Teamwork - A case study Four students, Hal, Sue, Frank, and Bert are working together on a term project in a required senior level chemical engineering class. The project will be worth 25% of the final grade, and lasts for the duration of the semester. Each of the students comes to the class with their own individual personalities and set of life experiences. Hal likes learning, likes school, is outgoing, and is planning to go to graduate school after graduation. He is the kind of guy you love to hate; he's got high grades, is popular, and everything seems easy for him. Hal is definitely on the fast-track to great things. His expenses are paid by a full-ride academic scholarship. so he does not need to work at a job while in school. His GPA is 3.9. Sue is very active on campus, and likes to participate in as many organizations as possible. Sometimes she is stretched pretty thin, and her classes aren't always her top priority. Her parents are paying most of her school expenses, but she is working about 10 hours per week for pocket money. She is an excellent organizer and manager, and always gets her homework done. After graduation, she plans to get a job in industry, where she hopes eventually to get a managerial position. Her GPA is 3.0. Frank is an average student. He is very bright, but his interests are often outside the classroom. Skiing, hiking, Frisbee, and church activities hold more interest for him than studying. He usually manages to get his homework done, often just before class, and somehow manages to do pretty well on exams. Frank's education is being paid for by loans and work-study. He has not yet thought too much about what he wants to do after graduation, but he's sure he'll take a few months in Europe before getting serious about looking for a job. His GPA is 2.8. Bert is in a different category altogether. He has been in school a while, calls himself a slacker, and claims to be interested primarily in partying. He rarely submits his homework and often misses class. He is currently enrolled in the design class in question for the second time, after failing the first time. Bert's parents paid for the first 3 years of his education, but cut him off after his GPA fell below 2.0. Currently he is surviving on loans, and works 20+ hours per week off campus. Bert has not yet considered what he plans to do after graduation, whenever that might be. The setting is 3/4 of the way through the semester, and pressure is building. All 4 are busy with classes, job hunting, work, and life in general. Their professor, Dr. Spock, has assigned way too much work, as usual. Hal, Sue, and Frank are meeting in the computer lab: Hal: Wow, that homework assignment due tomorrow really stumped me for a while. I was up until 2:30 this morning finishing it. Sue: Oh please, I am sure you got through it no problem. I started 4 days ago, but I keep getting stuck on the liquid-liquid extraction. Frank, did you get that part? Frank: Yeah, right! Thanks for reminding me. I will look at it tonight. Sue: Well, it looks like Bert is flaking out again, and is not going to show. How much longer do you want to wait for him? Hal: That guy better start thinking about passing this class. Even with our help on the design project, he is looking at a D at most. He got a 23 on our last exam! Frank: Ya' know, I am kind of getting sick of helping him out. I have put more time into this class than I would prefer, and I feel like we are supporting a freeloader. It is not like I don't have anything better to do than to do his share in our project, too. Sue: I hear you. I am having a pretty tough time, keeping up in all my classes. The work that he did was all wrong. I had to fix all the mass balances he came up with, and that was a week late! Hal: The main thing is that we have to get the project done. Frankly, his grade is his business. My grade is my business. If my work helps him, that is no sweat off my back. Eventually, maybe he will learn something from the project. This project is fun. I do not mind doing the extra work. Sue: You are way too generous, Hal. I am with Frank. I have plenty of things to do, other than carry his load. I think he does not deserve a good grade on the project if he has not done any work on it.