Teaching group process skills to MBA students: a short workshop

Abstract

A comprehensive introductory workshop aimed at building student readiness for participation in project based group work is outlined. This article develops a rationale for teaching such a workshop and outlines a step‐by‐step approach complete with all necessary materials. The core of the workshop is a case developed by the authors, which draws upon the real life experience of a group of graduate students. Debrief questions are provided for the case from the student and faculty perspective. The workshop also contains an exercise aimed at surfacing students’ experiences of group work and a set of recommendations aimed at reducing problems in student project groups. This paper concludes that, along with other benefits, the workshop develops a strong normative framework for legitimising appropriate behaviour in student project groups.

Groupwork as a form of assessment: common problems and recommended solutions

“…• Groupwork promotes ''active'' as opposed to ''passive'' learning (Kremer and McGuiness 1998;Ruel et al 2003). • Groupwork promotes experiential learning (McGraw and Tidwell 2001) and collaborative and cooperative learning (Ackermann and Plummer 1994; Lee et al 1997;Mahenthiran and Rouse 2000;Nance and Mackey-Kallis 1997). • Groupwork can be justified on the grounds of promoting the construction of knowledge and enhancement of problem-based learning among students (Dolmans et al 2001;Hendry et al 1999).…”

Insights from the use of Gardner’s notions of Mindset: group work

“…However, group work within the part-time context has generally not been explored, and represents a significant gap in the literature. Meanwhile, studies of group work amongst post-experience students have been conducted with MBA students, but these have tended to focus on full-time students (Bacon et al 1999;McGraw and Tidwell. 2001), and indeed some authors recognise that, as a consequence, their findings might not apply to part-time post-professional students (Baldwin et al 1997).…”

Exploring University Teacher Perceptions About Out-of-Class Teamwork

“…Uncommitted group members may influence the whole group effort and dynamic when committed group members reduce their own efforts upon perceiving they are doing all of the work. One of the common problems observed by both teachers and learners is the free rider, who seeks to take advantage of the work of others while reaping the benefits (Davies, 2009;Davis, 1999;McGraw & Tidwell, 2001;Medrano Vela & Delgado Alvarado, 2013;Quinn, 2012). Students' reaction to free riders may result in the sucker effect (Kerr as cited in Davies, 2009), which makes another group member become a free rider too.…”

“…Though apparently every student would be working and doing his or her part, there is no discussion or interaction among group members (Medrano Vela & Delgado Alvarado, 2013;Oakley, Brent, Felder, & Elhajj, 2004), being unaware of the actual contents of the rest of the final product. Other problems faced by group members are type and quality of communication among group members, difficulty in attending out-of-class meetings, different perceptions on ethics and on the way the work should be approached, having different grade expectations and clear leadership among group members (McGraw & Tidwell, 2001).…”

“…Undesired experiences and a sense of unworthiness may be avoided if sufficient attention is given to understanding the benefits and expectations of group work (Hassanien, 2006;McGraw & Tidwell, 2001) by all those involved. Oakley et al (2004) claim that the management and interpersonal skills required to effectively participate in teamwork are not innate in students nor are they in teachers.…”