Chapter 7: Groups & Teamwork Flashcards
What is a group?
A group consists of two or more people interacting interdependently to achieve a common goal
The most basic aspect of a group
Interaction
Interdependence
Interdependence
simply means that group members rely to some degree on each other to accomplish goals.
Why are group memberships important?
First, groups exert a tremendous
influence on us.
Second, Group membership is also important because groups provide
a context in which we are able to exert influence on others .
Formal work groups
Groups that are
established by organizations
to facilitate the achievement
of organizational goals.
Examples of temporary groups
Task forces and project teams are temporary groups that meet to achieve particular goals or to
solve particular problems, such as suggesting productivity improvements.
Permanent groups that handle recurrent assignments outside the usual work group structures
Committees
Informal Groups
Informal groups are groups that emerge naturally
in response to the common interests of organizational members.
5 Stages of Group Development
- Forming
- Storming
- Norming
- Performing
- Adjourning
Forming
Testing the waters, determining their purpose and how others does it.
Storming
Time where conflict emerges; confrontation and criticism. Sorting out roles and responsibilities is a big issue
Norming
members resolve the issues that provoked the storming, and they
develop social consensus. Compromise is often necessary.
Performing
the group devotes its energies toward
task accomplishment.
Adjourning
Some groups, such as task forces and design project teams, have a definite
lifespan and disperse after achieving their goals. Also, some groups disperse when corporate
layoffs and downsizing occur.
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
A model of group
development that describes
how groups with deadlines
are affected by their first
meetings and crucial
midpoint transitions.
Phase 1 - Punctuated Equilibrium
Phase 1 begins with the first meeting and continues until the midpoint in the
group’s existence. The very first meeting is critical in setting the agenda for what will happen
in the remainder of this phase.
Midpoint Transition - Punctuated Equilibrium
The midpoint transition occurs at almost exactly the halfway
point in time toward the group’s deadline. For instance, if the group has a two-month deadline,
the transition will occur at about one month. The transition marks a change in the
group’s approach, and how the group manages the change is critical for the group to show
progress.
Phase 2 - Punctuated Equlibrium
For better or for worse, decisions and approaches adopted at the midpoint get
played out in Phase 2. It concludes with a final meeting that reveals a burst of activity and a
concern for how outsiders will evaluate the product.
Group Structure
Group structure refers to the characteristics of the stable social organization of a group—the
way a group is “put together.”
Most work groups, including
task forces and committees, usually have between…
3-20 members
Members of larger groups rather consistently report less satisfaction
with group membership than those who find themselves in smaller groups, why?
1) as opportunities for friendship increase, the chance to work
on and develop these opportunities might decrease owing to the sheer time and energy
required.
2) Moreover, in incorporating more members with different viewpoints, larger
groups can prompt conf lict and dissension.
3) Time avalaible for verbal participation by each member decreases
4) Individual members identify less easily about their impacts
Additive Tasks
Tasks in
which group performance
is dependent on the sum
of the performance of
individual group members.
Disjunctive Tasks
Tasks
in which group performance
is dependent on the
performance of the best
group member.
Process Lossess
Group
performance difficulties
stemming from the
problems of motivating and
coordinating larger groups.
Conjunctive Tasks
Tasks
in which group performance
is limited by the
performance of the poorest
group member.
Actual performance = …
Potential Performance - Process Lossess
Diverse groups tend to take longer to do…
The group’s forming, storming, and norming process
Diverse groupds tend to perform better on certain tasks, such as…
Team creativity and innovation
For a group, age diversity has…
is unrelated to group performance
For a group, racial and gender diversity have…
small negative effects
What kind of diversity that can badly damage a group’s cohesiveness
“deep diversity” in attitudes toward work or how to accomplish
a goal can badly damage cohesiveness
When organizations value and manage diversity, it…
offsets some
of the initial process loss costs of diversity and capitalizes on the demonstrated benefits of
a positive diversity climate for group attitudes and performance.
A way to manage diversity..
provide employees with training on working in diverse settings.
