ENG 204-001

1.) In my psychology class last semester I had to do a presentation on any disorder we wanted. I took on the roles of the whiner and the martyr. One member did not contribute equally to the group and was “ditzy”. I got really irritated and complained to other group members. I felt like the weight was not evenly distributed and this group member would not pull their weight. Some time during the project I took on the martyr roll. I was able to delegate and make sure everyone knew what part they were working on. When members would not contribute I would take up the slack and do it myself. I figured “if you want it done right, do it yourself”. This caused more stress and pressure on me. In the future I will make sure I confront this person first instead of complaining to the other group members. I will also not pick up another members assigned work but to make sure they are doing their share.

2.) A positive group member role I will try to take on is the active achiever. I will make sure we are staying on schedule and that everyone is contributing equally. Any disputes that need to be settled can be talked about with that person and solved. I will do my share of the project and make sure it is ready for each deadline. I will not take on other’s responsibilities. I also will not complain but be active in making sure things are running along in an orderly fashion.

After reading over the article “Feuds in Student Groups” and thinking about my past experiences doing group work, I do not think I really fit into one kind of group. I remember specifically in one of my English classes in high school, we had to do a group project. Everybody was assigned to a group and the project counted for a big percentage of our overall grade. One of the people who was in my group took on the role of the “deadbeat” and did nothing. We decided to break up the tasks the group needed to accomplish for the project into smaller individual assignments. Even though the “deadbeat” was assigned a specific task, they did not complete the task and left the other group members to work it out. I took on the uncompleted task even though it was someone else’s responsibility, because I did not want to fail the project when it counted for such a large percentage of my overall grade. I did not outright complain to other group members, but I was annoyed with the “deadbeat” and was not happy to be working on the project.

A positive role for a group member is someone who works well with the team and puts forth effort. If another situation, like the one in my English class, were to arise again, I would speak to that group member and let them know how important their role is because the rest of the group is counting on them.

1. I can recall doing many group projects in my Intro to Communications course a few years back, but one in particular. We were assigned five group members, which is fairly large, therefore, it’s almost inevitable to get every role that was specified in the article “Feuds in Student Groups.” To get back to my point, I turned out to be the martyr (which is often the case) because I always seem to put myself in the position to do a large portion of the work, not really trying to change the situation, but wanting somewhat of a burdened guilt from the others as well as the teacher in the end. This is definitely the role I am predisposed to, and presumably the only one. To steer away from this disruptive role I will try to make sure to interact and distribute the work with my fellow group members before the problem appears.

2. I will try to adopt the active achiever role. The active achiever does his or her best to complete efficient work, adapt well with others, help distribute an even load to everyone, and ultimately work positively for the overall good of the groups task.

My most recent group project was in the fall semester of last year for one of my classes. I was in a group of three that was assigned a project to build for an engineering course. Although I would not classify any of the three of us as one of the five categories, there were times when I felt that we were going over some of the traits described in these five categories.

Usually we were pretty good about doing the project but I know it could have been done faster and with more intensity. More than once, we cancelled off an actual meeting because my two partners were going out for pizza or something else. The only reason I don’t call them dead beats is because we actually had time to spare during these times. I usually found myself continuing to work on the project alone at the time we had originally intended to meet because I don’t like to procrastinate a lot and was a little annoyed that they had canceled. I supposed I was leaning toward the saboteur in this since I worked on it without telling the others, but I don’t believe that I qualify for the title since I was always stuck to what we had already planned to do and avoided making any changes in the plans without the others consent.

In order to avoid any of the five categories, I think all that is necessary is to avoid pessimistic thoughts, communicate my progress to the rest of the group, get consultation before acting upon my personal ideas, and think intensity. Other things that I think the group itself needs to do is establish responsibilities.

I would adopt the role of being a group coordinator for future experiences in group activities.

- It seems that in all my previous group work experiences, there has ALWAYS been someone who fits one of the disruptive roles mentioned in the reading. I can remember my freshman year in my African American Studies course, one of the girls in my group and I were the only ones who showed up at the group meetings outside of class. There were two other members of the group, one could be described in the deadbeat, the other, the saboteur. The former, the deadbeat, never showed up to any of the out of class meetings, nor the in class meetings. He showed up on the presentation day and asked me which slides he should read. The other, the saboteur, tried to make his own project, a skit and spent all his time working on that, but we ended up using the powerpoint that I created. To not become one of the roles discussed, I will always put an effort into whatever the group has decided on.

