management of work group

Question 1

two or more people with common interests, objectives, and continuing interaction

Answer 1

group

Question 2

a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common mission, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

Answer 2

work team

Question 3

Group interaction is a key determinant of group performance.

Answer 3

Managing groups
- Flexibility in group composition is limited (Managers must do the best they can with available people.

Question 4

Characteristics of a Well-Functioning, Effective Group

Answer 4

• Relaxed, comfortable, informal atmosphere
• Task well understood & accepted
• Members listen well & participate
• People express feelings & ideas

Question 5

Benefits of Group work

Answer 5

• Builds essential skills:
• Communication
• Conflict management
• Problem solving o Project management
• Can finish task within the allotted time or earlier

Question 6

Factors influencing group working

Answer 6

• Group composition.
• Group cohesiveness.
• Group communications.
• Group organization.

Question 7

Group composed of members who share the same motivation can be problematic

Answer 7

Group composition
1. Task-oriented - everyone wants to do their own thing;
2. Self-oriented - everyone wants to be the boss;
3. Interaction-oriented - too much chatting, not enough work.

• An effective group has a balance of all types.
• This can be difficult to achieve software engineers are often task-oriented.
• Interaction-oriented people are very important as they can detect and defuse tensions that arise.

Question 8

Tuckman’s Model for Nurturing a Team to High Performance)

Answer 8

Forming

Question 9

conflicts and tensions emerge when there are different working styles, differing expectations and different work ethics

Answer 9

storming

Question 10

beginning to develop mutual trust and effective ways of working

Answer 10

norming

Question 11

when effective work patterns are producing the required results

Answer 11

performing

Question 12

Encouraging others towards the group goals and enables effective internal communications

Answer 12

Group behaviour
- Maintaining group discipline, ethics
- Harmonising - reducing tension and building team spirit
- Problem solving -listening to others

Question 13

people related problem > process related problems
1. members who dominate >
2. members who dont contribute>
3. talking not listening >
4. ideas dismissed or ridiculed >
5. no one initiating discussion >
6. members isolated or ignored >
7. lack of leadership >
8. uncommitted, reliable members >

Answer 13

1. members who dominate > no agreed ground rules
2. members who dont contribute > no agendas for meetings
3. talking not listening > no specific roles or tasks
4. ideas dismissed or ridiculed > no set deadlines
5. no one initiating discussion > no chairperson for meetings
6. members isolated or ignored > meetings star and/or run late
7. lack of leadership > no meetings records kept
8. uncommitted, reliable members > no review of progress