OB Week 7

What is a group?

Two or more interacting and interdependent individuals who come together to achieve objectives.

What are the five stages of group development?

Forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

What happens during forming?

Members join and there is substantial uncertainty about purpose, structure and leadership.

What happens during storming?

Intragroup conflict develops over leadership, control and direction.

What happens during norming?

Relationships and cohesion develop and common expectations or norms become established.

What happens during performing?

The group is fully functional and focuses its energy on completing the task.

What happens during adjourning?

A temporary group prepares to disband after completing its task.

What is the difference between role perception, role expectation and role conflict?

Role perception is how I believe I should act; role expectation is how others believe I should act; role conflict occurs when role demands are incompatible.

What is social loafing?

Reduced individual effort when working collectively; it can also arise when people perceive others are not contributing fairly.

What is cohesiveness?

The degree to which group members are attracted to one another and motivated to stay in the group.

Does high cohesiveness automatically improve group performance?

No. Cohesiveness amplifies group norms. High-performance norms help, while low-effort or poor-performance norms can make performance worse.

What is groupthink?

When pressure for consensus overrides realistic evaluation of alternative courses of action.

How can managers reduce groupthink?

Limit group size, actively seek everyone's input, avoid leaders announcing their view too early, use a devil's advocate and consider diverse alternatives.

What is groupshift or group polarisation?

Group discussion causes members to exaggerate their initial positions, potentially creating a more risky or conservative group decision.

What distinguishes a team from an ordinary group?

Team members have complementary skills, interdependence, a common purpose and goals, and mutual accountability.

What are the main types of teams covered in the lecture?

Functional, cross-functional, problem-solving, self-managed, virtual and multiteam systems.

What are the three broad categories determining team effectiveness?

Context, composition and process.

What are the four key context factors for effective teams?

Adequate resources, leadership and structure, climate of trust, and performance evaluation and reward systems.

What are important team-process factors?

Common purpose, specific goals, team efficacy, team identity, cohesion, mental models, conflict levels and social loafing.