-I think the most obvious positive role is the leader. This is someone who takes initiative and who puts in more than the required effort into the project, as well as effort into making sure the other members of the group are working hard as well. It may not be necessary to adopt such a role, but i will strive to work hard and put in my required effort

In past experiences I have probably been the deadbeat once. I was working with one other person on a computer project. We were doing HTML coding. My partner and I were good friends so she didn't mind doing the work. The problem was I did not have internet at the time so I couldn't check to see if my HTML codings would work. So, my friend volunteered to do all the work and I let her. I did feel like a deadbeat. I will make sure my group gives me enough work so that I will not be a deadbeat.

I will try to adopt the role of "hard worker". I understand that more than my grade is depending on this assignment. I want to be known as a good worker and I want my group to know that they can count on me to pull my own weight. I think that this may also inspire them to work harder.

Groups are hard situations. More goes into the dynamics of the group though most other group members don’t want to waste their time with these usually trivial problems. Laziness is high moral is low and the resentment of being in the class is an underlying feeling. If anything I would either be the Deadbeat, it depends on the time. When I feel like the deadbeat it’s usually because I feel unnecessary in the group. The last time I was in a group it was of four people and there was no reason to be the deadbeat because all of us to a point could have been the deadbeat. We all put it off until the last day and pieced together a Powerpoint which came off nicely. It was a Freshman Seminar class and we successfully completed all of the things we were supposed to complete.
If I needed to portray a more positive role in a group then I would be the creative guy, providing information and creative ways to display information. If group doesn’t need to display information then someone who will be willing and ready to help doing anything with no whining.

I can remember last Spring in my Psychology 105 class when I had to do a group project. The project lasted the entire semester. I was in a group of four with another guy and two girls. I can recall very well how one of the girls in my group took the role of The Bully. From the first time we all met until the last day when we finally turned in our project, she had all the best ideas and tried to make the rest of us feel inferior. She often overruled many of my and my other group members’ ideas or thoughts, because hers were better. She always had the last word and what she thought should happen, did happen. Working with someone like her made the project extremely aggravating. To make sure I don’t take on The Bully role or any of the others, I plan to make sure all the work is evenly divided among the members of the group. I also think that everyone should have an equal opportunity to put in their thoughts and ideas.

I think I will try to adopt the self-discipline role. This role is described as organized, confident, tolerant, trusting, and hard-working. This role is not supposed to have any negative aspects. I think this role would be good for all members of a group because being able to tolerant other group members differences and trusting their work are valuable traits when dealing with group projects.

1. It has honestly been so long since I have done group work that I cannot remember a specific time when I took on a certain role during a project. However, I do remember being in grade school and complaining about having to do too much work for group projects; I think that I am more of the martyr. I am more predisposed to being a martyr because I stress about making sure the work is getting done, so will take on more than my share without attempting to fix it. Now that I am older though, I have realized that there is no harm in asking for help or expecting your group members to complete their share of the work. That is what group work is all about. To avoid becoming a martyr I am going to make sure that I stick to my specific task in the group, and only offer help where it is needed.
2. The positive group role that I am going to try to adopt is "Motivator". I want to provide support for my fellow group members, and offer ideas to keep the processes moving along. I also want to make sure that everyone is working together, and that conflicts and successfully, or at best, avoided. I want to motivate my group to do the best and most practical job we can. No one should be too stressed out or too lazy. I want to also offer anyone my help if they need it, so that no one feels overwhelmed.

a) One of the interesting things I have noticed in groups is that sometimes people take on bad traits as a response to another person's bad traits. In my last group project,my group took on a very similar situation to the one in the article. The four person group divided in half: two Bullies and two victims. I was a victim along with the only guy in our group. The other two girls actually scheduled one of our required "Field Trips" without calling us as we had asked. Instead, we got notified through facebook messages two days after the trip was taken. As a result, my other partner and I retaliated by taking on the Deadbeat, Whiner and Martyr roles. The Bullies lost all faith in our (more than adequate) abilities and refused to take any suggestions we offered, even if it had nothing to do with the project content. For example, if I suggested a certain research topic it was denied. If I suggested we meet in the library, they would say no, and schedule it in the coffee shop. Each member of the group was frustrated and took on these roles in an effort to gain or maintain authority. We got a decent grade on the project, but none of the group members speak to each other. Well, except the two Bullies of course.

