ENG 314-001

I think if I had to say that I was any of the five types of students—whiners, martyrs, saboteurs, bullies, and deadbeats—I would pick a combination of martyr and saboteur. I feel like I’m a martyr because I’m the type of person who does the majority of the work in groups. Other people tend to slack off when they are doing group work. But, I don’t think that I just complain to everyone about it and not expect some type of change. I eventually tell my group that I’m frustrated because of all the work I’m doing and demand that they do their fair share. I also feel like the saboteur sometimes because I want everything to be perfect and well edited, so I go behind people and correct their mistakes. Typically I tell them that I’m doing it though, so I wouldn’t say that I’m solely a saboteur.

During the group work that we have in this class, I will try not to take over the project and do all of the work on my own. I will make sure that we delegate tasks appropriately and that I don’t feel frustrated at the tasks I have to do. Also, I will make sure that I trust the people in my group to do a good job and not change everything they do. I hope we can all edit and help each other out in a good way, but not secretly go behind each other’s backs and change things. In the text it says, “Don’t take responsibility for the happiness of others” and “Don’t blindly accept problems.” If I can remember to do those things I think I could be a positive group member and not cause any problems.

For a positive group member role I would like to be known to my group as someone who does all of the tasks that are assigned to me on time and correct, someone who participates and listens to everyone’s ideas, and someone who doesn’t control the group but also takes a leadership position if needed. I hope that this group experience can be a positive one and that it changes my mind about how groups can work together.

Throughout all my group projects I’ve only had one bad experience and that was during my transient student semester at Cape Fear. I can honestly say that out of a group of 8 people, only 5 even attended group meetings and only I and one other person did any work at all. I would say that I adopted the role of the martyr, but in the reading it says that typically the martyr only wants appreciation for the work done and doesn’t want the other members’ grades to suffer – not me! I made it very clear to the instructor which group members weren’t carrying their weight because talking to these people and asking them to participate had no effect. Plus, it’s not anyone’s job to try and convince someone to do their portion. I don’t feel like the martyr role is necessarily all negative – at least this group member is willing to work!
Generally I’m pretty quiet, but I’m a hard worker and like being able to be proud of what I (or the group that I’m in) have done. So I guess my role would be the quiet-ish person who’s willing to do a substantial portion of the work. I’m not really an idea person though – so maybe I could work on that.

While I feel like I don't fully fit the description of any of the group member types, I am probably closest to the Martyr. I always feel like I should do my fair share of the work. I feel guilty if I feel like I am not doing as much as other group members, even though I typically do just as much as group members. For this class project, I will set more realistic expectations of myself, while still making sure that no one in the group feels overwhelmed.

My goal for this project is to be a balanced group member. I will do my fair share of the work and help out fellow group members who are struggling. However, I will not allow myself to do more than my fair share of the work and then complain about it. I will voice my opinions and help everyone find the best way to delegate tasks for the project.

If I had to pick one of the negative roles that I’ve been in the past I would pick the role of the martyr. This role came out in me especially during a group project last semester for Business Writing. It was the most complicated project of the class, making up a proposal for a fake business, but I had experience doing a proposal like that. I was also the group leader, so I ended up taking on a lot of the responsibilities. I did try to get the group members to help, but I ended up taking on most of the responsibilities because I wanted it done correctly. We received an “A” on the project, but it just made me bitter that my group members got the same grade and didn’t do the work.

To prevent this from happening, I need to allow others to take on roles. Instead of just fixing mistakes, I need to show the team members what I think is wrong and make a group decision on how to fix it. Basically, to prevent being a martyr I need to be a team member instead of a one person show.

A positive group member is one who does their part. They don’t try to get out of meetings or their part in the project. A positive group member will not be bossy but be a good team member, realizing that the project should be split up evenly and cater to each members’ strengths. A good team member will be a positive person, not negative, and do their best to complete the project worthy of an “A.”

