital platforms and social platforms, making international communication possible. This has allowed us to connect the information we received in class and connect it to how we managed our project. Another key topic we learned is how culture plays a role in conducting international business; this applied to our team because we were able to give each other insights coming from very different backgrounds, and were able to effectively communicate despite our differences.

During our first meeting, we agreed on a time in which every team member was available and met at the same time for each meeting. We also stayed in contact throughout each week to make sure progress was made for the deliverables, which kept us from worrying about what was turned in and what was left to finish.

As for assigning the tasks, we split into three pairs, each of which both members go to the same university. Then since one of the team members knows the company we selected personally, it was easier for her to conduct the interview, which she completed with her team partner. The other two pairs worked on the posters and the story independently, and then we selected the poster we liked the most and combined it with the other one, provided feedback, and reviewed the story which was shared with the rest of the team. At every meeting, we discussed how each pair’s assignment went, what the upcoming deadlines were, and what needed improvement.

The structured approach of scheduling weekly group meetings was effective in ensuring consistent attendance. Task distribution was organized by assigning pairs from the same university to core tasks (such as the interview, story, and poster). This helped streamline progress, though there were some overlooked aspects. For example, while main tasks were delegated, specific responsibilities within those tasks (e.g., conducting, documenting, and communicating for the interview) were not clearly defined. As the deadline approached, this led to some tasks remaining incomplete, resulting in last-minute efforts to ensure submission. This experience highlighted the importance of precise role allocation for smoother collaboration.

Individual Reflections

Agustina Curutchet

As someone who loves to learn about cultures and world history, I had never done a project where the basis was to meet other people from around the world and join together to work on a project. Doing so has taught me to have better time management skills, availability to adapt to each other’s schedules, and effective communication. I can now say wholeheartedly that I loved the experience, and I am looking forward to collaborating internationally in the future. Managing the different time zones proved to be a challenge at times, but we were able to find a time that worked for all of us. Once we got in contact with each other, we quickly made a group chat and established a time- Saturdays at 2:30 CET- that we could call and work on the project through Zoom. Speaking through Zoom on a weekly basis was crucial- it allowed us to divide each component of the project into different tasks for each member to complete and ultimately made the project easier and more enjoyable. I appreciate the experience and the skills that it has given me that will prepare me to undertake bigger tasks in the future.

Anna Farfan

This was the first project I have ever done that was completely online and with team members in different countries, and I am pleased to say that I enjoyed it. This project taught me how to collaborate and communicate with others, as well as be open-minded and flexible with my schedule. It also required me to be organized, be mindful of deadlines, and consistently talk with the team. As for the different time zones, I’d say it was difficult to work around in the beginning since we all had to adjust our schedules. However, we quickly agreed on a time that worked for all of the members and we met at that time each week. This helped me establish a routine and made it easier for all the members to attend every meeting. Overall, it was a great experience that helped me realize the importance of meeting others around the world and collaboration.

Deem Al Qouba

My experience working with a multicultural team within the AIM2Flourish project was a difficult but new and full of learning experience. Working with a multicultural team is a rich and productive experience, which carries many benefits and challenges. The cultural diversity of the teams adds strength and creativity, bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds with different skills and ideas, promoting innovation, and helping to solve problems in non-traditional ways.

One of the most prominent benefits of working with a multicultural team is the development of communication and understanding skills. One of the most important lessons I learned from this experience was the importance of effective communication, open dialogue, and cooperation among members. However, working with diverse teams can be accompanied by some challenges, such as different working methods and methods of communication, and understanding different habits. For example, we encountered some differences of opinion when designing the label, but we finally managed to reach a unified agreement.

In the end, I realized that working with a multicultural team is an essential step towards success in any field. It combines creativity, flexibility, and holistic thinking, which contributes to the achievement of team goals and sustainable development.

