Instructor Blog #5: Working in Groups
Quite frankly, we are hesitant to assign group projects to students. We have bad memories from our undergrad days of doing entire group projects by ourselves, and we are skeptical of the ability of students to work together effectively and equally. The challenges of teamwork are only exacerbated by our distance ed course, where group members may never meet face to face. But group work is a reality of the professional workplace, and you will need to be able to work productively in teams to accomplish complex tasks quickly. Often, you will have to work remotely with employees at other sites or companies. In that respect, our class set up is ideal for practicing group work. This project is probably not going to be easy, or especially fun. We anticipate frustrations. But the situation you are placed in here is becoming more and more common in the work world, so you need to be ready to face it.
To lower the frustration of the project, we have put several checks in place. First, we have divided the project into several stages to ensure that work is getting done over these four weeks instead of by one person the day before the project is due. Secondly, we have instituted work blogs that require every group member to report weekly on his or her work. Sure, you can not do any work, piss off your group members, and then lie on the work blogs, but at the end of the semester, every group member will report to us on the accuracy of their team’s work blogs. If you’re not doing any work, we will find out, and we will lower your grade. However, these classes have been working hard and getting things done, so we're not expecting too many problems. On the other hand, if you are worried about doing your team’s entire project, don’t be. In the past, work blogs have been fairly effective in ensuring that work is distributed fairly.
The final check is team activity reports due every week in which the team reports what they have accomplished. Unlike the individual work blogs, which are mostly for this class, activity reports are similar to the reports you will have to give a boss about your group’s progress. Bosses want to keep track of what a team is doing, what problems are arising, how much things are costing, etc, so they often request reports at regular intervals to check in. These activity reports let us do the same thing for your team. We want to make sure things are going smoothly, and we want to address problems that arise. So make your activity reports specific and detailed so we know how things are going.
We also have a few pieces of advice to help your teamwork. We know people often associate advice on working in teams with doing cheesy activities like trust falls or ropes courses, or with ridiculous metaphors like “Your team is your family!” or “Working in a team is like serving in the Spartan military!” Despite the abundance of cheesy advice, we think there are some practical strategies that will improve your team work.
Communicate often through reliable channels. Everyone's email address is listed in the Members link in the navigation bar, and we expect that you will contact each other the day that groups are assigned to begin the project. Your group also will have a wiki page (a page that any user can edit) on the course site for communication. As you work, don’t go a week or two without giving updates. Communicate regularly to keep up on the progress of the project. Many students have used instant messenger in the past as an effective communication tool. Sure, communication is obvious, but it’s also easy to put communication off. Don’t just assign roles and come back together a few days before the due date to polish things up. We can almost guarantee a bad grade with this strategy.
Plan. The project is broken down into steps to help your group organize its work. Still, your group needs a plan to figure out who is doing what when. We have assigned a Gantt chart to help you with this. A Gantt chart is basically a complex graph that maps out your projected process. Take this seriously, and use it to figure out what your group is going to accomplish and when. Plan out all four weeks now, so that you don’t get stuck with too much work at the end of the term. Then stick to the plan. Though you can be willing to adjust your plan if the need arises, you should follow the plan pretty closely.
Delegate Well. One of the hardest things to do in a group is to delegate responsibility. As you delegate, figure out what needs to be done and how to divide up this work fairly. Make sure the work loads are even. Also, delegate to members’ particular skills. If one person is good with Excel or graphic design, put that person to crafting the visuals. If another person is good at copy editing, put that person on polishing your document. Again, this is common sense stuff that is often hard to do in real life situations. Also, as you delegate, figure out when something can be done by individuals and when it must be done by the whole group. Your Gantt chart, for instance, should probably be done as a group effort. Also, your final reports need to be read like they were composed by one author, not 3-4 different people, so figure out how you will unify sections written by different people. That will involve talking about how to do something before you do it, not coming back together afterwards and trying to make everything mesh.
Recognize Member Personalities. By now, all of you pretty much know what role you play in a group project. Maybe you’re the person who doesn’t say much. Maybe you’re the person who takes charge immediately. Maybe you’re the slacker who puts things off. Maybe you’re the person who would rather be working alone. Whoever you are, recognize your personality in relation to everyone else’s. If you are the slacker, don’t get mad when other members get on your case about doing more work. If you’re the perfectionist, realize that you redoing other team members’ work will hurt their feelings. If you’re the natural leader, don’t overwhelm everyone else. (There is more about negative group roles you'll want to avoid taking on in tomorrow's reading "Feuds in Student Groups.") Be honest with yourself and the rest of the team members. And follow the old advice about walking in someone else’s shoes.
