<p>I teach undergrads and don’t know any people with MBAs well enough to ask this (and you all are so convenient for questions like this). I want to add a group project to my senior seminar course but have a long-standing aversion to group projects, stemming back probably to my own educational experiences where one person did all of the work and everyone else goofed off. Is there a general model for business school projects? How do they avoid the one-person-does-all-the-work problem? Any general advice about how to structure a good group project?</p>
<p>(My belief is that group projects are common in business school courses, which is why I framed the question this way, but I am open to advice from anyone.)</p>
<p>Hey, times have changed Amesie. Nowadays it’s much more common that TWO members of each group do most of the work! (I attribute this to today’s more mercenary environment, wherein sole contributors are more likely to “rat out” non-contributors … usually by withholding crucial information for the group presentation.) But that’s just my observation.</p>
<p>I think you might start by deciding what lessons you want your students to learn. My MBA group project experiences were much like your own. My interpretation was that the Prof wanted students to know what happens when (a) they don’t choose teammates well; (b) there are no career consequences for not producing; and (c) one person undertakes the entire project. Was my interpretation wrong?</p>
<p>I decided to at least consider adding a group project after a workshop on different learning styles. I am kind of a skeptic of “learning styles” but I did see some merit in the point that most classes do not afford students the opportunity to talk in-depth about a subject–even in a seminar, which is capped at 12 students in my department, only sometimes are classes really a discussion. So the point of the group project would be to give students the opportunity to apply concepts from the course to a particular problem, which would provide the framework for them discussing the concepts and learning from each others’ different points of view.</p>
<p>“So the point of the group project would be to give students the opportunity to apply concepts from the course to a particular problem, which would provide the framework for them discussing the concepts and learning from each others’ different points of view.”</p>
<p>A truly ambitious goal. I’ve never seen it done, either in school or in work settings. Kudos for considering it.</p>
<p>OK, obvious issues: (1) Convincing students to share their different points of view; (2) Getting group members to value the different points of view tendered; and (3) finding a reasonable way to grade the synthesis of varied opinions, rather than the practical value of the synthesized product. (E.g., “And on the following points we agree to disagree, without making any assertion one point of view is superior to another” rather than “The group agreed on the following position, which is consistent with Case Study #76 in our text.”)</p>
<p>What concepts are you trying to apply? I had many group projects in business school and I can think of a couple where 1-2 did the work, but most worked to apply concepts - and few groups dealt with a issue/problem in the same way. Really depends on the concept. Sounds like you are trying to do a case study - and each group would have to present to the “board” their solution? Maybe I am oversimplifying?</p>
<p>Some good and sadly true answers. One way we worked around that is there was a long written report with relatively equal sections and one person was graded on each section and the group graded on the overall quality. Worked pretty well for such things.</p>
<p>The difficulty with group projects is getting all group members to buy into the project. What the OP is contemplating adds another layer of complexity. In the project “lifeboat” are five or six individuals, each of which is being asked to share their views and treat as equal the views of other group members. This is difficult stuff. (Why else would hierarchical organization structures exist. “Gee, I told the boss that frog-leg flavored tofu could be the company’s salvation, and instead of embracing the idea he told me to stick to accounting.”)</p>
<p>I just realized that I did not make clear that I do not teach undergrad business students–I teach in a discipline that is a cross between social science and humanities. I just have heard generally about business school group projects and thought that if group projects are a staple of business education then perhaps the business schools had figured out how to do them.</p>
<p>The group project I am envisioning would give sudents a hypothetical scenario and ask them to come up with the best response, or to evaluate the pros and cons of several responses, applying principles from the course. I like the idea of two grading components–one for individual work and one for the group overall.</p>
<p>I had quite a few group projects in my undergrad courses, and they were awesome. The reason: It was 100% traditional students, we all knew each other very well (small school), every single student was motivated to do well, and the profs knew us well. I went part time at night for my MBA, and I dropped out because of the group projects. I was paired up with people I didn’t know, we had different schedules & lived in different parts of the metro area, and I frankly was embarrassed by the quality of some of my partners’ work. </p>
<p>My kids generally dread group projects, although they are resigned to usually being the one who does the work. They are happily surprised when they end up in a group with others who are intelligent & hard working … thankfully, they have had some good experiences.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t see the point of group projects in many cases when they are assigned. They make sense sometimes, but often they seem to be assigned simply because the teacher seems to think it’s a good idea (not because the assignment really calls for a group effort).</p>
<p>“I like the idea of two grading components–one for individual work and one for the group overall.”</p>
<p>This has been tried many times, and IMHO it is a stride in the wrong direction. How do you identify individual work within a group project submission? How do you weight the two portions? Is it fair to give “group credit” to a member who does little work? Is it fair to give a low combined grade to a student with a fabulous individual effort, but who is part of a listless group? And perhaps most importantly, how do you convince students to extend themselves on the project when they know that their grade largely depends on the contribution of other group members?</p>
<p>PS, If you find a way to do this successfully, start your own consulting firm. You’ll make a mint.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if the goal is getting students to learn from the perspectives of other students, have them present the work of the other students rather than their own. Two names would be associated with each paper … the person who developed the solution, and the person who then communicates the solution. Balance the workload by having each student provide material for one paper and also write up the material for another.</p>
<p>As noted in a prior post, I’ve never seen a successful implementation of getting students to collaborate in this manner. But it’s certainly worth trying IMHO. Perhaps you start small … something worth half a test grade or thereabout. Good luck with this!</p>
