This assignment requires you to read an article on how to avoid group conflict, and make sure that all members contribute to the group assignment. While it is a group assignment, every member should read the article.

Read the following article:Coping with Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams

Coping with Hitchhikers and Couch Potatoes on Teams You will usually find your university teammates as interested in learning as you are. Occasionally, how- ever, you may encounter a person who creates difficul- ties. This handout is meant to give you practical advice for this type of situation. To begin with, let's imagine you have been as- signed to a combined homework and lab group this semester with three others: Mary, Henry, and Jack. Mary is okayshe's not good at solving problems, but she tries hard, and she willingly does things like get extra help from the professor. Henry is irritating. He's a nice guy, but he just doesn't put in the effort to good job. He'll sheepishly hand over partially worked home- work problems and confess to spending the weekend watching TV. Jack, on the other hand, has been noth- ing but a problem. Here are a few of the things Jack has done: When you tried to set up meetings at the begin- ning of the semester, Jack just couldn't meet, be- cause he was too busy. Jack infrequently turns in his part of the homework. When he does, it's almost always wronghe ob- viously spent just enough time to scribble some- thing down that looks like work. Jack has never answered phone messages. When you confront him, he denies getting any messages. You e-mail him, but he's "too busy to answer." Jack misses every meetinghe always promises he'll be there, but never shows up. His writing skills are okay, but he can't seem to do anything right for lab reports. He loses the drafts, doesn't reread his work, leaves out tables, or does something sloppy like write equations by hand. You've stopped assigning him work because you don't want to miss your professor's strict deadlines. Jack constantly complains about his fifty-hour work weeks, heavy school load, bad textbooks, and ter- rible teachers. At first you felt sorry for himbut recently you've begun to wonder if Jack is using you. Jack speaks loudly and self-confidently when you try to discuss his problems-he thinks the problems are everyone else's fault. He is so self-assured that you can't help wondering sometimes if he's right. Your group finally was so upset they went to dis- cuss the situation with Professor Distracted. He in turn talked, along with the group, to Jack, who in sincere and convincing fashion said he hadn't really understood what everyone wanted him to do. Dr. Distracted said the problem must be the group was not communicating effectively. He noticed you, Mary, and Henry looked angry and agitated, while Jack simply looked bewil- dered, a little hurt, and not at all guilty. It was easy for Dr. Distracted to conclude this was a dysfunctional group, and everyone was at faultprobably Jack least of all. The bottom line: You and your teammates are left holding the bag. Jack is getting the same good grades as everyone else without doing any work. Oh yeshe managed to make you all look bad while he was at it. What this group did wrong: Absorbing This was an 'absorber' group. From the very be- ginning they absorbed the problem when Jack did some- thing wrong, and took pride in getting the job done whatever the cost. Hitchhikers count on you to act in a self-sacrificing manner. However, the nicer you are (or the nicer you think you are being), the more the hitch- hiker will be able to hitchhike their way through the universityand through life. By absorbing the hitchhiker's problems, you are inadvertently training the hitchhiker to become the kind of person who thinks it is all right to take credit for the work of others. What this group should have done: Mirroring It's important to reflect back the dysfunctional behavior of the hitchhiker, so the hitchhiker pays the This essay is a brief, adapted version from "It Takes Two to Tango: How 'Good' Students Enable Problematic Behavior in Teams," Barbara Oakley, Journal of Student Centered Learning, Volume 1, Issue 1, Fall, 2002, pp. 19-27. pricenot you. Never accept accusations, blame, or criticism from a hitchhiker. Maintain your own sense of reality despite what the hitchhiker says, (easier said

