Working in Groups...?

Question

I'm currently working on a college project with two classmates who are becoming friends. We are all responsible for completing parts of the project... the problem is that one of my friends did a terrible job with her part.

I tried confronting her gently...to let her know how she could make some adjustments...but she basically kept her part of the project the same. My other classmate also made suggestions but they went ignored.

I'm worried that we will not get a good grade because of this girl and I feel uncomfortable nagging her about it. My other classmate and I already made suggestions. I feel that we would be nagging her if we keep bugging her about it. She is already sensitive to people "criticizing" her work.

I'm wondering if I should just turn in the project the way it is (with her poor work included) or if I should make changes without telling her. Either way, I feel that somebody is going to be upset. I hate it when people get upset

Answer 1

Yep, that is the most difficult part of working in groups (in school or in your career).
You need to be direct. You have to stop with the "Gentle" suggestions. Come straight out and tell her where you feel she needs to make some improvements and why. The "Why" is very important. If you just give her changes you would like to see without justification, it would appear to be nagging. If you offer her alternatives to her work or a different approach, they may come across better.

You have a difficult decision to make. Even if you get her to make changes, they may not make any difference (some people just can't improve their work).

I would HIGHLY recommend that you stay away from making changes to her work without running them by her. That gets into all sorts of issues that professors don't like to deal with. If you change her part and you still get a bad grade she may come back at you and criticize that her part was right in the first place.

Good Luck.