ENG 314-001

Throughout my high school and college career, I have worked in a number of different groups, completing large projects and papers. In response to the five personalities that compose a group, it is hard to associate different members of my past groups to these characters. There is no role in which I have consciously have taken on, but I have experienced most of them in the people that I have worked with. Although I did not consciously dissect each group member in my past groups, I feel that I would be more predisposed toward the role of the Martyr. Being that I do not like to step on anyone's toes, I usually take the responsibility and try to pick up any slack. I don't know if I would make a big deal about it though (so much that I would confront a teacher.)

Preventative measures would be to sit back and watch the dynamic of the group, analyze and assign the different roles mentioned in the meeting and try to create a healthy balance within the group. Personally, I will try to not feel as if I need to take on all the slack, but responsibly assign fair and equal parts of the overall project.

Instead of continuing this disruptive role in the group, I will try to be more of a positive member. I think that names should not be assigned to positive group member roles because a good group member is simply one that is fair, hard working and understanding of the other group members. Maybe this role could simply be called The Ideal Group Member.

I've had many projects or group activities in the past in school, outside of school, amongst friends, etc. I hate to identify myself with any of these particular roles, but if I had to pinpoint one that I have had most connection with at any point in time, it would probably be the martyr. I remember specifically one time where I was assigned a group project with someone who I knew fairly well, and therefore knew that they were the biggest slacker I had ever met. Consequently, all of our group work kept being conveniently "put off" until I couldn't stand it anymore. Rather than rushing everything at the last minute, I basically just did 99% of the project myself (the 1% being their written name), and gave the person no grief about it. Other than this certain instance, I have never experienced a negative group experience (aside from middle school or high school maybe) and I enjoy group activities. I believe that college students are a lot more mature and contribute fairly and equally in groupwork. I will make sure that I contribute as much as I can, and that I will ask questions if I'm lost/confused to avoid being the deadweight or any of the other negative group roles.

The obvious positive group role is the leader. I think everyone has leader-like tendencies, but I don't necessarily feel the need to take entire control of a group. Instead, I like to be an interactive team member, which balances leadership and equality. As long as everyone helps out, group work is prosperous and fun.

I have participated in many group experiences whether is being school work or in an organization and have had both positive and negative experiences. If I had to pick the roles that I most relate to in my group experiences it would be the role of the martyr and the saboteur. There have been plenty of times where I have felt like I got stuck with the group that does not want to accomplish the work or wants to pawn all of the work off onto one person. I myself have had to take several for the team to get things finished on time and to the best of my ability. On the other hand I have been in groups with my friends and I then became the saboteur. I have been guilty of socializing during group meetings when I was supposed to be planning the project. It is harder to stay on task when your group consist of a bunch of your friends. The best way to prevent taking on a negative role is to stay on task and focus on getting the project done by completing your assigned part.

One positive role to take on would be just being a good team member. Helping to plan out the project and taking on your assigned portion and completing it to the best of your ability. Being a good team member also requires completing work on time and stepping up to help other members of the group if there is a need (helping does not mean completing their part for them).

I have participated in many group work projects in school, and I've participated in a few group projects in the workplace. In one school project, I was allowed to choose my partner. Without hesitation, I chose my best friend, thinking that we would work well together. I was very wrong. In this situation, I took on the "martyr" role. My friend was swamped in her other classes, so even though I was busy too, I did a huge amount of the work, because I felt sorry for her and didn't want to make things worse for her. In all of our meetings, she would constantly complain about the amount of homework she had in her other classes, so it would have been very difficult for me to increase that load. It was a horrible situation that caused me to be low on sleep, and thus low on energy.

I feel that a positive group member is a person who always shows up for meetings on time, does a fair amount of the work, gives their input but also listens to the input of others, tries to be understanding even when they disagree with another group member's opinion or idea, and gives their best effort no matter what else is going on in their lives. I'm unaware of a formal name for this type of group member, so I would call this person a "group role model," because everyone in the group should model their group behavior after this person.