We hope this project is a positive experience, and at the very least, remember that you are gaining skills for the workplace. Unless something drastic comes up, we do not want to mediate group conflicts. We want you to do your work. So please try to resolve problems in your group before you come to us. Part of group work is developing methods for handling conflict.
Good luck.
Comments
Group Work
I am not fond of group work with people I don't really know due to past experiences with the types of people that were described in this blog. Ive been in groups where Ive known the people in my group and we tend to work better because we are the same type of people who get the job done well in a timely manner. When I first read that we had to have group work online I was really annoyed. I think that if everyone uses this blog to realize that doing the work well and on time helps the whole group, this experience shouldn't be that bad. I think that through the ways we can contact our group with email, instant messaging, and the wiki page we should be able to do a great project and make this experience as painless as possible.
Response to Blog #5: Working in Groups
From the moment I read about this project on the course description, I knew that it was going to be a handful. Communicating with people I have never met and probably will never see is going to present a difficult challenge. I mean, it is sometime hard enough to do group projects even when you can meet face to face. The biggest concern with any group project is the fear that you will get stuck with all the work. I am glad that the instructors face recognized this fear and set up steps do help prevent this as much as possible. I was also glad that the instructors realized that this could be a frustrating situation for us all. However, to focus on the positive light in this blog, I liked the suggestions that were offered. I know that I am really good at planning ahead (and working ahead for that matter) so I can contribute significantly to my group in this manner. Also, delegating well will be difficult to figure out initially, but once tasks have been assigned, I think that the process will go more smoothly. This ties into recognizing member personalities somewhat as well. Again, this will initially be frustrating to do, because we do not know the people we are working with, but after figuring it out, I hope that the process will run better. This is going to be a challenging project, but it could also lead to some interesting results and an experience that would be hard to come by any other way.
Response to Blog #5: Working in Groups
When I told some of my friends that I was taking this class online, they advised me not to because I would have to do group work with people I've never met and probably won't meet. However, it was too late and I had already paid for the course. I know that any group work is difficult and this project does seem to add another element of difficulty with the fact that we do not know each other and probably won't be meeting in person for this project because the students in this class aren't just from West Lafayette. Everyone is living in different places this summer. I think this group experience will be good for me because I will be able to apply what I learn in business situations. If I have to work with others at a different job site without actual face-to-face communication, this project will prepare me for that later in my life. I'm not a huge fan of group work because I've had bad experiences. Whenever group work is mentioned, those bad experiences remind me why I don't like group work. However, I have had good experiences and made some great friends from working in groups. I like the advice about knowing member personalities when delegating responsibilities. Since we do not know each other, we need to be truthful to our group members and ourselves with the type of personality we have. I think admitting that you are the slacker will benefit your group instead of your group figuring out that you are the slacker or whatever type of personality you have. I realize this will be a difficult project but I am looking forward to learning from the others in my group and learning how to effectively communicate without face-to-face meetings.
Group Work
Before reading this I thought this was stupid to have a group project via the internet. I am not even close to any of my peers so that if I needed to go see them face to face I could. However, the instructor makes a great point that you will have to work with employees at remote locations. This reminds of a situation at work earlier this week. I am in long process that requires data from the different regions of our company. All but one region is yet to give me the data. I had to take the lead on a project because my manager (a woman) was not being well respected by the other cultures. I set up a conference call with the site operator to explain to a site operator the importance of this data. The site operator is still very reluctant to provide the data because it will take him significant resources to gather this. It will be important to be able to communicate effectively not only over long distances but between different cultures. This assignment should give us good practice on working from remote locations, and should be interesting since it is like a competition.
Comment
I won't lie: I am not looking forward to this group project at all. I don't really like working with a random group of people when I see them a couple times a week in class. Now, I'm going to be working with a random group of people who i've never met. However, after reading this post, I have hope that is project won't be a total disaster. I have hope that maybe, just maybe I'll be in a group that cares a little bit about this project and is willing to put in the effort required to get a good grade. I like how there are steps established for the project so it will have to be worked out over the next few weeks and not at the last minute.
comment
It is really honest of you to admit how uncomfortable you are with the idea of working in groups in an online class. Although I must admit it is a very difficult task, I should also recommend for you to take it as an experience for you future as a professional. I used to work in the department of International Trade for a company, and I had to coordinate all the import procedures with people I didn’t know. I can assure you this is only an example of tasks that require you to know how to work in groups without physical meetings. This activity will actually give you more than you think and I hope you end up enjoying it. Also, the tips given in this blog are very good and may help you a lot in the task of getting trough the project.
