Reflection Paper by Rushab Shah.

Rushab Shah

#215889736

5th March 2019

Reflection Paper

Forbidden Island is a visually stunning cooperative board game where instead of winning by competing with other players like most board games, all the players must work together as a team in order to win the game. Players take turns moving their pawns around the 'island', which is built by arranging the many beautifully screen-printed tiles before play begins. Each of the players would be assigned a specific role with each getting a specified power that can change the game dynamics. (Navigator, Explorer, Engineer, Pilot, Messenger and Diver). As the game progresses, more and more island tiles sink due to the water level rising, becoming unavailable, and the pace increases with every turn passing by. Players need to strategize as a team to keep the island from sinking, while trying to collect treasures and items, in order to escape before the entire island sinks. As the water level rises, it gets more difficult- sacrifices must be made.

During the second week, we were asked to randomly form a group comprising of 6-7 members in order to complete certain assignments and get graded on the same. One of the group assignments was to play the game of Forbidden Island and write a reflection paper on the same. We were asked to learn the rules of the game before entering the class and our group was then sent to a randomly assigned room for us to play this game. Initially, before the start of the class, I was wondering how a board game could give us some valuable insights with respect to an organizational setting and the challenges we face in an organization. I was finding it comical as to how playing a board game can give meaningful implications to me with respect to team behaviour and values and how it would be practically related to what I will be doing in future. During the gameplay, my above assumptions were challenged and by the end of it, I was astounded by the deep insights and impact this game had on me with regards to organizational behaviour. It was entrancing to see how one can draw similarities between the board game and real-life scenarios based in an organization. The main learning from this game for me was that self-interests can take you some distance, but team efforts can make you clear much more distance in an efficient and simpler way.

Our group was selected on a random basis and this is how exactly it happens at organizations. You don’t get to choose who you work with, it is how you deal with different kinds of people to achieve common goals that build up and reflect your personality. This was the first time I was working in a multi-cultural team and it is sometimes difficult to understand different cultures, ways of expressions and work styles. We all were told to read the rules of the game beforehand and all of us had read it but had different interpretations which led to initial chaos and confusion with respect to how the game should be played. We all had an assumption in our heads that our personality traits would be similar, we would have a common understanding of the game and we have a common way to approach things. But all these assumptions proved to be faulty when we could not get a good head start as we started playing the game. We, therefore, started to understand everyone’s perceptions about the game, came to a mutual understanding and started playing the game. In short, we resolved our cultural differences and came together as a team to achieve a common goal at the end of the game – fly out from the island before it sinks. This learning is very important to me as, from my past experiences, I have realised that to come on a common ground before setting up team objectives and goals is indeed a crucial part of achieving success. It helps you build efficiency, task and goal clarity and helps you build motivation and confidence. In my previous workplace, my senior would not communicate to me the tasks at hand clearly which led to different interpretations and expectations which eventually led to conflicts.