Groups and Group Dynamics: Summary Notes

Groups and Group Dynamics

Teams are groups of two or more people who interact, influence each other, and are accountable for achieving common goals.
Key characteristics: group consciousness, shared purpose, interdependence, interaction, and ability to act united.
Differ in permanence, skill diversity, and authority dispersion.
People join groups for: security, goal achievement, social needs, belonging/friendship, self-esteem, and mutual self-interest.

Benefits: comprehensive competencies, improved problem-solving, better decision-making, and higher commitment.
Challenges:
- Process losses: resources spent on team development rather than the task.
- Social Facilitation theory: performance improves in the presence of others, especially with familiar tasks (Zajonc, 1965).
- Social Loafing: reduced effort when working in a group (Latane, 1981). Reduced by smaller teams, specialized tasks, measured performance, and increased mindfulness.
- Risky shift phenomenon: groups make riskier decisions than individuals (Stoner, 1961) due to diffusion of responsibility.

A team is effective when it benefits the organization and its members and survives to fulfill its mandate.
Factors include organizational and team environment, team design, and team processes.

External conditions influencing team effectiveness, e.g., resource pool.
Effective teams need team-based rewards, information systems for coordination, and a workspace that encourages communication.

Task Characteristics: Teamwork is beneficial for complex tasks, and teams function better with structured tasks.
Task Interdependence: the degree to which team members must share resources.
Team Size: optimal size balances necessary abilities and viewpoints with coordination and member involvement.
Task Composition: effectiveness depends on member qualities, motivation, competencies, and team diversity.

Team Development: foundational process influencing norms and cohesiveness.
Stages of Group Formation (Tuckman, 1965):
- Forming: formality, anxiety, guardedness.
- Storming: Members become argumentative with conflicting view points.
- Norming: handle differences without dissolving
- Performing: Members are interdependent.
- Adjourning: Project ends.
Group Norms: informal rules regulating member behavior; enforced if they simplify expectations, express central values, or avoid embarrassing problems.
Group Cohesion: the degree of attraction people feel toward the team.
Conformity: changing behavior due to unspoken group pressure (Turner, 1991).