M.Sc.Finance,M.Sc.Investment&Finance,M.Sc.International Banking&FinanceandM.Sc.

InternationalAccounting&Finance

AGuidetoEffectiveGroupWork
Introduction This guide introduces the advantages of doing group work, as well as indicating the steps leading to the successfulcompletionofthetasks.Thereareexamplesofcheckliststohelpyoumanagetheworkanda reflectionandevaluationsectionthatencouragesyoutothinkaboutwhatyouhaveachievedandhowwell thegroupfunctioned.Evenifyouhavedonegroupworkbefore,theguidewillstillbeusefulasareminder oftheprocessesinvolvedanddiscussingitscontentwithanewgroupwillhelptobreaktheice. GroupActivities The type of group activities that you may be involved with will vary, but generally will involve obtaining informationfromavarietyofsourcesandpresentingtheinformationasawrittenreport,computerproject oranoralpresentation.Whateverformthegroupworktakes,itwillprovideyouwithcertainadvantages, whichinclude: Knowledgeofyoursubject As well as an increase in the amount of work that can be achieved by a team rather than an individual, there is also an advantage in the depth of subject knowledge obtained. This is achieved by analysing information,linkingittooutsideeventsandapplyingittodifferentsituations. Feedback A lot of learning comes from explaining the subject and your ideas to others and having your ideas discussed.Formanystudents,thisislessintimidating,ifdonewithapeergroupratherthanwithatutor presentandcanincreaseyourselfconfidence. Skills Being part of a team will help you acquire and develop interpersonal skills, such as speaking, listening, leadership,managingaproject,workingwithandmotivatingothers.Someoftheseskillsareimportantfor other areas of your academic course and all will be important when you are involved with other professionalsandareknowntobevaluedbyemployers. KnowledgeofYourself Appraisalandevaluationofthegroupsactivitiesandyourroleinthegroupwillhelpyoutorecogniseyour strengthsandweaknesses(e.g.arbitrating,beingtoodominant,beingtooreserved).Thisknowledgecan beusedtogainabetterunderstandingofyourself. KEYSTEPSTOSUCCESSFULGROUPWORK Therearecertainprocessesthatcontributetothesuccessofthegroupandhelpyoutogainthegreatest benefit from your experience. Not all are appropriate to all types of group work, but by considering the questionsaskedbelow,youshouldfindsomeinformationthatwillapplytoyourgroupactivity.

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EARLYSTAGES
DoIknowtheothergroupmembers? It is possible that you have not met the other group members before. The group will give you an opportunity to get to know them, so spend some time swapping names. As you are having your group meetingsoutsideformalclasstime,itmaybehelpfultohavecontacttelephonenumbers,addressesore mail. Howdowegetstarted? Atyourfirstmeetingintroducingyourselveswillhelptobreaktheiceandthenitisagoodideatodrawup somebasicrulesforthegroup. ExampleGroundRulesfortheGroup Allmemberswilltrytoattendallmeetings Theworkshouldbefairlyspreadbetweenthegroupmembers Membersshouldencourageeveryonetocontribute Individualtasksshouldbecompletedbyagreeddeadlines Roles,suchascoordinatorandnotetaker,shouldberotatedroundthegroup. Makeyourowncopyofgroundrulesandensureeveryonehasacopy Dowehaveaclearunderstandingofthetask? Itisworthspendingsometimetoensurethatallmembershaveaclearunderstandingofwhatthegroup has to achieve. Information about the task will usually be provided by the lecturer and should include detailsabout: theproduct e.g.presentation,essay,report,software thetimescale Dateoffinalpresentation,closingdates,howmuchtimeyouareexpectedtospend onthetask theassessment Istheendproductand/orthegroupprocessbeingassessed?Doesthisinvolvepeer assessment,orlecturerassessment.Doyouknowtheassessmentcriteria? Ifanyoftheseneedamplificationorclarification,askthelecturerattheoutset. Dothegroupmembershavedifferentroles? Meetings of the group will be more successful if the members take on functional roles. These roles will dependontheactivity,butusuallyincludeachairperson,atimekeeperandanotetaker.Itisalwaysgood ifspecialtalentsthatgroupmembershavecanbeused:e.g.,forillustrations,computerprogramming,etc. Itisalsoagoodideatorotatetherolessothateachmemberexperiencesadifferentresponsibility. Howdoweplanthework? Proper planning of your work in the group is one of the major keys to its success. Share out the jobs of researchinginformationorcollectingresourcesforthetasksoastoavoideveryonelookingforthesame books,articles,etc.Usethetimeeffectivelybymakinganoveralltimetablefortheworkandplanninghow oftenthegroupwillmeet.Haveastructuredapproachtoeachmeeting,sothatthereisasenseofpurpose, butmaintainadegreeofflexibilitysothatanymattersarisingcanbeaddressed.Beforetheendofeach meetingarrangethetimeandplaceforthenextmeeting. Example:MeetingAgenda 1 2 3 4 5 Noteofthelastmeeting Mattersarisingfromthelastmeetingwhatprogresshasbeenmade ItemsforDiscussion(mainpartofthemeeting) AnyOtherBusiness(AOB) Timeandplaceofthenextmeetingandstatementofpurpose 2of4

