Learning and Development HR1007 Groups and Teams

Session Objectives At the end of the session you should be able to  Define, compare and contrast ‘groups’ and ‘teams’  Identify reasons for the importance of group working in organisations.  Outline the stages of group formation  Analyse your own experience of group working

How would you define… Any number of people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of one another and perceive themselves to be a group (Schein 88). A group working towards a defined or shared set of objectives. The essence of a team is the shared commitment by the members to their collective performance. a) A Group? b) A Team? Groups can be Formal or Informal

Why has team working become so necessary for organisations? External factorsInternal change Flatter structures Responsiveness to customers New ideas Share knowledge Motivation and commitment Global Competition Productivity Cost reduction Quality Customer demands OK let’s all pull together!

What affects group performance? Membership Size of the group Compatibility Permanence Group maturity Forming Storming Norming Performing Work Environment Task itself Setting Communication Technology Organisation Management Policies Success External threats Mullins 99

Group Development Tuckman & Jensen 77 Stage 1 Forming Confusion Anxiety Impressions Testing Rules Stage 2 Storming Disagreement Struggle for leadership Challenge Cliques Stage 3 Norming Guidelines Standards Cooperation Trust Roles Stage 4 Performing Structure Cohesion Effective Successful Openness Adjourning Mourning and reforming

Group Structure Roles – a set of expectations which are attributed to the role and with which we may/may not identify Role diversity – which hat are we wearing? Role Conflict –where roles are contradictory Status – influences interaction in group Norms – group think Size –social loafing Cohesiveness – attraction to group

Effective Groups Shared aims Commitment Acceptance of group values Trust Participation Sharing Solve conflict Productive

Behaviour in groups Why do we do that? BEHAVIOURBEHAVIOUR TASK ORIENTATED MAINTENANCE ORIENTATEDSELF ORIENTATED Benne and Sheats (1948) Functional roles of groups. Journal of social issues, 4. pp. 41-9; Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (1989) Organizational Behaviour, 5 th ed; Mullins (2001) Management and Organizational Behaviour 6 th ed. Harlow, Prentice Hall. pp )

Effective team management Task Needs Task Needs: initiating;information seeking;diagnosing;opinion- seeking;evaluating;decision- making Individ Needs Individual Needs: own goal-setting; feedback;training; learning; recognition; counselling Team Needs Group Needs: clarifying;peace- keeping;encouraging; standard-seeking Three overlapping sets of needs have to be managed so they are all satisfied BUT……… John Adair 1979

Implications for Managers How groups form and interact has influence on performance Norms control group behaviour and may or may not support organisational aims Status inequities create frustration Different size groups are better at doing different activities