I also really dislike large groups. It just gets so hard to organize and co-ordinate everyone to get them on the same page, set up meetings, etc. But I guess it's something we have to face for the next couple of years. So might as well build up the experiences to make it better with time!

last year had a group... and this one guy didnt show up to most meeting... took days to reply to messages.... and didnt submit his part til the morning it was due ... and the kicker... he cited wikipedia

Haha that gpa thing is kind of like in naruto.. *shiftyeyes*.... (/nerd)

I tooootally hate group work when i cant pick my group out of decent people. One of my full year projects this year is fine - totally cool people I can trust, but my other one was random and im with a guy that doesnt speak english very well and another that is SUPER shy and quiet. I *know* I'll be doing all correspondence for us between the prof and the company (I have so far!) and I'll be editing alll the documents..... bye bye free time.

Every time I try to put faith in other people in groups too it backfires. Last year I trusted a member of one of my groups to just email in our proposal. EMAIL IT. IT WAS DONE! She did not, I learned from a TA who was also a friend like a month later, and we did get it in (from ME).... anyhow....

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. That is all Thank you for this thread, I'm glad I'm not the only one.

My negative group experiences at Mac certainly outweighed the positive ones.

With the exception of two groups, there has always been that one person (or people) who use teamwork as an opportunity to slack off. Unfortunately, I'm the type of person who always seems inclined to pick things up when others drop the ball, and I would always end up doing a majority of the work. I even remember one project back in second year management where I literally had to rewrite the entire work of all my group members.. the entire bloody project, because they halfassed it so badly the TA wouldn't accept it. I'm not sure if it's incompetence or laziness.

I've seen it all. Group members who are nowhere to be found for most meetings, people who can't stay focussed during a meeting (cellphone, friends, etc) and don't get anything done, people who don't follow through on-time with the work they have been delegated, etc.

I think there are certain personality types who are inclined to get things done as best as possible and will put in extra effort to do so, and another type who are inclined to do as little as possible at others expense. In an academic environment the hard workers are penalized, but take my word for it, in the real workplace things become completely reversed.

Just out of curiosity (to anyone who has done srsbzns co-op or done real work), what happens to those people that just drag there ass through school and latch onto others? Because I know there are definitely a lot more of those people than people who are determined to succeed.

Do they just end up doing something else? lol

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Just out of curiosity (to anyone who has done srsbzns co-op or done real work), what happens to those people that just drag there ass through school and latch onto others? Because I know there are definitely a lot more of those people than people who are determined to succeed.

Do they just end up doing something else? lol

Offtopic: I just creeped you and you have the same birthday as my brother. =]

Originally Posted by lawleypop

Offtopic: I just creeped you and you have the same birthday as my brother. =]

Tell him to stop copying me.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Tell him to stop copying me.

...
but but
he came first!

-head asplodes-

Originally Posted by ViktorVaughn

I'm not sure if it's incompetence or laziness.

I'm pretty sure 99% of the time it's laziness. Not many people can get this far by being stupid/incompetent.

That being said, I'd take a group of motivated not-so-smart-people any day over a group of lazy smart people.... even over motivated smart people. Problem with too many smart motivated people is you spend half your time resolving conflicts.

I'd rather just have a group who does what I say within my deadlines :p

If I ever have a group like that, I'll get them to build me a pyramid or something.

Originally Posted by lawleypop

...
but but
he came first!

-head asplodes-

Not my problem. Tell him the 24th and 26th are free.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I'd rather just have a group who does what I say within my deadlines :p

If I ever have a group like that, I'll get them to build me a pyramid or something.

Amen!

6chars

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Just out of curiosity (to anyone who has done srsbzns co-op or done real work), what happens to those people that just drag there ass through school and latch onto others? Because I know there are definitely a lot more of those people than people who are determined to succeed.

Do they just end up doing something else? lol

I've had the misfortune of working with someone who decided to take a skiing trip during reading week while our final project was hardly working.

I think the issue in this case was more of total time/project management incompetence, believing that there would always be enough time to do things (i.e. at the last minute)/

It never seems to happen in the "real world" because management has real power over their employees. As students, we have virtually no management experience coupled with zero leverage over slackers.

Yep, yep... group work.

About to punch a hoe right now.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

Just out of curiosity (to anyone who has done srsbzns co-op or done real work), what happens to those people that just drag there ass through school and latch onto others? Because I know there are definitely a lot more of those people than people who are determined to succeed.

Do they just end up doing something else? lol

My guess is that at some point, they learn the hard way that they need to get their shit together. You're constantly under the microscope of your managers, and there is no longer anywhere to "hide". At school, the prof/TA are completely removed from the work situation - all they see is the end result. Big difference when your continuously under the microscope, and your livelihood depends on your ability to perform.

I wouldn't be all that surprised if there are some people who go out into the real world and make the unfortunate discovery that they don't have the ability to do their jobs well.

Well, as I expected, I ended up almost single handedly doing deliverables 1 and 2 (there are 4 to this project). Fortunately, we did very well on them since they were capable by a single person.

Now we're just about to fail deliverable 3. It involves a huge number of diagrams that I can in no way accomplish by myself. So far my group's 'attempts' are pure shit (mostly involve incoherently copying and pasting the example I gave them, or doing super shit looking and wrong rough drafts by hand and scanning them to me at 3:00 AM with the request that I put them in Visio). Thing's due tomorrow :/.

I talked to the prof and he's all like "Yup... reminds me of when I was in university doing group work... important life skills to learn I guess?".

Ya, so basically I feel like a captain standing at the control deck watching as his ship sinks. I don't think I've ever been ****ed over quite so hard in school work before. I almost feel like getting up and walking away; accepting my loss of 20%.

Feels bad man.