In this blog post, we will look at the necessity of correct behavior and its impact on individuals and society through the issue of free riding in group activities.
High school and college are very different in many ways. You have to make your own schedule and move to a different classroom for each class. In addition to these external differences, there are also many differences within the classes themselves. One of these is group work. Until high school, most activities were done individually. However, in college, there are many activities that are done with other people. In fact, some of the courses I am currently taking are project-based and consist entirely of group work from start to finish. For these group activities to run smoothly, all group members must do their assigned tasks well and work well together as a team. However, while some group members work hard, others do not work hard and do not participate well in group activities. They think, “If I don’t do it, other group members will do it,” and do not even do the tasks assigned to them. These group members are called free riders. This is because they receive grades without paying the appropriate price. What can be done to prevent free riding in group activities?
There are several ways to prevent free riding. First, a group leader must be selected from among the group members to oversee and lead the group activities. Second, it is important to define each member’s specific role to emphasize the importance of each team member. Finally, since each team member’s contribution to the group activity will differ, it is necessary to evaluate each team member after the group activity is completed and reflect their contribution in their grades. The reasons for this are as follows.
First, a leader is needed to oversee and direct the activities of the team. That is the role of the group leader. For example, when there is a group meeting for group activities, it is difficult to decide where and when to hold the meeting without a group leader. It is also difficult to conduct the group meeting. If the atmosphere of the group becomes chaotic, the motivation for group activities will decline, and some group members may look for loopholes to avoid participating.
The next step is to assign specific roles. On a TV program, a wife who usually does not help with housework asked her husband, “Please fold the laundry by 10 p.m. tonight,” and the husband, who usually does not help much, folded the laundry by 10 p.m. Seeing that this method is effective in many households, it can be used in group activities to prevent free riders. Here, too, the necessity of a group leader becomes apparent. For example, instead of saying, “Let’s write a research plan together” or “Let’s really work hard,” it is important for the group leader to meet with the group members, decide on each person’s role, and set specific times and tasks, such as “Please write your part and post it in the chat room by midnight on Saturday.”
Finally, after all group activities are completed, evaluate the group members and reflect their contributions to the group activities in their grades. This will ensure fair evaluation by giving different grades to group members who did not participate in the group activities and those who worked hard. In addition, you can prevent free riding by informing the group members in advance that they will be evaluated. However, such evaluations of group members must be conducted with great care. Most people will write honest evaluations of their group members, but not everyone in the world is good. It is unacceptable to abuse the group evaluation system to ostracize one person or make up things that did not happen in order to tamper with the grades of others.
Free riding in group activities is one of the most common problems in college life. It can be especially stressful for freshmen who are just starting college life. Therefore, in order to prevent free riding and create fair group activities, policy support is needed at the school level. For example, it would be a good idea for schools to provide guidelines for group activities and hold workshops where students can learn various ways to solve the problem of free riding. In addition, professors should clearly present evaluation criteria for group activities and establish a system to objectively evaluate students’ contributions.
Group work is an activity that is done together with others, so it is morally right to work hard not only for oneself but also for one’s group members without free riding. Working hard in group work without free riding is not an obligation but a consideration. Extending this further to our daily lives, we can think about the question, “Is there a reason to live right?”
Ultimately, my answer to the question, “Is there a reason we should live right?” is “Yes.” I believe that living right is good for us in many ways. First, from a utilitarian perspective, I believe that living right is an act that increases utility. For example, when we are walking in the park and finish a drink, we can do one of two things. We can either hold onto it until we find a trash can or just throw it on the ground. If I choose to throw it on the ground, I benefit because I don’t have to carry the bottle around, but everyone else walking by will feel bad when they see the bottle on the ground. In conclusion, throwing empty bottles on the ground is an act that lowers the utility. When you see trash on the ground, if you think about the people who will feel bad when they see it and do the right thing by throwing the drink in the trash can, it may be a little inconvenient for you, but in conclusion, it increases the utility of society as a whole. In this way, I believe that correct behavior increases utility and is therefore a reason to live correctly.
This is not the only reason we should live correctly. Another reason is that humans are social animals. As social animals, we cannot live alone. Every action we take without thinking is connected to other people. Furthermore, when we consider the communication hypothesis presented in the book “The Emergence of Altruistic Humans,” we see that humans are important as social animals. The communication hypothesis states that humans engage in altruistic behavior through communication with each other. If we do not live correctly, communication with others will gradually become less frequent, and as a result, our presence as social animals will gradually diminish. This is not good for individuals or society as a whole.
Finally, the reason why I think we should live right is that once we start doing morally wrong things, they tend to get worse. As the saying goes, “A thief who steals a needle will eventually steal a cow,” I believe that immoral acts that start small can grow and cause serious harm to others and even lead to crime. For example, a person who usually causes harm to those around them by not being clear about financial matters may become increasingly worse and even commit fraud. Therefore, it is important to live right, starting with the little things.
So far, we have looked at the reasons why we should live right. You may think that wrongdoing will benefit you, but that is only a short-term benefit. When we consider the long-term benefits that will come back to us, we can conclude that living right is ultimately more beneficial, and therefore we must live right. In addition, socially, right behavior has a more positive impact, so it is important that we all work together to live right.
For these reasons, we must live right not only for our own benefit but also for the common good of society as a whole. Living right is not a simple choice but an essential effort to create a better society. Therefore, we must always choose the right course of action and consider the impact of our actions on others.
