Why I HATE Group Projects

I absolutely hate group projects. Besides having to go out of your comfort zone and be put in groups with people who you would have never associated with, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, they are usually impossible to make work. I've only had one that ever worked really well and that was because we'd been working together for 2 semesters in a row. Here are 3 examples of why I hate group projects, (and these all happened in the last 3 weeks).

Scenario 1
Class: Venture Capital
Assignment(s): Market segment research, comparative data analysis for Bluehouse Skis.
So we have these assignments to do but everyone in the group goes to school full time and works, some are married and have kids. We figure that we're all mature adults and can divide up the assignment to do on our own time. We set up a meeting time to figure out the assignment and decide who's going to do what. We get an email 30 minutes before we meet from one guy, I don't remember his name so I'll call him Flake, who says his car broke down and can't make it. No big deal right? We email him with what we need him to do and when he needs to have it done. Unfortunately the email never comes and another guy in the group does some extra work. For the second assignment we set up a time to meet by email, and the meeting is in 2 days. Once again Flake is a no show so we don't bother giving him anything to do because who knows if he'll even do it? I get home and see an email from Senor Flake saying that he just saw we were going to meet that night and he was to late to make it. Well, we met after our class Monday night to go over everything and he comes and asks how everything is going on it. We ask him where he's been and why he didn't do his work but he swears that he sent it in. Of course when we ask him if he used the Reply All function he says he did but he can't explain why we didn't get the email.

Scenario 2
Class: Corporate Finance Cases
Extra: Everyone in the group has to do 2 case writeups during the semester to get writing credit
Assignment: Group Case 17
So we get an explanation of how to do the case on Monday morning and it's due Wednesday morning. The only time we can meet is Tuesday afternoon. I plan to meet Tyler and Rossy at 3:30 to start on it and Adam is coming at 5 when he gets off work. Tyler sends us a text saying that he has to stay late at work and then go to his second job so he can't help. Rossy has to leave for another class but promises to come back. Adam shows up and we do all the calculations and write up the case by ourselves. Rossy comes back and says she'll proofread and compile everything to turn in. They next morning Tyler doesn't show up and Rossy show's up with her name on the case so she can get credit for the writing that Adam and I did.

Scenario 3
Class: Corporate Finance Cases
Extra: Everyone in the group has to do 2 case writeups during the semester to get writing credit
Assignment: Group Case 7
So we meet again on Tuesday to do this weeks case and Rossy and Tyler both say they'll help. Adam is there too, helping as usual. We figure almost everything out after 4 hours (because certain members of the group do not understand the subject at all). At this point I'm an hour late for an avalanche class that Dean Cummings is teaching (one of the top Alaskan heli-ski guides) and so Tyler says that he'll do the sensitivity analysis that we need to turn in with the assignment and Rossy will do short answers to all the questions so the writeup won't take me to long. I get home from the avalanche class and there's an email from Tyler saying "Sorry, I couldn't figure out the sensitivity analysis" and a text from Rossy saying "Sorry, I don't feel good so I'm lying down and can't answer the questions." Of course, who ever heard of using their laptop while they lay down? Well, I stay up until 1 doing the sensitivity analysis and correcting the other spreadsheet that had some problems and then got up at 6 this morning to write the paper. I got to class and everyone acts like everything is cool and like they didn't bail on me.

And that's why I hate group projects, especially in the last 3 weeks.