Module 6: Chapter 7 (Groups and Teamwork) Flashcards
What is a Group
why is it important for two reasons:
Group: two or more people interacting interdependently to achieve a common goal
Important for two reasons:
* Groups exert a tremendous influence on us - we acquire on many beliefs, values attitudes and behaviours
* Provide context in which we are able to exert influence on others
define formal work groups and Informal groups
Formal work groups: groups that are established by organizations to facilitate the achievement of organizational goals
Informal groups: groups that emerge naturally in response to the common interests of organizational members
* Can either hurt or help an organization depending on their norms for behaviour
What are the five Stages of Group Development?
Hint: FSNPA
Forming
* How members originally form
○ What are other like?
* Everyone is usually polite and cautious
Storming
* You want to start exerting your power
* Members compete for status, roles & responsibilities
* Conflict emerges at this stage
Norming
* Members start to settle down from conflict
* Norms (ground rules) are agreed on
* Steps to become a unit and a team
Performing
* The group devotes its energies toward task accomplishment.
* Creativity, achievement, and mutual assistance
Adjourning
* team comes to an end
* Rites and rituals that affirm the group’s previous successful development are common (such as ceremonies and parties)
* Members exhibit emotional support for each other
Define the Punctuated Equilibrium model.
Punctuated Equilibrium model: groups often move forward during bursts of change after long periods without change
- realizing deadlines are approaching
Define the three phases in the Punctuated Equilibrium model
Phase 1
* Begins with the first meeting and continues until the midpoint in the group’s existence
* The first meeting is critical in setting the agenda for what will happen in the remainder of this phase.
* Do very little work
**Midpoint Transition **
* Occurs almost exactly at the halfway point in time toward the group’s deadline
* Alarm clock goes off
* People start changing their approach to get the work done
Phase 2
* Decisions and approaches adopted at the midpoint get played out
* It concludes with a final meeting that reveals a burst of activity and a concern for how outsiders will evaluate the product.
Group Size Consequences:
describe how size and satisfaction are related, Performance - define Additive tasks, Disjunctive tasks, Process losses, Conjunctive tasks
Size and Satisfaction:
Members of larger groups rather consistently report less satisfaction with group membership than those who find themselves in smaller groups
Size and Performance:
○ 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 losses: Group performance difficulties stemming from the problems of motivating and coordinating larger groups.
○ Conjunctive tasks: tasks in which group performance cannot be completed successfully until all members of the group have completed their portion of the job therefore it is limited by the performance of the poorest member
define norms and give the three typical norms examples
Norms: They are the codes of conduct that specify what individuals ought and ought not to do
- Dress norms
- Reward allocation norms — rewards, such as pay, promotions, and informal favour, could be allocated in organization
- Performance norms — Work groups provide their members with potent cues about what an appropriate level of performance is.. “is it all right for me to take a break now”
Define Roles
Roles: positions in a group that have a set expected behaviours attached to them
* Thus, roles represent “packages” of norms that apply to particular group members. Many norms apply to all group members to be sure that they engage in similar behaviours.
Define Role Ambiguity, Role Conflict, Status, and Group Cohesiveness
Role Ambiguity: lack of clarity of job goals or methods
- Confusion on how performance is evaluated, etc.
Role conflict: a condition of being faced with incompatible role expectations
Status: the rank or social position accorded to group members in terms of prominence, prestige, and respect
Group cohesiveness: the degree to which a group is attractive to its members
* More cohesive, the more conformity to group norms
State the Five Factors Influencing Cohesiveness
Threat and competition - External threat to the survival of the group increases cohesiveness.
Success - Cohesiveness will decrease after failure
Member diversity - Groups that are diverse in terms of gender, age, and race can have a harder time becoming cohesive than more homogeneous groups
Group size- Larger groups have a more difficult time becoming and staying cohesive
Toughness of initiation- Groups that are tough to get into tend to be more attractive than those that are easy to join
Define Social Loafing and define its two forms: free rider effect and sucker effect; how can you counteract this?
Social loafing: the tendency to withhold physical or intellectual effort when performing a group task
* They would work harder if they were alone rather than part of a group
* The more people you feel as though you have less responsibility
free rider effect, people lower their effort to get a free ride at the expense of their fellow group members.
sucker effect, people lower their effort because of the feeling that others are free riding,
What are some ways to counteract social loafing?
* Make individual performance more visible
* Make sure that the work is interesting
* Increase performance feedback
* Reward group performance
* Increase feelings of indispensability - Use training and the status system to provide group members with unique inputs
