Introduction
In the subject of organisational behaviour, teams and groups are classed to be the backbone of the organisation because an organisation that forms a team or a group is likely to meet its objectives. The reason why organisations form a team and a group is to ensure that employees influence each other to meet a common goal. However, the use of teams and groups from a manager's point of view is to improve the performance.
Groups
A group could be defined as “A psychological group is any number of people who interact with each other, are psychologically aware of each other and perceive themselves as a group” (Schein, 1988: 1). There are different types of groups and they are formal and informal or temporary and permanent, for example: a group can be put together for one event such as a jury for a court case (informal and temporary group). The formal group takes the professional approach whereby this group is form set of objectives and co-ordinates its activities in order to meet the goals set; whereas the informal group is made up of individuals that influences other people’s behaviours and the structure for an informal group is flexible or loose (Hodgetts and Hegar, 2007; Dutt, 2008).
There are different kinds of groups and they are counteracting group, co-acting (coaching) group and interacting group (Rahim, 2011; Jain, 2005). The counteracting group is the kind of group that interact with each other which creates a conflict whereas the co-acting group is formed on a temporary basis for example: students that comes together to carry out a one-off project. Additionally, the interacting group is a little complex because this group is formed to achieve its goals when individuals’ tasks are completed and this kind of group is used during a project work which involves constructing a building whereby individuals have to work together in order to complete the task.
Teams
However, a team could also be defined as “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993: 5). There are different types of team and they are: interacting teams, cross-functional teams and self-managed teams; in addition, these teams have good characteristics that help a team achieve its goals (Pride et al, 2010; Daft, 2008). Moreover, these teams have common goals that must be achieve and the interacting teams ensure that the functional areas of the organisation are met regularly to discuss the important aspects of the business such as quality, efficient and cost.
In this level, we are switching from individual behavior to group behavior. A group is define as two or more individual, interacting and interdependent who are initially coming together to achieve particular objectives (Stephen P.Robbins, Timothy A.Judge, 2014). There are two types of group which are formal group and informal group (Stephen P.Robbins, Timothy A.Judge, 2014). Group can bring a lot of advantages to all the group members. For instance, work as a group is able to generate positive synergy through coordinated effort that allows organization to increase performance.
Topics explored with this group included; conversational skills, internet safety, bullying, conflict resolution, social media, and personal appearance. Accordingly, I was able to gain insight on how to plan activities tailored to the needs of the group as well as obtain tips on conducting groups effectively. Additionally, I was able to get a sense of the group dynamics, attain knowledge on the stages of a group through observing all the individuals belonging to the group, their uniqueness and how their personality impacted the group itself. Individuals were able to join the group at different stages hence; the forming stage was repeated each time a new member was recruited. This also provided me with the opportunity of gaining first-hand experience of the interaction on the basic dynamics on group stages of forming, norming, storming and
It is important to distinguish the difference between teams and groups. The main difference is that teams work altogether toward a common goal whereas groups can work altogether but for their own objective. It is important to highlight that a group does not necessary need a leader to follow but a team does and this leader will set directions to achieve the goal. In teams people are more committed as they share their ideas, they know the purpose of what they are doing and what the others are doing, they understand better individual objectives and team objectives whereas in groups, generally people are just told what they have to do without further explanations. Because in a team people get to know each other, it builds trust and enhances communication but in groups, people do not really know each other, do not trust or communicate effectively with each other. In teams it is frequent to see constructive conflict as people talk more openly and more honestly but in group it is quite rare. Eventually, people in teams are more involv...
Teams have become integral parts and driving forces of success in organizations. A key common attribute among highly
One model for understanding group development is the five-stage group development model which states that groups go through five stages of forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning (Gibson, el at., 2009). In addition, the model suggests that groups can be in several stages at one time and do not have to move through the stages linearly (Gibson, el at., 2009). While this model has been widely used by individuals, in the study of group dynamics, there is no imperial evidence that this model accurately describes group development (Tuckman & Jensen, 2010). In addition, there is some concern that the model is to static and unrealistic in its explanation of group formation (Gibson, el at., 2009). Another model for group development is the punctuated equilibrium model that suggests that there are only three phases (Gibson, el a...
A work team will be defined for the purposes of this paper by a definition borrowed from Bateman and Snell (2004). A team is formed of people (usually a small number) with complementary skills who trust one another and are committed to a common purpose, common performance goals, and a common approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Teams generally see themselves and are seen by others as a social entity, which is interdependent because of the tasks performed as members of a group.
Even though we are all categorized in to groups from the day were conceived. We can still create our own group, and whether are not you create your own group or if it was chosen for you there will be effective and ineffective aspects of that group. Base the circumstances that each individual’s values and beliefs are different. Further more, participation and similarity of other group members and the goals of the group will also affect the group dynamic.
Teams are groups of people who work together to achieve a common goal (Learning Team Handbook, p 310). Workplace teams are increasing as businesses find the yield of team productivity and creativity exceeds individual productivity/creativity. To promulgate productive teams, businesses have had to identify common threads for successful teams. Businesses have identified the dynamics and needs of successful teams.
Why do we form teams? The goal of a team is to be able to do something together that could not be done alone. In this big, international, world of business and life we do, in fact, need teams. We need to work together to do all that we truly cannot do alone. Yet, knowing that we need teams is only the first step of many. Everyone has some experience being on a team, but few of us are experts who have done extensive research. A byproduct of this is that there are many common myths that abound about teams. These include misconceptions related to varied topics such as: what makes a team, how to run a team effectively, general attitudes about teamwork, its (teamwork’s) value to business and even its very nature.
Groups can be made up of different individuals that are coming together to accomplish a specific
Teams are important to a company simply because they motivate transformation and expansion. While teams play a key role in the expansion process of a business; the entire process can be delayed, if not disabled altogether due to a lack of participation on individual levels of commitment. Studies show that if a team is constructed and managed effectively they are 30-50% more productive. (Williams, 1995) Whatever the reason behind the formation of a team in a business it is always wise to take the proper approach to overcome any obstacle.
In order for a work place to be successful and beneficial to everyone involve in the company, teams needs to be form, and each team must have a goal in mind. Employees must come together to accomplish a common goal. Teamwork will not only benefit those involve in the project but it will also have a huge impact in your business.
Many businesses place an emphasis on the importance of teamwork. A good team consists of people with different skills, abilities and characters. A successful team is able to blend these differences together to enable the organisation to achieve its desired objectives.
Several experiments and researches have been conducted that have focused on how people behave in groups. The findings have revealed that groups affect peoples’ attitudes, behavior and perceptions. Groups are essential for personal life, as well as in work life.
A group can be define as ‘any number of people who (1) interact with one another; (2) are psychologically aware of one another and (3) perceive themselves to be a group’ (Mullins, L, 2007, p.299). Certain task can only be performed by combined effort of a group. Organisation can use groups to carry out projects, which will help to achieve its overall aim. However, for the group to be successful they must understand what is expected of them and have the right skill to complete the task. . (Mullins, L, 2006)