I am sure that many of you reading this blog have had to deal with the end of semester projects in just about every class. The MPA program is no different. At this moment, I am in the middle of two group projects. This can become quite a headache when you are having to work around classes, study time, relax time and other group meetings to schedule a meeting with the teams you are involved with. I thought I would take some time to explain some of the expectations of working in groups here in the MPA program.

First, since the MPA program has an outstanding reputation, they can choose the best students for the program. As such, the student body here is quite above average. Therefore, almost everyone in your group is going to be able to contribute something to the final product. I’ve never been in a team environment here where someone in the group was not able to contribute because of a lack of technical knowledge.

Second, the MPA program attracts students from all over the country and the world. So you are going to be working with a diverse group of people at times. Having great communication skills will help make sure your group projects progress smoothly. When you’re working with a person from a different country, take some time to look up a brief history of that country, local customs and forms of business. Doing so may help reach across cultural boundaries that can often frustrate students of different backgrounds. Additionally, taking the time to learn more about the place a group member comes from helps build a rapport with them.

Third, and finally, the types of group projects you will work on will vary. Right now, I’m involved in a group case presentation (five members) and a project with Access software (three members). Last semester, I worked on an internal audit project (three members) that lasted the entire semester, and I was in a four-member team that had to write three cases based on accounting research through the semester. I’ve heard of groups in which students have to project future financial statements for publicly traded companies or write a Harvard-type business case. As you can tell, group projects vary a lot in type, scope and amount of work.

My basic keys to success are the following:

• Carefully keep track of you time obligations. Some people can do this in their heads. Others need the help of a planner, their phones or an online application like Google Calendar.
• Get to know your group members. This will bring the group close together and increase productivity.
• Be flexible. Unexpected things will occur that might force you to tweak your proposed meeting schedule or internal deadlines. The less you stress out about these things, the happier you will be. My host mother while I studied abroad in Mexico told me once, “If there is a solution, you’ll find it. So why are you stressing? And if there’s not a solution, you can’t do anything about it. So again, why are you stressing?”