Example:MeetingsChecklist Wehadachair Someonewastakingnotes Wereviewedourprogress Wehadaclearlistofthingstodiscuss Wemadediscussionsandrecordedthese Weagreedatimeandplaceforthenextmeting

TickifYes

MIDDLESTAGES
AreweProgressing? Thegroupshouldchecktheprogressoftheworkatregularintervalsbeforecompletion,sothatchanges canbemadeifnecessary.Itcanbedisappointingtorealisethatyouhaveoverlookedanaspectofwork whenitistoolatetodoanythingaboutit. Example:GroupChecklist Thegroupunderstoodandagreeduponthetask Thegrouphasagreedupongroundrules Thegroupunderstandstheassessmentproceduresandcriteria Allmembersofthegroupareinvolvedandunderstandtheirrole Usethislisttoidentifyproblemsthegroupmaybehavinganddiscussthem TickifYes

Canwegethelp? Although the group work is selfmanaged, your lecturer/tutor will be acting as a facilitator and can be approached for help, if you need it. Look upon him/her as a resource that you can use, giving them as muchtimeaspossibletorespond.Thisalsoappliestotechnicians,librarystaffandtootherstudents. AmIpullingmyweightinthegroup? Beingpartofateammeansthatyouhaveownershipoftheworkbeingdonebytheteamandtherefore,a responsibilitytootherteammembers.Themostcommoncomplaintexpressedbystudentsdoingthistype ofworkisthelackofeffortandconsiderationbysomegroupmembers.Ifyouaregoingtomissameeting oryouarehavingdifficultywithyourtaskduetoothercommitments,lettheothersinthegroupknow. Theywillprobablybequiteunderstandingandfindawaytoworkroundyourproblem. Problems Itisoftenthecasethatgroupshaveproblems,bothwiththetaskandthemaintenanceofthegroup.The problemsmaynotbeeasytoidentifyorsortout,butshouldbetackledratherthanignored.Youmayneed someassistancefromthetutor,whowillbeabletohelpmore,ifthegrouphaveidentifiedandagreedthe problem TaskBasedProblems lackofclarityaboutgoals lackoftime lackofresources lackofskillsforthetask difficultywithorganisingmeetings notreviewingthework 3of4

Maintenanceofthegroup membersaretoodominant membersdonotcontribute membersareexcluded conflictbetweenmembers memberswillnotcompromise

FINALSTAGES
Havewedelivered? Your task should be completed on time and presented, in whatever form, as agreed at the start of the project.Ideally,allmembersofthegroupshouldbeinvolved,asitisunfairtoleaveonlysomemembersto turnuptothefinalpresentationsession. Havewegotthemostoutoftheexperience? Attheendoftheproject,itisimportanttoevaluateyourexperience.Thisevaluationcouldinvolveyour tutor, and many courses give you the opportunity to assess or appraise the outcome, how your group worked and what experience you gained. If this opportunity is not available as part of the course, it is worthdoingyourself,asyourlearningwillbeincreasedbythisprocess. SUMMARYOFKEYSTEPSTOGOODGROUPWORK gettoknowthegroupmembers establishgroundrules understandthetask defineyourroles planyourwork checkyourprogress addresstheproblems helpeveryonetopulltheirweight completeontime evaluateyourexperience

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