Question

Imagine that you are in a group in a class in which you need to submit written work as a team, but that you have one member who does not contribute. What are your options? Imagine that the instructor tells you to work out your problems among yourselves. Identify at least three options and select the one you would prefer and why.

Answer 1

In the current situation, there are three ways or options that need to be considered in order to make the necessary decisions. The decisions are:-

1. Allowing the member that did not contribute to still be a part of the process and essentially allow him to gain credit for something that he did not do.

2. Report him to the lecturer or exclude his contribution (if any) from the final report.

3. Motivate him to contribute to the project so that he can essentially not only be graded on his own actions but also learn while he does and use this experience for the future.

Out of all the three options, the one I prefer is the third one. This would essentially mean that we choose to motivate the member of the tea which does not want to/can't make a contribution to the team project. There is no choice in the world that does not have a consequence, it could be good or bad based on the decision. The other options would necessarily halt their progress. Even if the person does not contribute to the project. Singling him out in front of everybody can cause the person to develop psychological insecurities, be considered as being left out, bullied by his own team members, therefore, open communication in this regard is always a good option as far as the point of collaboration needs to be considered. This does not mean that even after all the efforts if the person still decided to contribute, you do nothing about it and just allow them to gain credit for something they did not do but taking actions without actually talking to them first about other issues will be just as bad as not taking any action at all.

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