3.7 Application Activity: Group Work Contract
You can help promote your team’s success by working together to create a Group Work Contract. This includes group rules and criteria for dismissal. To begin, group members should discuss their individual strengths and weaknesses with consideration of the work to be done. Then, work together to discuss and agree upon each of the following guidelines for your group’s work throughout the duration of the assigned project. Write these down and share them with your team.
Team Norms/Rules
1. Meeting attendance/participation Policy:
- What steps/actions will team members agree to take if absent/late (immediate actions)?
- Who will be responsible for taking the action(s)?
- What is the group’s expectation of participation in all aspects of the group project related work and what happens if an individual is not fully participating per the group’s expectations?
2. Work Policy:
- What expectations do the team members have of each other?
- Who will be responsible for keeping team members on task?
- How will a member respond if they are asked about being on task?
- What happens if a team member is not on task?
- What happens when a team member does not finish her/his share of the work, or the work is late?
- How long should the team wait before confronting a member who is not doing his/her work on time or at the quality standards of the team?
3. Communication:
- How will the team communicate to ensure everyone is up to date on progress or other project related information?
- What will happen if a member fails to communicate with the others?
- Who will work to make sure every member is heard?
4. Decision Making:
- How will the team make decisions (i.e., process)?
- What will happen if one or more members seem locked in positions?
- What steps will your team take to reach consensus?
5. Conflict Management Policy:
- How will the team handle disagreements between team members?
- How will the team ensure that conflicts are handled constructively?
6. Adjustments:
- What recourse do members have if things aren’t working well?
- Can this contract be changed if new issues/concerns arise? If so, what are the guidelines for doing so?
Team Member Discipline/Dismissal
1. First written warning (to be issued to the member via email with the instructor cc’d)
- What actions/attitudes, etc. lead to a first warning?
- What will be the consequences/plan/strategy used to help the team member avoid a second warning?
2. Second written warning/strike (to be issued to the member via email with the instructor cc’d)
- What leads to a second warning?
- What will be the consequences/plan/strategy used to help the team member avoid a third warning?
3. Dismissal from team
Dismissal is only possible if an individual team member receives a third written warning/strike. The desire to issue a third strike to a team member should be emailed to the instructor NOT issued directly to the team member at which time, the instructor should schedule a meeting time with the team members wishing to issue the strike to discuss the matter. If agreement is reached that a third strike is warranted, the instructor (not the team members) will dismiss the individual team member from the team. It will be the responsibility of the remaining team members to complete all assigned group project related work without the assistance of the dismissed team member, and by the published due dates. Upon dismissal, the team member is entitled to team products leading up to dismissal date, but will receive zero points on future team assignments, except for individual assignments, such as evaluation of team members. Individuals dismissed from the team may not form or join another team.
Other considerations to consider adding into the Team Contract:
- What if an action/attitude occurs that isn’t listed here but hurts the progress or morale of the team?
- How long does a team member have to correct a mistake before a second (or third) warning/strike is given?
- Who will contact the instructor in the event of a warning?
- What is the last day that your team can fire a team member (within how many days from project due date)?
- What reasonable exceptions will you make for a team member who “violates” 1+ guidelines outlined in the Team Contract, and how many instances will be allowed?
