The Forgotten Group Member

A Case Study in Group Dynamics

Keller Graduate School of Management GM591 Leadership and Organizational Behavior Professor Joseph Plumley

January 22, 2012

Angela Baker

Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 Group Dynamics and Development ...................................................................................... 3 Individual Membership in Groups ........................................................................................ 4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 5 References ......................................................................................................................... 7

2|Page

Introduction
Christine Spencer is a devoted and hardworking student like most; her goal is to keep her head above water and earn more than a passing grade. In her current class Christine is currently at an A- and is still concerned about the final outcome of her grade in this class due to her belief that she can leverage good grades and they will provide her a competitive edge as she enters the workforce after graduation. In order for Christine to meet her personal goals, she must first navigate the dynamics of the new group for which she has been chosen Team Coordinator. Christine must understand the differences between a group and an actual team; she must also understand the stages of group development, individual membership within a group setting, and determine her true effectiveness as a leader.

Group Dynamics and Development

Team dynamics is a variable that is forever changing. Just when one thinks that the group has formed an impenetrable bond then team dynamics can go south and internal factors such as personality traits can derail the cohesiveness of a group. One thing that can disrupt a groups cohesiveness is not addressing team member concerns in a timely manner. It only takes one person to circumvent positive strides made by the entire group. Some members can be vocal and constructive, while other members can be vocal/non-vocal and disruptive. It is important to wear diversity hats in dealing with any group whether it is in person or a virtual group. It is extremely important that if certain measures arent taken things can get out of hand and cause a work stoppage. Additionally, there are members who do not want to state that there is a problem for fear of retaliation while others may feel enough is enough. Team

dynamics can be measured by the following criteria; personality styles (eg: including or excluding people), team roles, tools and technology, organizational culture (eg: company cars acting as status symbols to separate groups of employees), or processes/methodologies/ procedures (eg: problem-solving methodology) (team dynamics, 2010). If Christine can understand the stages of group development she will become much more effective in her role as 3|Page

Team Coordinator. The following chart will help Christine understand her roll and become a better leader. Knowing how her team will behave at the different stages will reduce her stress and she can be proactive and effectively meet and address their individual and group needs.

Five stages of team development (Organizational Behavior, 2010, p. 166)

Individual Membership in Groups It is strongly recommend that members of a group behave as a cohesive team. There is a huge difference between a group and a team. A team's strength depends on the commonality of purpose and interconnectivity between individual members, whereas a group's strength may come from sheer volume or willingness to carry out a single leader's commands (wisegeek, 2010). From the beginning it is important to try and build friendships for the sake of the team. Everyone must be on the same page without hidden agendas and it is important that each member has a voice and that they are effectively heard and positively welcome and addressed by each member of the team. In order to build group processes that are supportive, the group must first come together in order for the group to meet their goal. Christine must find a way to effectively bridge the gap, Christine and the group must create a charter that governs their behavior and define basic group rules of conduct, communication, and above all team deadlines. Creating a team charter will allow each member of group to brainstorm and develop rules that 4|Page

they can all live by. The group must define their goals with buy-in from each of its members; define each members roles and responsibilities so that everyone is on the same page so that they all can meet the expectations. The group must also establish a meeting schedule, this takes the guess work out of what each member is suppose to do throughout the project. Additionally, the group must establish forms of technology and the method of communication within the group as each of the groups members are different and their individual needs will differ as well. In order to effectively address the differences within the group, Christine must educate herself and understand that her group is a diverse group and that each of its individual members are individually different and their needs will be different as well. Research confirms that Christine leads a heterogeneous team. A heterogeneous team is defined as members are very dissimilar and problems are more likely Organizational Behavior, 2010, p. 171). With that said the problems if handled correctly can proactively and objectively benefit the group as a whole by forming a cohesive bond. Conclusion It is Christines responsibility to address the individual needs of her team. It is also the responsibility of each team member to make this alliance work on behalf of the overall goal. There will be times when there are differences. It is important to resolve these differences in a timely and respectful manner and be able to move on in a productive manner. Most members will choose to ignore the problem in hopes that it will go away. This variable called silence will defeat the efforts of a group. All members must reverse themselves and go back to the team contract which is the value, and mission statement all wrapped as one; so that the entire group is once again on the same page. Christine could have been an effective leader if she had the necessary tools and knowledge and knew the rules in regards to group development and 5|Page

individual membership within groups. She allowed certain members of the group to actively become social loafers; this happened due to a certain group member feeling left out when they perceived that Christine had unintentionally excluded them during an unofficial meeting at lunch. Christine was an ineffective a leader because she lacked the necessary confidence in her own abilities, Christine did not effectively address the needs of all the individual members because she did not have the skill set to do so. For example during lunch, Christine should have been aware of organizational behavior (OB) and perception; she should have known that group dynamics would have allowed her to know that her particular group functioned better in an informal setting; this setting type would have allowed each of its members to participate at the 100% level. Secondly, had she known the different stages of group development and dynamics, she could have effectively moved the group towards norming in a shorter amount of time and in the process would have built individual relationships with each member which, would have facilitated better group dynamics and would have removed false perceptions, and would have presented the opportunity that all members felt welcomed to actively participate. It takes more than being appointed to become leader of the group. It takes a group acceptance and respect to acknowledge a leader and respectfully follow their lead. In the end Christine listened to the social loafer but had no leadership plan or skill set to correct the situation in a timely manner.

6|Page

References

Team dynamics, (2012). How do you recognize team dynamics? Retrieved January 22, 201 from, http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/team-dynamics.html Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition. John Wiley & Sons p. 161. Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition. John Wiley & Sons p. 171 Wisegeek, (2010). What is the Difference Between a Team and a Group? Retrieved December 16, 2010, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-team-and-agroup.htm

7|Page