TEAM CONTRACT ASSIGNMENT
Instructions
In no more than 2 pages (single space), each group will write a TEAM
CONTRACT. The contract should include three sections: (a) Team
Procedures, (b) Member Participation, and (c) Accountability
Mechanisms. Make sure that each contract includes the names of each
team member and their signatures indicating their agreement.
Objective
The objective of this assignment is to agree on expectations,
processes, and outcomes of teamwork before starting to work in teams
this semester. All members should participate in the development of
the TEAM CONTRACT and sign off on the final version.
Guidelines
Meet with your team members and discuss your previous experiences
working in groups. Focus your discussion on successful and
unsuccessful work strategies and draw from them. Achieve consensus
with your team members on three key areas: team procedures,
member participation, and accountability mechanisms. Below you will
find specific suggestions to guide your discussion and write-up of each
section of the contract.
I. Team Procedures
This section should outline the procedures for:
(1)Team communication: preferred modes (email, text, phone calls,
etc.) and methods to keep everybody informed of the progress of
the team.
(2)Scheduling meetings and preferred type of meetings (face-to-
face, electronic). Agreement on availability (or lack thereof)
outside the normal class days (Saturdays and occasional Fridays)
is an important issue to specify in the contract.
(3)Decision-making processes to settle disagreements regarding
the content of group outcomes (e.g. differences of opinion
regarding project solutions).
(4)Assignment of Roles and Responsibilities: define whether your
team prefers a static assignment (each member has a pre-
defined role/task) or dynamic assignment (depending upon the
nature of the project and decided for each project).
(5)Conflict resolution strategies to deal with internal issues or
disagreements regarding team processes.
II. Member Participation
This section should describe the organizational structure of your team
in terms of:
(1)Leadership: If there is a designated leader and whether
leadership will vary by project or by course.
(2)Other Roles: Outline which specific roles have been defined in
your team (examples include document manager, instructor
contact, meeting scheduler, researcher, etc.)
(3)Strategies to divide up the work and ensure equal
contribution/participation from all team members.
(4)Methods to ensure that the outcome of group work meets quality
standards and satisfies the expectations of team members.
III. Accountability Mechanisms
This section should explain your system of group accountability
(1)Tasks and deadlines: describe how people in your project team
will know what tasks to perform; when these tasks should be
performed; and how they will receive feedback about the quality
of their performance.
(2)Level of Engagement: At the extremes, specific members may
show low commitment or participation to team work (i.e. free-
riding behavior), or very high commitment (i.e. extra-effort).
Describe how your team will handle under (or over) commitment
by specific team members and whether penalties (or rewards)
will be applied.
(3)Missed deadlines: strategies to deal with failure to complete
individually assigned work by the promised date.
Submission
Teams fill out and all sign Contract and email to Exec.
January
2023
