Teams & Groups Flashcards
Define Formal and Informal Groups
Formal: Defined by the organizational structure, Designated work assignments, achieve organizational goals.
Informal: Not organizationally determined, Activity may not be work related, Social focus
What are the Strengths and Weaknesses of Groups compared to Individual?
Strengths: Better Information, Increased Knowledge, Increased Input, View Diversity, Increased Acceptance.
Weaknesses: Time consuming, individual(s) domination, doubtful/uncertain of responsibilities.
What are the 5 stages of Group Evolution?
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning
What happens in the Forming stage?
Members meet each other and try to establish ground rules through trial and error. Everyone is a stranger so formalities are still being used. Lots of uncertainty in things like whats the structure, who’s the leader, how to go about achieving the goal, etc.
The Forming stage is complete when individuals feel like they are in a group
What happens in the Storming stage?
Members are still new to each other so nobody wants to be told what to do as there is no defined leader yet. Individuals see it as a bunch of people who happen to be working on the same thing, rather than a collective group.
Storming stage is complete when there is a clear hierarchy of leadership
What happens in the stage of Norming?
Behaviour, performance, and expectation norms are established. Members feel more like a group now.
Norming stage is complete when there is a common set of expectations on member behaviour.
What happens in the Performing Stage?
Group is as efficient as it gets as everyone is working towards the same goal and purpose. Individuals trust each other.
Performing stage is complete when the objective is met.
What happens in the Adjourning stage?
Conduct an assessment of the work done. Preparing to disband.
What is the Punctuated-Equilibrium Model?
Three main phases:
Phase 1: Nothing happens, the group has some meetings but they are unproductive.
Middle-point Transition: Around the mid point till the deadline, the group realizes they have a lot of work that needs done and starts to be more productive.
Phase 2: After the Middle-point Transition, there is another short period of nothing happening like in Phase 1, however it is not as bad. There will be a short burst of productivity before the deadline and that is when the project will be completed. Meetings get more and more productive as we move through the stages.
What are the 6 properties of Groups?
Roles: expected behaviours respective to the individuals position
Norms: Expected standards for the group members
Status: Defined position. Some positions are more involved then others
Size: there is a relationship between the size of the group and performance
Cohesiveness: do the members like each other and want to stay in the group?
Diversity: Are the members similar to each other, or do they all have their own unique ways of doing things?
What is the difference between GroupThink and GroupShift?
GroupThink: group wants a consensus, this makes it harder to consider realistic alternatives
GroupShift: groups tend to make more extreme decisions compared to people that work alone
What are the three examples of Group Decision Making Techniques?
Interacting Groups: Face-to-face meetings. Decisions through voting/consensus
Brainstorming: Get as many ideas out as you can regardless of how good or bad. Easy to get a wide range of ideas, but it is difficult to settle on one
Nominal Groups: Face-to-face meeting with pooling of independent ideas. Group chooses highest ranked idea.
What is the difference between a Work Group and a Work Team?
Work Group: Leaders dominate and/or control the group. Goal is set by the organization, emphasis on individual performance.
Work Team: Leader is a facilitator and coach. Goals and decisions are set by the team.
Group, like in school you have an assignment that needs done and that was assigned by the prof. You know what needs to be done and you are trying to achieve what the prof wants you to do.
Team: a boss might tell a manager of a team that something needs to be done. Doesn’t matter how they want to do it, just get it done on time.
