Groups and teams Flashcards
Group
Two or more individuals interacting or interdependent, who come together to achieve particular objectives.
They can be FORMAL and defined by organisational structure or INFORMAL neither formally structured nor organisationally determined
Values of groups and teams
Advantages: 1. Mutual support and affiliation 2. Able to use skills and knowledge of all involved 3. Status and power Results: 1. Part of something bigger than yourself 2. Greater than the sum of its parts 3. High ranking groups have more control
Precautions of using teams; team development matters
TUCKMAN AND JENSEN
Groups pass through five clearly defined stages of development which are labelled forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.
- Group effectiveness - generally groups are more effective as they progress
- Group conflict - some groups need conflict and are most productive in stage 2
- Blurred stages - stages are not always sequential, multiple stages can take place simultaneously
Stage 1 - Forming
Immature group
Group is less effective, there is no clear leader. High levels of confusion and uncertainty. Ground rules are being established
Stage 2 - Storming
Fractional group
High ranking members establish themselves. there are tensions, a struggle for leadership and many disagreements
Stage 3 - Norming
Sharing group
A general consensus is reached. Leaders are accepted and everyone agrees on the one best way to move forward. Standards are set
Stage 4 - Performing
Effective team
Successful group performance is taking place. Roles and tasks are flexible. Openness and helpfulness between members.
Stage 5 - Adjourning
Disbanding group
Communication and evaluation of group performance. Everyone is disengaged from one another. Group completes self evaluation.
Group think
IRVING JANIS
Groupthink: a deterioration of individual mental efficiency, reality testing and moral judgements as a result of group pressures. Occurs when:
- Members rationalise away resistance to assumptions
- Pressure doubters to support the majority opinion
- Doubters keep silent, which is then interpreted as a “YES” vote
Ways in which to minimise group think:
- Limit group size
- Increase diversity in the group
- Encourage group leaders to actively seek input from all members and avoid expressing their own opinions
- Appoint an intentional devils advocate
Social loafing
LATANE ET AL
Social loafing - causes an inequity of effort to occur. Meaning organisations are not working at maximum capacity and may be working at a loss. A decrease in indvidual effort as group size increases is caused by an inequity of effort, diffusion of responsibility, negative effects of group reward and problems with coordination. Minimising social loafing: - Set group goals - Make work more involving - Upgrade the task - Strengthen cohesion - Increase intergroup competition - Engage in peer evaluation
Group properties
1. Roles
Set of expected behaviour patterns that are attributed to occupying a position in social units.
Roles are given to each member in the team and are what is expected of us by the members in our teams.
Group properties
2. Norms
These are acceptable standards of behaviour within a group that are shared by its members. They are powerful means of influencing behaviour and improve group performance.
SOLOMON ASCH - Conformity experiment
People were shown 3 lines, and told to say which matched the standard line. The experiement was fixed so that everyone was told to pick the wrong line in order to pressure the subject to conform. It showed us that:
- People avoid being visibly different
- People with different opinions feel extensive pressure to align with others
Group properties
3. Status
Status - a socially defined position or rank given to groups or group members by others
Determined by:
- The power a person yields over others
- A persons ability to contribute to group goals
- Individual characteristics
High status members tend to have more power. They are better able to resist conformity pressures
GROUP THINK
Group properties
4. Size
Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks and tend to perform better. Large groups are consistently better at problem solving.
SOCIAL LOAFING
Group properties
5. Cohesiveness
This is the degree to which members of the group are attached to each other and motivated to stay in the group. If norms are high then cohesive is better than not.
High cohesiveness gives higher productivity.
