Groups, teams, & teamwork Flashcards
Why do people join groups?
Organizational functions
Individual functions
What are the organizational functions of joining a group?
Accomplishing tasks beyond capabilities of the individual and it is helpful for making complex decisions
What are the individual functions of joining a group?
Satisfies the need for affiliation and social identity.
Allows employees to share ideas and beliefs
Reduces anxiety and feels of powerfulness
What makes a group a team?
Specific roles
Common purpose
Performing goals
Mutual accontability
What makes a group a team?
Specific roles
Common purpose
Performing goals
Mutual accountability
Principles of teamwork
Members…
support each other
give and recieve feedback
believe interdependence is a virtue
view themselves as a collective
recognize the need for a leader
What makes a team effective?
Were expectations met?
Did members feel competent and satisfied with the experience?
Can the group meet up to work together again?
Tuckman’s stage model - Stages of group development
Stages of groups are based on major issues and common problems that are dealt with during development
To improve group functioning, we should be able to understand those issues and problems
5 stages of Tuckman’s model
Forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning
Norming stage 1
Getting to know each other
Uncertainty and anxiety rises
Leader should clarify the purpose and build familiarity among team members
Storming stage 2
Assigning roles and responsibilities to team members
Role overload, role conflict, role ambiguity can arise
Leader should formally and clearly assign work ( and specific roles)
Assign work based on member capability and work flow
Norming stage 3
Formal and informal standards of behavior are developing
Examples: How we communicate, make decisions, etc.
bad habits can develop (ineffective patterns of behavior)
Leader should clearly communicate expectations, role model, and reinforce desired behaviors
Why do we have norms?
Increase predictability of behavior
Keep things running smoothly
How do norms develop?
Explicit statements by leaders or group members
Critical events in group’s history
Adopt first pattern of behavior developed
Carryover from past experiences
Performing stage 4
The team is performing the tasks assigned to accomplish goals/ objectives
Ineffective team functioning/ performance issues can be problematic
Leader should understand effective leadership techniques, motivation, and attidues
Adjourning stage 5
Tasks have been performed
Objectives accomplished (or given up)
Members disband
People reflect on experience
What kind of leadership is needed in early stages of the group?
A leader who eliminates ambiguity, imposes structure, and reinforces good behavior (can use transformational leadership)
What kind of leadership is needed in later stages of the group?
A leader who provides direction and motivation. They should inspire employees (transformational leadership)
Social loafing
The tendency for people to exert less effort on a task when they are performing in groups, compared to when they are performing the same task alone.
Why does social loafing occur?
Equity theory - we all have the same rewards… why should I try harder than my coworker?
Loss of personal accountability - my contributions are not easily identifiable so why should I try hard?
How can we decrease social loafing?
Increase personal accountability
How can we increase personal accountability?
Allow members to punish/reward each other
- feedback forms after group project - rating each other
Stepladder technique
- 2 people work together, everyone else works alone. The person who is working alone presents to group and than switch and repeat
That will increase personal accountability because people know their contributions are identifiable
Social loafing callout
Social loafing is when someone is capable of doing a task but doesn’t because they are in a group.
It is not that they are too busy or do not have the time. In order to social loaf, you need to be free to do the task but choose not to .
Conformity and obedience
social influence can cause people to behave in ways they typically would not
Our ____ is affected by the evaluation of others
self concept and self esteem
Why does our self esteem and self concept so heavily impacted by the evaluations of others?
We want to be liked
We want to be seen as good at what we do
What did we learn from Milgram’s experiment?
People will conform (obey) when placed in a social (group) setting
They behave in ways that are different from how they would individually choose to behave
Being a group leader carries with it considerable power… your beliefs will influence how the group performs
Why do people conform?
They believe the majority’s views must be more appropriate than their own
their desire for group cohesion (to avoid conflict) outweighs their desire to be correct
Group think
A mode of thinking that people engage in when they are involved in a cohesive in-group whose members desire for unity overrides their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action.
What are the symptoms of group think?
Suppression of info that goes against majority
Ridicule dissenters
Devaluing the views of outsiders.
How can we prevent groupthink?
Outsiders should be brought in to provide fresh perspectives
Assign people to the role of devil’s advocate
Leaders do not make opinions immediately present
What is group polarization?
Individuals tend to shift in a more extreme direction when discussing in groups
Moderately favorable/negative attitudes become more favored/negative when discussed in a group
Why does group polarization happen?
Social-comparison Theory
Persuasive Arguments Theory
What is the social comparison theory?
(group polarization)
People tend to prefer someone with convictions over ambivalent people… and people want to be liked.
What is the Persuasive Arguments Theory
(group polarization)
People shift views because they are persuaded by the arguments of those with the dominant views
How can we prevent group polarization
Avoid group discussions when they are unnecessary.
Build in a “cooling-off” period after group discussions and before a decision is made.
3 stages of team effectivity
Inputs –> process –> outcomes
What are the inputs for team effectiveness?
Task structure
Composition
Shared mental model
Rewards
Task structure
When do groups outperform individuals?
When the task is high in interdependacne
(typically not brainstorming or creative tasks)
Composition
Group size
Team size should be redetermines by required tasks
too many people in group = social loafing
too little people in group = role overload
Shared mental model
Task model - what do people do?
Team model - what are peoples skills?
Rewards
If teamwork is valued, it should also be rewarded
(expectancy theory)
Group rewards are most appropriate when group work is interdependent
Blend of individual and group rewards
Important process aspects
Communication
Cooperation
Cohesiveness
Trust
How can we improve group processes?
Team building exercises (only if done correctly)
Training - observe communication and fix problems