b) I think it might be difficult to assign a positive character names. The organizer might be perceived as a bully. The quiet researcher might be seen as a Deadbeat while feeling like a Martyr. Someone assigned to type up a final draft may be seen as a saboteur for fixing errors that the rest of the group disagrees with. I think the best way to work successfully in a group is to engage in open converstation early in the process, to be honest when something is not working for you and be willing to make a change to fix the problem. However, everyone in the group must be willing to do this for a group to work.

I can say that since starting college, I have not had a group project. I am kind of surprised, but in the last two years, I have not had a situation in any of my classes when I could take on a group project. I guess you could consider a lab partner in chemistry and biology a group effort but rarely do we work on a long term project, it is more of a day to day agenda. The last major group project that I can remember working on was during my senior year of high school. My senior project was to pair up with another classmate and create a ethnography report (a detailed in depth look into a cultural subgroup). We both were interested in college lacrosse at the time, so we paired up based only our common interest. We ended up sharing the work evenly for the primary and secondary research part of the project but after working on the project for a couple months, my partner got burnt out. When it was time to compile our research into a portfolio and paper, my partner bumped around in between the deadbeat and saboteur roles. I ended up just knocking out the project when we realized that we had different expectations, I wanted to turn in something with quality while he just wanted to make sure that we turned something in. This was not my best group project experience but I learned from it.

I do not know how to stereotype either of us into any of the five roles because in a two person group, each person plays more than one role and the definitions of each role is a bit muddled. In the future, I will try to pick partners that have similar expectations for the end product not just a way to head over to UNC and interview some friends. The only way to figure this out is to talk before starting the project. If you are going to have a group where everyone is going to leave at the end feeling satisfied, you need to lay down the law early.

A positive group role that everyone should try to adopt is being a positive proactive person. On the contrary, everyone cannot be a leader, because someone has to work too, so everyone shouldn't strive to be the head of the group. Having a predetermined set of expectations for everyone is important, but the group should be able to talk openly about it in case something changes.

I remember a specific project I worked on my second semester in college where I felt I wasn't able to help with anything in the project. It's not that my group members tried to leave me out or that their work wasn't great, but because they always had ideas faster than I did and decided on them so quickly, I stopped trying. I still went to all of the meetings but I did only what I was told to do and left it at that. From now on, in groups, I'll make sure to state my opinion no matter what, but to a degree. I don't want to become the bully and make everyone do my ideas alone, I just know it felt like I did nothing to deserve my grade and that from now on, I need to have a say so that in the end, whether we get an A or a C, I'll know that I at least tried and the grade I get will be deserving.

One positive group member I specifically remember loving was a girl in this same group that made sure everyone spoke. Even though I still didn't give my opinion (by the point I was discouraged and felt like my opinion would be stupid) I will never forget her attempts to include me. However, it always seemed to late and the decisions had already been made by the time she asked me, so I'll do it differently. I'll make sure everyone has a chance to talk, but I'll make sure it's before a decision is made and that everyone opinions are counted before we choose which idea would be best for that specific project.

I have always avoided working in groups when at all possible, mostly because I am a perfectionist and I don’t like to depend on other people. However, when in a group, I don’t think that I have ever fit into one of the roles described in the article because I don’t like to push my ideas on other people, even though the perfectionist part of me thinks that my ideas should be used, so that is why I don’t like to work in groups. For the same reasons, however, I think that if I was going to fit a role it would be the bully, because if I didn’t respect my group members then I would likely push my ideas on them or try to take control of the whole project.
The best thing I can do to keep from becoming the bully of the group is probably to do what I do now and not push my ideas or methods on the rest of the group. However, I do think that I could improve how I work in a group by not being too tentative to share my ideas with the group, because I usually just accept what the group wants to do without much input. I think the positive role that I can adopt in the group is to be the one that can lead and organize the project, but doesn’t have to be the leader. I also think that I am very creatively inclined, so I think I could contribute to the group in that way and not focus as much on the technical aspects of the project.

