As a senior you have had at least two courses that covered group processes and leadership, MGT301 and MGT400. You have probably had to work in groups in other classes. And, you want someday to manage a firm.... so, why is managing a group of people you mostly know, so difficult? Yet, it can be.
The most common group problem that comes to my attention is complaints about non-performing members. As a manager, you'd talk to the misfit, ask the person to "get with the show", and fire them if they failed to work. And, that sounds like a good practice with your student groups. In the end, team members collaboratively decide whose names will go on the cover sheet. Someone who does not contribute has no claim on the paper. Omit the name of non-performing members and invite them to complete an assignment with another group. How they do this is not your problem.
I sometimes hear problems from members who complain that the group makes it difficult to collaborate - impossible meeting times, work conflicts, etc. If you find yourself in a disagreeable group - find another group and join. The group you leave is disadvantaged by having one less contributor and you are advantaged by working with members who appreciate your contribution.
Groups organize differently. And, sometimes a group finds an especially accommodating member who will do most of the work. If you are this obliging worker, you have no recourse to me for help. I suggest you find another group and leave the "hangers-on" to fend for themselves. Your grade will be higher when you work with others who share your work ethic. If your team simply divides the work into tasks or otherwise meters the workload, you will discover that either it is impossible to edit and put together a coherent paper, or your analysis grades will vary depending on which members did which paper.
Occasionally, a student is disgruntled with the group process, is abandoned by a group, or simply desires to work alone. While I do not prohibit this, my observation is that a student attempting case analyses at this level of difficulty rarely is successful. The student either "runs of out steam" and fails to complete all the assignments and/or makes lower than average grades on the submitted cases. The assignment is intended to be a group project..
To make the group work, you need to convert it to a team. A team is a disciplined group. Discipline means that members decide to commit time and effort to work jointly to produce a quality paper. You collaborate by individually deciding that this group will work, that you personally will do what is needed, and you will discuss, share and cooperate. Start working the case well before it is due - many problems occur when the group just ran out of time. Members must thoroughly read the case, taking notes to isolate the key issues and problem that will be the focus of the analysis. Members must analyze quantitative data, tables, and the non-narrative information in the case. The elements of the analyses must be coherently organized into the framework of the Problem Statement. Finally, I suggest you have your best writer do the final edit and publishing of the paper.
Groups sometimes complain to me about a grade. They represent that that they have done "everything" correctly but that I have judged the paper too harshly. This misconception of the case analysis commonly follows from these errors: (1) The students have misjudged my expectation for serious work, or (2) the students have not developed the skills for this level of work. Misjudging my expectations should not be a problem if you are reading this. I use MBA level cases because I am trying to challenge my students. Regrettably, a group may submit a paper that reads as if the students glanced over the narrative and wrote the analysis "on the fly". This is obvious to me and warrants the failing grade I give to the paper. The remedy to this is obvious. Less frequently, I also have students who can't do case analysis very well, the case paper shows effort but little ability to comprehend the case or engage the date analytically. And, some of us cannot do math either, so I understand that not all students will master this assignment. My job is to try to teach students to do cases, so I will work with such groups to try to explain the problems with their work. Moreover, with the reading tests, research assignments, Q&A, and in class discussion of the cases I am trying to develop the comprehension, reasoning and analytic skills of student before the case analyses are attempted.
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