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Just finished the first final of the semester, in my first semester at my university. This is a mandatory class for all business majors, Business Communications (BCOM).
From the beginning of the semester we're put into a group and must build teamwork and communication with each other to complete our midterm and final (which are both group presentations). In my group we had 2 business administration majors, 1 economics major, an accounting major, and me (business law).
At first, the group's synergy was fine and dandy, the first midterm was A.O.K., I did most of the work on the powerpoint, because I was the only one with proper knowledge of how to use photoshop, powerpoint, etc... however, the issue was the two bsns admin major had no idea how to present a powerpoint without reading it... we tried working on their presentation skills and how to "bullshit" their way through slides (even though they're suppose to know).
Fast forward to the present. The final approaches and the last presentation is dawning upon us as the day begins (8 a.m.). As the presentation begins, everyone in the group agreed that we knew what our slides were and we all agreed that we could pull our own weight. Lo and behold, the two business admin majors could not even present their own case (which they researched and wanted to put on the slides), and this time the econ major too had been stuck and was not able to perform.
As we got our evaluation back from the professor, we received a low 72%... this is just disappointing because all the comments of our presentation were criticisms towards everyone else but me... the grade is impossible for me to salvage at this point and this class is sunk...
To all of you who are going to college or in college, i suggest avoiding any classes with professors assigning groups to complete assignments that would be the majority of your grade. Unless your presentation skills are poor and you know you would work better in that environment, I highly suggest you take classes that require projects, but just individual since you would not need to carry anyone on your team.
Kinda like a game of Dota, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, or CS
 
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It's an unfortunate situation you were in, but your advice doesn't seem sound. You are telling others to avoid working in a group because you might be pulled down by them.
First, you can't avoid working with others out in the real world. No one accomplishes anything alone, and suggesting to others that they need to avoid group work is silly.
Second, wasn't that the whole point of BCOM? Sure you demonstrated communication, and tried to carry some of the team, but the whole purpose of a group project is to promote communication.
I agree that the professor may have weighed the group assignments slightly heavy, but if the focus is group work, then perhaps the professor was justified in his grade weight system.
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as J.J.A said, group work is a vital part of RL and used in a LOT of classes. Yes, sometimes you get dragged down by people not pulling their weight. It's paramount that your group communicates as to what is expected from each individual AND you need to do enough work together so you know what extra work you may need to do.
Finally - and in my experience this is actually part of these classes - talk to your prof. If you feel your work deserved a higher grade you should be able to convince them of the work you did and it's value.
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On December 13 2014 14:27 Jett.Jack.Alvir wrote:
It's an unfortunate situation you were in, but your advice doesn't seem sound. You are telling others to avoid working in a group because you might be pulled down by them.
First, you can't avoid working with others out in the real world. No one accomplishes anything alone, and suggesting to others that they need to avoid group work is silly.
Second, wasn't that the whole point of BCOM? Sure you demonstrated communication, and tried to carry some of the team, but the whole purpose of a group project is to promote communication.
I agree that the professor may have weighed the group assignments slightly heavy, but if the focus is group work, then perhaps the professor was justified in his grade weight system.
No you're just generalizing what im saying. what im trying to say is avoid CLASSES that require you to work with other people. i have never said do not attempt to work with others outside of the academic setting. the truth is, in the class room, especially in bullshit classes like bcom, there are a lot of people who have no idea what they're doing. however, in the real world, the people you work with will have at least some idea of what they're doing; whereas, my group members researched their topics and had me make their powerpoint slides for them and still couldn't do them.
tl;dr: don't go into a class that bases its grades on group projects. you're going to have a bad time. work on your intrapersonal skills outside, in a social setting and in activities where people could all contribute. (e.g. fraternity/sorority, clubs, interest clubs).
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So... if you don't know how to work well in a group you're going to get a bad grade? Maybe you should realize YOU were of the people that "have no idea what they're doing". You will find the same kind of problems at real jobs. You will need to work with people that don't know what they are doing - sometimes that'll be your boss. Seriously, take EVERY class like that you can because it's the best thing you can ever learn.
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No you're just generalizing what im saying.
I wasn't trying to generalize, I honestly just disagreed with it.
avoid CLASSES that require you to work with other people. i have never said do not attempt to work with others outside of the academic setting.
Learning to work together inside and outside of an academic setting can be a little different. Sure there are similarities, but also many differences.
the truth is, in the class room, especially in bullshit classes like bcom, there are a lot of people who have no idea what they're doing.
Of course, the course is about communication. So you will find a wide variety of people to communicate with. That is the purpose of bcom.
however, in the real world, the people you work with will have at least some idea of what they're doing; whereas, my group members researched their topics and had me make their powerpoint slides for them and still couldn't do them.
No, in the real world we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Its a matter of working together to find out whose strengths and weaknesses compliment each other. We don't work together because we expect equal or similar knowledge. We don't try to make our weaknesses less, but find others that have the stength to cover our weaknesses.
Sure outside work/academic, we collaborate with others on our hobbies and interests. The big difference though between work/academic and hobbies/interests is in the latter you already share a common interest. In a course like bcom you should be surprised if you found many that have similar talents and abilities, as well as hobbies and interests.
tldr; don't go into a class that bases its grades on group projects. you're going to have a bad time. work on your intrapersonal skills outside, in a social setting and in activities where people could all contribute. (e.g. fraternity/sorority, clubs, interest clubs).
Or perhaps we should go into a class that bases its grades on group projects, but expect ourselves to be grouped with others of varying skills and abilities. Intrapersonal social skills are also important, but have subtle differences.
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EPT