Volume 2, No. 1, 2004 / 33 than done). Show you have a bottom line: there are limits to the behavior you will accept. Clearly com- municate these limits and act consistently on them. For example, here is what the group could have done: When Jack couldn't find time to meet in his busy schedule, even when alternatives were suggested, you needed to decide whether Jack was a hitch- hiker. Was Jack brusque, self-important, and in a hurry to get away? Those are suspicious signs. Someone needed to tell Jack up front to either find time to meet, or talk to the professor. If Jack turns nothing in, his name does not go on the finished work. (Note: if you know your team- mate is generally a contributor, it is appropriate to help if something unexpected arises.) Many pro- fessors allow a team to fire a student, so the would- be freeloader has to the rest of the se- mester. Discuss this option with your instructor if the student has not contributed over the course of an assignment or two. If Jack turns in poorly prepared homework or lab reports, you must tell him he has not contributed meaningfully, so his name will not go on the sub- mitted work. No matter what Jack says, stick to your guns! If Jack gets abusive, show the professor his work. Do this the first time the junk is submit- ted, before Jack has taken much advantagenot after a month, when you are really getting frustrated. Set your limits early and high, because hitchhikers have an uncanny ability to detect just how much they can get away with. If Jack doesn't respond to e-mails, answer phone messages, or show up for meetings, don't waste more time trying to contact him. (It can be helpful, particularly in industry, to use e-mail for contact- ing purposes, because then a written record is avail- able about the contact attempt. Copying the e-mail to Jack's supervisor or other important people can often produce surprisingly effective results.) Keep in mind the only one who can handle Jack's problems is Jack. You can't change himyou can only change your own attitude so he no longer takes advantage of you. Only Jack can change Jack and he will have no incentive to change if you do all his work for him. People like Jack can be skilled manipulators. By the time you find out his problems are never-end- ing, and he himself is their cause, the semester has ended and he is off to repeat his manipulations on a new, un- suspecting group. Stop allowing these dysfunctional patterns early in the gamebefore the hitchhiker takes advantage of you and the rest of your team! Henry, the Couch Potato But we haven't discussed Henry yet. Although Henry stood up with the rest of the group to try to battle against Jack's irrational behavior, he hasn't really been pulling his weight. (If you think of yourself as tired and bored and really more interested in watching TV than working on your homeworkeveryone has had times like theseyou begin to get a picture of the couch potato.) You will find the best way to deal with a couch potato like Henry is the way you deal with a hitchhiker: set firm, explicit expectationsthen stick to your guns. Although couch potatoes are not as manipulative as hitchhikers, they will definitely test your limits. If your limits are weak, you then share the blame if you have Henry's work to s well as your own. But I've Never Liked Telling People What to Do! If you are a nice person who has always avoided confrontation, working with a couch potato or a hitch- hiker can help you grow as a person and learn the im- portant character trait of firmness. Just be patient with yourself as you learn. The first few times you try to be firm, you may find yourself thinking'but now he/she won't like meit's not worth the pain!' But many people just like you have had exactly the same troubled reaction the first few (or even many) times they tried to be firm. Just keep tryingand stick to your guns! Some- day it will seem more natural and you won't feel so guilty about having reasonable expectations for others. In the meantime, you will find you have more time to spend with your family, friends, or schoolwork, because you aren't doing someone else's job along with your own.

Volume 2, No. 1, 2004 / 33 Common Characteristics that Allow a Hitchhiker to Take Advantage Unwillingness to allow a slacker to fail and subse- quently learn from their own mistakes. Devotion to the ideal of 'the good of the team' without common-sense realization of how this can allow others to take advantage of you. Sometimes you show (and are secretly proud of) irrational loy- alty to others. You like to make others happy even at your own expense. You always feel you have to do betteryour best is never enough. Your willingness to interpret the slightest contri- bution by a slacker as 'progress.' You are willing to make personal sacrifices so as to not abandon a hitchhikerwithout realizing you are devaluing yourself in this process. Long-suffering martyrdomnobody but you could stand this. The ability to cooperate but not delegate. Excessive conscientiousness. The tendency to feel responsible for others at the expense of being responsible for yourself. A related circumstance: you're doing all the work As soon as you become aware everyone is leav- ing the work to youor doing such poor work that you are left doing it all, you need to take action. Many pro- fessors allow you the leeway to request a move

Actions

Discuss this article with your team members and submit the following:

1. Provide a summary of the article
2. Provide a narrative on the thoughts of team members on this article - have any members dealt with hitchhikers or couch potatoes in the past? If so, how did they deal with them? What has worked and what has not worked
3. How will your group deal with couch potatoes and hitchhikers in this class? What will you do when someone repeatedly misses meetings or submits poor quality work?

The expectations for the assignment is 1-2 in total (single spaced). Please use headings for each section (each section should have a paragraph or 3-4 bullet points) and answer the points above (1-3) clearly.

Rubric

Article Summary Assignment Rubric

Criteria	Ratings	Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSummary Findings	5ptsExcellentComprehensive summary findings covering all the key points in the article 4ptsGoodMostly comprehensive summary findings covering all the key points in the article 3ptsAcceptableSomewhat comprehensive summary findings covering many of the key points in the article 1ptsUnacceptableDoes not cover the key points in the article	5pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeNarrative	5ptsExcellentCandid narrative describing past experiences and or how future can be better navigated with group issues 4ptsGoodCandid narrative mostly describing past experiences and or how future can be better navigated with group issues 3ptsAcceptableSomewhat candid narrative describing past experiences and or how future can be better navigated with group issues 1ptsUnacceptableNarrative missing