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GROUPS AND TEAMS

Chapter 7

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Definition of a group

• Various definitions but all imply:

More than one person involved

Interaction must take place

Purpose or intention

Awareness

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Groups

Groups - social entities of two or more people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of each other, and think of themselves as a group

Formal groups are typically set up and sanctioned by the organization, and thus have specific objectives that contribute to achieving organizational goals

Informal groups are groups that form through interactions among organizational members

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Groups and teams• Katenbach & Smith suggest that difference between

group and team is that of performance and describe the following scale:

– Working group

– Pseudo-teams

– Potential teams

– Real teams

– High performance teams

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Groups, teams and organizations

Hierarchical differentiation

Specialism groupings

Activity groupings

Boundary spanning

Professional

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Likert’s linking pin modelFigure 7.1

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The hierarchy/customer conflict model

Figure 7.2

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WHY DO ORGANIZATIONS USE GROUPS?

• Synergy • Social control • Social facilitation

• Potential problems include:• Social inhibition• Social loafing• Sucker effect

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Cultural and other factors in

informal group formation

• The need for human beings to function in a social environment and to form relationships of their own choosing

• The voluntary nature of many informal groups offsets the involuntary nature of many formal, organizational groups

• The approach adopted by managers to the running of the organization

• The need for individuals to exert influence and to achieve their formal and personal goals

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Tuckman and Jensen’s model of group development

Stage 1 – Forming

Stage 2 – Storming

Stage 3 – Norming

Stage 4 – Performing

Stage 5 - Adjourning

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Issues associated with Tuckman’s first four stages of group development

• Figure 7.3

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Recent group development model

Based on: Gibson & Earley, 2007; Gibson et al., 2009:

•information accumulation (perception and storing of information)

•interaction (retrieving, exchanging, and interactively structuring information)

•examination (meaning is socially negotiated and evaluated)

•accommodation (members integrate information, make decisions and take action)

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Communication patterns in groups• Figure 7.4

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The nine Belbin team roles• Plant: Creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Solves difficult problems

• Resource investigator: Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts

• Co-ordinator: Mature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision making, delegates well

• Shaper: Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles

• Monitor/evaluator: Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options. Judges accurately

• Teamworker: Co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction, calms the waters

• Implementer: Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions

• Completer: Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions. Delivers on time

• Specialist: Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply.

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Features of effective and ineffective groupsDimension Effective group Ineffective group

1 Atmosphere Informal, comfortable, relaxed

Indifference, boredom, tension

2 Discussion Participative, pertinent to task Dominated by a few people, drifts off point

3 Objectives Understood and accepted by all

Lack of clarity, not fully accepted by individuals

4 Active listening Members listen to each other, contribution to debate and ideas

Pushing of own ideas, no evidence of building on others, talking for effect

5 Disagreement Brought into the open and resolved or accepted

Not resolved, suppressed by leader, perhaps warfare domination is the aim

6 Decision making By consensus Premature decisions and actions before full examination. Simple majority voting

7 Criticism Frank but not personal Embarrassing, tension producing. Involves personal hostility, destructive approach

8 Feelings Expressed on group activity as well as ideas. Few hidden agendas

Hidden, not thought appropriate to group activity

9 Action Clear allocation and acceptance

Unclear in allocation, lack of commitment to achieve result

10 Leadership Not chair dominated, ‘experts’ lead depending on circumstances, no power struggles

Chair dominated

11 Reviews Self-consciousness about present operations, frequent reviews

No discussion of group maintenance issues

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GROUP CONTROL AND ROLE THEORY

• Rules - explicit informal agreements or formal statements about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour

• Norms - implicit and informal expectations for behaviour within social entities

• Expected role – what the organization expects the individual to do in relation to their role

• Perceived role – what the individual understands their expected role to be

• Enacted role - reflects what the individual actually does in carrying out the tasks for which they are responsible

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Manifestation of team processes in action and transition phases

• Figure 7.5

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Group process dimensions• Table 7.5

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The components of the role theory - Handy (1993)

• Role set

• Role definition

• Role ambiguity

•Role incompatibility

• Role conflict

• Role overload/underload

• Role stress

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Role set for a university lecturer • Figure 7.6

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GROUP COHESION

Factors which contribute to the level of cohesion developed within a group include:

•Environmental factors

•Organizational factors

•Group factors

•Individual factors

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GROUP COHESION• Figure 7.7

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Relationship between group cohesion and group performance

•Figure 7.8