Groups

1. Groups

2. “A group is two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person.”

3. TEAMS Small number of people who: • possess complementary skills • are committed to a common: purpose performance goal(s) approach whereby they feel mutually accountable.

4. Main difference between a group and a team: • TEAMS WORK TOWARD A COMMON GOAL

5. Factors Influencing Group or Team Performance • Cohesiveness • Group Composition • Norms • Deviancy • Size • Social Loafing

6. COHESIVENESS • Cohesiveness-extent to which members of a group like each other and want to remain members of the groups

7. Sources • Small size - match between group composition and nature of the task. • Shared success in meeting goals • Group maturity • Consequences • Satisfaction with the group • Communication • Hostility and aggression toward non-group members • Productivity • Contingent upon compatibility of group and organizational goals • Minimizes performance differences between group members

8. Group Composition and Nature of the Task Homogeneous Heterogeneous Simple tasks Complex tasks Sequential tasks Collective tasks (tasks are divided up and summed to produce the output) Cooperation required Creativity required Speed important Speed not important

9. NORMS - Informal rules of behavior that provide some order to group activities. BEHAVIOR NORMS -Appearance -Informal seating arrangements PRODUCTION NORMS ENFORCEMENT OF NORMS - this will happen if: -They facilitate group success or ensure group survival -They simplify (or make predictable) what behavior is expected of group members -They reinforce specific member’s roles within a group -They help the group avoid embarrassing interpersonal problems

10. Group Cohesiveness, Performance Norms, and Productivity Cohesiveness Compatibility of Performance Norms with Organizational Goals

11. Group Productivity DEVIANCY - Refers to behaviors that other members of the group consider threatening, embarrassing, or irritating enough that they bring special sanctions to bear against the person.

12. A Deviantin the group can: facilitate appreciation of the fresh perspective from new members force the group to test the usefulness and ultimate validity of its norms provide new and different ideas detract from productivity due to process losses

13. How group size effects performance • Large groups have more resources available, they can complete more relatively independent tasks than small groups • Large groups tend to from subgroups • helpful if the task can be subdivided • Large groups tend to produce more than smaller groups (depending on the task) • Large groups show more tension release and giving of information than in smaller groups

14. More group size • Interactions and communication patterns tend to be more formalized in large groups • Large groups may be less efficient than smaller groups • Smaller groups report greater satisfaction • Importance of getting along is inversely related to size • Actual performance = Potential Performance less Process Losses

15. Stages of Group & Team Development 1. Mutual Acceptance – getting to know one another, defining purpose, leadership, structure 2. Communication and Decision Making – open discussion of opinions and ideas. Members starts to develop norms of behavior, agreement is reached on goals and often roles

16. More Stages 3. Motivation and Productivity – members cooperate, help each other and work toward accomplishing tasks. Members shift away from personal concerns and cooperate. 4. Control and Organization – the team works effectively toward accomplishing goals. Tasks assigned by mutual agreement according to ability. Members work together and are flexible, adaptive and self-correcting.

17. Group or Team Decision Making • Strengths • More complete information and knowledge • Increased diversity of views • Higher quality decisions • Increased acceptance of decisions

18. Weaknesses of Group Decision Making • Time consuming • Conformity pressures • Potential domination by one of a few members • Ambiguous responsibility & accountability

19. Effectiveness and Efficiency • Group as compared with individual decisions • More accurate • More creative • Higher acceptance of final decision • Less efficient

20. Creativity in Groups/Teams • Definition – The production of novel but potentially useful ideas.

21. Team Advice for Creativity • Allow enough time • Stress from time constraints limit creativity • Avoid evaluation apprehension • Feeling like one is constantly being judged stifles idea generation • Avoid groupthink • Tendency of highly cohesive groups to value consensus at the price of decision quality

22. Use Brainstorming Four simple rules can encourage divergent thinking while minimizing evaluation apprehension.

23. Rules of Brainstorming • No criticism • Without criticism, team members might be willing to suggest wild solutions or ideas • Provide as many ideas as possible • Quality increases with the number of ideas presented

24. Speak freely • Welcome wily and silly ideas since they can become the basis of divergent thinking • Build on ideas of others • Members should combine and improve on the ideas already presented – use team synergy

25. Critical Skills for Optimum Team Performance CONSENSUS IN DECISION MAKING - everyone provides input and participate in give-and-take exchanges. ACTIVE LISTENING - do not dismiss an idea because of its source; review and summarize what is being said; pay attention to nonverbal; empathize with the speaker’s point of view.

26. Team Skills CREATIVE THINKING - suspend judgment; accept ambiguity; question tradition; be non-judgmental; use brainstorming. SUPPORTING BEHAVIOR - supportive climates make people more creative; show understanding and empathy, acknowledge ideas; express appreciation for work. LEVELING - be honest with yourself and with others; give honest report of emotional reactions experienced from a disturbing message or action

27. Special Reward Issues in Class-Based Teams • Team members control rewards - peer evaluations & membership (group expels member or member quits) • Special advice: involve everyone in decisions, assess grade and learning goals of members, develop clear expectations, re-negotiate work load throughout semester, take responsibility for the group.

28. Class Groups Facilitate Learning Hard work Personal responsibility Commitment Willingness to discipline

29. Characteristics of an Effective Team – Look at yours from time to time. 1. has clearly defined, measurable objectives 2. resolves issues rather than avoids them 3. gets ideas and contributions from everyone 4. hears and accepts other’s ideas

30. More Characteristics 5. has members who actively listen to one another, feel empowered to do their best and who support and trust one another 6. has enthusiasm, boldness, and willingness to take risks 7. accepts conflict as a reality and works it through to a successful outcome 8. uses humor to build upon people’s ideas 9. communicates openly and frankly

31. ...And more. 10. has a strong commitment to goals and the group’s mission 11. uses decision making by consensus 12. uses total participation by all members 13. accepts differences of opinion 14. evaluates its own effectiveness 15. adapts to change