The class after the exam was an amazing experience. I thought that the test was fair but the first exam with professor is sometimes like testing the water, you don't know what you got your self into until you see the result. This wasn't a typical straight forward test and I'm glad that we got a chance to improve the grade.
I believe that people that opposed to editing the results of the test were not right when they talked about taking an advantage of the Professor because he was clearly enjoying the experience and all of it was his idea on the first place. That doesn't seem like someone who is being taken advantage of.
I was very surprised by lack of tact, respect and sensitivity of some of the classmates that started yelling at the people that didn't agree with the majority. Yes, we didn't have much time and it was a high pressure situation, but using dictatorship and force just complicates situation and leads to outcome not desirable by anyone involved.
To get to the blog assignment, I believe that my style of managing this situation was to compromise. My suggestion was to wait with the decision until the end of May, because than we would have more information that we can base our decision on. Until that point there were two suggestions, one to curve the exam and the other one to drop the lower grade. How there were two large groups on opposite sides I thought that it would be better to wait until the second exam and than to decide. Now, when I look back I see that was a terrible idea because it would caused even more fighting and people would never agree. At the end I was pretty happy with the outcome.
I don't think that this situation could be managed better in any other way because the lack of time. If we were to split in smaller groups we would have more suggestions and then groups would feel strongly about their choice, so that would only cause more conflict.
Honestly, I was pretty happy with the result and surprised that we got everyone to agree. I think we were lucky that those that still clearly don't agree voted for class' best interest.
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7 comments:
I totally agree with you, and it took the whole class time to prove that compromise was the way to go. Everyone has a different presonality and opinions are bound to clash.I just wish people would clearly decide on their own stand before saying anything, it all goes back to our english teachers that have always taught us never to use a thesis if we can't back it up. I have no problem discussing and compromising, but I need to see the whole picture first. Overall, I agree, we got the best possible result out of activity, given the time restraint.
Did you think we have a democratic process or was it more like a democratic socialism or social democracy? A representative democracy/republic would might work, or it might not, may be we should try it if there is a chance again. I think what is important is not the process or who wants what, it is the system that needs some perestroika. May be we could try the parliamentary system.
I agree with you that this was an amazing experience. It showed us how difficult it is to come up a unanimous solution when there are 80 conflicting egos. But I am glad but not surprised that we came up with a solution that benefited everyone at the last minute.
I think people who thought that we were being unfair to the professor, thought so because of their personal beliefs. They probably believed that there must be some individual responsibility that we must take for our grades no matter how low or high they were. I think it was also a decision made because of cultural forces. I observed that people who thought we were being unfair came from largely collective cultures where the power distance is much greater, so I understand why they justified it.
But like you, I did cringe when some started yelling at those people. I felt like if this is a microcosm of the business world in the future, maybe I don't want to go there. I hope we all learned to be respectful and not criticize others for their unique point of views.
I actually thought that splitting up in groups would have given us better results, but now that you say that people would be more attached to their opinions and make the process even more difficult I can see that easily happenning.
I do believe though that if we had more time, having small groups would have given us a lot more choices, and a better chance for people to express their true opinions, instead of just agreeing with everyone so we could same time.
I actually thought that splitting up in groups would have given us better results, but now that you say that it would have just made people more attached to their opinions, making the whole process a lot more difficult, I definately see that happenning.
I do believe though that if we had more time, having small groups would have given us the chance to come up with a lot more choices and would have given everyone an opportunity to express their opinion.
I strongly believe that compromise is what got the job done. I too was surprised by the lack of repect of the minority, and am glad that some took the time to hear out the sensitive opinions of others. I am happy with the results and too believe this achieved the maximum benefit for everyone.
I strongly agree that thae only way the class acheived the goal was through compromise. I too was surpised at the lack of respect towards minority opinions, but was happy to see the few that stepped up to the plate to hear out all. In the end, it was the sensitive appraoch of our classmates that swayed the unanimous vote. I am thankful for your compromise and believe the class achieved the maximum benefit possble.
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