If I had to choose between the five categories listest I wold have to say that I am closest to being a Martyr. I do my share of the work and make sure that i get it done well and on time. I would like to think that groups are all fair but most of the time they are not. At first they ususally start out well and fairly but ast he projects go on little groups get formed and work doesn't get done.

For this upcoming project I want to make sure that the work is evenly distributed and everybody does their fair share. To make sure that this happens there are many things that we can do. First of all getting along is one of the most important things. If the group/team doesn't get along than it's gooing to be very rough to get the project done. Than making sure that the work load is distributed evenly is also a huge part of making sure the work gets done.

By focusing on my own work and also making sure sure that others work gets done I think that working on this group project will be good. I have high hopes that by looking after myself and others the team will pull together and have a good outcome on the project.

Although I don't really think that I identify specifically with any of the five troublesome characters of the group, I guess I would probably be the Whiner. The reading discussed a possible source for this type of group member that I most closely identified with. I have been "snake bitten" in group projects before and am more of an independent worker. The description of this character made me much more aware of any personality traits that would resemble this type of behavior so that I can consciously stop them before they begin for any group project in the future.

The positive group member role that I will try to adopt would be, "The Compromiser." I think compromising is one of the most important qualities to have in a group member. I want to be able to take all of the ideas of the group members and collaborate, bounce ideas off of eachother and come to a decision that pleases everyone in the group. One of the hardest things about being in a group is feeling like other people's ideas are not as good as your own. I would want to be more open to other people's ideas and be able to use everyones perspectives in order to collaborate and make a great project.

.

I think that my negative group member role varies based on who I am working with, but if I am the head of the project than I would most likely perform the role of the “bully”. I like things done my way and sometimes I can take over the project and make others feel inadequate. I think that this could potentially be very disruptive and it is something that would make group work much more difficult.

For this group assignment I am going to make sure not to be a control freak and to trust the other group members. I will do everything that is assigned for me to do, but I will only worry about what I can do. I’ll try to not look over their shoulder and trust them to complete our team goals.

I want to be identified as a group member that is reliable and trustworthy. I want my teammates to know that they can trust me to get things done in a timely manner and that I’ll do whatever needs to be done to get a good grade. I will try to play a proactive role in the group, but I do not want to be a bully. I want everyone to be able to speak freely an openly.

If I had to pick a role that I have probably adopted in the past, it would definitely be the martyr; I am very prone to adopting all of the workload and sometimes not even informing my group members about things that need to be done. I'm not really sure why I do this, but it is perhaps to ensure myself that the work will get done. I know that if I take the majority of the responsibility on myself, I won't have to stress about other group members not showing up or not pulling their weight in activities, papers, or projects. In past projects, I have carried heftier portions of group workloads simply to make sure that work turns out well. Once in high school, I even did a whole project myself because I couldn't get my group members to cooperate. In that situation I did explain what happened to my teacher, but I still completed the work myself first.
For this group, and for all group projects I undertake, I try to take the role of motivator and mediator. I find that it helps if group members are working together and everyone is communicating as well as possible. If communication fails, I will step up to repair and alleviate stress where necessary. It isn't my job to solve feuds, but as a natural problem solver I often take charge when situations begin to break down.

Of the five negative character archetypes listed, I would say that I most often play the role of the martyr. I try to do as much work as I can, usually more than other group members, and am happy to get some recognition for it. To ensure that I don’t take up the martyr role while working on our Community Advocacy Projects, I’ll make sure everyone in the group has a fair and well-established part in completing our work.

To fulfill a positive role in this project, I will do as much as I can to be active without treading on other people’s ideas or contributions. I would like the final project to be an outcome of the group, not just one person.

If I had to choose a role it would lay in between being a martyr and a saboteur. More often than not I become displeased with something based on personnel bias and will change it and tell my self the group will be fine with it. On another level I find my self at times believing I am surrounded by deadbeats and whiners. I take matters into my own hands and do most of the work. Even worst some times I keep the others out of the loop. When presentation day comes I am quickly telling others the changes and issuing them their roles.

