Team Dynamics

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Team Dynamics



Team Dynamics

Introduction




A group may be defined as a collection of two or more people who work together with one another regularly to achieve common goals. In a true group, members are mutually dependent on one another to achieve common goals, and they interact with one another regularly to pursue those goals over a sustained period of time. Groups are good for both organizations and their members, helping to accomplish important tasks and to maintain a high-quality workforce. Groups can also be considered as teams to the extent that they meet the demands of this definition. A team is a small group of people with complementary skills, who work actively together to achieve a common purpose for which they hold themselves collectively accountable (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 00). A group can become a team by learning how to form a group, learning the effectiveness of team dynamics, and by learning the decision making process.

How Groups Form

There are five stages of group development that begin the team building process Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. The group itself will pass through different stages in its life cycle. Further, depending on the stage the group has reached the leader and members can face very different challenges.

In the Forming stage of team development, a primary concern is the initial entry of members to the group. During this stage, individuals ask a number of questions as they begin to identify with other group members and with the group itself (Schermerhorn et al., 00). For example, their concerns may include “What can the group do for me?” or “What can I contribute to the group?” Equally important, members are interested in getting to know each other and discovering what is considered acceptable behavior, in determining the real task of the group and in defining group rules.

The Storming stage of group development is a period of high emotionality and tension among the group members (Schermerhorn et al., 00). During this stage, hostility and fighting may occur, and the group typically experiences many changes. Cliques may form as individuals compete to impose their ideas for an assignment to the group. Moreover, outside demands, including premature expectations for performance results may create uncomfortable pressures (Schermerhorn et al., 00). However, member’s expectations tend to be clarified, and attention shifts toward obstacles standing in the way of the group goals. Individuals begin to understand one another’s interpersonal styles, and efforts are made to find ways to accomplish group goals while also satisfying individuals needs.

The Norming stage of group development is the point at which the group really begins to come together as a coordinated unit (Schermerhorn et al., 00). Holding the group together may become more important to some members than successfully working on the group’s projects. Moreover, a premature sense of accomplishment at this point needs to be carefully managed as a “stepping stone” to the next higher level of group development (Schermerhorn et al., 00).

The Performing stage marks the emergence of a mature, organized, and well-functioning group (Schermerhorn et al., 00). The group is now able to deal with complex tasks and handle internal disagreements in creative ways. For example, getting projects finished and ready for a deadline by passing around rough drafts and editing each other’s work in preparing for the final

product.

The well-integrated group is able to disband, if required, when its work is accomplished. The Adjourning stage of group development is especially important for the many temporary groups that are increasingly common in the new workplace, including task forces, committees, and project teams (Schermerhorn et al., 00).

Team Building Process

Teamwork doesn’t always happen naturally in a group. It is something that team members and leaders must work hard to achieve. In the medical field, for example, the surgeon and surgical nurses focus as a team when preparing for surgery. Nevertheless, even experienced teams run into problems for instance, look at the world of sports and see how at times they play the game individually instead of as a team. Usually, this causes conflict among the members and very often the team will lose the game. Further, this often applies to work group and teams when they are newly formed because they are trying to master challenges in the early stages of group development. Besides, even when the team matures, most work teams encounter problems of insufficient teamwork at different points in time. When difficulties occur within a group the process of team building can help. This is a sequence of planned activities designed to gather and analyze data on the functioning of a group and to initiate changes designed to improve teamwork and increase group effectiveness.

Team building is participatory, as well as being data-based. Whether the data is gathered by questionnaire, interview, nominal group meeting, or other creative methods; the goal is to get good answers to such questions as “How well are we doing in terms of task accomplishment?” or “How satisfied are we as individual members with the group and the way it operates?” These questions can be answered in a collaborative and motivating manner (Schermerhorn et al., 00).

Approaches to Team Building

There are three approaches to team building formal retreat, continuous improvement, and the outdoor experience. The formal retreat approach takes place at an off-site area and may last from one to several days, with group members working intensively on a variety of assessments and planning tasks. Moreover, formal retreats are often held with the assistance of a consultant, who is either hired from the outside or made available from in-house staff (Schermerhorn et al., 00).

