Hi all
I agreed with Susan's posting all the way til the end, but there I part
company. Teams can be used in classes in every business discipline with good
results, not just in OB, as long as there is instruction, experience, and
development of teaming skills in the curriculum at hand. In other words, it is
not necessary to teach team skills in every course as long as it is being
taught in courses to be used in the rest of the curriculum. That is what we do
in our Weekend MBA in which we have a Team Leadership course in the first
semester and an OB course in the second. Meanwhile, students are taking the
other courses in teams as well in both these semesters, and on into the 3rd and
4th, but they have learned how to operate successfully in teams and how to
transfer this learning into accounting, finance, strategy, etc. This
curriculum using teams creates a synergy that allows students to appear to
learn more about working in teams and even some of the content than those who
graduate from our regular program.
Best regards,
Bill
Donald P. Austin wrote:
> This seems like the essense of our work:
>
> >When I have a bright student who is causing problems in the
> >team by taking over all the work, they usually start complaining to me
> >(via their individual reflection paper) about the team member's slacking
> >by the 4th week. I then have a private meeting with the bright student,
> >and counsel him or her. The gist of my message is something to the effect
> >that I know if he or she were doing the project completely on their own,
> >that he or she would get an A - in short, I confirm that the student is
> >the brightest, is capable, exceptional etc., and that I know he or she
> >would give up their social life, work hours into the night endlessly to
> >see to it that it gets done with A quality all by themselves. However, I
> >inform them that they are missing the point -- that they will have learned
> >nothing that they didn't know before the class, so they are wasting my
> >time and theirs, and their money. For this class to be a developmental
> >experience for them, the challenge is for them to use their influence and
> >leadership skills to help others develop and be productive members of the
> >team.
> >
> >The student is usually operating under the assumption that if they do not
> >do it all, no one else will, and they will turn in an inferior project. I
> >make a private deal that I will coach the student through the semester in
> >how to work with the team, using facilitation skills, and leadership
> >skills, and that I will grade him or her on how effectively I see these
> >skills being put into practice. In other words, I pretty much assure the
> >student an A if they stop doing all the work, and learn (or at least try)
> >to work through and with others.
> >
> >This has been highly successful. The outcomes on the projects have been
> >mixed; sometimes, the team members do not cooperate, slack, and the
> >bright student's worst fears are realized - they turn in an inferior
> >project (despite the bright student's trying to influence them more
> >positively). I tell the bright student that that is reality,
> >we do not have as much control over events and people as we would
> >like, and that is what makes management so challenging and
> >frsutrating. Other times, wonderful things happen, synergy develop,
> >slower students blossom, etc., and the project is superior. In other
> >case, the bright student learns a great deal.
> >
> >This is time-consuming, but it is what a business team process course is
> >all about
> >- process and task.
> >
> >I also agree that teams in the classroom are not the same as teams in the
> >business world, and I strongly agree that they should only be used in
> >courses such as mine. The abuse of these groups in other courses is
> >rampant, and serves no purpose other than to reduce the grading time of
> >the instructor. This does more harm than good, in my opinion. Any
> >instructor that is going to use teams in a course should be required to
> >offer team coaching and facilitation assistance.
> >
> >Susanne Scott
> >Assistant Professor of Management and Organization
> >office: 262-3579
> >email:
sscott@mail.uccs.edu
> >University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
> >1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway
> >Colorado Springs, CO 80933
>
> Thanks Susanne!
>
> Don Austin, Ph.D.
> _____________________________________
> Department of Organizational Behavior
> Case Western Reserve University
> Cleveland, OH 44106 (216) 932-8421
> _____________________________________
> Creating Appreciative Dialogue.
>
> Researching how small groups
> create valued organization.
--
Bill Ferris
Professor of Management
Western New England College
Springfield, MA 01119
Phone: (413) 782-1629
Fax: (413) 796-2068
E-Mail:
bferris@wnec.edu