Groups &
Teamwork
bu288 lecture #7
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1)
Group Diversity
2)
Group Cohesiveness
3)
Group Development
4)
When Bad Things
Happen To Good
Teams
A.Boey
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
What’s new
today
Do teams that are more diverse
(made up of people from
different backgrounds) perform
better than teams that are more
homogeneous?
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Group Diversity

What is cohesiveness?
 The degree to which members really
want to be part of the group

Cohesiveness and effectiveness:
 Cohesiveness is not the same thing as
effectiveness
 Typically, cohesive teams will be more
successful
 But, cohesiveness is not the same thing
as effectiveness
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Group Cohesiveness

Which team will be more COHESIVE?
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Team that faces an
external threat
VS
Team that does not
face an external threat
Team that experiences
a lot of success
VS
Team that experiences
moderate success
Team where members
are very similar
(homogeneous)
VS
Team that has very
diverse membership
Team with few
members
VS
Team with many
members
Team that is exclusive
and very difficult to join
VS
Team that is easy to
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join
G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Group Cohesiveness
 Do managers want cohesive groups?
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Group Cohesiveness

How do groups develop and change over time?
Two Models:
 Stages Model
 More likely when group members do not
know one another
 Punctuated Equilibrium Model
 More likely when the group has a deadline
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Group Development

Stages of Group Development
 Each stage presents the members with a series of
challenges they must master to achieve the next
stage
 Not all groups go through these stages
 The process applies mainly to new groups that have
never met before
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Time
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Stages Model
The approach
adopted at the
midpoint is
carried out
The same initial
strategy is used
throughout the
project.
The group adopts the
tone, norms and
approach of the first
meeting, whether
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ideal or not
The group realizes, “We’ve
got to get going!” and if will
be more successful if they reevaluate and change their
strategy
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
“The team was really struggling.
They kept tweaking their approach but felt like they couldn’t
really get a handle on what the solution should be.
Then, at the halfway point, the team leader called an all-team
meeting. Initially, there was a lot of debate, but then the leader
went to the white board and starting drawing a diagram. Then, all
at once everyone started to see it.
“Subsequently, the team "filled the whole board, working
feverishly. We solidified things into a precise understanding.
There were so many puzzle pieces ... we finally figured out
how they all fit together.“”
From there, the team refocused around "packaging" the new
solution and delegated a new set of assignments to team members
to make maximum use of the 15 days remaining until its deadline.
The experience rejuvenated team members' commitment to the
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project. As one put it, " . . . [the midpoint transition] was really
Ericksen & Dyer (2004)
important because it brought us all together.“”
G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
A Good Midpoint Transition
“The team had been at a standstill for almost three
months. Then the team leader called a meeting around the
midpoint in another attempt to get the team on track.
This, too, failed.
At the end of the meeting, the team still had not
addressed its talent deficiencies (they group members
didn’t have the right skills for the task), nor had it
developed a consensus around a new strategy.
"We didn't do a good job of defining the deliverables,"
is the way one team member put it, "It's an indication of
product specificity. We need to know what the [solutions]
are before we know what we're going to give [the
customers]."

Another said, "Right now the picture I have is
activities without a solid plan."

A.Boey

The downward path became apparent after this point.
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Group members lost any remaining faith that the team Ericksen & Dyer (2004)
could pull off the project.
G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
A Failed Midpoint Transition

Task conflict
vs.
Disagreements among
group members related
to the content of their
decisions. Differences
in viewpoints, ideas and
opinions about the task.
Relationship Conflict
Disagreements among team
members stemming from
interpersonal
incompatibilities. Typically
includes tension, annoyance
and animosity.
 Does everyone need to agree on the task and get
along?
A.Boey
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Conflicted about Group
Conflict
 Groups generally prefer to avoid
conflict
 But (task) conflict can be helpful
 How do you encourage conflict?
 How do you resolve conflict?
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Conflicted about Group
Conflict
 HOW CAN GROUPS REDUCE LOAFING?
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
SLACKERS
Social Loafing

Was this an additive task or a disjunctive task?
Performance
is dependent
on the sum of
the
performance
of individual
group
members
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Performance
is dependent
on
performance
of the most
skilled group
member
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G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Group Activity

Is there anyone in your group who didn’t work hard but
just rely on others?


Did you always speak whatever in your mind without
thinking how others would judge your opinion?


Evaluation apprehension
Did you always get a chance to speak your opinion?


Social loafing
Production blocking
How do these differ between groups with different
sizes?
G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
Debrief
Advice for your group project:

Make sure you have a good first meeting

When you start your project, have a discussion with
all group members present to talk about ideas


Seek consensus and ensure that everyone gets on the same
page
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your group
members, and assign tasks accordingly

Make sure everyone has a meaningful role to play
G r o u p s & Te a m w o r k