I think of all the roles described in this article I would most identify with the bully. Sometimes I have the idea that if I just do all of the work myself then it will all be correct and the group will make the best possible grade. I do not think I have all of the characteristics of the bully, I just tend to work better when I am not in a group and that usually shows through when I am doing group work. Another negative characteristic I see myself having is the ability to passively dismiss problems and avoid any conflicts what so ever.

When the article talked about the ‘explicit division of duties’ it really caught my attention. I think that would be the best way to solve my ‘dictator’ qualities. Also, when it comes to dismissing any potential problems, I think that (while it may be ineffective communication and the article writes against it) it is the best way to avoid taking a disruptive role.

One positive group member role that I will try and adopt is instead of being a ‘dictator’ or someone who just does everything myself, I will try and take on more of a leadership role. This role will involve me doing equal amounts of work as the other members in my group and also if the group is at a point where they feel they do not know how to move on further, I will try and encourage and think of ways to move beyond our idleness.

I would say that most recently I fell into the position of martyr for a group. I joined a group in my English class last semester that was looking at literature and determining an underlying meaning. The first member offered to check the book out on spark notes. The other member offered to help me look back at some of the class discussions we had throughout the reading of the book. However, about half way into our project the second member stopped responding to me when I asked him for help on the project. The kid who so graciously was going to check spark notes stopped coming to class. I decided to complete the project the best I could without help and did. I had spoken with people in other groups in my class and had complained about the other two, but finished the project. Next time I will make sure that all the research for the project is done together in the class research time. By letting the class work time go to waste we lost our big chance to knock out the project early and as a group.
The positive group member that I would want to play is the elaborator or clarifier. This person takes the ideas a group has and decides whether or not they think the idea would work well for the group. The elaborator has to make sure they believe the idea is worth the group taking on.

1) After reading the article "Feuds in Student Groups" I feel that I have never adopted any of the five roles described. I have, however, delt with a fair share of bullies in groups. They often will take charge of the project from the get go and force all of their ideas on everyone else (often they are not very good ideas). When I was in the third grade we had to open a class store (I believe it was in groups of five), and all of the 1st and 2nd graders would come in and buy candy, pencils, etc. Our self proclaimed group leader was supposed to be extreamly talented at math (this was well supported by our teacher) so she did all of the calculations for prices on her own. I noticed that many of the things we were selling were over priced. When I confronted her about this she swore that she was right and refused to change the prices. Needless to say our group made the least amount of money.

2) When placed in a group I usually try to play the active achiever role. In this role I complete all of the work that is assigned to me, I give ideas and helpful corrections where I see fit. I try not to intrude on someone elses work and I try to play a big role in revising the final draft.

In my Spanish class last year, we had to do a project on an aspect of Spanish culture. Two of the girls in my group were good friends and not the brightest people in the class. Consequently, I took on the roles of the Whiner and the Martyr. I complained to the fourth group member about the laziness and inadequacy of the girls. I also found myself playing martyr when the ditzy girls were unproductive and the work they did produce was not of high quality. The fourth group member and I ended up doing almost all the work (except decorating the visuals) and met on our own to make sure everything was turning out the way we thought it should. We ended up getting a good grade, but it was such a stressful experience.

I would like to adopt the role of a cooperative and active group member. I want to be a part of the “team”, not the person carrying it. In order to avoid becoming a Whiner/Martyr again, I will try to ensure that we all divide the work equally and not feel that it is my personal responsibility to take up all the slack.

When thinking of any group work experiences I do not seem to see any full out characteristics of Whinners, Martyrs, Saboteurs, Bullies, and Deadbeats. Now I say “Full out” because I have never had a group member be that extreme. For example, last spring in my REC 390 class my group and I, encountered characteristics of a Deadbeat but only in a few ways. He tried his best to help in the second part of the project but during the first part of the project he was never able to meet and help out. Now in the past I can say that I could see myself being on of the bullies mentioned in the reading, but not to point where no one likes me. I like to have everything organized and running smoothly, and most of the time when we deal with group projects, are group is not with people of our choice. But I think that someone has to be the leader and if no one is going to step up in the first minute, I try to guide people and it just so happens that they appoint me to the group leader; 98 percent of the time it happens.

In future projects, I will try to not take the lead so quickly, but as far as I know every group member has been very appreciative about how I organize and get our work done.