Power of Groups

The experience with group work this time around was decidedly mixed. There were elements of this situation which typified the worst of working with others in groups. Still, there were other parts of it that hinted at the true power of collaborating with others in a work environment. As such, it was a great learning experience and one which suggests that there are some definite benefits to gain from collaborative efforts in general.

Lack of Communication

Perhaps this experience was so mercurial because it was a small group to begin with. There were only two other participants in the author's group: Tonya and Jimmy. Jimmy proved as reliable as Tonya was unreliable; these group members were dichotomous in their effort, enthusiasm, and value they contributed to this project. Perhaps the tone was set for this group project after the initial meeting, which was pivotal in and of itself for the simple fact the project was relatively brief and took approximately four weeks long. The participants spent the majority of this initial session going over the requirements for the project, applying them to the topic, and then dividing up the work among the various members. Perhaps there was something somewhat daunting about this initial session, because Tonya failed to communicate with the author or Jimmy after it. Thus, Jimmy and the... He was actually fairly efficient. He and the author decided that the best thing to do in Tonya's absence was to concentrate on their respective parts of the power point. Doing so enabled the author to assert some degree of autonomy in this collaborative effort. The author was able to complete the author's part diligently and in a timely enough manner to get feedback from Jimmy. He was also able to do his part in enough time so that the author could review it and provide some commentary to him on his work. After the author and Jimmy were done with their parts, they set about apportioning Tonya's part between them. Since the author and Jimmy never heard from Tonya again, they both worked equally to complete her part by dividing up her share.

Communication

Communication is perhaps one of the most important facets of group projects, and the primary determinant in whether or not such projects succeed or fail. Tonya's lack of communication and effort would have steered this project in the latter direction, had not the communication between Jimmy and…