Groups are dependent on the fact that all moving parts must work properly and work well together. Each person must do their part and they must all come together as a cohesive unit to maintain cohesiveness. There are many things that can go right or wrong in a group that can change the relationship and outcome of the groups interaction.
Last year in one of my Comm classes I was randomly placed in a group. I have a very dominant personality and I prefer to be a group leader. The reason I like to be leader is because I like to have my hand in all participation because I would rather control a situation then have none. I assigned everyone their tasks according to their strengths and things went great throughout the semester. The problem arose when one of the members had other obligations that got in the way of school. This led to missed deadlines and poor work. The week before the project was due she finally told us the situation and I had to assign more tasks to the group to compensate. Communication was the key downfall for our group because we did not know the situation and it affected our groups work.
Another example would be when I had a group for a final project in my Geology class. When all members of a group does not pull their weight is adds more to the rest. We had to do a project on the Los Gatos Trail and as a group visit and write about the geograophy. The problem was apparent from the beginning when we assigned work to be done and one person would not participate or submit subpar material. When someone does not do their part when money or a grade is on the line. Many people will just assume responsibility for the lack of effort and carry more weight. This is common and many times it adds strain on the rest of the team.
Hi Micah,
ReplyDeleteI like the wording you chose to explain that each member of a group must come together as a “cohesive unit” in order to establish and maintain functionality. Your past experiences indicate one of the main issues groups encounter and that is the coming together of people with different personalities. Once placed in a group, it is usually immediate that personalities are identified. Therefore, the group comes to know who prefers to act in a leader, take charge role and who would prefer to sit back and do the bare minimum of what is required. Despite the difference in personalities, groups can maintain their synergy as long as each member pulls their weight; however that synergy is lost when an individual does not rise up to meet the expectations of the group, like you unfortunately experienced.
Hi Micah Almond,
ReplyDeleteI liked your post about groups working together. In order for a group to perform the greatest, everyone has to help out and do their part. One person can’t expect others to do all of the work and take credit for it. I liked your example about your Geology class and had a similar experience to that as well. It can be frustrating when someone doesn’t do their part when your counting on them for a grade. I personally think its childish of someone to expect other to do everything or to not do your part with group project. I usually hate working in groups because of past experiences. It’s ridiculous that we are in college and some people still don’t know how to work in groups and do their part. Great post and I liked your examples.
Jayden, I really enjoyed reading your post for this week's discussion. Your experience of small group communication was very similar to mine as a lot of problems arose in a group project. In many ways, I believe that everyone thinks group work is "easy" but in reality it is the complete opposite. I,myself do like to become the leader of the group as well because I want to make sure that I know what's being assigned to each person, and what needs to be done by myself as well. I strongly agree that miscommunication in small groups can be the cause of bad grades and misleading outcomes.
ReplyDeleteYour second example is something I can really relate to as well. Everyone knows or has been that one person who carries all the weight in at least one class project in their lifetime. You suddenlly see yourself as the person who has to do everything for everyone last minute in order to save YOUR grade. Problems start to appear alot in small groups because if they're not doing the work, that means your grade is at stake. I understand completely how carrying one's weight is extremely stressful; not to mention in small groups your carrying at least 2-3 more of peoples' weight! It's extremely tough in those situations because if someone doesn't share the same goals and motives as you, the project or goal may be ultimately destroyed just by the misunderstandings as well as different goals of what success may mean to him or her.
Great read on your points about this topic. I like to be a leader also, but definitely a good one at that. Dont you hate it when people are trying to control the situation but in fact make everything a lot worse? hahaah i personally think that a leadership position is a big step, but if you are qualified and serious about the topic, then by all means you should be in that position. every group needs a leader, and it has to be someone helpful at the very least. Communication is also the very essence of a successful group, without communication everything can fall apart.
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