Overview

The Group Exercises in Module 2 and 4 are an important part of Management Essentials. These exercises require coordination with a randomly-assigned student partner (or partners) at 3 different points in the course. There are 2 group exercises with 4 students in each group (Consensus and Red Flags), and 1 exercise between 2 students (Dialectical Inquiry/Devil's Advocate).

These instructions and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) will walk you through how these exercises work. We strongly suggest that you bookmark or save this page and refer to it as you proceed through the course.

Instructions for Large Group Exercises (Consensus, Red Flags)

Roles, Pairing, and Scheduling

Once you have completed a portion of the module, you will be prompted to start the exercise. At this point, you will be asked to introduce yourself and begin the pairing and scheduling process. Please note: You will need to introduce yourself in the provided text box to begin each exercise before the exercise deadline posted in the course calendar. You may continue to discuss after the deadline has passed, so long as you and your group leave yourselves enough time to complete the remainder of the module by the module deadline. If you miss the deadline and arrive late to the exercise, you will not be grouped and will have to complete a solo version of the exercise.

When you arrive, you should introduce yourself and offer some times you are available to interact in the upcoming days. Although you will be using the tool in the course for the exercise, you may also want to include another form of contact, such as an email, phone number, Facebook username, etc. to make scheduling easier. The identity of your group members will only be revealed once the entire group is complete.

If you are the 1st, 2nd or 3rd participant to arrive, you will not yet be able to see your groups’ introductions. However, you should still introduce yourself and offer your own availability. Once the 4th participant arrives, all introductions will automatically be visible to all group members.

You will be notified via email and the Activity Feed once your group is complete. We recommend checking the exercise in the platform and/or the Activity Feed every few hours just in case the email went to your spam folder or to a different email than you normally use. Keep in mind that it can take up to 24 hours to be grouped, possibly more if you are one of the first or last to arrive at the exercise. However, we expect that most participants will be partnered within 8 hours.

Please be considerate of your fellow participants. Before you click to start the exercise, you should be prepared to discuss and come to consensus within the next 1-3 days. If you know that you will be traveling or otherwise unavailable, it might be best to wait until you return to start the exercise — providing that you do manage introduce yourself by the deadline.

After the recommended deadline has passed, you and your other group members will have the ability to use the “Leave” option. We recommend doing everything within your power to complete the exercise, but if one or more of your group members are truly not responsive, or if a life event prohibits you from completing the exercise, then you should use the “Leave” option so that you do not fall behind in the course. You will not be penalized for leaving the exercise. If you choose the “Leave” option, the exercise chat functionality will still be active for you. However, you will not have the ability to offer a proposal or vote on others’ proposals. The remaining group members can continue the exercise even if some group members leave.

Discussions and Proposals

Any participant can start the conversation using the provided text boxes in the course. The interface works much like any basic chat tool, with the addition of the ability to make formal proposals and accept/reject those proposals. Use the “Enter a comment” box and “Send Chat” button for general discussion, and the “Proposal” section to offer formal proposals on which the group can vote. A proposal that receives an active “Accept” vote from everyone in the group will be considered the final proposal and end the exercise. To keep the process moving, please respond promptly to your group members’ proposals by selecting “Accept” or “Reject”. As long as no single proposal has received unanimous approval, you may change your mind by selecting “Clear,” then choosing another option or remaining undecided.

• You can make a proposal at any time during the exercise by entering your proposal in the lower area of the page, filling in all fields, and selecting “Send Proposal” to share it with your group.
  • You can vote “Accept” on other participants’ proposals even if you have an active proposal of your own.
  • You are not limited to one “Accept” vote at a time, and may vote on each proposal independently.
  • When you make a new proposal, any previous proposal will be replaced with your new proposal.
  • You may also withdraw your most recent proposal at any time.
• You cannot make text edits to an active proposal. If you would like to revise a proposal, we recommend you copy and paste the text you wish to keep from your active proposal into the proposal text fields, make any necessary corrections, and then present your revised work as a new proposal.
• Another participant cannot submit a vote on your behalf.

