Challenges in working with a group

"This past week we have been working on implementing our department's Core Values. We've all worked together to come up with solutions, ideas, etc. What are some challenges you faced in working with a group of 6 towards a common goal as opposed to working with one other person, or even alone?"

I really like this question because its something that I always face again and again when we have to do group projects for business class. Usually, when I have to work in projects I'm the one who takes initiative and schedules the meetings and makes sure that every one gets their share done. I'm also the one who gets stuck with putting the final parts of the project together. However, it's not like I take all the work, people just DON'T want to do it and want an easy A.

The easy part of working alone is that you are the only one responsible, you know that status of the project and every thing that has to get done. You know that you are going to get the project done for whatever reason. The problem that arises when working with groups is that every one has a different goal in mind. My goal could be to learn a lot of from this project and get an A, somebody else's goal could just be to get that A and nothing else, another's goal could be to just sit there, do as little as possible and let every one else do it and take the credit. Every one is not working together, half the time we're just a bunch of strangers working together to get the project completed. There is not motivation or common interest behind it at all.

So, in turn I think that the Core Values are a great thing to implement into our daily lives. They are something that I will definetly take with me when I have to leave SHM. Implementing those may help these group projects run a little smoother.