Group Roles - Contract for Dealing with Behaviors and Approach to Collaboration

Today's activity is based on your readings, Feuds in Student Groups and Division of Labor or Integrated Teams. In your groups, 1) discuss each of the roles that group members may take on throughout the semester 2) come up with strategies for preventing problems related to each personality type (group member identity), 3) for correcting these problems (or members) when they occur for each identity, and 4) based on the models of collaboration discussed in the Division of Labor article, determine your group's approach to collaboration for the creation of your Business Plan.

After coming to a consensus, write a contract that each member of the group will sign, addressing 1) the preventative and 2) corrective strategies you agreed upon for dealing with potential group issues (for each possible member role/identity). Further, you will craft a single statement regarding your group's intended approach to collaboration (writing, management, etc.).  By Friday at 4:30, you will have drafted, designed, printed, and signed a contract that functions to clearly define your group's approach to petential issues and collaboration.  Ultimately, your contract will address each role discussed in the Feuds article as well as the model of approach to collaboration that you have decided upon.  In the end, each member will be given a signed copy of the contract, and one copy will be posted to the group blog.

Remember, when coming up with strategies to prevent and correct  group problems/identities (as well as how you holistically approach collaboration), you will all need to be prepared to follow through with the guidelines issued forth in this contract among your group members. Don't make a decision that you can't live with, aren't willing to adhere to yourself, isn't "fair," or won't really function as either preventative or corrective. Choose wisely. Word carefully. Define explicitly.