<p>My HS daughter has successfully participated in a number of group projects since middle school and has observed others. She quickly learned that you don’t necessarily have your best friends with you may spend too much time off project. Her biggest takeaway is that you solicit and accept input from EVERYONE even if you think their input is lame. In a group project, buy-in is important so that everyone participates; they all need to feel ownership of the project to put forth reasonable effort. This means compromise above the <em>perfect</em> product, and that you don’t necessarily want the smartest person in the class if he or she has the attitude of “my way or the highway”. If one person insists on taking up all the air time, it alienates everyone else. Also, try to assign duties by strengths, and have a variety in the group if possible: The artistic person does the layout or visuals, the writer does the writing, and DD makes the presentation because she speaks clearly and commandingly in front of a group. Oh yes, and she learned early on to figure out milestones and when they should be completed, i.e. brainstorming, settling on an idea, fleshing out the idea, assigning tasks, completing those tasks, etc.</p>
<p>Unlike most CC kids, mine is no academic superstar. Well, she is not even an academic star for that matter. However, she was able to deconstruct and explain to me group dynamics early on, so I figure she will do well in the corporate world if she can make it through school. [She is Student Body President of an extremely diverse urban school this year, has to work with a difficult person, but the rest of the administration has her back.] Yes, on some projects she has had to work harder than the others. I think the worst was when the group was way too big because friends wanted to work together, so scheduling outside school to accommodate everyone was impossible. She couldn’t make a big meeting but left behind instructions. As we drove down the interstate, she got a call that they needed her there because they weren’t getting anything done, and they were depending on her to whip them into shape and keep them on task!!!</p>
<p>If attendance is a big problem, I would hesitate to assign a group project. I would assign groups by trying to mix skill sets and personalities. Hmmm, thinking along project lines, I might ask them to come up early on with detailed milestones and dates to assist them in planning as well as capsule bios of each person focused on their project related strengths, the latter designed to illicit greater participation. I might also have them as an entire class develop group process rules to eliminate or at least reduce personal attacks, monopolization of air time, etc.</p>
<p>i really hate the group project. however, due to larger class sizes and increased number of sections, i decided to give it a try again this year. </p>
<p>here’s the unfortunate result. </p>
<p>i met with each group one on one in class the week before it was due. i clearly outlined the procedure for submitting the project. each group designated a person to send it in, and all group members were made aware that if their group name wasn’t on the list of submitted projects (said list was to be emailed on the due date at 8 a.m, noon and 7 p.m.)someone better get excited and make sure it got in before the deadline. everyone agreed–they would have a back up plan…etc., etc., etc.</p>
<p>long story short. one girl did not submit her group project. no one else in the group stepped up to contact me about the situation–no one sent in the back up file. so now, what should happen? </p>
<p>i wish i had never done this group project–even though one girl didn’t send the email, all of the other members should share the burden for not making sure it was done. it was such a simple project…</p>
<p>Newhope33–in real life at a job if one person drags down the group and you fail as a group everyone is in equal trouble. If there is a group leader they are in the most trouble now matter what.
Our group porjects were similar to consulting assignments with a problem, analysis of the problem, proposed solutions and selection of the best solution. Each part is realtively equal in work and difficulty and forms a chapter. The author of each chapter is graded on their work. The group is graded on the overall quality. So if you got an A on your section and the group grade was a B you get an average grade of an AB (B+ A- to others). Obviously one person can just not do their work and hurt the overall project but that’s life.</p>
<p>I recently assigned a group project and graded it this way: there was an overall group grade. </p>
<p>Then the students in the group graded each other based on their contributions. I gave a series of questions that students had to answer in order to justify the grades that they were giving the other group members. </p>
<p>In order to keep them from low balling another student, to raised their own grade, I also asked them to rank and distribute the 100 points to each member of the group.</p>
<p>There is no way to avoid “the one-person-does-all-the-work problem?” Why to even try? The person who end up doing most, will benefit the most anyway, so everybody gets what they deserve. This is from my own experience (yes, both I and my H. are MBA’s) and my D’s experience. However, I believe that it could be different at some level where you get very ambitious and driven students (Med. and Law schools?) as everybody WANTS to participate vs. letting somebody else doing the job. These people feel deprived if they are not doing the work, not the other way around.</p>
<p>We use something similar in our business school. But we also have all the students sign it so everyone sees the feedback and can respond, and there aren’t games being played with it. </p>
<p>And your assignment sounds like a very typical kind of thing you’d see in business schools (not with MBAs but with undergrads). You might have a look at the Journal of Business Education or the Journal of Management Education. Some excellent resources in there. </p>
<p>If you are actually interested in the process of group work, which seems to fit the bill for this project (from the bit you’ve described), I think it would make sense to also incorporate process activities and assessment of those process activities throughout the project, so it isn’t just an output at the end (where you just hope some dynamic or process took place). So they are instructed on the process, and have a chance to do it, and be evaluated on that aspect as well as the written (or presented output).</p>
<p>A big problem with group work is people usually assume that students know how to effectively work in groups and make gains from doing so (beyond what they would do alone). But if groups are only created and then left to their own devices to produce output for evaluation, you get the output but without necessarily any of the group process or learning experience you were aiming for.</p>
<p>When I was working on my MBA, nearly every class required a group project. The above was one of the best ways to ensure everyone contributed.</p>
<p>Actually, I found the issue of having one or two people do all the work to be a lesser problem than having one or two people want to control the project and do things their way. That was annoying and very problematic at times.</p>
<p>“Aw cr*p. The only reason I’m taking this stupid Operations Research class is that it’s required for my MBA. And now this … a group project. I don’t have time for this. Besides, sitting in group meetings listening to Bill and Ralph spout off OR theories … B-O-R-I-N-G. But hey, I have to do SOMETHING to get a decent grade on this. I know … I’ll SUPERVISE!”</p>