I have been through a few group projects in both high school in college. I would say my freshman year I could identify most with the deadbeat role/whiner. I was a freshman, not really sure what to expect, so I let the people who wanted to control the project do their thing and just kind of went with whatever was said. I have since realized that in order to be a better group member it is best to just say your suggestions when the occasion arises. When you just cost along and complain that they never asked you for any input then that is basically your own fault. Once I realized that I stepped up and have led some groups and actively participated in others. In order to make sure that it never happened again, I kind of use one of the corrective strategies the paper suggested which was discussing responsibilities. If you constantly remind people what it is they are doing and what they are responsible for, things seem to go a whole lot better. Preventing arguments is also something that works great. Sometimes you just know you don't like someone's ideas, but it is best to learn to listen and take their thoughts into consideration.

I would say a positive group member is the enthusiast. This person is excited about the project, they want to get a good grade, and they care that everyone is participating. They help to take charge but don't necessarily want to be the leader. They have great ideas and are never scared to help another member of the group accomplish the common goal. This person is someone you always want in your group.

I haven't done much group work in the past. Teachers and Professors usually gave us the option to work in a group. I always chose to work on my own. However, I was forced to do group work this past summer. The experience wasn't so bad. But the article was definately right about there being little productivity. I contributed to this lack of effort on many occassions. That being said, I am more likely to be the deadbeat than any other "personality". I am easily distracted, which makes it that much harder for me to pay attention to whats going on in my own group. I remember the main arguement in my group this summer was between the people who had jobs and those that didn't. I had a job and felt like I didn't have as much time as the members who did not work.

I learned a lot from that experience. I learned that even though I have a job, that is my choice, and I still have to pull my own weight. I also will be more organized in future group work so that I can keep up with where everyone is, and what we are supposed to be working on.

I would like to adopt a leader quality in a group. Not to be bossy, or just tell others what to do. But to gather people together, voice a plan, and get work done in a timely manner. I believe the main problem I've seen with group work is that members are to shy to speak up and don't want to step on anyone's toes. So people in the group just end up sitting and staring at each other wondering what to do next. Students are so used to having a teacher or employer telling them what to do and when, that when they are forced to do it themselves on their own timeline they fall apart rapidly. So I think the leader would be a very effective role, and one I would like to adopt.

During my college career I have not worked on too many group projects. I have worked on a few, and I always try to be as involved as possible. That being said, in my first year at UNCW I took COM200. That class involves working in groups on every project. I was in a group of four with three other girls. I would say that my role ended up as the "deadbeat" role. This was because we did not make it clear at the beginning of our meetings what each group member's role was. We would meet and two of the girls would dictate what we were going to do, and sometimes they would have meetings without me and not let me know. I would email the two of them and ask when our meetings were and they wouldn't answer. Me and the other girl were kind of in the dark. I think the two girls were close friends before the class so they just thought they would do it all together. Even though I tried to be more involved in the group, if I had sat down and talked with them about it I could have been more effective. Since then I have learned that to prevent that from happening, I need to make sure my group assigns clear roles at the beginning of the project so every group member is involved.

I will try to adopt a role as a group contributor and energizer. I will try to help and contribute original and creative ideas by initiating discussions and exploring all of the possible ideas and options. I will also be a group energizer by being positive and pushing the group to forward movement and action to get things done in a productive and positive way.

Throughout my high school and college career, I have had many opportunities to work in groups. These experiences have helped me come to many realizations. I have learned that although there is an advantage of not having to complete the work on my own, it is almost as difficult to work with others. In my groups in the past, I have had many deadbeats, or unproductive members, who expect to earn the same grade although they have done virtually nothing. If I were to assume any role discussed in the article, I might be predisposed towards the role of the martyr. Oftentimes I have been left with the majority of the workload but am too nice to complain. I will make sure that I don’t take on a disruptive role in my group by being respectful of others time and opinions. I will also work on communicating with the group members that this is a shared project if I notice that I seem to be the only one concerned about completing the task.

I will try to adopt the role of the encourager. I will make sure that my group is on the right track while maintaining a positive attitude. Praising and supporting the efforts of my fellow group members will be my main concern so that we can be productive and have successful results.

During the course of my collegiate career, I have had many group experiences, some really good, some really bad. “At worst, groups waste time insidiously, accomplish little work, and create an arena in which interpersonal conflict can rage,” I agree with this statement 100 percent. (Jalajas and Sutton) The most recent group experience I have had was just that. There were three members in the group total, a female who I would consider to be the martyr, and the other member, a male, who was the saboteur as well as a sabutuer.