Agreeing on a Proposal & Ending a Large Group Exercise

To complete the exercise and move on to the remainder of the module, the group must come to consensus (that is, all participants must vote “Accept” on a single proposal). Regardless of who originally made the proposal, all group members must vote “Accept” on a single proposal to end the exercise. Please stay alert as the group moves closer to consensus so that you can be ready to cast your final “Accept” or “Reject” votes and bring the exercise to conclusion. If you are unable to reach a consensus, there is also the option to “Leave” the exercise after the recommended deadline has passed.

Instructions for Small Group Exercise (Dialectical Inquiry/Devil’s Advocate)

Roles, Pairing, and Scheduling

Once you have completed a portion of the module and read the instructions assigned to your exercise and role, you will be prompted to start the exercise. At this point, you will be asked to introduce yourself and begin the pairing and scheduling process. Please pay close attention to the instructions provided in the platform so that you understand the role that you need to play. Also, be aware that the exercise page may not appear the same for you and your partner, as each partner may have different abilities. Please note that you will need to introduce yourself in the provided text box to begin each exercise before the exercise deadline posted in the course calendar. You may continue to work after the deadline has passed, so long as you and your partner leave yourselves enough time to complete the remainder of the module by the module deadline. If you miss the exercise deadline and arrive late to the exercise, you will not be paired and will not be able to participate.

When you arrive, you should introduce yourself and offer some times you are available to interact in the upcoming days. Although you will be using the course tool for the exercise, you might also want to include another means of contact, such as an email, phone number, Facebook username, etc. to make scheduling easier. The identity of your exercise partner will only be revealed once both members have joined the exercise. Keep in mind that it can take up to 24 hours to be partnered, possibly more if you are one of the first or last to arrive at the exercise. However, we expect that most participants will be partnered within 8 hours or less.

If you are the 1st of your pairing to arrive, you will be notified via email and the Activity Feed once your pairing is complete. We recommend checking the exercise in the platform and/or Activity Feed every few hours on the off chance that the email went to your spam folder or to a different email than you normally use. If you are the 2nd of your pairing to arrive, you will be able to introduce yourself and begin the exercise.

Please be considerate of your fellow participants. Before you begin the exercise, you should be prepared to discuss and come to consensus within the next 1-3 days. If you know that you will be traveling or otherwise unavailable, it might be best to wait until you return to start the exercise— providing that you do manage to start it and introduce yourself by the deadline.

After the recommended deadline has passed, you and your exercise partner will both have the ability to use the “Leave” option. We recommend doing everything within your power to complete the exercise, but if your exercise partner is truly not responsive, or if a life event prohibits you from completing the exercise, then you should use the “Leave” option so that you do not fall behind in the course. You will not be penalized for leaving the exercise.

Discussions and Proposals

Any partner can start the conversation using the provided text boxes in the course. The interface works much like any basic chat tool, with the addition of the ability to make formal proposals and accept/reject those proposals. Use the “Enter a comment” box and “Send Chat” button for general discussion and the Proposal section to offer formal proposals. The first proposal to receive an “Accept” vote will be considered the final proposal and end the exercise. To keep the process moving, please respond promptly to your partner’s actions. Please note: The 2-person exercises may have role-based limitations on the ability to create proposals.

If your role allows proposals:

• You can make a proposal at any time during the exercise. Enter your proposal in the lower area of the page, filling in all fields, and click “Send Proposal” to share it with your partner.
  • When you make a new proposal, any previous proposal will be replaced with your new proposal.
  • You can also withdraw your most recent proposal at any time.
• You cannot make text edits to an active proposal. If you would like to revise a proposal, we recommend you copy and paste the text you wish to keep from your active proposal into the proposal text fields, make any necessary corrections, and then present your revised work as a new proposal.

If your role does not allow proposals:

• You are only able to accept or reject the proposals offered by your partner.
  • You are still able to use the chat function to communicate with your partner and offer feedback.

Agreeing on a Proposal & Ending a Small Group Exercise

To end the exercise, one partner must accept the other’s proposal. The proposing partner must confirm the acceptance. Once an acceptance is confirmed, the exercise ends and cannot be reactivated. If a proposal is accidentally accepted and confirmed, a discussion can continue via the text chat if necessary, but the proposal and acceptance tools will be inactive. If you are unable to reach an agreement on a proposal, there is an option to “Leave” the exercise after the recommended deadline has passed.

