Discrimination among group members

[HistoryBritt]

Vent/Advice:

 

I had a group project last semester that was h-e-l-l from start to finish when it came to dealing with my fellow group members.The final product was to be turned in as a report that would later be professionally printed and bound after the final draft had been edited per the professors comments. The report was returned to one of the group members after the break and I asked to see it in order to look over the comments. I was told another group member was in posession of the report and though I asked to view it, my emails were never returned after that. Weeks then months pass and I hadn't mentioned us revising the report because I honestly was quite busy and figured when I could devote some time to dealing with these people I would. I have class with a couple of the group members and thought I overheard some conversation about this report. Playing the devil's advocate in the next couple of days I "innocently" asked when we would look over and make changes for the bound copy. One of them couldn't even look me in my face (I assume due to shame)! The other let me know that they recently finished it and had been working on it the past couple weeks!

 

They turned it in without my input, without consulting me, or any idea that they had decided to work on it without me. I am livid and not just at this one instance, but how I have been treated as a whole since I started this program I have mostly been treated this way. I am constantly shut out, not informed and purposely not included in the loop. I am a nice, social though initially quiet person. I'm not ugly, I don't smell bad, LOL. I like life outside of graduate school and have never had an issue working with others or making friends/acquaintances.

 

Question: Were these group members wrong in how they handled this situation? and if so, how should I approach them about it? (Because I have had it up to here with them, I really want to hash it out and let them know that their behavior has not only been unprofessional, but that it has really pissed me off)

[AwesomeBird]

Let it go. Really, I mean what would you gain by confronting them besides further ostracization? I'm all about standing up for yourself and speaking your mind when you've been wronged, but it sounds like you would be beating a dead horse. Aside from asking the professor to remove your name, I'm not sure what action you could take that would be productive. They know what they did. Just don't work with them anymore, or if you have to, put everything on the table before the project is put in motion.

[TakeruK]

Yes, I believe your group members are wrong in how they handled this situation. I think putting someone's name on the work but not actually consulting them or working with them is highly unethical and unprofessional. 

 

As to what to do next, it depends on what you want to do I think. Fortunately, I don't think any real professional harm has been done to you because it doesn't sound like this project became a published paper with your name on it (or without your name on it but contains your work). So, one option would be to do what AwesomeBird said above and to let it go / drop it and avoid these people in the future.

 

Since you say there has been more than one instance where similar actions have happened, although it might not really change what has happened in the past, it might be good to confront these people and let them know how you feel. I guess the best time would have been right after they told you that they completed it without you. But since that has passed, I would probably try to talk to each one of them (how to find/approach them might be tricky if they don't have offices that you can go to or other instances where you can find them). Maybe you will have to talk to them individually. 

 

As to how to confront them, I can only offer what I know from conflict management experience, but what will actually works probably will depend on details specific to your situation and your relationship with these people. But if it were me, I would ask them for a moment to speak after class, and tell them how I felt when I was left out of group. I would try to not make any accusing remarks or anything that would put them on the defensive. Instead, focus on "I" or "me" statements that they cannot argue against. e.g. "I felt ____ when you ____" or "When ___ happened, it felt like ____ to me". I think it is okay to let them know that you felt upset/disappointed when you were not included. 

 

I think something like that would let your groupmates know how you felt when they decided to exclude you for whatever reason. Maybe you can ask the reason if you want, but you might not really get a real answer. For me, letting them know how they affected me and how I felt would make me feel better. But the conversation might also lead to improvement in your relationship (or maybe not). If you don't think you can stop your classmates from excluding you from these types of informal interactions, I also think it might be worth bringing it up to the department and/or Human Resources, if the culture in the department is toxic and discriminatory. Your school hopefully has information on confidential (i.e. more advice giving than action oriented) and non-confidential (i.e. action will happen if necessary) resources that you can talk to about this environment.

[deci:belle]

Yes, they were wrong. 

Personally, I would confront them and let them know that it's not okay. By saying nothing, they think that they could do it to other people in the future. Who knows if you have to work with them or see them again. At least then they would know that you don't take any shit and that you can't just be walked over. But that's, just how I would go about it. 

 

And make sure you tell the professor in case it negatively affects your grade. 

[danieleWrites]

Yes, they were wrong. You own an equal share of that research and the final product. You were denied the opportunity to add your input, to vet the final product, and to do your fair share of the work. They were juvenile, unprofessional, and unethical.

I would confront them, either individually or in a group. How that confrontation occurs would depend on your personality, your circumstances, and what outcomes you want from this experience. Since this isn't an isolated incident of an outsider getting ignored by an group of close friends, it sounds as if you haven't fit into the general culture of your cohort. For whatever reason.

I don't know what your program is, where you are in your program, what your field is, or what purpose the research your group just completed might have for your future. As this is grad school, ownership of a research paper is important. There are conferences and publication opportunities involved. Since you can't trust your group's professional ethics, you should decide if you need to take steps to protect your professional interests in your project. They cannot ethically present or publish the work without your approval or name on it. Doesn't mean this doesn't happen. Research is stolen all of the time.

The important thing, though, is that you figure out what you want to happen with your cohort, not just your group. If the research is unusable for your future and you don't have to do group work again with these people, letting it go in favor of cultivating other relationships might be your best option. If it's best for you to do something about this, keep in mind that not only will your discussions with the group have an impact on your relationships with the group, but also with your cohort and the faculty, depending on how the gossip mill runs. You want to be considered a trustworthy, ethical, and professional person by those involved in the program. So treat your dealings with your group in that fashion. Faculty don't like playing babysitter to group problems (grown ups should be able to solve these things by themselves), but that doesn't mean that they won't do it or will think less of students that require some faculty mediation.

