In Dr. Okafor's online business ethics course, students are placed in diverse teams of four to complete a major case study analysis worth 40% of their grade. Each team includes deliberately mixed backgrounds. Team 3 is particularly diverse: Raj (who grew up in India but now lives in Canada), Sofia (from Brazil), Ahmed (from Saudi Arabia), and Brittany (from the United States).

Two weeks into the five-week project:

• Raj has created a detailed project plan with specific deadlines and assigned tasks, expecting everyone to follow it precisely

• Sofia has been contributing creative ideas but not adhering to Raj's timeline

• Ahmed has been politely agreeing with everyone's suggestions without committing to specific tasks

• Brittany has directly challenged several group decisions and is frustrated by the "lack of progress"

During their latest video meeting, tensions explode when Brittany asks Ahmed point-blank: "Do you actually disagree with anything we're saying? Because you never seem to give a straight answer." Ahmed goes silent. Sofia interrupts with a completely new project approach, and Raj visibly appears upset that his careful planning is being ignored.

The team chat has gone silent for three days. Yesterday, all four students separately emailed Dr. Okafor asking to be reassigned to different groups, each blaming others for being "impossible to work with."

Three-Point Summary (8 minutes - 2 minutes per group)

• Each group shares exactly three key insights from their analysis:

  1. Most significant cultural challenge identified

  2. Most innovative solution proposed

  3. Most important takeaway for inclusive online learning

Schedule brief team reflections focused specifically on how cultural factors are influencing their work

Use these to adjust processes before conflicts escalate

Dr. Okafor could provide reflection prompts to guide discussions

“Stick with the plan”