RE: Instructor Blog #5: Working in Groups
After three years at Purdue, taking many different types of classes, I’ve come to fear group projects. When I first realized one of the projects for this class was a group assignment, I was more than worried. After reading the instructor blog, I am even more concerned, if that’s possible. The post brought up a few points I had not thought of yet, and even though the group tips are fantastic, from my past experience with groups I find many of the instructor tips end up ignored by a majority of the group members. That’s not to say that I haven’t had good group experiences though, they just seem rare. When they are good though, it’s one of the best experiences I have ever had. All the work goes by quickly and is done efficiently. The group usually receives a higher grade, everyone one is happy and you tend to walk away with some new friends. Unfortunately I feel those times are pretty rare, and I’m concerned the distance between members due to this being an online course will make it even harder to have a pleasant experience. That being said, I plan on going into this project optimistically, there is no point going in expecting a bad time because then I’ll just end up creating what I don’t want.
The one tip I really thought was unique was to remember to consider the group personalities. Usually in groups the personalities present themselves after a week or so of the project (often times a bit sooner), but to try and keep these in mind before the work begins is a good idea. Especially since everyone knows pretty much where they stand in groups, I know personally I’m the quiet one who would most times rather work alone. I also can be the group leader and take charge if there is no clear leadership in the group, and it’s necessary for me to do so. I know in most groups I remain the quiet observer though, because I like to let the dominant leaders have their roles because they’re usually pretty good at it. So I thought keeping those personalities in mind was a good idea.
Finally I think all the tips were important and will hopefully be used in at least my group if not all the groups. I agree that in today’s world, more projects are being done over distances and it is a good skill to learn. Working with people you never see will certainly be difficult and keeping frequent lines of communication going is very important.
Reply to Instructor's Blog #5
I have been struggling with this class from the beginning and I am worried about this group project. I am not that talented when it comes to computers, and have had computer problems this semester. I am scared of not being able to communicate with my teammates effectively. When will teams be assigned? I want to start emailing them as soon as possible. I am also concerned about the Gantt chart. Where and how do we make one of those? I feel that I am good with editing and not graphical designs. I am not much of a leader, much more a follower. So hopefully this project will go smoothly.
Instructor Blog #5 Response
I appreciated the honesty in this blog concerning the amount of work and anticipated frustration. I am excited to work on this group project because I like challenges. I thought the project description was a little vague. I understand the requirements and the main idea, but the actual project part I am curious to see what we are actually going to be doing. I value teamwork as one of my most important skills. In my current internship nothing would get accomplished without teamwork. Currently, the role I am playing in this team is not one that I normally play. I am being the follower. Normally, I have to be the leader. One reason for my adjustment could be because I am the only female. Working with all men is something I am really struggling with adjusting to. It is definitely a different atmosphere. However I recognized the personalities of the group and I have adjusted. This real work experience has been very valuable and I am eager to apply that to this project.
I liked the advice about delegation. Delegating the work is very important. I think it makes the work accomplished much more efficiently. I have seen a lot of leaders try and take it all on. Sometimes they accomplish their task and sometimes they don’t, but it is definitely a lot harder doing it all on your own. I like team efforts because it is interesting to see what everyone “brings to the table”. I like brainstorming ideas and playing on everyone strengths. I think overall it makes the final project that much stronger.
I have also learned that communication is probably the most important aspect in teamwork. I thought the idea about communicating through instant message was a great idea and of course e-mail.
Instructor Blog #5
I actually enjoy doing group work but it can get very frustrating if you do not have a good team! I really like the tools mentioned in the blog, they are common sense but having it written out makes it easier to understand and follow. I really liked the idea of the gnatt chart, it looks like it is a great tool. It is also quite obvious that things are going to get a little frustrating since this is an online class but I think it is going to equip us with great skills as mentioned in the blog.
I think one of the most important things mentioned in the blog is that 3 or 4 people will write the project but it has to seem like one person has written it. In one of my classes in high school wee had to peer edit group projects. I found that the most common error in the projects was that it sounded like 4 people had written it, so I think its really important to have one person make sure that the tone and style of writing in the project remains consistent.
I am actually quite exited about getting started on this project. I think its going to be a very interesting journey!
