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Project Management
Blockbusting
Aids:
Blockbusting Aids was an experience to say the least. Looking
back, I definitely learnt a lot more about myself and others
while doing this project then I thought I would.
Blockbusting Aids was a movie night held in Nepean
High School. The plan was to show four to five different
films in some of the classrooms on the third floor. All the
money made from concession and ticket sales went to Bruce
House. Bruce House is a local organization that does
multiple things to help people deal with AIDs. They not only
do research on the disease and supply medication but they
also provide a comfortable home for people who are going to
die from AIDs. My group's goals at the beginning of the
project were to raise money for Bruce House and to create a
fun event for those participating. As we began planning and
creating our event we began running into some problems. As
we fought through some tough times it was important for us
to keep our goals in mind. We kept reminding ourselves that
our money was going to a good cause, and that they we're
really going to appreciate what we were doing for them. We
also had to keep in mind that it would be over soon so we
should try to enjoy every good and bad thing that happened.
One of the main problems
we had in our group was the team dynamics. We did not always
agree or get along very well. The decision-makers seemed to
constantly change depending on who was being the most
assertive or even aggressive about their ideas at the time.
I would say that Emma and Kaleigh were the main decision
makers, but we all helped out. I would say we divided our
responsibilities between ourselves very equally. I was in
charge of buying all the concession, Kaleigh was in charge
of making the signs, Emma made and sold the tickets, Kayla
made the poster about Bruce House, and Matt was in charge of
getting the movies. As a team we definitely could have found
a way to work better on the project and with each other. We
had no problem with meeting our personal deadlines and
coming through on what we said we would, therefore there was
no lack of commitment or avoidance of accountability.
It seemed that as
soon as we had to decide or do something as a group, that is
when the problems began. Our team didn’t seem to trust each
other at all. I feel we let negative past experiences with
each other affect our group work. At the beginning of the
project there also seemed to be a fear of conflict. We
didn’t want to fight so at times I feel we may not have
voiced our opinions as much as we should have. By the end of
the project there was too much conflict. It had gotten to
the point that we were so frustrated that we didn’t mind
fighting for what we wanted, which caused lots of trouble.
We should have put our personal and social problems behind
us and worked as a team.
Blockbusting Aids was supposed to happen on November 25th,
but because of the amount of tickets sold and lack of adult
supervisors we did it a week later, December 2nd.
We arrived at the school at five thirty Friday night to
begin setting up the classrooms and the concession, and
making sure all the DVD players worked. People started
arriving at around seven thirty and after some decision
making we decided to all watch The
Da Vinci Code.
After the movie was
over most of the participants left and we began cleaning up.
At around ten, when all the desks were put back, the garbage
was picked up, and the food was put away we were able to
leave, happy with how it had went. We did manage to
completely fill out our One Page Manager with current
information.
Our group, although dysfunctional at times, managed to accomplish
a lot. We ended up raising over two hundred dollars for
Bruce House AND were able to walk away from it still all
civil with each other. We accomplished all the main goals we
had made at the beginning of the project: to raise money, to
set up a fun event for the participants, and to learn more
about ourselves and each other. As I said earlier, we did
have some problems accepting each other’s ideas and getting
along. We also had some problems with making our event
known, and finding adult supervisors. In the end I think we
were pretty successful at completing our goals.
Our team definitely had room for improvement. I think we could
have started selling tickets earlier, and tried harder to
get the word out about our event. I think we could have been
more open minded about each other’s ideas and less
judgmental. We could have avoided failures band challenges
by planning exactly what each person had to do, and making
sure everyone was going to put in 100% of their effort. We
probably should have talked more about problems before they
got too bad. Next time I think there should be more
advertising for Blockbusting Aids. Maybe we could add some
more activities to the event to attract more people.
I learnt a lot more about myself, teamwork, and planning an event
then I thought I would. Teamwork can be really hard,
especially when doing something big like planning an event.
You have to really consider everyone’s busy lives. It’s also
tough because certain personalities clash, but you need to
work through it. I learnt that planning an event is a lot of
work. There are so many little details you need to take into
consideration when trying to make it all work. I’m
sensitive, which can make group work hard. I had to make
sure to try my best not to take anything personally, which
was hard sometimes. I’m also very stubborn, and sometimes
get upset when things don’t go as I planned. I really had to
work on that and try to let things go. Not everything can go
the way I want it to. I realized that if I put my mind to it
I can accomplish a lot more than I thought I could.
This project definitely had its ups and downs, but in the end
everything worked out really well. Everything seemed worth
it when we were all watching the movie, laughing and having
fun.
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