Team Exercise Assignment: Lost-at-Sea Decision Making

Purpose: The purpose of this exercise is to offer you the opportunity to compare individual versus group decision making.

Setting Up the Exercise: You are adrift on a private yacht in the South Pacific As a consequence of a fire of unknown origin, much of the yacht and its contents have been destroyed. The yacht is now slowly sinking. Your location is unclear because of the destruction of critical navigational equipment and because you and the crew were distracted trying to bring the fire under control. Your best estimate is that you are approximately 1,000 miles south-southwest of the nearest land.

The attached list contains fifteen items that are intact and undamaged after the fire In addition to these articles, you have a serviceable rubber life raft with oars, large enough to carry yourself, the crew, and all the items listed here. The total contents of all survivors' pockets are a package of cigarettes, several books of matches, and five $1 bills.

1. Working independently and without discussing the problem or the merits of any of the items, your task is to rank the fifteen items in terms of their importance to your survival. Under column 1, place the number 1 by the most important item, the number 2 by the second most important, and so on through number 15, the least important. When you are through, do not discuss the problem or your rankings of
items with anyone.

2. Your instructor will establish teams of four to six students. The task for your team is to rank the fifteen items, according to the group's consensus, in the order of importance to your survival.

Go through the stages of development of work groups. First determine what are the steps, then go through each step of the process as a group.

Enter the group's ranking in column 2.

3. When everyone is through, your instructor will read the correct ranking, provided by officers of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Enter the correct rankings in column 3.

4. Take this exercise home after the team process and write up a one-page evaluation to be turned in by Sunday. The evaluation should include topics such as the following:

a. How did your team get organized (i.e., what steps were taken, in what order, how was a leader picked, how did you get your role).
b. What role did you take in your team?
c. How did the team decide which items were most important (describe the process your team used to decide).
d. anything else you think is important.

Attachment:- Table.rar