Discussion: View Thread

Dick --

Some faculty members are considering implementing a similar "firing" policy
within the MBA curriculum. Ilike the concept but have two specific
concerns:

(a) teams will fire a member without adaquate consideration of due
process. do you have specific guidelines in place to protect against such
knee-jerk actions?

(b) in our MBA context it could benefit the brightest students to be fired.
many feel they could do the work without the baggage of those who just
don't grasp the ideas of finance, accounting, etc.... do you have
additional penalties in place to check against these types of cases (i.e.
grade penalty)?

Darryl Neher
Skills Development Coordinator
Kelley School of Business
Indiana University





Richard T Dailey <rtd@SELWAY.UMT.EDU> on 12/15/97 10:43:14 AM

Please respond to Management Education and Development Discussion
<MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>

To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
cc:
Subject: Re: Peer Evaluation in the Classroom




On Sun, 14 Dec 1997, Denise Bane wrote:
> Richard Dailey wrote:
>
>
> >One way to overcome the issue of slackers on a team--those who just want
> >to pass the course, for example--is to allow a team to fire a member who
> >is not pulling their weight. I announce that a team may fire someone and
> >if I approve, that person will flunk the course. That gets their
> >attention.
>
>
> Have you ever had to enforce this?
>
> Denise Bane
> Assistant Professor of Management
> Baruch College, The City University of New York
> Denise-Bane@worldnet.att.net
>
Fortunately, no, and I hope I never have to.
Dick
Dick Dailey
Department of Management
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-1216 BIG SKY COUNTRY!!
406 243 6644/Voice-Office
406 549 6876/Voice-Home Office
406 243 2086/Fax
rtd@selway.umt.edu

On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, Darryl Neher wrote:

> Dick --

> Some faculty members are considering implementing a similar "firing" policy
> within the MBA curriculum. Ilike the concept but have two specific
> concerns:
>
> (a) teams will fire a member without adaquate consideration of due
> process. do you have specific guidelines in place to protect against such
> knee-jerk actions?

Might I suggest allowing each group to self-generate the criteria
guidelines, the consequences of not meeting the criteria and how to
interpret, evaluate, and apply the criteria to their own performances. I
believe it would assist them in developing their judgment skills.

> (b) in our MBA context it could benefit the brightest students to be fired.
> many feel they could do the work without the baggage of those who just
> don't grasp the ideas of finance, accounting, etc.... do you have
> additional penalties in place to check against these types of cases (i.e.
> grade penalty)?

Here I would remind the "bright stars" that the task is one dimension of
the assignment. The other dimension being the human element of group
relations.

While I lack the research to back this up, my conversations with quite a
few "bright stars" indicates a fundamental lack of trust in the abilities
of their group members to perform based upon their prior experiences in
groups. Some of this goes all the way back to elementary and junior high
and the "bright star" fails to incorporate the maturation process of the
other members since then. I believe the social psychologists call this
the fundamental attribution error.

Anyway, the "bright star's" actions become self-fulfilling prophecies.
They take on all the work because they don't trust their group, then the
other members resent them and quit trying, so the "bright star" is
justified in assuming responsibility because "no one else cares but me."

I think this behavior may also be a misguided belief in perfectionism,
which I try to discourage as counter-productive to groups.

______________________
Great Optimism,

Dutch Driver
Abilene, TX
Hm. Telephone: 915.698.7217
mailto:ddriver@cs1.mcm.edu

On Mon, 15 Dec 1997, Darryl Neher wrote:

> Dick --
>
> Some faculty members are considering implementing a similar "firing" policy
> within the MBA curriculum. Ilike the concept but have two specific
> concerns:
>
> (a) teams will fire a member without adaquate consideration of due
> process. do you have specific guidelines in place to protect against such
> knee-jerk actions?
>
> (b) in our MBA context it could benefit the brightest students to be fired.
> many feel they could do the work without the baggage of those who just
> don't grasp the ideas of finance, accounting, etc.... do you have
> additional penalties in place to check against these types of cases (i.e.
> grade penalty)?
>
> Darryl Neher
> Skills Development Coordinator
> Kelley School of Business
> Indiana University
>
>Darryl--The protection I have in place is that I have to approve of the
team's action if it wishes to fire a member. My experience has been that
team members who receive low ratings as a result of frusting their peers,
receive them because they fail to attend meetings, do not meet agreed upon
deadlines, and in general take a cavalier approach to the project. Just
knowing that possibility exists that they can be fired seems to be
working, at least for the most part. Obviously, there is a reluctance on
the part of most team members to take so drastic a step.
Dick


> Richard T Dailey <rtd@SELWAY.UMT.EDU> on 12/15/97 10:43:14
AM >
> Please respond to Management Education and Development Discussion
> <MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
>
> To: MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
> cc:
> Subject: Re: Peer Evaluation in the Classroom
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, 14 Dec 1997, Denise Bane wrote:
> > Richard Dailey wrote:
> >
> >
> > >One way to overcome the issue of slackers on a team--those who just want
> > >to pass the course, for example--is to allow a team to fire a member who
> > >is not pulling their weight. I announce that a team may fire someone and
> > >if I approve, that person will flunk the course. That gets their
> > >attention.
> >
> >
> > Have you ever had to enforce this?
> >
> > Denise Bane
> > Assistant Professor of Management
> > Baruch College, The City University of New York
> > Denise-Bane@worldnet.att.net
> >
> Fortunately, no, and I hope I never have to.
> Dick
> Dick Dailey
> Department of Management
> University of Montana
> Missoula, MT 59812-1216 BIG SKY COUNTRY!!
> 406 243 6644/Voice-Office
> 406 549 6876/Voice-Home Office
> 406 243 2086/Fax
> rtd@selway.umt.edu
>

Dick Dailey
Department of Management
University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812-1216 BIG SKY COUNTRY!!
406 243 6644/Voice-Office
406 549 6876/Voice-Home Office
406 243 2086/Fax
rtd@selway.umt.edu