Johnathan Shadorsky

As a student who has participated in many group projects and activities, I found this COIL group task activity both challenging and rewarding, particularly in navigating cross-cultural dynamics. Working across different time zones introduced unique scheduling obstacles, often requiring flexibility and understanding from all members. To accommodate everyone’s availability, we set a rotation for meetings and emphasized asynchronous communication, which helped bridge time gaps but also demanded a level of self-discipline and proactive involvement.

The cross-cultural component was enlightening, as it highlighted diverse approaches to problem-solving and communication styles. We initially faced misunderstandings, but as we adapted, it strengthened our collaboration. Being mindful of differing perspectives and addressing them openly encouraged a deeper level of respect and understanding within our team. I found that active listening and showing openness to each member’s ideas helped in building a trusting and effective environment.

Ultimately, I felt that this experience sharpened my adaptability and communication skills. It was an invaluable lesson in flexibility, patience, and cultural awareness, which will certainly be beneficial in any future international or virtual teamwork settings.

Lachlain Craig

Reflecting upon the coil group project, I found my participation in the international group experience quite rewarding and one that opened my eyes to the world at large. Prior to the project starting, I was excited about what the project would entail, both in terms of gaining the coil certification and meeting a diverse group of people, all coming from different countries and backgrounds to work together on a project.

Once getting to meet the group, we quickly got established on working on the project, setting up a WhatsApp group chat in which all of us had access to as well as determining a consistent day and time each week that way the most convenient for all members of the group, understanding that time zones would play a big factor in our ability to communicate with each other throughout the weeks of the project. This in addition to delegating the tasks of the project between members of the group that were either located at the same school or shared a similar time zone helped us to make significant progress and keep everyone working towards the completion of tasks. Our group did a good job of keeping meetings and communication over WhatsApp on task, also understanding that each member’s participation came in many ways, either through the video chat or using the messaging and group chat, understanding that each person has a different way of communicating effectively as well as coming from a different cultural background.

In summary, I believe this project will be one I remember fondly, gaining a deeper cultural appreciation and understanding for countries group members come from, as well as being something I will look back to in my schooling and in the workforce.

Rimas Alqahtani

When Dr. Sayeda informed us that our final project for the Performance Management course would be a virtual activity, I initially felt apprehensive. This was my first fully virtual project at the university, and the idea of working with a virtual team comprising students from different universities rather than just my classmates heightened my concerns. I anticipated challenges related to communication due to language and cultural differences, and I was unsure about managing time zone differences, which is a common issue in cross-cultural virtual teams (Argyris, 1982). Additionally, the activity’s requirements seemed complex, requiring significant collaboration and effort from each team member.

However, after the initial launch meeting of the activity on October 3rd and the invaluable support and guidance from our fantastic instructor, Dr. Sayeda, I began to understand the requirements more clearly. This shift in understanding transformed my view of the activity from a daunting task to an exciting new experience. Concepts from our course textbook, Performance Management by Aguinis (2022), such as effective communication and conflict management, proved valuable, helping me approach communication barriers and cultural nuances with a more open mind. These learnings also taught me the importance of viewing challenges as growth opportunities, a perspective that enhanced my experience (Ryan, 2011).

The team’s collaborative spirit also played a crucial role. Our meetings were productive, and everyone was flexible with scheduling, ensuring smooth communication despite potential barriers. Although some members occasionally missed submission deadlines, this was mitigated by the diligence and commitment of most team members, highlighting the power of mutual support in achieving our goals (Lipmanowicz & McCandless, n.d.).

Reflecting on this experience, I realize the importance of open-mindedness, cultural awareness, and adaptability in virtual teamwork. Working within a diverse team allowed me to better understand and manage language barriers and cultural nuances (University of Waterloo, n.d.). Despite my initial concerns, this project has shown me the value of experiential learning, and it has demonstrated how challenges can be transformed into growth opportunities through teamwork and resilience (Rolfe, Freshwater, & Jasper, 2001). This experience has not only expanded my perspective on virtual collaboration but has also equipped me with practical skills that I will carry forward into future projects.