21 SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth – Team 24

Team Reflection 
Our exploration of the AIM2Flourish stories has been a very transformative journey, filled with challenges, and insights. The 10 stories that we read, have offered us an example illustrating how Appreciative Inquiry (AI) fosters sustainable practices in business. For instance, stories like “Breaking The Code” and “Changing Lives One Serve At A Time” demonstrate how the AI process deepens business owners’ understanding of their sustainability impact, particularly regarding Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, focusing on decent work and economic growth, just like we explained in the week 4 Minutes of the meeting.
These stories underscore the value of AI in cultivating positive focus, collaborative dialogue, and reflective learning. Furthermore in “Breaking The Code,” The Assessment Company’s focus on talent alignment and positive employee outcomes showcases how AI illuminates the positive contributions of businesses to sustainability. Thus, we feel like this story allows individuals to break free from limiting beliefs and unlock their true potential. Similarly, in “Changing Lives One Serve At A Time,” Sameer Chaudhary’s engagement in collaborative discussions reveals the profound impact of personal narratives on promoting sustainability practices within businesses.
Other examples like Merle Norman Cosmetics, Return on Character, and Fashion and Fair Trade stories illustrate how AI can enhance sustainability efforts. By leveraging AI, Merle Norman Cosmetics can explore the impact of women empowerment and plant-based ingredients on sustainability, while Return on Character exemplifies how strong leadership character translates to ethical decisions that benefit society and the environment. Additionally, AI can aid businesses like Fashion and Fair Trade in optimizing fair trade practices and minimizing environmental impact.
As we reflect on our journey with AIM2Flourish stories, we recognize the profound impact they have had on our understanding of sustainability and business practices. These stories have inspired us to embrace AI as a powerful tool for promoting positive change within our respective contexts. Individually, we are motivated to integrate the lessons learned from AIM2Flourish into our future endeavors, advocating for ethical and sustainable business practices. The stories have instilled in us a sense of responsibility to leverage our knowledge and skills to make meaningful contributions to society and the environment.
As a team, our collaborative journey has emphasized the importance of communication, resilience, and adaptability. Despite challenges, we have persevered, demonstrating our commitment to learning and growth. Moving forward, we will leverage the insights gained from AIM2Flourish to enhance our teamwork, foster greater cohesion, and achieve our goals more effectively.
Furthermore, our team’s exposure to diverse cultures presented both challenges and learning opportunities. With members from Canada, Indonesia, and South Africa, we encountered differences in communication styles and time zones. At first, these differences made it hard for us to work together well, as shown by our struggles with technology issues and misunderstandings during our early meetings. However, despite these challenges, our experience with different cultures taught us a lot about how important it is to understand and adapt to different ways of doing things in today’s interconnected world. By talking openly and respecting each other, we found ways to overcome cultural barriers and use our different perspectives to solve problems together.
Additionally, the lessons we learned in our courses were really important for helping us work together as a team, especially in this cross-cultural experience. Our studies in sustainable development, with a focus on SDG 8, gave us a good understanding of why it is so important for everyone to work together inclusively and fairly to achieve common goals. We used ideas like cultural intelligence and effective communication strategies from our coursework to help us in our team discussions. We realized how important it is to communicate clearly and directly, especially when we are working online and might have language barriers or technical problems. Our classes also helped us see the value of having different perspectives in a team. We learned that having people from different backgrounds can help us develop better solutions to problems. This made us appreciate our team’s diversity even more and made us work together with more respect and understanding.
Moreover, we had weekly Friday meetings to discuss the assigned question and outlined a plan of action. This form of communication allowed the exchange of ideas, enabling us to collectively devise a strategy for tackling the task. We chose to divide the workload among the pairs, assigning specific responsibilities based on individual strengths, expertise, and geographic location on comparative analysis or synthesis of information. Throughout the week, each of us independently completed our assigned tasks and thought of responses to the question. We maintained regular communication via online platforms, sharing progress updates, insights, and any challenges encountered. Our approach to task-sharing involved effective communication, and collaborative problem-solving, enabling us to produce well-rounded responses to the weekly questions.
Overall, our approach to completing the work proved to be effective, while others posed challenges requiring attention. A structured weekly meeting provided clarity and direction and allowed effective task delegation based on expertise and geographic location. Effective regular communication facilitated the information exchange and support which allowed everyone to understand their roles. However, time zone differences occasionally caused confusion and disrupted meeting schedules, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities for communication exchanges especially for us in Canada. Despite efforts to coordinate the meeting times, changes in time zones sometimes resulted in miscommunication causing concerns with submission and meeting times. Looking ahead, refining task delegation, improving time management skills, and utilizing inclusivity will be important. Embracing open communication and mutual support will further enhance our collective efficacy. By addressing these challenges proactively, we aim to optimize our collaborative processes and maximize our collective impact as a cohesive team.