If anything I would rather be a part of the group instead of "the group" this would make the load of work much less for me and the trust between group members a lot stronger. Actively asking for input and giving people tasks may sound bossy but I believe it will keep me from changing things on short notice or taking control of the project.

There have been many situations in which I have probably two or more of the described group members. Generally, I would say that I identify most with the martyr. However, I do not have a problem with other students contrubuting as well, and I will make it known to an instructor or to the students themselves that I think they should be contributing more. Perhaps I'm somewhat of a sabotuer as well, because I often like to have the project under control, and fix things.

Last semester, in my professional writing class, I was placed in a group with two other girls. One girl and I did the entire project while the other did absolutely nothing. She never came to the group meetings, and contributed absolutely nothing to the overall project. It wasn't until the last day of class, when we had to evaluate each other that she tried to contribute. It was so frusterating! She was a deadbeat, and the other student and I were probably both martyrs.

There are many positive roles that I believe group members can adopt. One such role I hope I can adopt would either be leader or mediator. I think that it is important to have someone in the group that can designate and assign tasks to other members. I also think that it is important to be a person who can settle, calm, and mediate when there is problems between group members. I think that both of these roles are cohesive to having a sucessful group.

I would say that out of all of them I feel like many times I am the saboteur. Many times I will look over the final product and think there might need to be some changes and I have to remind myself that what I think is best might not be right. However, many times that I have made changes they have gone unnoticed by the rest of the group unless I specifically tell them exactly what has been done. To my knowledge none of the changes have ever been detrimental.

I think that a very important role in a group is a group organizer. Someone who makes sure the group members are keeping up with their work and are staying in contact with other group members. This person would play a large part in encouraging the group to stay on track with any time line they might be on and organize meeting times and locations for the group. Basically this person would just be willing to collect all email addresses and keep everyone on the same page.

The role from the reading that is closest to my typical role in group work is probably the Martyr. I usually tend to take on a pretty big role in group work, and I usually don't complain to group members about the extra work I do. I specifically remember a project in highschool where one member did absolutely nothing for the project, and got an A because of the work the other member and I did. Although it was very aggravating, I did not feel the need to complain to the teacher. I have had plenty of group projects where members do less than me (or nothing) but I have never complained to a teacher about other members of my group since I don't really care about other people's grades. Hopefully in the future I can be a good group leader, and create a fair balance in the work load for each group member.

Although no one necessarily prefers to be one of the negative group members that are described, we all participate in each of the roles at some point in time. I would probably say that i normally run parallel with the martyr role. I tend to be OCD about papers and presentations, and act as a perfectionist at times. I'm not necessarily a control freak, but I either want to carry my group, or to blend in with the others; there's no grey area for me when it comes to group work. I would rather do more work than other members than risk the quality being poor.
In the same semester last year, I had two group projects going at the same time. In one of the groups, I was prompted to work with shy members; therefore, I took control of the situation and served as the contact and leader. However, my other group consisted of strongheaded individuals who took the reins before I could even blink. In saying this, I believe that I am able to collaborate with others' personalities fairly easy. In the future, I plan to listen to other members' ideas before I express my opinions, and allow every member to do their fair share. I will try to adopt a more open mind about group work in general in order to become a more positive group member.

I think that, depending on the group of course, I generally play the role of "the Martyr." I know there have been specific group situations where I have taken on extra work willingly, yet tried to make the other group members feel bad or guilty about my extra workload. For example, when working on a group essay in one of my other English classes, I offered to write the whole thing. My group members were going to be out of town during the weekend we were supposed to finish the assignment, so I assured them that as long as they came up with some ideas/theories, I could put it all together in the paper. When I turned it in to the professor, I made sure to comment that I spent hours on the project while my team members were away. In order to avoid this situation for future projects, I will make sure that tasks are evenly distributed and I will trust my team members to do their part.

For this project, I will try to become a "cheerleader" of sorts. I won't be the leader of the group, but I'll try to support and motivate my team to get the project done and done well. I'll also make sure to do all my work enthusiastically, and hope that my work ethic will rub off on my group mates. I think this will improve the final outcome of our project.