Group work
I am not a big fan of group work, especially with people I don’t really know due to past experiences I have had. On the other hand I have had a few good experiences of group work because I knew the people in my group and we all had an understanding and we could communicate well. I think this group project will be an interesting challenge, as it will help me communicate with people from different nationalities, time zones, personalities, etc. With out having to meet them face-to face, I think this would be a great forum to exchange different views and thoughts. In the future if I have to work on projects regarding my job with people in different countries without actually meeting them face to face, this project will prepare me for it. I am looking forward to this new learning experience with out actually meeting my group mates face to face.
Blog 5 Response
In the past, I have also been very skeptical of group projects. I have memories of being stuck with all the work. I agree it can very difficult to work in groups; people often take others for granted. The worst is when people do not do any work and expect to get full credit for the other group members’ work. I think the team activity reports and work blogs will help ensure everyone is working. The fact that we will never meet face to face will bring challenges but it is great practice for us. It will be essential that we use our resources such as email effectively in order to communicate. I hope that everyone can work on communication in order to make this project run a lot smoother. I am excited to find out my group members and begin this project.
Instructor Blog #5
Group projects are probably one of the most unique, significant things anyone will experience. Without them, people would rarely get the opportunity to work with others and possibly have an affect on them in the future. Developing organizational skills and helping others with feedback is a couple of benefits from working with other people. It allows you to expand your way of thinking because no longer would you be concerned with just yourself. You have to keep track of assignments you are in charge of as well as keeping up to date with what other people are doing. I have to admit I never liked working in groups because of the past events with them have not been so good. From group members not showing up on time to others completing only half of what they were suppose to do were just a couple of difficulties I had to endure. It was a hassle but it served as an excellent learning tool which taught me to deal with conflicts like this for the future and that other people’s work ethics are not always the same. I will gain some knowledge simply because it is an upper level course and because it is one of the more professional projects I will complete.
Blog #5 Response
All the group projects that I have had in college have turned into complete disasters. More often than not they end up with one or two people completing the whole project themselves. Either in the form of writing it from scratch or rewriting the other members sections because what they turned in was crap due to the fact that they were too lazy to do it and figured the rest of the group would pick up the slack. Teachers have tried to implement a peer evaluation system to counteract some of the pitfalls groups experience from less motivated members, however, this does not work either. Most groups are formed within a group of friends so no one wants to hurt each others feelings, or more commonly students all want a good grade so they evaluate each all at the highest level, especially to counteract the grade reduction they might experience from the crappy work that the others turned it. Overall, group projects are not effective learning tools. We are a nation that likes to work individually, we are competitive, and groups are not a part of our culture. This online approach to a group is quite interesting and I can see how it might be effective, although I do see a huge potential for problems. Since it is the summertime, most people are more focused on getting a tan than schoolwork, and probably not want to work on the project until late at night. This poses a problem for me because I am in London so I have to deal with the time difference. There are very few hours of the day where I am awake at the same time as those who are in the states. I hope that through using the Gantt chart to plan out our project well in the initial stages and delegating responsibilities that we will be able to combat some of the problems that might arise. Similarly communication will be increasingly important. I am interested to see how this group experience pans out and I hope that it is more effective than traditional group projects.
Response to Blog #5: Working in Groups
I haven’t had much experience working in groups while at Purdue. I only had the chance in my public health class of 200 people. There were some difficulties with the class being that big but must of the class figured out the project in time to turn in. I’m not to sure about working with a group online. I have heard many horror stories where one person ends up doing the work because the other group members were not communicating well. It seems as if this class has a master plan in a way that will get all group members involved. I think through e-mail, instant messaging, blogs, and the wiki page this project will not be as challenging as it sounds.
Response to Instructor Blog #5
Over the past year at Purdue I have needed to work more in group situations with my COM114 and OBHR230 classes especially. For the most part, I found it much more difficult to work in groups than as an individual. For example, I took my COM114 as a sophomore and it was a freshman dominated class so I almost felt compelled to take the leadership role in our final group project. I didn't mind at the time that I was in charge of setting up meeting times and other leadership ideas, but there were a number of instances were group members would not show up, and when they did show up they would not focus so I was almost forced to do a partner's work on top of my own. To make matters worse, it was around finals time, so it just added extra stress. Luckily, we received a good enough grade to make the project worthwhile, but when we filled out evaluations, I couldn't bring myself to say that I did anymore work than anyone else. Honestly, I fear that this class may follow the same pattern. Fortunately, the course provides an opportunity for equal partnership in the project. It sounds like everyone will be able to lend their own individual efforts to make the project a success.