Management Essentials has three Group Exercises: Consensus, Dialectical Inquiry/Devil's Advocate, and Red Flags. There are two Group Exercises with 4 participants in each group (Consensus and Red Flags), and one exercise between 2 participants.

Each Group Exercise takes place within its associated module, and you must complete all preceding parts of the module to reach it. You cannot skip ahead to the exercise. When you reach the Group Exercise of the module, you will be able to begin the exercise.

How do I know who is in my group?

Participants are randomly assigned with Group Exercise. Once you begin the exercise, the partnering process begins. You are randomly assigned a partner or partners as other participants arrive to the exercise. Group Exercise partners cannot be reassigned.

Once your partner(s) arrives and your group is complete, you will receive an email notification and see a notification on your Activity Feed. Because emails can sometimes get lost, we strongly suggest checking the course every 12-24 hours to see if you have been partnered.

How do I coordinate with my exercise partners?

When you arrive to the Group Exercise, you should introduce yourself and offer some times you are available to interact in the upcoming days. In the larger group exercises (Consensus, Red Flags), the identities and introductions of your partners will be only be revealed once the entire group is complete. Once the last (4th) participant arrives, all introductions will be visible to all group members.

What should I do if my partner(s) and I cannot coordinate a discussion time?

Every participant in Management Essentials has the responsibility to make an effort and find a mutually agreeable time to discuss. We understand that this can be difficult.

It is possible to discuss asynchronously, in which you enter a response or proposal when convenient, and your partners reply when convenient. This type of discussion is less focused and may take a few days to complete, but it can help overcome significant time zone differences or other issues. If everyone involved agrees to this type of discussion, it is every group member's responsibility to check the platform regularly, keeping the discussion going and responding to proposals.

If an asynchronous discussion does not work out, you will be able to move forward in the course after the recommended deadline has passed. After the recommended deadline passes, you can select the “Leave” option to end your participation in the exercise.

What should I do if my exercise partners are unresponsive?

If a partners does not respond after 24 hours, you may want to post another message, as it will appear in the “Comments” section of the Activity Feed. You may also try sending a one-to-one message via the Student Directory, or via the contact information they have specified in their introduction.

For the two-person exercises (Dialectical Inquiry/Devil's Advocate), if your partner remains unresponsive, you will only be able to move forward in the course after the recommended deadline has passed.

In the larger group exercises (Consensus and Red Flags), discussion can still take place and proposals can be offered without the full group online, but your group will not be able to reach official consensus and move forward in the module without input from all partners. Once the recommended deadline passes, group members can choose to stay in the exercise and continue to discuss, or select “Leave” to complete the remainder of the module.

My exercise partner left the exercise before we started, what happened?

Once the recommended deadline passes, any member of the group can drop out of the exercise at any time. You are not penalized if you or a group member ends the exercise.

In the larger group exercises (Consensus and Red Flags), the remaining group members can continue the exercise, and the course will automatically adjust the exercise to the smaller group size.

In the smaller exercises (Dialectic Inquiry / Devil's Advocate), one group member choosing to leave will end the exercise for both group members.

Can exercise partners be reassigned?

Unfortunately, exercise partners cannot be reassigned. See the What should I do if my exercise partners are unresponsive? and What should I do if my partner(s) and I cannot coordinate a discussion time? questions on this page for more information in understanding your options.

Is the recommended deadline to begin or complete the Group Exercise?

The exercise deadlines on the course calendar are the dates by which you must start the exercise. The exercise deadline is also the date at which you can leave the exercise if you and your partner(s) have not yet reached an agreement.

What happens if I do not begin the a Group Exercise before its recommended deadline?

If you do not reach the exercise, or are in a partially formed group when the recommended deadline passes, you will not be placed in a group. Both the Consensus and Red Flags exercises will have a solo experience in place of the Group Exercise. For the Dialectic Inquiry/Devil's Advocate group exercise, there is no solo experience, and you will continue on through the remainder of the module.

Is there a penalization for leaving the Group Exercise?

You will not be able to leave a Group Exercise before the recommended deadline has passed. If you or another member of your group choose to leave a Group Exercise after the recommended deadline has passed, you will not be penalized.