Parallel Group Experiences

               My parallel experiences were in two of my finance classes – Fin 221 and Fin 321. In each class we created groups at the beginning of the course and worked on various projects throughout the semester. In both groups, we divvied up the work and then got together to talk about the answers and check each other’s work. My experiences with these groups were completely different, however: my Fin 321 group experience was great, and my Fin 221 group experience was horrible.

               In my Fin 221 group, there were originally 5 other people working in the group. One of them dropped the course, leaving the rest of us hanging. At first the other 4 were fine to deal with, but as the semester went on, it got worse and worse. Group members either stopped doing their work or stopped showing up to talk about it and check it if they did do their work. Some group members stopped going to class altogether and relied on the other group members to tutor them on material that was necessary to finish the project. It was incredibly frustrating as someone who did go to class and understand the material to have to put in so much extra effort to get a good grade, when the people who were not only free-riding on the project but also not putting effort into the class in general would get the same grade I would. The people who got their work done were also aggravating, since they stopped putting in the effort to make sure that the other parts of the project were correct as well. The group didn’t get along because of differences in effort level, regardless of the level of talent or quality of production.

               In my Fin 321 group, we all got along for multiple reasons. First, we were all friends to begin with, so we were more predisposed to getting along. I don’t think that’s the primary reason that we got along in the context of this project, though. We formed a group in the first place because we all trusted each other to put effort into the projects and to help each other if we needed it. Luckily, that’s exactly what happened. We all did our parts going into our group meetings, and if we didn’t understand something the other group members all did our best to either explain it or help look up the answer if they didn’t know either. All group members were present throughout the entirety of the project, and we all felt that the grades we earned were appropriate for everyone in the group.

               I would like to note that while these group experiences were very different as far as enjoyment of the experience goes, they were both beneficial in one way or another. The Fin 321 group got me a good grade, but I got a great interview story out of my Fin 221 experience. Any time I’m asked to describe a time where I had to deal with someone who was challenging to deal with or in a group where there were team members who weren’t doing their part, I go right to this story and put it in a positive light. So, both negative and positive group experiences are valuable to have in one capacity or another.