Final Group Projects

This semester has been ful of projects and papers, which is completely different than what I am used to! I really enjoy working on projects, and at times I can't decide whether I enjoy group or individual more. Because I have 3 final group projects I am working on right now, I've gone over some of the brainstorming activities regarding groups from my "Managing Quality and Productivity" class (MGMT 433), and I wanted to share some PROS and CONS of both group and individual projects.

When Are Teams Better Than Individual Assignments or Projects?

When there is not a time constraint
For long-term commitments
When different skills can be combined to produce the best end result possible
When a diverse wide range of knowledge is required to solve a problem
When collaborative efforts are needed
When creative thinking for long-term projects is paramount
When different viewpoints are needed
When diverse views and knowledge are needed to accomplish the task
For melding of the minds
When different perspectives are needed
When there is a large amount of work
When there is a large amount of information that needs to be gathered
When brainstorming ideas
When empowering individuals is necessary to accomplish work
For multiple tasks
For presentations

When Are Individual Assignments Better?

When it is a short assignment that is so simple that working in a team actually complicates/lengthens the assignment
When the specialization of the project does not require collaboration
For short time commitments
When goals are small and achievable
When there is a time factor
When there is a time constraint
For repetitive tasks
For number crunching
For papers
When you need an individual to prove themselves
When individual assessment of capabilities is necessary
When you don’t need diversity
When you know people are lazy, free-riders


Each of these ideas came from other students in my class and myself, and I thought they were interesting to share in regards to our final group wiki projects.

I just finished and turned in my final for MKTG 342, where we interviewed 150 students about Big Sky Resort, with the objective "What can Big Sky do to improve student skier visits?"

Another group project I am working on is for MGMT 433. We are figuring out a business plan as to what campus would need to do to control people from cutting across the grass pathways.

And lastly, the group wikis for Consumer Behavior.

I am really enjoying the group project process in the College of Business, because not only does it give us students experience in groups, but also a chance to make new friends.