Working in a condition that makes it face-to-face nearly impossible also makes a group project difficult. That was one thing that I liked about my group projects at Purdue. I was able to meet with my group members face-to-face, so it was easier to clash ideas. But, in retrospect, maybe the fact that we will never meet for this project will be better. We will avoid the distraction of going off topic with our conversations, and similar group interaction problems. But with this, it will be hard to combine our ideas. Like the blog post says, we need to try to make our document sound like it was written by one person rather than three or four different individuals. I think the most important thing to do to successfully complete this project is to designate positions early and evaluate strengths so everybody will benefit the most from the position they receive. Obviously repetitive communicate throughout the final four weeks will also be very important. The strongest group will be the group that is able to get along with the peers, and nobody should be offended by constructive criticism given by another member.
Comment on Instructor Blog #5
I have never really had a good experience working in groups. It always seems so black and white concerning how the project comes together. Everyone in the group either agrees with everyone else and doesn't offer any constructive criticism, or no one agrees and nothing gets done. This project looks like it will be difficult, especially because we probably never see our group members face to face.
I think the Blog was helpful, because in other group projects I've done a document like this was not available. Usually the instructor expected everyone to know all the tips that were pointed out in the blog. All the information is common sense, but it is nice to have it laid out clearly. I especially like the fact we have to submit individual work reports. There is always one group member that doesn't pull their weight and the reports should remedy this problem. Overall the project will be a challenge, but is should be good experience for when we enter our respective careers.
Response to Working in Groups
I have worked in many groups in many different classes but never in an online class where I will not meet my group members face to face throughout the project. It should be interesting but I am afraid and it will be challenging and more challenging then a normal group experience. The communication during this group project will be the biggest challenge. It is going to be hard because you have to really count on people and the communication is only through email and the web blogs. Another challenge is delegating work throughout the members of the group. It is going to be difficult to decide who does what, it might be easiest to just pick a leader and have them do that or have people sign up for parts. After reading this blog it did clarify a lot for me, it helped for me to realize that each member does have to post their progress each week and then post their group progress each week. I just think it is really important to keep the group on task for the next four weeks and get all of the work accomplished in a timely matter. Although it is going to be a challenge to work in this group project online I am looking forward to it.
Group Projects
I like many of the other students am not particularly fond with working in groups for this project. However this is a problem that we will face in the real world so it is something that we should work on. I think that a service learning project will be very difficult because we will not meet with the person we are doing the work for and therefore will not know their exact expectations. That is one thing that I would have made sure to do in the business world. Since this is a distance learning course and this is all that we can work with it will have to make due. I hope that the controls in place will help insure that the work is delegated fairly among team members. I have never been in a group yet where it has. Someone always gets stuck doing all the work at the end or even worse you group does not use your input at all. I really hope that this project works out better than my other experiences with group projects.
Response
Reading this blog and the comments posted above, I realized the importance of the integrity of group members. Frankly speaking, I am a little bit worried about this project. As an international student, writing a professional document is much harder for me to do than writing a casual one. Since this is a group project, if I do something wrong on a project the rest of my group members will be affected also. I think I will have to be more thorough in doing my task. I usually liked a group work very much. Doing my internship and part-time jobs, I couldn't finish those works successfully without group members' effort and collaboration. But this time, I think it seems much harder than other group projects I had before because I am neither good at writing in English nor comfortable with communicating with people that I don't know at all. Like other students, I am afraid of finishing this project smoothly and successfully. However, I know that those difficulties I have cannot be an exception to this course. I will try to do my best to complete my part successfully in order to not bother other group members. I liked the gradual procedures to complete this project. Posting a weekly report and an individual blog will be helpful to keep a group member from putting off his/her task, which might cause an entire group frustration.
Working in groups
Working in groups can be very exciting but at the same time it can be very irritating. It basically depends on who your team members are and how flexible the team can be. It’s been two years at Purdue and I have had several group projects, I have learned a lot out of them but some of the experiences I have had, have been very bad hence I am very anxious about this group project. This will be the first time I will be working in team from miles away, I am not very positive about the whole situation but at the same time I believe everyone is in the same situation and there is always something to learn something out of it. I also agree with Ryan that is a real hand experience to the work world, hence this should be a good learning experience.
The tips given in the blog are very helpful. I hope if it is followed by my group, it could lead us to a great output. I really like the point about delegation, it’s very important to know what member is good in what aspect and to assign work according to that. At the same time it’s important to understand the nature as well as personality of your team mates because you need to bring out the best of every member hence you have act according to people’s natures.