The female identified the role of the martyr perfectly, she complained about her task, complained about the other members and at the end of the project she confronted the professor the teacher about the members she was paired with.

The male played the role of a saboteur and deadbeat at the same time I didn’t even realize it. At the beginning of the project, he wouldn’t show up or contribute to the project at all. Just about the time the female and I were about to report him to the professor he started showing, two days before the project was due. Then he had the audacity to tell the two active group members who were actively working on the project that he didn’t like it. So he got the master file from the female and changed everything. In the end the project sucked and we all received a poor grade.

Now with all this being said, what role did play in the project? I like to think that I am a very fair and opened minded person but sometimes I think that I can be pushy about my ideas and visions. Therefore, I think that I played the role of Bully. I forced a few ideas down their throats and I shouldn’t have. As a group we should have all made decisions collectively.

What will you do to make sure that you don't take on a disruptive role in your group?

To be a positive group member, I will model my behaviors around these Task Roles:

• Initiator/Contributor - Proposes original ideas or different ways of approaching group problems or goals. This role initiates discussions and move groups into new areas of exploration. (Benne and Sheats')
• Opinion Seeker - Asks for clarification of the values, attitudes, and opinions of group members. Checks to make sure different perspectives are spoken. (Benne and Sheats')

I plan to be open-minded, fair and easy to get along with and most importantly, motivated and on time to scheduled group meetings.

External Source
"Benne and Sheats' Group Roles - Identifying Both Positive and Negative Group Behavior Roles." Mind Tools - Management Training, Leadership Training and Career Training - Right Here, Right Now.. 28 Aug. 2009

Ever since my teachers/professors began clumping classrooms into groups, I have seen the "group" stereotypes, as described in the "Feuds in Student Groups..." article, over and over. I like to think that I am very easygoing in groups and always feel an obligation to do my part, so I don't really feel that I fit any of these roles perfectly. However, if I had to choose one, I would say that I am a "martyr" because I usually (not recently) have been in groups where an individual or two decide to slack off, or feel that their work is not adequate enough for the project and, of course, I am aiming for the best possibly work to be done on the said project, so I am willing to take on extra responsibilities to see that we - the group - succeed. In order to not take on a disruptive role in my group, I plan to just apply the openmindedness, determination and positive work ethic that I have tried to apply to all my groups in the past.

I'm not really sure yet what type of "group member role" I will end up being in this group, because I'd like to think of us all as equals with different strengths and weaknesses, so once we have figured out who is the best for what, I feel that we will casually ease into our own roles. But I will strive to be positive, open-minded, and hardworking without bossing others around or hogging up all the responsibility.

Since my academic background is mostly in literature, I've not really done a great deal of group work, although it seems to be considerably more common in professional writing courses. Same goes for the workplace: as a teacher and tutor, my recent experience has been almost definitionally solitary, with low supervision and all tasks my responsibility. That changed over the summer, when I took part in a group project (planning, constructing, and reporting on an instruction manual) for our Introduction to Professional Writing course. There is no doubt at all which of the Jalajas and Sutton roles I wander closest to: the Bully. Because I was older and more experienced in the discipline than my teammates, I proposed a fairly concrete agenda early in our team meetings and lobbied somewhat aggressively for it. No one seemed to mind, but then again, they may have just been intimidated. An additional problem that either Bullies or Martyrs can cause, and one which the authors failed to mention, is that they are extraordinarily good Deadbeat-enablers. Hence, the one personality problem can encourage others, creating a sort of dysfunctional vicious cycle. What I tried to do, and will try to do here as well, is indicate that I'm aware that I'm being forceful, my reasons for being so, and making it clear that everything is a suggestion, even if it seems otherwise. I also try to freely confess what areas I am not skilled in (such as document design, and most other technical work) and then try to discuss appropriate distribution of labor based on team members' relative strengths.

The role that I aspire to (however realistically) is facilitator: one who uses experience to help the team look good, rather than simply himself or herself. In this ideal scenario, we all do well, all learn something--and still like each other at the end.