APPLIED LEARNING PAPER – WEEK 2
Applied Learning Paper - Week 2
Mark T. Jegel
Interpersonal Group Dynamics
12 October 2013
William Smith, Instructor
Southwestern College Professional Studies
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APPLIED LEARNING PAPER – WEEK 2
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Successful groups and teams are not led by great leaders, instead successful groups and
teams are led by leaders that are great at surrounding themselves with outstanding people able to
work together and create a bond throughout the team. Tubbs (2012) expresses this in chapter
three focusing on the differences of group members and how to utilize and understand the
differences in order to have a successful, productive group. Groups that are made up of diverse
people will provide a many perspectives and opinions while understanding the needs of each
group member allows the leader and the members to work as a more cohesive, productive group.
Other factors relating to the group members, such as gender, age, health, attitudes and values all
contribute to the success of a group.
Diversity has always been and will continue to play the biggest role in a person’s life,
especially in regard to being a member of a group or simply at one’s workplace. No matter what
you do for a living or where you work, there will always be a mix of people, and that mix is
going to lend itself to challenges. In America, people that are raised in a big city tend to speak
faster than those that were raised in a small town. Different terms are used as well, i.e. some
regions of America use the term soda to define a soft drink, were others use the term pop or
coke. Other examples of language diversities are teeter-totter or a seesaw; a stocking cap or a
beany, skullcap or watch cap. Which one of these are the correct forms of the word, they all are,
which is why knowing and understanding diversity is so important.
Diversity will always affect a group because a key contributing factor to diversity is the
fact that all people have different personalities. A greater understanding of a person’s
personality will allow a leader and the group members to better gel and work together as a
productive group. People are driven by needs and these needs differ within each person. Tubbs
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(2012) explains a couple different theories and/or models to help better understand a person’s
needs. Maslow’s Need Hierarchy defines a pyramid affect that people will go through at a
workplace. First is the basic need known as Physiological needs or security within the job
comfortable within the environment. Next, is Security, where an individual will feel safe at their
job or within a work group. Belongingness is the next level which gives the person the feeling
they are a member of the group and belong within the group. After that is Esteem, where a
member feels valued within the group and is recognized and rewarded in a way that is
meaningful to them. The last level in Maslow’s Hierarchy is Self-actualization. At this point,
the person feels they are contributing to the group and are growing personally as a result of their
contribution. The most important factor to Maslow’s Hierarchy is that each level must be
accomplished before moving on to the next. If a person does not feel safe within a group, they
certainly will not feel a sense of belonging and therefore will never move on.
Tubbs (2012) highlights William Schutz’s FIRO-B Theory which hypothesized that most
people share three needs that groups help to fulfill. The first need is Inclusion, meaning certain
people feel a need to be included in a group. Second is the need for Control or the need to
influence, lead and develop power over others. The last is the need for Affection where people
will belong to a group to simply make friends and be close to people. Understanding these needs
that people will help a leader to better manage the group, also as members in a group,
understanding the needs of others allows for a more connected, cohesive group that will help the
group to be more productive. One tool available to help understand the personalities and needs
of the group members is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI is a series of
questions that are answered across a paired spectrum from one extreme answer to the other. The
individual taking the test will rate themselves across the spectrum. The pairs are: Extrovert vs
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Introvert; Sensing vs Intuition; Thinking vs Feeling; Judging vs Perceiving. There are 16
different possible personality types from the indicator that can be used to help better understand
the members within a group as well as help an individual better understand themselves.
Gender, age, health, attitude and values are also contributing factors when it comes to
groups. Even with such a strong push for a gender-neutral society, there is no mistaking that
gender plays a major role in today’s groups as well as at the work place. However, as
highlighted, women are scarce in senior executive positions but those who do make it, get there
faster than men (Tubbs, 2012, p 131). Age can be a factor within groups because of the potential
communication barrier. With programs like Facebook and twitter, today’s social media is
helping to bridge that gap considering people of all ages and types are using social media today
more than ever. Health factors with group members can affect the productivity as well. As a
group, the members will have to rely on other members, but if a health factor hinders one
member’s attendance or contribution to the group, it could result in a negative attitude toward
that member. Attitudes and Values are closely related to each other and can feed off of each
other. The attitude of just one member can make or break the entire group. Closely linked to
attitudes, if one member does not value what the group is working on then that member’s attitude
will be negative and just like a cancer, that attitude can potentially spread throughout the entire
group. Conversely, if the members value what the group is working on, have a positive attitude,
plus the personality types fit in the group and the member’s needs are met, the outcome will be
successful.
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References
Tubbs, S. (2012). A system approach to small group interaction. (11th ed.). New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.
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