Imagine you work for an FMCG company and have been assigned a project to launch a new product variant. You will be working with a team that comprises employees from different departments.

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

You must lead your team so that they remain motivated and work toward achieving project goals without any conflicts. Based on your reading and research:

Discuss 2 ground rules you will form for the team to follow.
Discuss 2 ways in which you will manage conflicts that may arise among team members.

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.

God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Ground Rules for Team Collaboration:

  1. Respectful and Active Communication: Given that we come from various departments with different priorities and ways of working, it’s crucial that we prioritize respectful and active communication. This means truly listening to each other when someone is speaking, seeking to understand their perspective without interruption or judgment, and responding professionally and constructively. We will value diverse viewpoints and create a safe space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns, even if they differ from the majority. This will foster a culture of mutual understanding and collaboration.
  2. Clear Roles, Responsibilities, and Shared Ownership: To avoid confusion and ensure everyone is contributing effectively, we will clearly define the roles and responsibilities for each team member at the outset of each project phase. We will utilize a shared platform to document these roles and track progress. While individual tasks are important, we will

Ground Rules for Team Collaboration:

  1. Respectful and Active Communication: Given that we come from various departments with different priorities and ways of working, it’s crucial that we prioritize respectful and active communication. This means truly listening to each other when someone is speaking, seeking to understand their perspective without interruption or judgment, and responding professionally and constructively. We will value diverse viewpoints and create a safe space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns, even if they differ from the majority. This will foster a culture of mutual understanding and collaboration.
  2. Clear Roles, Responsibilities, and Shared Ownership: To avoid confusion and ensure everyone is contributing effectively, we will clearly define the roles and responsibilities for each team member at the outset of each project phase. We will utilize a shared platform to document these roles and track progress. While individual tasks are important, we will

Managing Potential Conflicts Among Team Members:

Even in highly collaborative teams, disagreements can occasionally occur. Here are two key ways I will aim to manage conflicts effectively:

  1. Facilitating Open Dialogue and Collaborative Problem-Solving: When a conflict arises, my first step will be to encourage open and direct communication between the involved team members in a neutral and supportive environment. I will facilitate a discussion where each party can clearly articulate their perspective and the underlying reasons for their position. My role will be to actively listen, ensure respectful communication (reinforcing our first ground rule), and guide the team towards understanding each other’s viewpoints. We will then work collaboratively to identify potential solutions that address the concerns of all parties while keeping the project goals at the forefront. The emphasis will be on finding mutually acceptable resolutions rather than assigning blame.
  2. Mediation and Focus on Shared Objectives: If direct dialogue does not lead to a resolution, or if the conflict becomes more entrenched, I will step in to mediate. In this role, I will remain impartial and focus on understanding the core issues from each perspective. I will then help the team members identify common ground and remind them of our shared objective: the successful launch of the new product variant. By refocusing on these overarching goals and highlighting how resolving the conflict will benefit the entire team and the company, I will aim to guide them towards a compromise or a solution that aligns with the project’s best interests. My goal will be to facilitate a win-win outcome where team members feel heard and the project can move forward effectively.

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