Overall I feel this will be something new to learn and I hope it turns out great. Being optimistic!!!!
Group Project Comment
After reading the instructor blog and my peer’s comments, I can tell there are many different views on working in groups. Personally, I have almost always liked to work on team projects. Throughout my high school and undergraduate education, I have been the traditional slacker, perfectionist, and at some point the person who would rather work alone. I remember my freshman year, I was lazy and I coasted off of my group in team projects. Once I realized how much effort I needed to put into my undergraduate studies I turned around and became a perfectionist. I worked on a project all night while my other three team members slept next to me (this was also a time I would have rather been working alone). But now, I understand in large projects it is impossible to complete all the assigned work alone.
I agree, to have a team effectively complete a large project, there needs to be a lot of communication. Communication is the only way you can end with the product exactly how you want it. Not only in this class, but the workplace is rapidly increasing projects where you may never meet your team mates face-to-face. I think email is going to be a great tool for this project, but I am also very excited to use a wiki space. I know very little about this type of communication, but it seems to be a promising new form of interactive communication.
I am very excited about this project. Throughout this class we have only communicated to our fellow classmates by posting comments on each others compositions. I think this project is going to be a great learning experience that I know I will benefit from later in my career. I look forward to meeting my team and getting to actually interact with them.
Response to Blog #5
I have always been apprehensive about group work. I would much rather get work done on my own and not have to rely on others. However, last semester the majority of my classes at Purdue were based off of group projects. I have learned to appreciate group work because it does offer many benefits. The one benefit that is the most important to me is that group work helps prepare me for the work world. I do feel that the group work in this class will be a challenge since we will be working with individuals that we have never met before and will not meet in this class. It will be based solely on good communication. I feel that the tools given throughout the project will help us measure our effectiveness as good group members and give credit to the ones who work hard. The channels of communication given will provide all of the group members with the tools to be truthful and honest about the work performed. I think that getting to know the group members as soon as we are assigned will benefit the group. It will help us distinguish how everyone will work together and also help us delegate responsibilities. One thing that I have taken with me throughout all of the group work I have done over the past three years is for someone else to stay on top of everything in the case of someone else lacking with their work. There have been a few cases when the group leader has not lived up to their name and as a result, the entire group has suffered. That is why I feel that there should always also be a back up leader to take over quickly if the leader fails to do what is expected of him or her. Overall, I think that this will be a good experience and teach us a lot about group work and communication.
Response to Instructor's Blog #5
Normally when a teacher announces that we a group project coming up I don't mind at all. However I've never done a group project entirely online and never had the chance to meet any of the people in my group. I don't think it will be as big as a problem as most people seem to think it will be. The reason I feel that way is because we have a lot of work to do everyday for this class. Since we are all used to doing work everyday it shouldn't be a problem doing the same thing with the only difference being other people will be relying on you to do your work. I think normally in a group I'm usually the person described above who doesn't say much but always accomplishes my task on time. However in this group since all communication is online I think I will have to speak up more and share my ideas more than I would in a normal class. Overall I don't think this project will be that bad because nobody wants to let one of their classmates down so everyone will hopefully try their hardest. I also think this a good project to do because at my work where I'm interning I see a lot of people doing work with others over the phone or through email. Since it is done a lot in the real world I think this will be good practice for what we will have to do in a real job.
Response to Blog #5: Working in groups
In any situation, doing a group work is probably not everyone’s favorite type of work. Group work gives me an impression of frustration, conflict and worries rather than fun or exciting. I do expect this project will be the most difficult project out of what we did so far which will need extra effort. But I am glad that instructor mentioned some problems that can occur while doing the group project on-line and some rules that can make the group work smoother. I think recognizing member’s personality is a good strategy to make the group project easier and effective. Writings from employment project such as skills inventory and resume has provided useful information to recognize my members. Also since we have always made comments for each other’s work, this will help us while discussing the group work and coming up with better solution. Doing a group work can be frustrating but I understand there really isn’t any job in the reality that you can do it alone. This is going to be challenging but from doing this project I believe I will learn a lot about how to work as a team.
Group work via email
I think that working in a group over the internet is going to be difficult. I am entering the field of veterinary medicine and don’t see myself relying that much on the internet and not working face to face or at least conversations over the phone. I can on the other hand see how this is a critical aspect in the business world. Many companies are not always in meetings with their CEO’s or boss but instead report progress through emails and attachments. I am relieved to see that there are several deadlines and checkpoints to make sure that the groups are working at a good pace and everyone is doing their part to contribute. The hardest part for me is going to be the fact that right now I get my homework done and turned in late in the evenings because I am working two jobs. I think this will make my group communication a bit difficult but as long as my group understands my situation and realizes I will respond but it won’t be until late then I think everything will go good.