In a continuous improvement approach, the manager, team leader, or group members themselves take responsibility for regularly engaging in the team building process (Schermerhorn et al., 00). In addition, the team members commit themselves to monitoring group development and accomplishments continuously and making the day-to-day changes needed to ensure team effectiveness. This process can be accomplished through communication between team members that includes continuous feedback and creative criticism.

Finally, the outdoor experience approach places group members in a variety of physically challenging situations that must be mastered through teamwork, such as sports. By having to work together in the face of difficult obstacles, team members are supposed to experience increased self-confidence, more respect for others’ capabilities, and a greater commitment to teamwork (Schermerhorn et al., 00). Team building experiences can be found in several areas of recreation and many are located on the internet for corporations and businesses to access.

Improving Team Process

There are many changes in the new workplace; the increased emphasis on teams and teamwork is a major challenge for people used to more traditional ways of working. There are several ways to improve the team process

• Distributed leadership is the sharing of responsibility for meeting group task and maintenance needs.

• Task activities directly contribute to the performance of importance task

• Maintenance activities to support the emotional life of the team as an ongoing social system.

This sets the stage for conflicts that can drain energies otherwise needed for task performance (Schermerhorn et al., 00).Foundations of Group Effectiveness

The foundation of group effectiveness tasks can be simple or complex. Complex tasks are ones that tend to not be routine while simple ones are routine and standard. Moreover, goal setting has become an effective tool of the group dynamics. A 168 paper by Edwin Locke is usually considered to be the seminal work on a theory of goal setting (Luthans, 18). Practical guidelines for how to improve performance through goal setting include the following

• Specific goals

• Difficult, challenging goals are better than relatively easy goals

• Owned and accepted goals arrived at through participation seem preferable to assigned goals

• Objective, timely feedback about progress toward goals is preferable to no feedback

(Luthans, 18).

A group’s potential level of performance depends on the resources that its members individually bring to the group. Abilities set the parameters for what members can do and how effectively they will perform in a group. Technology has a great impact on teams. The Place-Time model is based on the options that teams have when working across different location and times.

Same Time Different Place

Same Time Face-to-Face Telephone

Video conference

Different Time Single text editing

Shift work E-mail

Voice Mail

(Aranda, Robbins, Thompson, and others, 000).

The most important aspect of deciding team composition is to look for contribution to the team purpose rather than convenience of meeting or balance of power. As team members are chosen, the key questions to ask are

• What different kinds of information does the team need to work effectively? Who can provide that information?

• What skills does the team need? Who can bring these skills to the team or who is willing to develop them?

• What cross-functional bridges can be built with this team? Who needs to be on the team to make this happen?

• How can the team be a learning/development tool for members? Who can facilitate this learning on the team?

• How can the team build relationships among people who do not often work together? Who should be included in the team from outside the usual membership pool?

(Aranda et al., 000).

There are no absolutes for team size, but experience and research have shown that the most effective team size ranges from four to twelve people. The research on group size leads us to two additional conclusions (1) groups with an odd number of members tend to be more preferable to those with an even number; and () groups made up of five or seven members do a pretty good job of exercising the best elements of both small and large groups (Aranda et al., 000). Having an odd number of members eliminates the possibility of ties when votes are taken. And groups made up of five or seven members are large enough to form a majority and allow diverse input, yet small enough to avoid the negative outcomes often associated with large groups, such as domination by a few members, development of subgroups, inhibited participation by some members, and excessive time taken to reach a decision (Aranda et al., 000).

Intergroup Dynamics

The accepted criterion for what goes on within groups such as family or peer groups is that it must be small enough for face-to-face interaction and communication to occur (Luthans, 18). In addition to being small, the group must have a feeling of comradeship, loyalty, and common sense of values among its members. The criterion changes when shifting the focus from small groups to larger inter-group coalitions (Luthans, 18).

