Group and project work is an important element of the pedagogical methods used in most Business programs in the USA. In some situations, it may comprise the majority of the evaluation for a course, or it can be combined with, for example, written assignments and written tests. The group work experience can be new and frustrating for some students. Therefore, it is important that group members sit down during the first meeting, discuss expectations and come to an agreement about how the group work will function. All group members need to understand and agree upon how the work will take place. Having this discussion at the beginning can eliminate problems that could otherwise arise.
Almost all Business programs in the USA include considerable amounts of project work as well. This requires flexibility, adaptability and the ability to co-operate. The size and duration of these written projects vary from program to program. If a given course is evaluated totally or partly in the form of written project this will be stated in the course description.
Individual projects usually last from 1 day to 8 weeks, while group projects can take anywhere from 3 days to an entire semester.