Cedric Miller

Personable and positive with strong communication and customer service skills, adaptable in fast-paced retail environments. Knowledge of sales principles and techniques, coupled with proficiency in handling transactions and managing inventory. Dedicated to enhancing customer satisfaction and driving sales growth.

• PART 1: Reading and Class Reflection (22 points)
• Step 1: Make a short “cheat sheet” for yourself about forming a group. Your should include:
• 3–4 bullet points about the main steps in forming a group.
• Initial Stage: Forming
• Transition Stage: Storming
• Working Stage: Norming
• Final Stage: Performing
• 2–3 bullet points about ethical issues (like confidentiality and consent)
• Confidentiality and privacy: This is the obligation to protect information shared in a trusting relationship. A key issue is preventing unauthorized access or disclosure of sensitive data, such as a patient's medical records or a research participant's survey responses. The ethical dilemma arises in situations where revealing information might prevent harm, but would also betray a person's trust.
• Informed consent and autonomy: This refers to ensuring that individuals are fully aware of what they are agreeing to. It requires providing transparent, understandable information about a procedure or study's purpose, risks, and benefits. An ethical issue can arise if a person does not have the capacity to give consent (e.g., due to illness or age) or if the consent process is compromised by coercion or misinformation.
• Conflict of interest: This occurs when a person's private interests, such as financial gain or personal relationships, clash with their professional duties. For example, a manager might be faced with a conflict of interest when deciding between hiring a qualified stranger and a less-qualified family member. These situations can lead to biased judgments and damage an organization's integrity.
• 1–2 bullet points about practical details (size, meeting times, space).
• Size: The ideal size for a meeting varies. A small meeting, from 3 to 8 participants, is effective for decision-making and participation. A larger group of 12 or more might require a space of at least 500 square feet to avoid cramping. In larger meetings, individual participation can drop, with more people getting distracted.
• Meeting Times: To increase effectiveness, meetings should have a defined purpose and clear start/stop times. For long meetings, schedule breaks to keep attendees engaged, as attention can wane after 30 minutes. For frequent, shorter meetings, consider potential "calendar fragmentation" caused by numerous one-on-ones, which can decrease focused work time.
• Space: The meeting space should have a layout that facilitates the meeting's objective. For hybrid meetings, ensure the furniture is arranged so in-person attendees face the webcam and monitor. Proper room layout should also account for adequate space for seating, clear walkways, and accessible doorways.
• One sentence about why ground rules are important for a group.
• Ground rules are important for a group because they set clear expectations for respectful interactions, foster a safe and trusting environment, and improve communication and collaboration, ultimately leading to greater productivity and shared understanding among members.
• Step 2: Complete the table below comparing and contrasting open versus closed groups:
• Topic: Open Group vs Closed Group
• Who can join? Open Group: anyone, Closed Group: only individuals who meet certain requirements.
• Advantages: Open Group: increased flexibility, longer group lifespan, constant evolution, and the opportunity to meet diverse new members. Closed Group: enhanced group cohesion, which fosters stronger trust, intimacy, and self-disclosure among members who experience a shared journey from start to finish.
• Challenges: Open Group: inconsistent member attendance, the difficulty of balancing diverse member needs, potential subgrouping or cliques, the lack of deep trust and intimacy compared to closed groups, and problems integrating new members into an established dynamic, which can disrupt the group's trust and safety and hinder therapeutic progress. Closed Group: increased risk of groupthink, which can lead to poor decision-making and a lack of critical evaluation, as well as stagnation from a lack of new perspectives, interpersonal friction and conflict among a fixed membership, and difficulties in addressing imbalanced participation. Because new members are not added, a closed group can also dwindle and even cease to exist if all original members leave.
• Example of This Type of Group: Open Group: a weekly open AA meeting or a neighborhood block party, Closed Group: a specific, time-limited university course or a therapy group
• Step 3: Complete the table below comparing and contrasting different screening methods:
• Screening Method: Personal Interview, Written Screening, Referral Source, Comprehensive Program
• Personal Interview: What It Looks Like: One-on-one meeting with the leader before joining, Advantages: provides clarity on expectations, establishes a foundation of trust and rapport, offers insights into the company culture and role, and allows for early identification of potential concerns, Challenges: the candidate's lack of familiarity with the groups culture, potential feelings of awkwardness or pressure to impress, and the risk of the conversation becoming a generic Q&A rather than a meaningful exchange about role expectations and potential growth.
• Written Screening: What It Looks Like: Filling out a form or questionnaire, Advantages: Filling out a form or questionnaire for a group offers major advantages over individual interviews or open-ended discussions, primarily by providing a scalable, consistent, and anonymous method for gathering information. This process is highly efficient and useful for collecting data for analysis and decision-making, Challenges: Forcing a group to complete a single form or questionnaire introduces coordination challenges, data quality issues, and logistical hurdles not present when an individual is the sole respondent.
• Referral Source: What It Looks Like: Sent by a teacher, counselor, doctor, or agency, Advantages: the built-in credibility and guidance it provides. This professional validation can streamline access to additional services, lead to more effective and personalized treatment, and ultimately result in better outcomes, Challenges: Sending individuals to outside agencies presents numerous challenges for both the professional making the referral and the person being sent. These difficulties can involve ethical dilemmas, institutional breakdowns, and negative personal and relational impacts.
• Comprehensive Program: What It Looks Like: Part of a bigger program with multiple groups, Advantages: Benefits of being part of a larger program with multiple groups include enhanced innovation, more effective problem-solving, and greater organizational agility through diverse expertise and cross-functional collaboration. This structure breaks down communication silos and fosters a culture of shared knowledge and continuous learning, Challenges: Projects or programs composed of multiple teams or groups face significant challenges in coordination, communication, and resource management. These difficulties often cause projects to become fragmented and misaligned with the larger organizational goals.
• PART 2: Lab Reflection (20 points)
• If you did not attend class, simply state that in your summary. You will receive 0 points for this section if you did not attend.
• Label this section as Part 2, Lab Reflection and respond in one well-developed paragraph:
• How did you feel participating in class today?
• I really enjoyed the class.
• What role did you play in today’s lab? How did you contribute?
• As a group leader I did a survey on feelings in the group.
• What stood out to you during the class activity and exercises?
• The different responses to the questions and the ice breakers are always very interesting.
• What did you learn new about group process through these exercises?
• I learned using the ice breakers, always work to change the atmosphere in the group.