Groups and Teamwork Flashcards
(36 cards)
How are groups involved in organisations?
- Group membership is essential to human behaviour and almost unavoidable
- Working in groups/teams is central to organisational life, structure and design
- Functioning group is more than the sum of its parts
Why do we care about teams?
- Team conflict and cohesion relate to team effectiveness
- Team effectiveness is an important predictor for team performance, satisfaction and productivity
- Spillover effects of team performance to individual level and organisational level success
What is the definition of a group?
Any number of people who interact with one another, are psychologically aware of one another and perceive themselves to be a group (Schein, 1988)
What is the definition of a team?
Can be two or more people psychologically contracted together to achieve a goal
How can teams be distinguished from groups?
Team goals: groups don’t need to have goals
Shared leadership
Shared accountability
Self developed mission
Continuous problem solving
What is the difference between a formal and informal team?
Established by organisations vs emerging naturally e.g working on a project vs play on a sport team
Which types of work teams exist?
- Problem solving
- Functional
- Virtual
- Self managed
- Cross functional
What is Tuckman’s (1977) Five Stage Theory of Group Development?
Shows how teams form:
- Forming
- Storming
- Norming
- Performing
What are the individual and group issues associated with forming?
“How do I fit in?”
“Why are we here?”
What are the individual and group issues associated with storming?
“What’s my role here?”
“Why are we fighting over who’s in charge and who does what?”
What are the individual and group issues associated with the norming stage?
“What do the others expect me to do?”
“Can we agree on roles and work as a team?”
What are the individual and group issues associated with performing?
“How can I best perform my role?”
“Can we do the job properly?”
What is the definition of forming from Five Stage Theory?
- Defines leadership, roles and responsibilities
- Some levels of anxiety, impression management
What is the definition for storming from the Five Stage Theory?
- More openness leads to potential disagreements
What is the definition of norming from Five Stage Theory?
- Resolution of conflict
- Establish co-operation in order to achieve group purpose
What is the definition of performing from the Five Stage Theory?
- Cohesiveness established
- Effective performance vis a vis goal
What is the definition of adjourning from the Five Stage Theory?
- Dissolving of group and return to individual tasks
- Experiences of sadness and sense of loss
What implications does forming have for managers?
- Purposefully pick teams
- Establish team identity
- Develop shared mental models
What implications does storming have for managers?
- Act as a resource to the team
- Develop mutual trust
- Calm the work environment
What implications does norming have for managers?
- Get constant feedback
- Transfer leadership
What implications does performing have for managers?
- Allow for flexibility in team roles
- Assist in timing and selection of new members
What is the extended Tuckman model?
Includes de-norming, de-storming and de-forming
What is de norming from the extended Tuckman Model?
A natural erosion of group standards of conduct. Group members drift in different directions.
What is de storming from the extended Tuckman Model?
An undercurrent of discontent slowly comes to the surface. Individual resistance increases and cohesiveness declines.