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Hmmm. the group work. Though I haven't had much experience working in a group except once in the com class which was a total disappointment. I dont really like working in groups. The one major thing i don like about groups is the dependency on other people. Apart from this, the com class group was still decided by the the stdents themselves by mutual conscent, but in this case its just random people. I think that when the groups are formed the conditions and the terms should be decided beforehand, the other thing is communication, which is the most important part to have the work of all members blend nicely into one project.
In todays professional world the people are needed to work in groups, so that they could do significant work in the field they are good at. I think this project will be helpful in future, as its better to get used to it now than later.
Reply to Instructor Blog #5
I have some apprehensions concerning this group project. I have participated in multiple groups previously, some have turned out well and others just okay. I, however, was able to meet directly with the students in order to assign responsibilities, communicate ideas, settle discrepancies, and put finishing touches to the project. It will be interesting to see how this project develops over time without ever having face to face communication. AHHHHHHH! The wonders of technology!!! I certainly hope this project lives up to my groups and professors expectations. My greatest concern is that everyones' computers work effectively and we can all accomplish our tasks in timely fashion. Hopefully, when delegating specific responsibilities, we can all compromise according to interests and skills. Ideally, this project will be a good learning experience for working in teams with new staff members in a business environment in the near future.
Response week 5
I have always enjoyed working in groups, but this could be a very interesting experience. We are already being dealt some major obstacles not being able to get together in person. However, I think it will really show who is serious about this class. This project seems like it will help us utilize many things we have already learned thus far in this class. Communication is going to be extremely important. Thankfully, we have been given ample time and numerous ways to get and stay in touch with our group members. Just remember to make sure everyone is aware of what is going on. This will minimize any problems with this project.
Group Work
I am exposed to group work in all of my classes at Purdue. The only way a group work setting ever really works out is if someone steps up as a strong leader and delegates responsibility. There has to be some motivating factor. I think that group work in the education setting is very different from that you experience in the actual business world. Students in college classes really have no loss if they are one of those "slacker types" that doesn't contribute. Even if they are reported by the group, they never get the zero they deserve. In the real world you answer to your boss, who can fire you, which means you have no income. I am not personally looking forward to participating in this group project, especially since it is completely without face to face meetings.
I feel as though doing a group project over the internet is not a great idea because you have no meetings in person. At least when you do group projects in a classroom setting, the people that usually slack off feel an obligation to complete some work because they have to see eachother in class every day. I think the advice given in this post is very good. Knowing what position you usually play in a group, and using that knowledge to counteract your behaviors could possibly help in this certain situation. It will be interesting to see how this project pans out, and how the most successful group has learned how to funtion. I really hope that I get put in a group that wants to succeed in this class as much as I do. Motivation drives success in a group setting.
I like the fact that we can report a student that is not doing any work. Hopefully, this will be enough to motivate that typical group work "slacker". The Gantt Chart also seems like an idea that might help groups get what needs to be accomplished done in the allotted time. I know that summer can be busy, and this could help all of us students that are also holding internships keep on schedule.
Instructor Blog Response
For some reason I have had bad luck with a lot of the group projects I have done. I usually always end of doing a majority of the work, so I am not really fond of the group work. But for some reason I have a feeling that this group project will be different. Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed that everyone in the class is doing a great job on getting their work done, and the work that is being done is very impressive. I am confident that the group project will be positive. I also think that it won't be as easy to get away with not doing any work, because this is an online class so the work is going to have to be very organized or it will not get done. I am excited to work with the group. Group work is also a good way to learn more about your classmates. I have noticed that many people in the class seem very mature, and on top of their assignments. I am eager to get started!
Group Work
I have actually had great experiences with group work in the past. Yes, I will say that I am definitely in the minority here but it is the truth. I think group work brings opportunities to have much more diverse ideas which ultimately makes the end project better. I always have found it interesting to watch the different approaches people take to tackling an assignment.
I must say that this distance learning class couldn't be any better to practice how to complete projects in the professonial world. We actually have a bit of an advantage since we will be given checkpoints to make sure the work is getting done. At work, there is no instructor to check and make sure that tasks are getting accomplished. Also, we technically all have the same "boss" (our instructor), where as at work, you interact with people from different departments who may not necessarily have your project at high priority.
