It's World War Three Over Here, and There Ain't No Allies

As the dust cleared, Jana* hammered the keyboard. Left, right, hack, space space space. 

"He thinks I do this?"
"Well, he's a no-good-useless-...."

Meanwhile miles away, in the good city of Konrad-vill, Lord Konrad* fumed as he glared at the white screen.

"How dare that mother--"
"She had no idea that..."

As the rest of the kingdom in MBAlandia** geared up for the ensuing battles, many were armed with well placed jabs, concrete insults, and steely looks that would stop opponents in their tracks.

For the MBA students had started what was called a "group evaluation" project for their Management class, and to say that blood will be spilled, will be the understatement of any of the MBA students' history.

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While this tale may seem like a silly fairytale to you, I assure you good reader, it is not.
This is real life.

As the semester draws to a close, we are faced with looming projects, and our stress mounts.

Our group has been nothing short of dysfunctional. Nearly every conversation we have, there is the feeling of near murder in the air. If we come out of this program without becoming serial killers or murders, I would say we were successful.

While there is tons of research to say why groups are great for learning, and I found some gems I just couldn't help but sharing:

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

Touching really. 

“The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side”

Someone on your side that you wish would just shut up. 

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.”

Aw Babe (Ruth)... 

Learning to manage groups may be the bane of every person's existence, but from all the reading I've done, it seems if you can get groups to work, it can really be beneficial. Here's to two more weeks before Christmas, and to all MBA students:

Fight on, fight the good fight.

Getting all riled up may seem like a good idea at the time, but take a deep breath and remember your group is working toward the same goal: getting an A. Remember that, and the feeling of strangling your team member just might dissipate.***



MBA students or professionals, what ways have you dealt with a group that annoyed you to no end?

*names have been changed for security purposes
**Although not real in life, MBAlandia is real in every MBA student's heart
***Not a guarantee