1. Learning and Development HR1007
Groups and Teams

2. 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

3. Groups can be Formal or Informal
How would you define…
a) A Group? b) A Team?
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.
Groups can be Formal or Informal

4. OK let’s all pull together!
Why has team working become so necessary for organisations?
External factors
Internal change
Flatter structures
Responsiveness to customers
New ideas
Share knowledge
Motivation and commitment
Global Competition
Productivity
Cost reduction
Quality
Customer demands
These PEST(LE) factors in the outside world are the ‘new realities’ in which organisations have to survive….HOW?
By changing and adapting. Becoming leaner and fitter, more efficient and effective. They do this by:
FLATTER STRUCTURES:
Whole departments may be cut (e.g. R&D, Marketing) and in their place (CROSS FUNCTIONAL) PROJECT TEAMS emerge and disband once the project has finished. Sometimes this means working on projects outside your own org.
Levels of management have been cut so those remaining managers have a greater span of control
SYSTEMS:
Technology has automated many routine processes and therefore
SKILLS
Of workforce may no longer be required. New skills need to be developed
KNOWLEGDE
Is shared rather than guarded by experts and/or directors. This requires
COMMUNICATION
constant flow of information and knowledge so that teams of people can make more effective decisions
Those at the interface with the public/ customer/ product are no longer supervised but are expected to know what to do and act on their own knowledge and initiative and with the support of their team. Being a team player is therefore critical to success of these new organisational demands.
OK let’s all pull together!

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

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

7. 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

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

9. Behaviour in groups Why do we do that? B TASK ORIENTATED E H A V I O U
MAINTENANCE ORIENTATED
When we are in group situations we behave according to our particular agenda.
For example if your main aim is to get the job done, your behaviour will appear to be TASK ORIENTATED.
If a couple of the group members have fallen out over something and you want to try to patch things up, our behaviour will appear MAINTENCE ORIENTATED.
And if your main aim is to get what you can out of the group, then your behaviour will appear SELF ORIENTATED.
As the group grows and the members’ needs become more integrated into the group’s goals, then there is usually less self orientated behaviour and more TASK or MAINTENANCE BEHAVIOUR.
Types of behaviour you might see when members are keen to get the task done include:
SELF ORIENTATED
Benne and Sheats (1948) Functional roles of groups. Journal of social issues, 4. pp. 41-9;
Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman (1989) Organizational Behaviour, 5th ed;
Mullins (2001) Management and Organizational Behaviour 6th ed. Harlow, Prentice Hall. pp )

10. Effective team management
Three overlapping sets of needs have to be managed so they are all satisfied BUT………
Task
Needs
Task Needs: initiating;information seeking;diagnosing;opinion- seeking;evaluating;decision-making
John Adair is mostly associated with his ideas on Action Centred LEADERSHIP.
He focuses on what leaders actually do.
The effectiveness of the leader is dependent on MEETING 3 AREAS OF NEED within the work group
He represented these as 3 overlapping circles because is argued that
ACTION IN ANY ONE AREA WILL AFFECT ONE OR BOTH OF THE OTHER AREAS OF NEED.
IDEAL POSITION WHERE THE COMPLETE INTEGRATION OF THE 3 AREAS OF NEED ARE ACHIEVED.
THE EFFECTIVE LEADER IS ONE WHO MANAGES INTEGRATE ALL 3 AREAS EQUALLY.
Individ
Needs
Individual Needs: own goal-setting; feedback;training; learning; recognition; counselling
Team
Needs
Group Needs: clarifying;peace-keeping;encouraging; standard-seeking
John Adair 1979

11. 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