{"id":1183,"date":"2020-07-20T09:35:26","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T09:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/?p=1183"},"modified":"2020-04-17T09:38:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-17T09:38:44","slug":"successful-group-assignments-at-uni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/successful-group-assignments-at-uni\/","title":{"rendered":"How to succeed in your group assignments at uni"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management<\/em><\/p>\n

In Business, the group work begins in first year with the Business Challenges and Business in Context modules. These modules can be a great opportunity to develop your teamwork \u2013 an important life skill that most employers will want after you\u2019ve graduated.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking from experience, Business Challenges is an example I\u2019ve used in many job interviews; it shows how I successfully negotiated, listened to and worked with my team to work effectively, with our group winning the overall challenge!<\/span><\/p>\n

However, you won\u2019t always get a team that works together perfectly and might encounter issues along the way. You don\u2019t choose your group and therefore you can get put with people who may clash with you personally, or who may not have the same drive as you do.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But, there are several things you can do to give your group the best possible chance of succeeding, starting before anyone even lifts a pen:\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Have a preliminary meeting with everyone before you start any work<\/b>. <\/span>
\n<\/span>This allows everyone to discuss their personal goals for the assignment, gauge each group member\u2019s skill sets, and helps you get to know them a bit personally so your group can flow easier. Working with people you can get along with makes it a lot easier. I\u2019ve made some of my best friends at Uni through group work \u2013 it\u2019s a great opportunity to get to meet new people on your module. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Also, as you\u2019re on a business course, networking is vital from day one \u2013 if you get to know these people and they end up at a great business, you could use this connection to help get you a job with them. They could also remember that you had strong analysis skills and recommend you to their manager!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Set deadlines for each part of the group work and give specific tasks to each person.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Designating specific tasks to each member of your group is the best way to ensure that everyone\u2019s work is matched up with their skill set. This also holds the less motivated members of your group accountable to complete their work, and if they do not or complete it to a low standard, you can reflect this during the peer assessment stage of the group work. For those who are unfamiliar with peer assessment, this essentially lets you rate how much you feel each member has contributed to the group work, to ensure that everyone gets the credit that they deserve at the end of the module.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure you stay in touch.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important you know how your team is getting on with their tasks. People may be struggling with the work they\u2019ve been assigned, so you need to make sure you know whether they need any help with it. Checking in with your group via social media is a good way of knowing where you\u2019re all at with your tasks, and is key to remaining on schedule. \"\"<\/a><\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>If you don\u2019t communicate with your team and complete the work, then everybody\u2019s grade is going to suffer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Arrange regular meetups to go through the work together.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All the libraries have group rooms which you can book out for up to 4 hours, and the management school normally has space you can use as well! If you can\u2019t physically meet in the same room, then group video calls are a good way around having to make the long trek from your dorms to the library!<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenges I\u2019ve faced during group assignments have helped me to grow and learn how to deal with difficult situations. In work, you\u2019ll find you disagree with people, however, you still have to work with them so use these experiences as practice!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rhiannon Thefaut, BA International Business Management In Business, the group work begins in first year with the Business Challenges and Business in Context modules. These modules can be a great opportunity to develop your teamwork \u2013 an important life skill that most employers will want after you\u2019ve graduated.\u00a0 Speaking from experience, Business Challenges is … Continue reading “How to succeed in your group assignments at uni”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,68,10,74],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1183"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1184,"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1183\/revisions\/1184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mgt.dept.shef.ac.uk\/undergraduate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}