International Learning Groups: Synergies and Dysfunctions
基于一所知名大学MBA学生的田野调查，研究国际学生小组合作中产生协同或功能失调的原因，发现语言障碍、领导力、搭便车者和难相处个体是关键因素，而小组能否让每个成员的声音被倾听和尊重决定了成败。
Based on intensive fieldwork of a single cohort of MBA students at a high-profile university, this article examines how international groups of students work together in learning groups. In particular, the article identifies some of the factors that account for why some groups generate synergies for students, whereas others lapse into dysfunctional group relations. The importance of language difficulties, leadership, free-riders and the presence of `difficult individuals' are assessed. The authors conclude that the ability of learning groups in transcending cultural and other difficulties depends crucially on their ability to enable all their members to discover a voice that is both heard and respected within the group. When groups fail in this respect, intense voice anxieties lead to the questioning of the legitimacy of the educational programme as a whole, the participants, the knowledge being generated and even the institution.