Group Projects-Another Weekend Spent in the Lillis Computer Lab

Keri S.

February 28, 2010 - 3:00 PM

There are many great things to enjoy in the town of Eugene: Saturday markets, sunny weather, hiking, and athletic events. This weekend, however, I enjoyed one of the less known Eugene landmarks: the Lillis computer lab. Friday, I entered the lab at 9 AM and got kicked out at 7 PM when it closed. Saturday, I didn't get to the lab until 2 in the afternoon, but was once again kicked out when the lab closed. Today, I have only been here for a few hours, but anticipate I will once again be here to close down the building. Although the weather has been nice outside this weekend in Eugene (a rare site for February), I have been diligently working in the lab dawn until dusk.

Tomorrow, my final SBUS 452 sponsorship project is due. Currently, our project is 51 pages long and we still have more work to go! This project is a sponsorship proposal between Aquafina and OSAA (the governing body of high school athletics in the state of Oregon). This plan goes into excruciating detail about how Aquafina can take advantage of this sponsorship through creative activation and gives timeline and financial details about how exactly the project will work. Along with this novel of a project, my group and I also have 25 minute presentation tomorrow to present and summarize our presentation to the professor and the rest of the class. Although this project has been very stressful and has taken over my entire weekend, I have enjoyed this project because it allows for a lot of creativity. We sit in class every day listening to lecture and material, and this project allows my group and me to apply the information to create our very own project.

Also this week, my final BA 453 project is due along with another presentation on Thursday. This project so far is only about 30 pages long, but don't let the shortness of this project deceive you. This project is a strategic plan for the GPS company Garmin. As a group, we have analyzed the current state of Garmin and the GPS industry, and then proposed ways for Garmin to succeed in the future. Beyond the long nights and stressful mornings putting last minute details together, this project has been my favorite to work on so far. The industry is fascinating and rapidly changing from what I call the "iPhone effect". The technology available today on our smart phones is astonishing! Not only do you use your phone to make calls, but now to text, check your mail, update your Facebook status, take and send pictures, listen to music, and now get directions from point A to point B. Obviously this technology is devastating to Garmin, because people who own iPhones and other smart phones are not likely to purchase a separate GPS device. As a group, we have spent many hours and many cups of coffee analyzing how Garmin can overcome this. We have had brainstormed hundreds of possibilities, and have finally agreed on a great idea for Garmin to break into the agricultural industry through an acquisition. This project has been a lot of research and analysis of data, but has been has a lot of practical, "real world" applications. I also strategically planned my schedule to get into the same class as some of my friends, and have been lucky to work with such an amazing, hard working group. Shout out to my "Garmin Girls" Tonya, Tulsi, Meagan, and Cara-we are almost done and I love you all!!!

So as I spend another beautiful afternoon in the computer lab here in Lillis in between group meetings, I reflect on the Lundquist College of Business and concept of group projects. Almost every class I have taken in the business school has had a group project of some kind. As a matter of fact, I cannot think of one class that doesn't have a group project of some sort. Whether it is a term long project to the magnitude of the BA 453 or SBUS 452 like I have this term, a simple 10 minute presentation of a current technology affecting the business world for DSC 340, or an in class brainstorm activity where you have to think of as many business opportunities as possible using only a newspaper for MGMT 335...group projects are unavoidable.

I go back and forth on whether I enjoy or hate group projects. As the saying goes "two heads are better than one". However, when a project that is meant for 5 people gets worked on by only 1 or 2 group members, the projects suddenly lose their appeal and interest. Without targeting one group project in particular, there is usually an un-proportionate distribution of work done by each group member: those members who spend weekends in the computer lab and those that suddenly appear once the project is done saying, "I'm in your group...what can I do?" (Yes, I have had this happen in a previous term. The group had no idea that we had another group member until about 1 week before the project was due!) Overall, I know that group projects, however frustrating at times, provide real world experience of teamwork, cooperation, and patience. I hope that when I enter the work force, I will look back on these projects and be thankful for the lessons they have taught me.

Another stressful week is expected with 2 projects due and 2 presentations to do, but after this the rest of my term should be much more relaxed. Only one final during finals week, and then a week and a half spring break!