Group Work
I liked the point that you made at the beginning of the blog about being worried about working with a team. I think that is something a lot of us worry about is that we will get stuck with someone who won't do their part or who won't put much effort into the project. It was a good point that you made that even though this may be the case many times, we will have to work with teams in the business world so it is good to get some experience early. It is important for everyone to stay on task and for the project to be handed out evenly. Knowing which group members are good at certain things is good to know because then you can divide up the projects and people get to work with their strong assets.
Response
I have been lucky enough to have had groups where the entire groups has worked hard towards the project presented for us. Though, I have had friends that have been in the situation where they were the ones doing all the work or the one not doing any of the word. I can see why is posses a problem for groups. Delegating as well as participation are keys to have group success for thest types of projects. I feel that if a teammate can be open and say this is the kind of person I am and this is what I want to do, that the group will work much better and each person will start to get a feeling for who their team members are. Instead of everyone just going with whatever one person says, people having a "say" in things will aid the progress of the project.
Reading Response Week #5
I must admit that online group working is something new for me. Last semester I took a seminar on teamwork that might be helpful with this experience. From what I learned the most important way to make it work is an efficient planning procedure. In the moment of planning every group member shows his/her personalities and it makes it easier to assign specific tasks to each one of them. Also, if the plan comes up to be very strong and strict, there will be more commitment from all the peers. No one will want to be the person who will make everyone fail. Organization is fundamental and the thing I will work for in my team.
Comment
I've never really been a big fan of group work. I guess I've just had a few too many bad experiences with it. And to be honest, I wasn't too thrilled when I saw that this class required a group project through the internet. Initially, the idea of working on a group project through the internet kind of worried me. What if I have a group that doesn't work well or doesn't communicate well? I guess those are just things I will have to make the best of and do my best to keep the communication flowing. Hopefully the project will turn out to be something helpful to me in the future. Most likely I will have to work with a group at some point in my post-college life, so maybe this will give me some insight on how to make it work smoothly.
Group Work
I think it is going to be a challenge to work with group members that you have never met before and that you can only locate through email. It is going to be everyone's own responsibility to communicate with the other team members, and this, in my opinion, is going to be the toughest part because you can't make the other teammates to reach the group. I am looking forward to this project because I have never experienced online group work. I plan on communicating periodically and working with the group in order to achieve efficiency as well as a good grade for the project. I am also looking forward to working with the Gantt Chart, which honestly I have no idea what it is, but sounds like a good tool to help us through this team project. There will definitely be conflicts amongst some team members because most people get frustrated when others don't work. This happens a lot in many groups, and this is going to be a lot harder to handle because no one knows anybody in the group. We are all online at different times and at different places around the world. It is going to be a hard challenge to accomplish, but as I mentioned before, I am looking forward to it.
Blog Response
I am actually really looking forward to working on this project. Like a lot of other college students, I am a little skeptical about group projects for classes due to my past experiences but I have reached a point in my life when I really need to learn how to make group projects work out well. I understand that it is a challenge to make this project work out because of no face to face communication. I am actually pretty psyched up about it since this project provides me with an opportunity to experience real world business collaboration with distant group members. Making this work out well will particularly help me in my full time job in the very near future.
I feel the checks provided and the strategies suggested are extremely effective measures to ensure that all the required work is completed and done well with inputs from all group members. I particularly like the idea of work blog by individual members since I strongly feel that it will help the whole group to stay on the same wavelength.
Instructor Blog #5: Working in Groups
I don't know how everyone else will respond, but I'm excited. I think that the hardest part of group work is finding your role and making sure everyone is happy with theirs. Because we are all equal, no one wants to be "that guy" (or girl); you know, the one who thinks that they are the "boss". I agree that we don't need a group boss, but when every little thing comes down to a decision by the group you never get anything done. Someone who doesn't mind coordinating and keeping track goes a long way in performance and working efficiently. I know that I have no problem leading or following, but some people can ONLY do one or the other. Thats where problems come in. If you have 2 "alpha males" (and yes, in this context a female could be considered an alpha) and neither is willing to back down, as a group member you are going to spend a lot of time rolling your eyes whe the two of them butt heads again and again.
Overall, I love working in a group because it makes the work better when you can look at it from different perspectives. You know what angle you would come from if you were working alone, but there is ALWAYS something you didnt think of and who knows... that one idea could be THE BEST idea ever... do you want to lose that simply because you didnt think of it?