Personally, I wouldn't let it go no matter what. That's my personality and isn't going to cause problems in my field. I would speak with each person individually. My purpose would be to express disappointment that I could no longer trust in their professionalism and then try to fix it. Since it's clear that they know what they did was wrong (the inability to meet your eyes is kind of a give away). I'd probably start the conversation off by saying that we apparently have a problem, and what that problem might be and how they suggest we go about fixing it.

[Scat Detector]

On some level you have to pick and choose your battles.

 Timing is everything. If its all turned in, just ask the profesor about the grade. Dont make an issue or bring it to the attention of the professor if you have a good grade out of it. What i mean is, when u pick and choose your battles, dont pick a battle that is somewhat of a dead horse. It would have been good to confront them a bit earlier on in the process walking right up to each one separately and telling them how you feel ...before it got to be too late. This would have been better earlier on in the whole thing.

 

But at this stage in that its turned in, focus your energy where it needs to go and focus on moving forward. Think about what youve lerned from this awful experrience and how you would respond differently if it happens in the future. ie. be more quick to confront and more responsive in communnicating so to prevent this type of behavior in the future, moving forward.

 

Of course if it impacted your grade negatively then something should be said and in that case most definitely let the professor know. In that case its not a dead horse yet.

[GeoDUDE!]

Weeks then months pass and I hadn't mentioned us revising the report because I honestly was quite busy and figured when I could devote some time to dealing with these people I would.

 

I am not saying what they did wasn't wrong, but holy cow. If i felt out of the loop for more than a week I would have made noise. I don't really think think you can say they "denied" your input when you waited so long to give it anyway.

 

As someone who tends to take the "lead" in group projects, I tend to try and delegate assignments so this type of thing happens, but you are an adult, a professional student since you are there by choice. Act like it. We recently had a group lab report due, and one of the students (the only PhD student mind you) would never speak up or offer to help on the assignment. Eventually, after maybe two weeks, we asked him to edit format and make all the citations for the report (rather lengthy job imo, but he had done nothing to this point). He did it all wrong, was a crap job, and it ended up more work for us in the long run. Perhaps you can look at it from their point of view; Maybe the work you previously did was not up to par and they were saving themselves work. That isnt fair for them to just "overrun" you, but again, you are a professional student and need to act and perform like it. 

 

People aren't going to hold your hand. This isn't grade school. Next time you do a group project, clearly define your terms and boundaries. 

[hashslinger]

I agree with everyone else who says that this ship has sailed.

 

I don't know the specifics of your situation, but it's possible that these people took the initiative to finish the job because you seemed unavailable and they just decided it would be easiest/fastest to complete the work on their own. It's also possible that they're friends and therefore in more constant touch about these things. Their actions here seem indelicate and unprofessional, but what if there's some reasonable explanation for the way they behaved? Geodude has a point: if this assignment was so important, then why weren't you more involved? I've done group projects with people before, and I've always been at the forefront of scheduling meeting times and coordinating deadlines. I can't imagine falling out of touch with group members for weeks at a time if some huge project was in the works. 

 

I would give them the benefit of the doubt and just ask them politely what happened. Avoid confronting or accusing--that will only put them on the defensive. Try a non-apology apology: "I had really looked forward to editing the final version with you guys. I apologize if I misunderstood, but I thought we were going to work together on this at a later date. I did not want you to feel as though the entire project was your responsibility."

 

That way, if they deliberately snubbed you, they will feel bad. If there was a legitimate explanation and you're the one who dropped the ball, then you've covered your ass and (hopefully) made some amends.

 

Don't go to the professor unless this escalates.

[St Andrews Lynx]

Vent/Advice:

 

I had a group project last semester that was h-e-l-l from start to finish when it came to dealing with my fellow group members.

Were there problems occurring before the final draft was submitted? My guess is that the other group members assumed early on that you weren't as involved as them in the project, so when the final draft came back they decided to go ahead and edit it without you. Another explanation is that they thought your contributions were poor (maybe the professor's edits had focussed on in your parts), and so decided to do the rest of the work without obtaining your input. 

 

That doesn't really make their behaviour excusable...

...BUT...

...I think you could have been a lot more proactive in getting involved with the group and pursuing the edited draft.  If you saw those guys in class then it would have been better to ask them about the draft in person, rather than by email. And keep asking. 

 

At this point I wouldn't even bother confronting them. There's also little point in holding on to resentment towards them (it's just going to be to your detriment). Just chalk it up to a miscommunication and move on.

[Sigaba]

@HistoryBritt

 

I think that GeoDUDE! and Hashslinger are offering useful guidance. This experience provides you with a good opporunity to look inward and to understand what you contributed to the dynamic and you might do differently in future collaborative efforts.

 

I recommend that the process include a careful evaluation of the following comment you offered.

 

 I am livid and not just at this one instance, but how I have been treated as a whole since I started this program I have mostly been treated this way. I am constantly shut out, not informed and purposely not included in the loop. I am a nice, social though initially quiet person. I'm not ugly, I don't smell bad, LOL. I like life outside of graduate school and have never had an issue working with others or making friends/acquaintances.