biglouis
Perhaps the other people in the group did not wish to take on the task and were grateful to leave it to Mrs Sparkle. Sometimes people just like to sit back and are content to let someone else do the work or take the credit.
Ive never liked doing things in groups. I often find that I have done the lions share of the work and there are other people riding on my coat tails. It happens a lot in accademia and the corporate world.
We had a group task in my first degree at uni to organize a small survey. I was very experienced in some parts of the work (interviewing, questionnaire design, etc) but lacked skills in other aspects such as statistical manipulation. We agreed as a to submit a group report. This would have meant that everyone in the group would have access to contributions by the other members.
However at a later stage, when they had profited from my interviewing experience, the other group members all decided to do individual reports. This threw me under the bus because I lacked detailed knowledge of the statistical package. Fortunately the tutor organized an extra session for the statistical work. Only a few of us turned up but we got some one to one feedback and suggestions for the work.
The rest of the group had the raw data which had emerged from my interviews. However they did not have the actual qualitative experience of having stopped people in the city center or around campus and carried them out. Nor did they know which questions were more successful than others.
I was able to do a deep analysis which took me into a higher marking bracket than the rest of the group. If we had stuck to the original decision and done a group report then we would all have got the same mark. So in the end I profited from their selfishness.
Very interesting to read your reply and I fully appreciate where you are coming from. Indeed, in the academic world it was a wise and profitable decision to make. Unfortunately, Mrs Sparkle is the subject of many of those 'behind her back' conversations in a village group where the other ladies seethe but don't say anything because we are all very polite stiff upper lip types. I have to hold my tongue because if I did say something it would be foul. She is a very good friend of the couple who run the group and when one member did challenge the husband about their cronyism, he became very defensive. However, at the next meeting I will ask for more inclusivity and transparency as we have 2 professional artists as part of the group who were not even approached about the design. Small village politics of a group of baby boomers. Hey! Ho!
