WEEK 8: GROUPS AND TEAMS

Flashcards covering group dynamics, roles, norms, cohesiveness, groupthink, stages of development, and team performance based on the lecture by Dr. Jerry Pacheco.

Group Dynamics

Attempts to understand the behavior in which people interact with, influence, and are influenced by others within groups.

Group

A social interaction involving $2$ or more people, a stable structure, common interest or goals, and individuals who perceive themselves as a group.

Group Interaction

The process by which members of a group exchange verbal and nonverbal messages in an attempt to influence one another.

Task roles

Roles within a group specifically focused on goal accomplishment.

Maintenance roles

Roles within a group focused on maintaining relationships among members.

Individual roles

Roles that focus on individual needs versus the needs of the group.

Group Norms

An implied code of conduct, which can be written or unwritten, about what is acceptable and unacceptable member behavior.

Group Cohesiveness

The degree of attraction and motivation to stay in a group, determined by factors such as group size, experience of success, group status, and outside threats.

Conformity

The changing of an individual’s perceptions or behaviors to match the attitudes or behaviors of others.

Groupthink

Conditions under which efforts to maintain group harmony undermine critical thought and lead to poor decisions by the group.

Groupthink Type I

The overestimation of the group’s power and morality.

Groupthink Type II

A condition characterized by closed-mindedness within a group.

Groupthink Type III

A condition characterized by pressures toward uniformity within a group.

Optimum Group Size

Defined as $5$ members to avoid inability to make decisions (if less than $5$) or social loafing and subgroup formation (if more than $5$).

Informal Group

A group organized based on the members’ common interests or goals.

Formal Group

A group created by the organization as part of its structure, such as functional, command, or task groups.

Stages of Group Development

The five-stage process consisting of Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning.

Team

A small group of people committed to a common purpose, possessing complementary skills, and holding themselves mutually accountable for specific performance goals.

Teaming

Described as 'teamwork on the fly,' where people with different skills come together quickly to solve a specific problem and then disband.

Virtual Team

A team that works across space, time, and organizational boundaries through various communication technologies.

Situational Humility

Acknowledging that a project is complex and that the team does not know all the answers, used to build psychological safety.

Shared Governance

A health care concept where each member of the care team has shared responsibility in decision making for the patient.

Brainstorming

A rational decision-making technique used by groups to generate alternatives.

Nominal Group Technique

A rational decision-making technique used in group settings.

Delphi Technique

A structured rational decision-making technique for groups.