What goes on between groups or coalitions of groups within organizations has long been recognized as an important dimension of group dynamics. A recent comprehensive review of the coalition literature suggests that the following characteristics of a coalition should be included

• Interactive group of individuals

• Deliberately constructed by the members for a specific purpose

• Independent of the formal organization’s structure

• Lacking a formal internal structure

• Mutual perception of membership

• Issue-oriented to advance the purpose of the members

• External forms

• Concerted member action, act as a group

(Luthans, 18).

Decision Making Process

Decision making process is the course of action, when teams decide how to deal with a problem. There are five major steps involving a decision-making process.These steps include recognizing the problem, identifying and analyzing alternate courses of action, choosing a preferred course of action, implementing the course of action, and evaluating the results (Schermerhorn et al., 00). Whether it’s done individually or in a group, these steps have proven to be vital in the process of making decisions. When making decisions within the group, more factors are involved in the process. The following methods may be used in-group settings

$ Lack of Response- one idea after another is suggested without and decision taking place.

$ Authority Rule- the chairperson, manager, or leader makes a decision for the group.

$ Minority rule- two are people are able to dominate the group into making a decision to which they agree.

$ Majority rule- formal voting may take place, or members may be polled to find the majority viewpoint.

$ Consensus- the state of affairs whereby discussion leads to one alternative being favored by most members and the other members agreeing to support it.

$ Unanimity- when all group members agree totally on the course of action. The first step is how group make their decisions.

(Schermerhorn et al., 000). Depending on the situation, the group decides what particular method its best suited for.

Assets and Liabilities of Group Decision Making

After analyzing the best process, groups have to realize the assets and liabilities of group decision-making. For example, limiting themselves to one decision would be a mistake. However, changing methods that best fit the situation is ideal. It gives the group more flexibility when determining decisions. On the other hand, if a decision process is determined before the group encounters decision making, the process could be dealt with more quickly.

With that said, there are potential advantages and disadvantages of group decision-making. Information is the key, the more knowledge and expertise used to solve the problem, the better the final outcome will be. Then alternatives have to be set, the more alternatives that the group examines, the better their chances are to avoid tunnel vision. The next step is understanding and acceptance. The final decision is better when its understood and accepted by all the group members. Finally, all the group members have to be committed to make the final decision work.

Disadvantages also exist within groups. Individuals may feel some type of social pressure, they may feel obligated to go along with what the group wants. Minority domination is a problem, which can cause decisions to be forced by individuals with strong influential tendencies, or smaller groups, within groups (Schermerhorn et al., 00). Time demands are also a concern, the more people involved in discussions usually take longer to make than individual one’s.

Groupthink

After analyzing the assets and liabilities, groupthink comes into play. Groupthink is the tendency of cohesive group members to lose their critical evaluative capabilities. (Schermerhorn et al., 000). For example, since cohesive groups demand conformity, members don’t want to criticize another individual’s ideas and suggestions. The result is a poor decision being made. All members of the group should be aware of the signs and symptoms of groupthink.

Improving Group Decision Making

Once groups have accomplished the group decision making process, improving on those skills would be the next step to success. There are different decision making procedures that may be used. Brainstorming is the first technique, when doing so, all criticism must be ruled out and creativity and imagination is a must. Also, quantity is a positive attribute, for example, the greater the number, the better chance excellent ideas will appear. Nominal group decision is the next technique, this is when the group’s rules are set (Schermerhorn et al., 00). In any group, there are times when opinions are different and arguments can develop, which is why rules are set. The third setting is the Delphi technique, which involves generating decision making alternative through a series of survey questionnaires (Schermerhorn et al., 00). This techniques is used primarily when members aren’t able to meet face to face. The final technique is called “computer-meditated”, which involves the use of technology for teams to reach a final decision (Schermerhorn et al., 00). This particular technique is used to take place across great distances, for example, when groups use the internet to hold meetings. All four settings are comparable techniques that are useful for improving the group decision making process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, team dynamics is an intricate and valuable part of a group and is the deciding factor in forming a team. Groups are good for both organizations and their members, helping to accomplish important tasks and to maintain a high-quality workforce. A team is a small group of people with complementary skills, who work

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