Individual Reflections
Arish

To define this experience in one word, the word would be different. I have never worked with people from different countries before and perhaps even held some prejudice against them. However, this experience changed my mind and has even motivated me to look into the exchange program offered by the University of Guelph. As a member of this amazing team and participant in this experiment, I would rate this experience as highly recommended. While I thought we might experience challenges in understanding each other’s ideas and meeting online, I have learned that as long as most, if not all, members are putting in their best efforts, it works out well in our favor. I had some trouble the first week trying to manage the cross-regional logistics such as communication and time zones, for example, the meeting times and how to communicate with my team, especially due to my WhatsApp notifications never working. However, after communicating with my team we came up with a solution that helped me be an active member of the team. Working in this cross-cultural dynamic really helped me understand the importance of communicating and managing my time to ensure that I was doing my part to help the team. Furthermore, the diversity of each participant and team member was beneficial to us in the long run as everyone brought in different perspectives and helped improve the quality of our work. All in all, this has been an amazing experience to share with Team 24 and I am extremely grateful to our professors for putting it together.

Noluthando

As a member of this COIL team, I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this experiential activity. At first, I thought I was going to face a great deal of challenges but to my surprise, working as part of this virtual team has presented more successes than challenges, and I have learned a lot from this experience. To begin with, managing the cross-cultural dynamics within our virtual team was not much of a challenge for me because I understood the importance of being sensitive to cultural differences and approaching communication with an open mind. Additionally, with regard to different time zones, we adapted by opting for virtual meetings that were scheduled at times that worked well for all of us. This allowed us to stay on track and ensure that all team members were engaged and informed. Moreover, the diversity of our team proved to be an asset. Each member brought their own unique perspective, which enriched the overall quality of our work even though we fell short in one of the weekly tasks. However, this diversity allowed us to approach problems from different angles and produce innovative solutions. Overall, being part of this virtual team through COIL has been a valuable experience. It has taught me the importance of adaptability and effective communication. I am thus grateful for the opportunity to have worked with these amazing people and learn from them.

Shavira

I feel this experience brings back memories. Because I participated in COIL last year, and I was happy that this year I got to experience COIL again. But one thing that is always a problem during both times is the time difference. For example, there was one time when the members from Canada got confused about the meeting time because their time moved back one hour earlier. Fortunately, our team communicates very well. And there’s also a time when our members can’t be present in the meeting because of their personal schedule, they still actively join the discussion in WhatsApp. I’m very grateful that the rest of us understand that not all of us can present during every meeting because they either had class at that time or could be another reason. Also, as now I had to attend meetings during Tarawih time, which is a special prayer we do during Ramadan. Usually, I finish praying around 8:30 pm. So on those days, I prayed faster to make it to the meeting with the group. But despite these challenges, I’m having a great time with this experience.

Cheryl

In the beginning, I thought it would be challenging to find the time to work on this project, especially because of our different time zones and our own personal schedules. Moreover, I viewed this experiential activity merely as a mandatory task for passing grades. However, along the journey I found this activity to be very enlightening and rewarding as I love to learn new things and it led me to gain a deeper appreciation for its educational value. Additionally, despite our diverse backgrounds, different time zones, and communicating through a virtual team, our team fostered a positive, communicative, and inclusive environment, making the experience insightful and enjoyable. As a result, despite my prior feelings about this activity, I found it to be a very valuable experience by the end as our team successfully navigated the cross-cultural dynamics and time zone differences while also learning and gaining something educational by the end.

Charles
Throughout this challenge, I’ve embarked on a transformative journey, embracing the various range of perspectives due to my team members’ diverse cultural backgrounds. Overcoming hurdles like navigating time zone disparities and effectively delegating tasks demanded proactive problem-solving. However, among these trials, our team created an environment of mutual respect and profound understanding. Our success stemmed from the adaptability and seamless communication, enabling us to overcome these barriers and realize our collective objectives. Navigating through the intricacies of virtual collaboration, each obstacle became an opportunity for profound learning and adaptation. This experience has profoundly shown the significance of diversity, patience, and resilience in virtual teamwork dynamics. It has equipped me with valuable insights into utilizing inclusive environments where every voice is heard, valued, and integrated. In essence, this journey has been a testament to the transformative power of embracing differences, cultivating patience, and valuing resilience in the pursuit of shared goals.

References

– Linen For Life’s Circular Revolution: Empowering Women through Purposeful Waste Management. (2023, December 22). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/linen-for-lifes-circular-revolution-empowering-women-through-purposeful-waste-management
– Fashion and Fair Trade. (2023, December 26). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/fashion-and-fair-trade
– Return on Character. (2023, December 30). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/return-on-character
– Merle Norman Cosmetics adequately endures an evolving industry. (2023, December 15). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/merle-norman-cosmetics-adequately-endures-an-evolving-industry
– Breaking The Code: Innovations and Strategies at The Assessment Company. (2023, December 15). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/breaking-the-code-innovations-and-strategies-at-the-assessment-company
– Best of Broadridge. (2023, December 26). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/best-of-broadridge
– Changing Lives One Serve At A Time. (2023, December 30). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/changing-lives-one-serve-at-a-time-2
– Finda: Finding What You Need, When You Need It. (2023, December 27). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/finda-finding-what-you-need-when-you-need-it-3
– Plant Leather: Empowering Lakeside Communities. (2023, December 22). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/plant-leather-empowering-lakeside-communities
– From Plate to Prosperity. (2023, December 14). AIM2Flourish. http://aim2flourish.com/innovations/from-plate-to-prosperity