How did your groups work in the beginning?

Being the first course of our program, it was also the first time we were meeting one another. The first half of the week therefore involved a significant amount of “brainstorming”, where we would spend time voicing questions and discussing thoughts and ideas. I believe this is a natural way for any group to begin as it:
1. Allowed us to get to know one another. By listening to others express their opinions, ask questions and, as means of example often describe his/her past experiences, we were able to discover each others’ personality. This was very important as it creates the foundation for group coordination and efficiency. Furthermore, as we are spending the upcoming year together, will most likely have the opportunity to work with one another again.

2. Allowed us to gain a better understanding of the task at hand. When any project is given it always takes a certain time to understand exactly what is expected and obtain a clearer idea of the strategy required/chosen to achieve that task. By voicing our concerns, listening to answers or simply hearing someone else’s approach on the subject, we were able to make progress and clarify things more effectively than if we had remained on our own. I believe this was especially valuable for our group as none of us had previous experience in Food & Beverage / Restaurant Operations and many aspects were unclear.
Unfortunately, brainstorming also has a drawback: it is very time consuming and progress was therefore very slow at first. However, this can be considered as an unavoidable process and investment towards attaining better efficiency in the future.

How did this evolve?

I am very happy with the way our group evolved. Everyone had good team-spirit and tried to do their best, even though we may not have had the skills and competences of some other members of our program. As everyone was very open and non-judgmental, we were rapidly comfortable around one